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Sprout / The departments

Plants

The plant finderFor indoorsFor outdoors

The useful details

Understand the lightChoose a potCare notesAt the nursery
A variegated spider plant in a terracotta pot
Start with the space you have.
Make a plant enquiry

Plants for your kind of space

Plants for
the space
you have.

Find a plant for the light you have, a pot with room to grow and a few care notes worth keeping.

Find a starting plant
A spider plant with arching striped leaves
A cast-iron plant with upright dark leaves
Rosemary growing in a broad terracotta container

At Sprout

The right place
comes before the plant.

A sunny patio and a shaded room are different growing places. Start with the light, the space and the conditions around the pot, then look at the plants that make sense there.

The plant finder

Start with
the light and the room.

Choose the light and space you have to compare three plants. Consider your local climate and each plant’s care needs before deciding.

3 plant examples

A guide to light

Look at the window.
Then look at the spot.

A room can feel bright while a shelf across it receives much less light. Notice direct sun, shade from outside and the distance between the window and the plant.

Read the light guide
WINDOW

Direct sun on the leaves?

Bright room, indirect light?

Further from the window?

A greenhouse garden shop filled with potted plants

At the nursery

Come for a plant.
Bring the details of its home.

Around the nursery

A planted pot

The pot is part
of the growing space.

Roots need room and water needs somewhere to go. A decorative outer pot and a growing container can do different jobs, so look at how they work together.

Plan the container
A varied group of potted houseplants at the nursery

For the room

Different leaves.
Different habits.

Some plants arch over a pot. Some hold their leaves upright. The mature shape matters when you are choosing for a shelf, a stand or a space on the floor.

Indoor plant notes

For a sunny container

Rosemary for
a sunny spot.

Full sun and free drainage set rosemary apart from the indoor foliage examples. A container also brings its own watering and weather considerations.

Outdoor plant notes
A rosemary plant in a terracotta pot outdoors

Keep the care useful

Notice the plant.
Notice the pot.

Watering needs change with the plant, weather, season and container. A fixed weekly rule is less useful than understanding the conditions you are working with.

Care notes

Before a plant conversation

A few details help.

  1. The light

    Whether sun reaches the spot directly and for which part of the day.

  2. The space

    The surface, pot size and room available for the plant’s shape.

  3. The setting

    Indoors or outdoors, with temperature and weather in mind.