Team green

Maya Quin was on a school excursion as a five-year-old when she realised just how much she loved plants. “There was a line of smooth-barked eucalyptus trees that were so nice to touch. I hugged each one saying, ‘I love you, tree’.”

Now 16, Maya’s fascination with plants is unwavering. She enthusiastically tends the family’s Mornington Peninsula garden with her dad, devours gardening books from cover to cover and, as I’m sure most gardeners will appreciate, drools at the sight of a pile of soil or mulch.

It’s fair to say, however, that indoor foliage plants have her heart, and not just because her favourite colour is green.

“I know my indoor plants individually, and although I love flowers and their big personalities, my preference is for leafy plants,” she says. “They’re more subtle about what they have to offer, and they don’t boast about it. I feel closer to indoor foliage plants – they look good all year and give off a different vibe than flowers.”

It was a single monstera that Maya received on her eighth birthday that fuelled her passion. The gift was from her parents, Andy and Jason, who were keen to nurture her obvious love of the natural world.

Eight years on, the monstera is thriving, along with its progeny dotted about the house. “They produce aerial roots at the nodes, so I chop off the stem at that point and either put them into water or stick them in potting mix and they grow.”

Nowadays, that first plant is simply one of an ever-expanding crowd, and a “funky” purple alocasia is the latest kid on the block. While Maya admits that its “really cool leaves” were partly what drew her to it, her selection criteria for plants is more discerning now. “There’s not much light in this room and there’s a lot of humidity because I mist the plants every day, so I wouldn’t grow succulents in here. I research where a plant comes from and what conditions they like, and I tend to choose tropical plants.”

She prefers plain, self-watering pots in neutral colours that allow the foliage to stand out. Maya’s care routine for all her plants includes a twice-monthly ‘spa day’, when all residents are taken outside for some extra TLC. “I use the shower setting on the hose to soak the soil, and then the mister on their leaves. Next, I wipe them all with a face washer to remove dust, then I trim off any dead foliage.”

It seems likely that Maya also benefits from these pampering sessions, as this is when she feels especially connected with her plants.

“They all have different personalities and energy, and when I water them, I can tell they’re happy.”

Her feeding regime is less regular. “People say you should feed them every 2–4 weeks, but I fertilise with worm wee, liquid food or pellets every 2–3 months and they all seem to be doing fine!”

Maya has learnt the nuances of each plant, and adjusts potting mix accordingly when it’s time to re-pot, adding perlite or coir peat. “Monsteras prefer a well-drained ‘barky’ type mix rather than a soil-based
mix, because in the wild they grow by attaching themselves to trees.”

Although she has never been one to play favourites, Maya has a particularly good relationship with her maidenhair fern. “It was my second plant ever, and although maidenhairs can sometimes be hard to take care of, I’ve kept mine alive for over six years. When you get ferns to look good, it’s so rewarding.”

Maya uses a wide range of products, depending on what she can afford or is given. “I usually buy everything myself, so I don’t choose the most expensive because I’m on a tight budget! I buy young plants, as they’re cheaper, and grow the little guys on.”

Maya’s love of the natural world runs in the family. Her younger brother, Darby, loves birds, and her maternal grandfather studied botany and discovered an orchid in Papua New Guinea. Maya intends
to study plants one day too, and her preferred area of expertise comes as no surprise to those who know her.

“I love flowers, but if I could choose only one area of study, I’d choose indoor and outdoor foliage plants. Maybe that’s because my favourite colour is green!”

Header image credit: Willow Creative