Caroline Shelnut tends to her plant collection. (Photo by Jay Paul)
The last time she checked, Caroline Shelnut had over 240 houseplants. “I haven’t counted recently,” she says. With the exception of the bathroom and the whiskey room, where there is no natural light, there are plants growing in every room of her Oregon Hill home. “It’s about mental health for me. I grew up in the country. This is like coming home. It relaxes me.”
There is another human who lives in Shelnut’s home as well — a patient husband who puts up with her passion for plants. “We’ve had some serious discussions about surfaces that I can’t put a plant on,” Shelnut says. “The kitchen counter, his computer workstation and the garage are all off-limits.” Otherwise, she is free to grow wherever she wants in what he likes to call “the greenhouse.”
The collecting began in high school, then she remembers carrying a 6-inch pothos plant home in her backpack as a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2006. (Today, its tendrils trail over 20 feet.) She worked at three different greenhouses, monetizing a lifelong love of plants to support herself during college. Many of her favorite specimens are rescues from that time. When a client didn’t want to bring a giant Chinese fan palm and a macho fern inside for the winter, she adopted them. Her employee discount made it easy to give in to temptation, and her collection grew.
Altogether, Shelnut spends about two hours a week watering. She keeps plants that require water every few days in the kitchen, close to the sink. Upstairs in the “plant room,” where 70% of her collection grows, it takes about an hour to water them all, in addition to about 45 minutes for the rest of the house. “I move them all outside in May and back inside in October,” she explains. “It’s easier to water them outside, and they love the summer sun.”
Shelnut’s favorite plants are aroids. “Tropical plants with big, lush green leaves like philodendron, monstera and anthurium make me very happy, like I’m living in an indoor jungle,” she says. Color also appeals to her — shades of chartreuse, silver and burgundy that contrast sharply with their green backdrop.
Experience has taught Shelnut how to care for her collection, but nothing lives forever. “If I lose a plant, it goes into the compost bin and helps nourish the garden next year,” she says. “That way I don’t feel so bad about it.”
Caroline Shelnut’s Tips for Novice Plant Collectors
- Begin with a manageable number of plants that require a reasonable level of care.
- Put plants in a place where the light is right for their particular requirements.
- Fertilize each one according to its needs in the spring and summer when they are growing.
- Water judiciously.
