How to Identify Types of House Plants

It is important to know what type of house plant you have in order to give the plant the finest care. If you do not know the proper watering instructions for your plant, you can easily over- or under-water the plant and kill it. If you know what type of plant you have, it's simple to obtain all of the information you will need to ensure that your plant lives a good long life.

Things You'll Need

• Camera
• Notebook
• Pen

Instructions

1. Determine the shape of the leaves. Are they oval, short, round or long and skinny? The shape of the leaves is a simple way to identify a house plant. For example, an angel-wing begonia has angular leaves with a wing shape.

2. Write down the color of the leaves. Most people associate plant leaves with the color green, but there are many shades of green. Are the leaves white, yellow or gray?

3. Determine if the plant has flowers. What color are the flowers? Does the plant bloom all year or only occasionally? Are the flower blooms small or large?

4. Pay attention to the height of the house plant. Is the plant tall and thin, or short and wide?

5. Feel the texture of the leaves. They may be smooth, rough or rubbery. Most house plants have fine, medium or course texture.

Tips & Warnings

• If you go to a local nursery to identify your plant, be sure to take a photo.

• Observe every part of the plant. Some plants look a lot alike, yet the flowers may be different colors--or the plant may not have flowers at all.