How to Identify Indoor Plants
To give a houseplant the best care possible you need to know what type of indoor plant it is. Sometimes plants are acquired through family, friends and stores, and you may have no idea what type of plant it is. It may take a bit of detective work but there are some great resources to help you identify indoor plants. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Examine your plant and pay close attention to the size, shape and color of the leaves. The physical characteristics of leaves are an important key to identify indoor plants. Keep in mind that young or unhealthy plants will look different than a mature, healthy one. If you have a flowering plant the appearance of the flower will help as well.
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Do research on the internet and check out websites that have pictures for you to compare your plant to others. A good online resource can be found at the Texas A&M University, Department of Horticulture's website. It is set up so that you can browse by picture, common name or scientific name.
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Take a picture and ask for help online to identify indoor plants. The UBC Botanical Gardens and Gardenweb.com both have message boards set up specifically for you to add your photo and ask for help about identification.
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Bring a picture of your indoor plant to a nursery or garden center in your area to see if you can find a similar house plant there. You can also ask staff for help with identification. If you do not have a camera take a leaf of the plant for comparison.
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Go to the library. Most libraries have various books with hundreds of pictures for you to browse to find a match for your house plant. Sometimes books have a lot more pictures of species and subspecies with very detailed information.
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Buy a guide to identify indoor plants. Many gardening centers have inexpensive books or booklets with pictures to use for identification.
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Tips & Warnings
Sometimes the leaves of your plant make look a bit different than others of the same variety with slight variations; it may be a subspecies of the plant. Usually care of the plant is the same throughout the species.
