Decorating Your Camper with House Plants

By nuCamp

Published on February 8, 2021 under

Are you looking for ways to update the interior of your camper and add some natural touches? If so, live plants might be just what you need. Whether your preference is for greenery, flowering plants or herbs for your favorite recipes, it’s easy to find the right one that will fit in your home-on-wheels, whether it’s petite or the biggest one on the market.

But first, a few things to consider before you start planting your mobile “garden”:

If you’re traveling with a cat or dog, check ASPCA’s Poisonous Plants: Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants List, since some are poisonous to animals.

Crossing state lines or country borders? For interstate travel, check the USDA regulations and Department of Agriculture rules for individual states. Heading to Canada? Review Canada’s rules before entering with your potted plants. Planning to bring any north-of-the-border plants as souvenirs back to the U.S.? Review these policies

To avoid questions about the safety of the soil your plants are in, consider growing plants hydroponically to solve that issue. This article from The Spruce has information on hydroponics, or make it easier and buy a hydroponic system.

Plants need light, and some need more than others. Harvest Hosts recommends selecting greenery that will thrive with the moderate to bright indirect light that’s typical of the lighting in campers. Then, be guided by their response, and move them if they want more or less light.

Unlike bricks-and-sticks locations, your camper will move, which means you need a way to keep the containers from shifting, falling and dumping the plants. The Motorized Home recommends using lightweight pots that won’t break easily, reducing the weight of the soil by mixing it with perlite, and securing the pots before you head back out on the road.

Not sure how green your thumb is? Check out these online growing guides for help: Gardenista: Houseplants: A Field Guide, Houseplant411: The How-To on Houseplant Identification, Care, Info, and Advice and Apartment Therapy—Encyclopedia of Houseplants.

Ready to pick a plant? Check out these options suggested by DoItYourselfRV, RVShare, The Motorized Home, Motorhomes2GO, Barber Homestead Park and Gillette’s Interstate RV.