5 Ways Succulents and Foliage Brighten Your Home During Winter

This post was created by our friends at Wild Interiors®. Be sure to ask your Heinen’s Floral Associate for more information on their beautiful succulents and foliage. 

When the weather outside is frightful, you need to make the inside of your home more delightful! Whether you take a lesson from Denmark and turn your home into a haven of hygge (a lifestyle involving coziness and warmth – pronounced “hue-guh” or “hoo-guh”) or you simply want to inject a little more color into your decor to contrast with the dull grey of January, our friends from Wild Interiors® have you covered with these indoor decorating tips to brighten your home during winter. It all depends on what you want to accomplish with your new leafy friends!

Please keep in mind, plant varieties vary from store to store, but each category has a few options for you!

If You Want Better Sleep

All plants release oxygen, but most plants reduce their oxygen output during the night since they aren’t getting energy from the sun. However, some plants use the night hours to take up extra CO2 and save it for the next day, which means more oxygen and fresh air in your room while you sleep. Other plants absorb mold spores and other nasties from the air, which again means healthier sleep for you!

Great choices for better sleep include Sansevieria (Snake Plant), Succulents, Pothos, and Spider Plant.

 If You Want Humidity

Houseplants release water into the air as they exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen, which means ambient humidity will increase. This is great news for those of us who experience dry skin and hair in the winter as the heat gets turned up in our homes.

Some of the best humidity-boosting plants include Dieffenbachia, Arrowhead Vine, and Pothos thanks to the larger surface area of their leaves. More leaves = more pores = more humidity. But some smaller-leaved plants, like Ivy, are humidity powerhouses too.

If You Want Cleaner Air

Pretty much any houseplant will help cleanse the air of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) like xylene, benzene, formaldehyde, and more. Some also scrub airborne mold and mildew particles. Thanks to a large study by NASA, we know the top houseplants for cleaner air, as recommended by the pros.

For cleaner, healthier indoor air, check out Spider Plant, Pothos, Ivy, and Sansevieria.

If You Want Bright Color

There is nothing like a bright pop of color in your home at any time of the year, but especially in the wintertime when it’s dreary out. Honestly, once the winter holidays are over, it’s just an expanse of slushy streets, homogenous horizons, and frigid flurries until the spring thaw makes us feel whole again in tee shirts and flip flops. (It’s too early to be this over winter, send help please). What’s there to do but bring the joys of spring and summer inside while you wait?

For beautiful living decorations, try these foliage plants! Spider plant (its bright stripy foliage stands out in a crowd), Fittonia (available in white or red!), Peperomia (its speckled leaves are sure to please), and Zebrina (it’s purple and green with shimmery silver stripes). If you’re more of a succulent person, try the Echeveria Red Prince or Echeveria Red Sky (both shades of purpley pink).

If You Want Low Maintenance

You know plants have health benefits, come in a variety of colors for any decor, and can help you feel better in general. Sometimes it just comes down to how easy it is to take care of! Some plants are especially well suited for people with busy schedules, lots of travel plans, or who just can’t deal with a new routine right now. There is stuff to do, you can’t be babysitting a needy plant, right?

If this is your ideal plant situation, check out these low maintenance plants: Succulents (keep ‘em warm and sunny, water very sparingly), Sansevieria, or ZZ Plant (both can go weeks without watering). You’ll get all the benefits of plants and be able to relax about your watering schedule!

 Where to Find Your Ideal Plant

Obviously, come visit your local Heinen’s! We have a variety of Wild Interiors® plants available to meet any of your needs. Wild Interiors® plants are the perfect shelf size in 5” pots and they fit easily into any decor. Spruce up your home on the inside while you wait for spring to come!

By Heinen's Grocery Store

In 1929, Joe Heinen opened the doors of a small butcher shop on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, aiming to establish himself as the city’s purveyor of quality meats. As customers came into Heinen’s new shop for their meat purchases, they began asking him to carry groceries as well. Joe added homemade peanut butter, pickles and donuts and by 1933, business had grown enough to include a line of produce and canned goods. Heinen’s Grocery Store was born.