Plants & Planters

Bougainvillea and croton for the patio, monstera and ficus for the apartment:

the light decides it before the look does. Bougainvillea, croton and most palms only flower and color up in strong sun, and a croton kept indoors fades towards plain green and drops its lower leaves. Monstera, fiddle-leaf fig and pothos come from shaded forest and take bright, indirect light behind glass, which is what an air-conditioned living room gives them; a snake plant puts up with almost any light. Cuttings and pups are the cheap way in: a rooted monstera cutting becomes the same plant as a nursery one, only slower. Monstera, pothos, snake plant and croton all irritate the mouth of a dog or cat that chews them, so homes with pets tend to go for an areca palm or a Boston fern. Shears for the patio plants and a sprayer for feeding them are in gardening tools.

Terracotta, glazed ceramic, fiberglass and plastic planters:

each material trades weight against how fast the soil dries. Unglazed terracotta breathes, so it suits succulents and snake plants and punishes a thirsty fern; the white crust that forms on the outside is mineral salt and does no harm. Glazed ceramic holds moisture and looks finished, but it is heavy and one knock can crack it. Fiberglass and resin planters pass for stone at a fraction of the weight, which matters on a balcony where everything comes up in the elevator and stands beside a set from outdoor furniture. A planter with no drainage hole is a cover pot: keep the plant in its plastic nursery pot inside it and tip out the water that gathers. Terracotta and ceramic will also take a hole from a diamond bit, drilled slowly with water kept on the spot.

Monstera cuttings, a tall ficus and the planter it stands in:

plant prices follow size more than species. A young monstera starts around $15, while a fiddle-leaf fig taller than you is close to $100, and what you pay for is years of growth rather than a rarer plant. Planters work the other way round: a plastic pot costs a few dollars, and a large glazed ceramic or fiberglass planter runs from about $60 to well past $100. A used planter in good shape goes for less mostly because it is heavy to collect, while an established plant is priced on its size and health rather than its age, since it has kept growing all along.

Roots, leaf undersides and a planter’s glaze:

turn the leaves over and look in the joints where leaf meets stem, which is where scale and spider mites hide. Fine webbing or sticky leaves mean an infestation that will move on to your other plants. Ask to ease the plant out of its pot: firm, pale roots are healthy, and brown, mushy roots in sour-smelling soil mean rot from overwatering. Ask where it has been standing too, because a plant that lived indoors scorches if it goes straight into full sun. For a planter, tap it with a knuckle all the way round. Sound ceramic rings, and a dull note marks a hairline crack that opens once the pot is full of wet soil. On fiberglass, check the corners and the base for chips and splits.

A plant listing with its height, its light and its pot:

give the height from the floor with the pot included, say what light the plant has been living in, and whether the planter goes with it. A photo beside a door or a chair shows the size better than a measurement. Say whether you are passing on the mother plant or offering cuttings and pups from it, and give the planter’s material and whether it has a drainage hole. For a heavy planter, say whether it is empty and warn the buyer if it sits on a balcony with no freight elevator. Water a big plant the day before pickup rather than that morning: the root ball holds together, the pot weighs far less, and nobody carries mud to the car.