House Plants – Picking Flowering Houseplants!
The addition of flowering house plants can make colorful compliment to the indoor landscape.
Some of these flowering beauties will require you to live in a warmer climate where they can grow outdoors as a part of the outdoor landscape, but not all.
Color Rules for Flowering Plants
Before you select any plant for use indoors – this goes for flowering and foliage plants you need to take some time to look at where the plant will be growing. Ask the question of the light requirements. Is there enough light for the plant?
Make the plant fit the location, not the location fit the plant!
As a novice knowing which plant fits what location can be a task on it’s own. Here are a few tips to get started. Visit your local garden center and look for a sales associate who knows something about plants and can provide you with more advice than what you will find on a care tag.
Color Choices to Consider
Bromeliads: Vriesia, Guzmania, Cryptanthus, Aechmea and Neoreglia are the Latin names of genera all related to the pineapple family.
Bromeliads can fill a room with striking colors of red, hot pink, orange, purples, yellow and shades in between. Unlike cut flowers Bromeliads can light up a room for months.
Keep the “cup” filled with water, but let the soil media stay slightly moist. Watch out for overwatering! Dump the water in the reservoir and refill weekly. Combine several varieties in a basket or large bowl for a combo planter with different colors. Much like a living arrangement.
Achimenes
This member of the Gesneriad family blooms from spring and early summer through the fall.
After they finish showing off their blooms, reduce the lighting and water to allow the tops to dieback. Take the dormant rhizomes and store them at 60F degrees over the winter (you can leave them in pots). When spring hits, start to grow and/or propagate the tiny rhizomes by dividing then slowly increase water and light.
As for care during their growing season, treat them like African Violets. Also display Achimenes as you would an African violet.
Flame Violet – Episcia
The Episcia species is also a member of the Gesneriad family and produces tropical plantlets, which trail showing off brilliant patterned foliage and colorful flowers.
They grow best in an east-west exposure but are cold sensitive so keep temperatures between 65-70F degrees. They thrive in high humidity, but do not like it wet, try keeping the soil barely moist.
Otherwise culturally care for them like African violets.
Display as you would a potted African violet.
African violet – The Saintpaulia
Most of us can remember our grandmother growing this ever-popular tropical flowering house plant for years in her kitchen window. You can find hundreds of colorful varieties to choose from. African violets like a night temperature between of 65-70 degrees, with a rise in temperature during the day. Keep the soil evenly moist but not wet.
When watering, water the soil and not the foliage. If your African violet is not flowering it probably is due to the lack of light. Bright indirect light like a kitchen window is a great place to enjoy your plants, they also do well as a tabletop display.
Now you have no excuse as to not have some colorful flowering houseplants in your home.
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