The cultivation of aromatic plants indoors is becoming more popular every day, since they are species that need very little care and provide a large number of benefits, from merely their pleasant smell to their use as culinary ingredients or spices and their ability to keep some insects away.
If you want to know what aromatic plants can be grown at home and how aromatic plants are cared for, keep reading us in this article, in which we will talk about some names of common fragrant indoor plants, such as mint, lavender, or basil. Its characteristics and care. Discover these 11 aromatic indoor plants!
Fragrant indoor plants
Basil
It is one of the most used aromatic herbs for its freshness and flavor, but above all, its intoxicating aroma. Basil, which will brighten up any corner of your home, needs little care to stay in good condition, always fresh and giving off that pleasant perfume. You only need to place it in a place where it does not get direct sunlight and in a well-drained pot.
Coriander
Coriander is another of the aromatic plants for cooking. It also requires effortless care and similar to that of the rest of its family: they prefer to grow in a semi-shady place, with a light substrate not significant changes in temperature. Coriander is one of the most used aromatic plants in Canarian cuisine, as it is used to make multiple sauces, among which is the well-known mojo.
Tarragon
Although it is also an aromatic plant used in cooking, Tarragon is not as well known as the rest. It is often used as a dressing in sauces to give them a touch of aroma, especially in sauces for salads or directly fresh in them.
The care of potted tarragon to have him as one of the aromatic houseplants are also very simple. You will only have to make sure that it is in a place with a lot of light, with good drainage, and remember that it tolerates well neither ambient humidity nor puddles on the ground or frost.
Dill
In addition to being used for cooking, especially to combine with fish such as salmon, dill is a plant also known for its medicinal properties, so it should be used in our dishes.
Like other aromatic houseplants , the dill inside is a plant that only needs moderate watering and needs to be a place where light the sun every day, but not directly.
Peppermint
Peppermint is one of the most used aromatic plants in international cuisine. Besides offering an exquisite aroma to our dishes, drinks, and our home, it is a highly decorative indoor aromatic plant.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the most widely used aromatic plants for interior decoration. Not only for its elegant flowers but for its soft aroma. Also, this plant has perfect medicinal properties to make an infusion to relax or to regulate sleep.
Laurel
Bay leaves are used in cooking, both fresh and dried. However, if we decide to plant this potted plant, it will need a little of your attention to prevent it from spoiling quickly. This is one of the aromatic indoor plants with little natural light required for its growth. It is also recommended not to give it too much because it does not tolerate humidity well, so we must provide a container with good drainage.
Mint
Mint is one of the most widely used aromatic plants in confectionery for its fresh aroma and flavor. As with peppermint, mint needs regular watering, a rich substrate, a well-draining pot, and be placed in a bright area of the house.
Parsley
The parsley plant is used in almost all Mediterranean cuisine recipes, and it is also a very easy plant to grow in a pot, as it only requires semi-shade and regular watering so that the substrate is always somewhat damp. It is advisable to keep potted parsley inside regularly or permanently to avoid sudden temperature changes.
Rosemary
Although rosemary is an outdoor shrub, we can also have it inside our home. All you need is to be in a place outside, or right next to a window that you usually open, and where it receives the sunlight for as long as possible. Having rosemary on hand, in addition to being essential for many stews and very good for our health, is considered a sign of good luck and fortune for the home.
Thyme
Finally, we also want to talk about the thyme plant, an aromatic plant that we can also have indoors and medicinal properties. It does not need much care. You have to be careful that it does not accumulate moisture and that the container where you have it has good drainage.
How to care for fragrant indoor plants?
Of course, all plants, aromatic or not, are outdoors, as long as there is a suitable climate for them. However, many can be grown indoors, but you have to carefully monitor each one’s needs to adjust the environmental conditions. For example, if we have a plant that requires a lot of ambient humidity, we cannot have it in an area where there is little humidity because there is heating or air conditioning that dries the environment.
Thus, caring for aromatic plants indoors is quite simple since most of them require very little care. However, some general tips can help you keep your potted aromatic plant growing in optimal condition.
The first thing will always be to identify each species’ individual needs and group those that coincide. Prioritize those whose life cycles are the same and separate the perennials from the biannual and annual.
If you group them by their irrigation needs, you will also make their care much more comfortable, since although they tend to be undemanding in this regard, they do not all need the same amount of water. At this point, it is always better to go short than to overdo it, as these little plants tend not to withstand excess moisture.
Please take advantage of the fact that these are species of easy reproduction and take cuttings often, which will allow you to have more of these useful and pleasant plants, either to keep them or to give to your close friends.
If you have problems and don’t know why aromatic plants are dying indoors, pay attention again and look for their individual needs for light, temperature, and water. If you keep these three critical points in good order and use a substrate with good drainage, light, and airy, you should not have problems.
