Get Your Kids Into Houseplant Hobby
by Pamela Kock

Growing houseplants can be a rewarding hobby and add beauty to your home. It’s a pastime you can share with your kids, too; houseplants can be a valuable learning tool. But how can you get your kids interested in something that just sits on the table and needs watering every few days?

Children as young as three can benefit from learning to care for houseplants. There are several approaches to encouraging an interest and developing young minds. Houseplants are versatile and there are so many different varieties, you’re bound to find one that will intrigue your child. Some grow fast and need constant attention, some are slow growers and thrive on neglect. Here are some ideas.

Nurturing Skills and Responsibility

Has your child expressed an interest in keeping a pet? Why not start simple: give her a “baby” plant to take care of. Choose an easy-care, fast growing variety such as a pothos, philodendron, or spider plant. Let her name it – she can paint or draw its name on the pot. Your child should be responsible for choosing its location, watering the plant, and re-potting when necessary. If the plant lives, she may be ready for a fish.

Science

Budding scientists will find a wealth of learning opportunities with houseplants. Try growing “fun plants” such as carrot tops, avocados, date palms from pits, or sweet potatoes. Germinate seeds from a variety of plants, including those that usually belong outdoors. Which seedlings grow well on the windowsill, and which get leggy and flop over from insufficient light?

Let your child take a plant out of its pot and examine it. Identify the different parts of the plant: roots, stem, leaf, leaf veins, petioles, flowers, and the parts of the flower. Do all plants have roots? Do they all have stems, leaves, flowers? What does each part do for the plant? How does a plant reproduce? Why might a flowering indoor plant not produce seeds?

Take two or more of the same plant and grow it in different conditions, and compare them. Does a plant with variegated foliage lose its color if grown in low light? Does it grow slower? What happens if the light is too bright? Experiment with watering levels. How many days without water before the plant wilts? Some plants, such as the peace lily, perk up within an hour or two of being watered. Why do the stems lower when the soil is dry, and raise back up when it’s moist?

Sensory Experiences

If you have a variety of houseplants, let your child feel the leaves. Some feel fuzzy, some slick and smooth. Some leaves are tough and leathery, some are soft and fragile. (Be careful with dieffenbachia, or dumb cane. Don’t allow your child to tear the leaves or stems if he has an open sore or cut on his hand, and make sure he washes his hands immediately – contact with the sap can be painful.) Smell flowers. Some have no scent, some smell pleasant, and others have a distinctly strange odor. If you have a plant with colorful foliage such as a croton or coleus, how many distinct colors can your child pick out and name?

Grow edible plants and let your child taste them. Chives, basil, mint, sage, and other herbs do well on a windowsill. If you have a large sunny window, you can even grow strawberries, lettuce, peppers, okra, or other produce that takes up minimal space. Try citrus such as oranges or lemons – there are varieties specifically bred for growing indoors. How do the oranges taste? Are they sweet like the ones from the grocery store, or bitter and sour?

Art

Perhaps the most obvious way to involve your child with houseplants is to let her decorate the containers. Paint terra-cotta pots. Choose unique containers such as juice cans, baskets, margarine tubs, and embellish them by gluing on buttons, feathers, pine cones, dried flowers, beads. Try making macrame’ plant hangers.

Arrange the plants together in larger containers. Create mini-landscapes, complete with grass and miniature buildings. Let your child decide what plants look good together; offer help with choosing plants with compatible care requirements.

Houseplants don’t have to be static objects that simply sit on a table, collecting dust and little attention. While involving kids with the care of plants means taking chances and potentially losing a few, many are easy to propagate and the benefits far outweigh the risks. Let your children be creative and curious, at least with a few plants that you select. You may be surprised at how much they learn in the process – they might even teach you a thing or two!