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Fast-Growing Indoor Plants to Brighten Up Your Home in (Almost) No Time

ByLeanne Potts

When you want lots of greenery in your home, stat, but don’t want to pay high prices for large houseplants, buying a few fast-growing indoor plants when they’re small can save you a bit of money. Plus, you’ll get a healthier plant long-term because a small plant adjusts quicker to the conditions in your home than a mature plant. This means fewer leaves dropping off your new plants because they’re pitching a fit about the light in your house. Here’s a list of fast-growing houseplants that will go from mini to massive in next to no time. Pothos Bob Stefko Also known as devil’s ivy, pothos (Epipremnum auereum) grows super fast, adding up to a foot a month in the right growing conditions. Indoors, the vines grow up to 5 feet long. You can train them to grow up a moss pole or trellis or put them in hanging container and let the vines trail down. Pothos comes in many varieties, including golden, ‘Marble Queen,’ Neon, N’Joy, and ‘Pearls and Jade.’ All have green leaves dappled with white, yellow, or pale green. These tropical vines are a great pick for houseplant newbies because they’re so easy to grow and thrive in low light. Syngonium Jacob Fox Also known as arrowhead vine, Syngonium podophyllum is a climbing tropical vine native to the rainforests of Mexico and Ecuador. It takes its common name from the shape of its leaves. Syngonium is fast-growing and lush, reaching a mature size of 3-6 feet long and 1-2 feet wide. Give it bright, indirect light and consistent watering, and it will scramble up a moss pole or spill from a shelf as a hanging plant. There are many Syngonium varieties with leaf colors ranging from solid green to variegated types with splashes of white, cream, and pink. For example, ‘Albo Variegata’ has dark green leaves with big splashes of white, and ‘Pink Splash’ has pink leaves with splashes of green. Philodendron Dean Schoeppner This fast-growing climbing tropical vine comes in many different varieties and colors and is easy to grow. Depending on the type, philodendron hits a mature size of between 3-12 feet long. It likes moist, well-drained soil and bright indirect light. It’s tolerant of shade, though, so it’s a good pick for a room where natural light is scarce. One popular type is heart leaf philodendron (shown here). It has deep green leaves shaped like hearts that will trail from a hanging planter or grow up a trellis or bookshelf. Heart leaf philodendron is also forgiving when it comes to watering, bouncing back quickly if you forget to water a time or two. Hoya Marty Baldwin There are around 500 hoya varieties, and not all are fast growers. However, Hoya carnosa, commonly called wax plant, grows so fast that these tropical vines are considered weeds in their native Southeast Asia. As houseplants, they wont’ take over your house, but they can grow several inches a month if you water them regularly and keep them in bright but indirect light. Hoya plants have glossy leaves and produce clusters of star-shaped flowers several times a year. Look for ‘Krimson Princess,’ which has green leaves variegated with pink and white, and ‘Krimson Queen,’ which has white or pink margins on green leaves. Put a hoya in a hanging planter by a sunny window and let its vines trail down, or train them to grow up a bookshelf, window, or archway. Begonia Kindra Clineff Begonias can double in size in two to three weeks, so they’re one of the fastest growing indoor plants out there. Some types of begonias have fancy leaves that feature dots and swirls, and they can bloom at all times of the year. Cane begonias are the speediest growers, and they are dramatic-looking plants that will make a statement in your home. Another striking houseplant is polka dot begonia, which has silver dots on green and red, wing-shaped leaves. It will grow up to 2 feet tall and produce clusters of white flowers. Monstera Elvira Kashapova / Getty Images Big, bold monstera (Monstera deliciosa) is the star of many indoor Instagram jungles, thanks to its iconic fenestrated leaves. When you buy a smaller monstera, the leaves will look completely different because they haven’t yet developed the signature splits and the plant may not be climbing yet. But as a monstera matures, it develops those striking signature leaves, a process that takes around two years. Give monstera medium to bright light and consistent watering, and guide it to grow on a moss or coir pole. It can reach 8-10 feet high and up to 6 feet wide in ideal conditions. Monstera is sometimes called Swiss cheese plant, the same name used for its smaller cousin, Monstera adansonii, which also makes a fast-growing indoor plant. Swiss Cheese Plant Jacob Fox Swiss cheese plant (Monstera adansonii) is named for its heart-shaped leaves that develop holes as the plant matures, reminiscent of Swiss cheese. It’s faster growing than its cousin, Monstera deliciosa, with an average growth rate of one to two feet a year. Indoors it will grow to a mature size of between 3-8 feet. Train it to grow up a moss poll or place a pot of Swiss cheese plant on a shelf and let its vines trail to the floor. Spider Plant Juli Lopez-Castillo Spider plants are among the easiest houseplants to grow because they tolerate both

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Hallway ideas to make a great first impression

ByCharlotte McCaughan-Hawes

An antique runner adds further colour to the hallway, which features an antique Welsh dresser sourced by Tamsyn Mason in this handsome Georgian rectory in Hampshire Christopher Horwood “It is easy to forget that an entrance hall is a room,” says decorating maestro Rita Konig. “It often receives corridor status, but it is, in fact, an important space. As the place for arrivals and departures, it sets the tone for the rest of the house, so it needs to be welcoming.” For this reason, pay as much attention to the stuff in a hallway as you would in any other room, and don’t use it as dumping ground for furniture or art that has no home elsewhere. Just because you’re moving through a space regularly to get to another room where you might spend longer, that doesn’t make it less important – if anything, it makes it more important. The hallway is nearly always the part of a house that you and your guests will encounter first, so make sure it leaves an impression, perhaps by hanging a statement piece of art in it or by introducing an unusual colour. Hallway ideas: decoration Since hallways, especially in city houses, tend to be narrow, the walls are an important feature. Opt for a warm paint colour, some elegant wall panelling, or a patterned wallpaper to lend the space character. Also consider adding wall lights, for a gentler glow than an overhead light. This is a great place to display art. We’ve seen some brilliant examples of statement pieces taking up practically an entire wall, but gallery walls are also a great option in a hallway, perhaps displaying a collection of photographs or botanical prints. “Traffic is a consideration when you are decorating,” notes Rita. “The floor, for example, has to be practical while remaining in keeping with the style of the house.” We love a flagstone hallway, or the traditional tiles you can still find in Victorian houses, but sisal or jute can also be a great, hardwearing option for this space. Don’t forget to take into account the other rooms you can see from a hallway – if you have easy views into lots of rooms or one particular room, try to keep the colours of the walls tonal, and think about positioning hallway mirrors to allow unexpected glimpses throughout the house. Pocket or sliding doors can also work well for the rooms that lead off a hallway, especially if it is a dark or narrow space, allowing the doors to be open most of the time, letting light flood in. Hallway ideas: furniture “The furniture here should be good,” continues Rita. If you have enough space, consider a hall table, either a console table that can provide a space for keys, post, along with flowers, lamps and decorative objects, or something a bit grander to go in the centre of the hallway if you have a larger space. “The hall table can be quite magnificent – just as it is in many of Robert Kime’s projects, and in William Yeoward and Colin Orchard’s house in Gloucestershire.” A bench or pair of chairs can also be a great feature, allowing people to perch and take off their shoes, or providing a place to wait as you prepare to leave the house. Hallway ideas: storage Finally, hallway storage is absolutely key if you want to maintain tidiness. Hallways are always prone to get cluttered up with shoes, bags, umbrellas, coats and other paraphernalia. A bench with storage built in underneath can be a great option, while wall-mounted storage or a simple row of hooks can work well in super small spaces. If you have a bit more room, a coat rack, wardrobe or built-in joinery can look rather distinguished.