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.