As the Garden Grows

What's blooming today?


You are here: Home / Archives for In The Garden / House Plants

House Plants with Interesting Foliage

by

I know some people that don’t keep any houseplants at all. My in-laws for example are people that have no greenery other than the occasional fake plants or silk flowers in their house. Others I know take it perhaps too far and have rooms upon rooms filled with plants.

What could be better for elevating ones mood during the cold days of autumn and into winter than working with an indoor garden of lush and tropical houseplants? New varieties of indoor plants, prized for their foliage, colourful leaves or highlights upon the leaves, disease resistance and improved hardiness are coming onto the market. These plants can be hard to find but if you let your local garden center or nursery know that you are interested in plants with such features they can inform you when these types of plants arrive.

Plants such as Anthurium are not used as often as they could and should be. Cultivars of anthurium like Lipstick in pink, Mia, Trampelino, and Vesuvio are fast growing, compact plants with distinctive flat heart-shaped blooms. Purple Viking blooms are dark purple and continue for eight to ten weeks. It’s also disease and heat tolerant. Other varieties of anthurium known as the lady assortment have dark green, disease resistant foliage. Plants with these features ae called Lady Anne, and Lady beth.

A fern that has a lovely wide display of glossy fronds with ruffled edges is called Asplenium antiquum ‘Victoria’. this fern catches the eye with it’s new leaves emerging from the center of the plant, gracefully arching as they mature.

the ‘Saber’ ficus has long, lance-shaped, dark-green leaves, and unlike many other ficus species it tolerates a wide range of light, temperature and watering conditions without dropping it’s leaves. The Saber ficus grows into a compact tree form.

Pandanus baptistii is a plant with a very tropical appearance, featuring graceful arching, lance-shaped leaves that spiral symmetrically around the main stem. This plant requires medium light levels.

It can be hard to find plants that thrive in low to medium light, but camry philodendron is one such plant that is perfect for these kinds of conditions. It’s a compact plant, with a trailing habit. New leaves emerge in a deep, red-bronze color that matures to a dark, glossy green. Breynia disticha roseo-picta is an unusually coloured plant, with burgundy-colored stems and oval-shaped, emerald-green leaves with variegations of burgundy, pink, and white. This house plant grows to 3 feet tall and needs bright light.






Lovely Flowering Houseplants

by

Many people have leafy green houseplants here and there within their homes, but many do not attempt to grow flowering houseplants. Why is this? Do they think that they plants are too difficult? I’ve found that some flowering houseplants are easier to keep than some of the tropical green plants that I’ve butchered over the years. Amaryllis come to mind instantly as a fairly easy winter blooming plant that you could have indoors.

I always find it almost magical when some of my houseplants begin to bloom- particularly if it’s in the dead of winter. I eagerly watch as the first buds appear, and then as the bud grows and begins to bloom. I’m amazed every time. Perhaps I’m easily amazed but I think it’s almost miraculous.

Some house plants that tend to be easy to care for, and that will bloom readily are African violets. I must admit that I’ve only had success with one plant – and it died this summer after surviving for two years. I think I gave it too much care, because I know many other non gardeners who’s African violets are thriving and I’m sure they get very little care.

Unlike many plants, African Violets do not have a dormant period. If they are happy, and conditions are satisfactory they continue to grow and bloom year round. One of the most common causes for African violets failure to bloom is insufficient light. They need to be near a bright sunny area to thrive.

The African Violet has several relatives that make good flowering houseplants as well. For example, the Episcia are fibrous-rooted trailers grown for metallic-toned and delicately veined foliage.

Chznet has fringed white flowers with purple spots, and Acajou has bright red flowers. Oh the possibilities! Neither of these plants need as much light as as African Violets, and both can make attractive hanging basket plants as well.

Miniature Sinningia are lovely in terrariums or in small pots of 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Flower colors include red, lavender, and white. Cape primrose give home owners and outstanding show of flowers, and hybrids are available in several colours such as white, purple and pink. These plants enjoy semi shaded window sills and grow about 10 inches tall.

You may be interested in growing exotic flowers in your home. Bromeliads are easy and popular in the last few years. The Pineapple, aechmea and Billbergia are popular and reward the owners with lovely colour combinations of pink bracts and blue flowers which last for weeks.

Other flowering plants that you might consider are:

Abutilon (Flowering Maple) – large hollyhock like blooms of orange, pink, white, red or salmon. Shrub like, needs bright light.

Aphelandra or Zebra Plant – Shiny, deep-green leaves veined white. needs filtered or diffused sunlight.

Stapelia or Starfish Flower – Large Star-shaped flowers, velvety brown in color. Unfortunately the flowers smell like dead meat, and this plant is sometimes called the Carrion flower.

Plants that are often grown outdoors in the summer and then abandoned to the elements during the cool winter months can make good indoor plants as well if they are given sufficient light to survive- Fuchsia, Impatiens, Begonia, Geranium, Lantana, and Browalia do well. Care should be used to avoid bringing in insect pests when you move these plants indoors.

Sometimes people get plants such as Poinsettias, Easter Lilies, Cyclamen, and Cineraria to survive – I’ve had the first three in my home for the last five years myself – but they can be difficult as they need periods of cooling and adequate humidity to survive.

Controlling house plant pests

by

In many parts of North America and other areas of the world gardeners have traded their backyard gardening for indoor houseplant gardening. Bringing some plants in from outdoors, and tending to others that are indoors all year round.

Every home owner who keeps houseplants will encounter, at one time or another the dreaded house plant pests. Little bugs that you can often barely see that start to suck on the leaves or burrow into the stems and cause parts of the plant or the leaves to die. If measures aren’t taken to eradicate these pests quickly a whole plant could die.

There are only five major groups of insect and mite pests on house plants, they are very difficult to control and highly persistent, once established. Not only that- but many types of house plants re sensitive to pesticides when they are used on them, plus pesticides used indoors can be quite dangerous to the home owner, small children and household pets.

The three steps to controlling pests are:

Step 1 . Know how to recognize at least the major insect and mite pests that attack foliage plants: aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, whiteflies, and spider mites.

Step 2. Prevent the introduction of pests into the home or existing plant specimen arrangements:
a) buy or propagate only pest-free plants;
b) keep new plants separated from other plants for 4 to 6 weeks to see if any pest problems develop;
c) carefully inspect all plants at least weekly for signs of insects and mites.

Step 3. If a plant is found to be infested with insects or mites:
a) isolate the plant from other plants;
b) correctly identify the pest;
c) determine and apply appropriate control measures;
d) keep the plant separate from others until all evidence of infestation is eliminated, which may be several weeks or more.

Take Control

There are three popular general methods for treating house plants infestations: physically removing the pests and or washing the plant, general purpose ready to use sprays, and chemical concentrates for preparing spray mixtures.

Physical removal is easy enough for large pests- slugs, caterpillars etc.. Pests can also be swabbed with a small brush or cotton tipped applicator moistened with rubbing alcohol.

You may also opt to rinse or wash plants with a diluted mix of dish detergent soap or an insecticidal soap. Sometimes just placing a plant in your shower stall and gently spraying them with lukewarm water on the tops and undersides of the leaves is enough to rid the plant of an infestation, plus give it a good drink and flush it’s substrate at the same time.

Often the soap sprays or rinses need to be repeated over a period of time to totally rid the plant of pests. I also try to isolate plants that I find are infested – I’ll move them several feet away from uninfected plants at the very least, and often into a totally different room if it’s possible. There’s nothing worse than having several plants infested with pests at the same time.

In your garden centres you’ll find ready to use sprays, but if you go searching for one of these types of sprays make sure it’s labeled that it’s safe for use on house plants. Always read the labels and precautions on any of the ready made sprays that you are planning on using as some sprays are effective only for certain types of insects, while others are only effective when the pests are in certain stages of life.

Whiteflies are very difficult to control with standard sprays, but easily controlled with other sprays that are made specifically for whiteflies. Be sure to follow directions. There are many individual products on the market; be sure to read the label to determine which one to use.

Chemical concentrations are available to mix with water for application with a hand sprayer or mister. Insecticides and/or miticides are available separately or in mixtures. Generally insecticides will not control mites, and miticides will not control insects. Only the appropriate pesticide is needed. The wrong one will not be effective.

Another way to prevent infestations in the first place is to care for the plant properly. Many people end up having white fly and mite infestations on their plants in the winter time. The air is dry in the house and the plants are not kept moist enough. Misting the plants with water sprays a couple times of day or keeping the room they are in adequately humidified should help lower the chance of pest infestations in some plants.

Meta