Tropical house plants are commonplace in our lives, offices and in our homes. However, they often get put off in a corner and more or less forgotten about, that is until they grab your attention because they look so bad. The care they need in order to look beautiful is much less time consuming than you might think.

If you follow a few basic placement guidelines and consistently provide a bit of care for your indoor plants they will look their best all year round. The don't require very much time, just 30 minutes at the most each month in addition to watering will be enough. In order for your plants to be really happy, think about it from their point of view, remember where most of them naturally come from: The Tropics.

For the best looking tropical plants you need to recreate that environment as best as you can. It's quite easy to establish a nice environment for them with minimal effort. These are some basic guidelines:

• Tropical plants love skylights, windows and humidity (bright bathrooms are perfect)
• They don't like to be moved once you've given them a place in your home or office
• They don't like to be touched excessively or put in main walkways where the leaves get brushed frequently
• They don't like cold drafts but do like air flow
• Most don't like direct rays of sunlight
• Most of them love to be misted (with a few exceptions like the hairy ones, such as African violet)
• Wipe their leaves with a soft, damp cloth when they get dusty, this helps with humidity as well
• Trim off the dead branches and leaves with scissors or pruners.
• They like mild regular feedings in the growing season with a half strength fertilizer mixture

There are even several tropical plants that are a great match for the so-called "brown thumb", meaning the person that kills every plant near them. There are several that will tolerate poor conditions, low light and sporadic care and still come back to vibrancy with a bit of water and attention.

Two varieties that I would recommend to the brown thumbs are Pothos and Sansevieria (Snake plant). These are two of the toughest to kill and easiest to keep alive indoor plants you'll find. They will take months worth of neglect and still come back with the slightest improvement in care. The Snake plant likes to be left alone and even prefers to be neglected. It can die if you water it incorrectly and give it attention!

Pothos is recommended for the brown thumb as well. It and a few others will grow nicely in several different lighting situations, and keep growing even if you forget to water it for a bunch of days or weeks. If the leaves begin to go limp, well then it's time to water! The plant will accept this kind of treatment and perk right back up again with a splash of water like nothing ever happened.

If you follow the above suggestions and recommendations you will surely have better success with your indoor plant garden. Basic tropical plant care is easy. Let me know if you need help.