Searching for some lush interior design inspiration? Our Introduction to Indoor Plants course is ideal for homeowners or gardeners wanting to indulge their passion and create naturally beautiful spaces. It will also offer inspiration to nursery workers, horticulturalists, florists, interior designers, plant suppliers and event managers who want to gain the commercial skills to choose, grow, maintain and sell indoor plants.

This indoor plants course will teach you how to identify hundreds of indoor plants and understand the optimal growing conditions for specific plant varieties. You will also learn about acclimatisation, and how to innovatively present plants for indoor environments like workplaces and at special events.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking an indoor plants course include:

• Learning about plant naming and pronunciation
• Reviewing indoor plant families
• Understanding interior environments
• Studying plants for different light conditions
• Gaining insights into problems with indoor plants
• Learning about potting media and how to pot up
• Exploring container selection
• Gaining an understanding of container selection
• Studying how to manage plant nutrition
• Gaining insights into pruning indoor plants
• Understanding how to propagate and care for young indoor plants
• Learning how to acclimatize indoor plants
• Exploring how to help plants survive neglect
• Studying how to manage plant health indoors
• Gaining insights into foliage plants
• Understanding how to grow palms inside
• Learning about palm genera
• Exploring how to select and grow ferns inside
• Studying other foliage plant genera
• Gaining insights into flowering plants
• Examining orchids, African violets and poinsettia
• Understanding other genera grown for flowers indoors
• Learning about herbs, vines and climbers
• Exploring how to make the best use of indoor plants
• Deciding where to place an indoor plant
• Studying how to manage colour and use mirrors
• Gaining insights into plants in baskets
• Understanding indoor hydroponics
• Learning about miniature gardens
• Exploring the interior plantscaping industry
• Studying how to grow in greenhouses
• Gaining insights into environmental control

And more!

Inspiring Indoor Plant Trends for 2021

If you’re interested in an indoor plants course, you may come across the Swiss cheese plant (monstera deliciosa) and the fiddle-leaf fig (ficus lyrata), which have recently been at the forefront of the indoor plant phenomena. However, if you’re ready to test your green thumb out on a few new feature plants, check out our top picks for 2021. 

Cacti and Succulents

Did you know that Australia is the earth’s driest inhabited continent? And with water restrictions in place and widespread drought across the country, it’s no surprise that succulents and cacti are becoming increasingly popular in gardens and homes. Hardy and drought-tolerant, there are literally thousands of unique and beautiful varieties to choose from. And the best bit? They’re virtually indestructible, so are perfect for novice gardeners.

Banana Palm

Take your greenery obsession to the next level with a banana palm, which will not only turn your home into a tropical paradise but add a touch of drama to your interiors as well. Also known as ornamental bananas, one of the more popular varieties is the Red Banana (Musa velutina), which has yellow flowers and reddish leaves. Other varieties include Musa zebrina, which has beautifully striped leaves, and Musa acuminata, which is renowned for its fragrant, edible fruit. 

Olive Tree

Did you know the olive tree is the oldest cultivated tree in the world? And it’s not surprising given they can survive with little water and poor soils, and their thin, hard leaves are adapted to expertly prevent water loss. Typically an outdoor plant, they are becoming an increasingly popular choice for indoor gardeners. Olive trees flourish in locations with cool winters and hot dry summers, and with their thin grey branches and soft green leaves, make an elegant interior design statement.

Cast Iron Plant

Although its name may be at odds with this plant’s soft, wispy leaves, the Aspidistra Elatior is aptly named because of its ability to withstand even the most adverse conditions. Not to be confused with the Peace Lily (which has similarly shaped leaves), it has evergreen leaves that rise up from rhizomatous roots to create a stunning leafy and lush display. 

Narrow-leaf Fig

A distant cousin of the fiddle leaf fig, Ficus longifolia is one of the new favourites in homes as an indoor pot plant or feature plant. It has an elegant, delicate and graceful branching habit that lends itself to the light and airy interiors that are so ‘now’ in the interior decorating world. This plant can grow up to ten metres, and if kept indoors, prefers cooler climates and shaded or part-shaded areas.

Five Indoor Plants Native to Australia

Australia has a wide range of native plants that grow wonderfully well indoors. Once you’ve completed our inspirational indoor plants course, you may find yourself becoming a collector who is always looking for something new! Like these beauties …

#1 – Kentia Palm

The Howea forsteriana is so well-known, many gardeners will be unaware that it actually originated on Lord Howe Island, which is located around 600 kilometres off the coast of Australia. It has a thin, slender trunk with feather-shaped, drooping fronds, and flowers annually around November. When young, the trunk is dark green but it turns brown as it ages. They are adaptable to a variety of conditions, including indoor challenges like air conditioning, central heating and low sunlight exposure!

#2 – Moreton Bay Chestnut

Native to coastal beaches and rainforests, the Castanospermum australe is a hardy tree with glossy, dark green leaves and yellow and red pea-shaped flowers that appear from October to November. They flower again March to May where they produce cylindrical pods that look like large magic beans. It makes an ideal indoor plant as it tolerates low, filtered light, and can be propagated from seedlings … the more the merrier we say!

#3 – Palm Lily

The Cordyline stricta is a tall, narrow plant that produces an upright trunk with strappy, drooping leaves. It produces beautiful pale purple flowers in summer followed by black berries (the only Australian Cordyline species to do so). When grown in an indoor pot, it can reach three metres in height and has a sparser, compact growth habit. It is tolerant of low water and light, so is an attractive and low maintenance choice for an indoor ornamental plant.

#4 – Umbrella Tree

Schefflera actinophylla is so easy to grow that it’s actually classified as a weed in parts of its native Queensland! It is a multi-trunk tree that can grow to over 15 metres outdoors, but regular pruning will maintain the required size indoors. If you are concerned, you could also consider the dwarf version, Schefflera arboricola. Regardless, this is a striking plant with glossy green leaves that drape down like an umbrella from its long stem. It makes for striking feature plants when grown in a decorative pot.

#5 – Dragon Tails Plant

A beautiful fast-growing indoor plant, Epipremnum pinnatum has deep green leaves that split from their edges to their centres with lush new growth that resembles … you guessed it! A dragon’s tail. They require very little care indoors and can be grown in hanging baskets or in pots with a totem to cling to … as they love to climb! They prefer low light, filtered positions as they mimic the shade that would be offered by a taller tropical tree’s canopy in their natural environment.

 

Make educated and inspirational decisions about how to select, grow, care for and sell indoor plants with indoor plant courses such as our Introduction to Indoor Plants.