Flowering houseplants are for the experienced houseplant gardener. Novice houseplant gardeners are better off sticking to houseplants such as pothos, spider plant, or dieffenbachia until some experience is gained. Those easy-care plants require moderate watering once a week and a little dusting. But if you're an experienced houseplant enthusiast, and you love color, try something different: flowering indoor plants.
Flowering Houseplants
Gardeners seem to come in two types: those who love a lot of green foliage and those who love a lot of colorful blooms. For the knowledgeable gardener, growing color plants indoors comes easy. If houseplants are new to you, start off with the easy-care foliage plants, and once you get the knack of how to keep them thriving move on to blooming plants. Here's a hint for those who want to try houseplants for the first time: Most houseplants die because of over-watering.
Care of Indoor Plants
Foliage plants require four things: light, water, humidity, and fertilizer. Indoor flowering plants require four things: more light, more water, more humidity and more fertilizer. In other words, whatever foliage plants require, indoor plants require more of it. That's the only way to get them to bloom. If there isn't much light in your house, artificial light will suffice.
Indoor Flowering Plants
The plants in your garden bloom at a specific time of year which is usually spring, summer, or fall. Houseplants for Dummies lists some houseplants that can bloom at any time of the year on and off, but the heavy flowering appears in spring and summer:
- African violet
- Columnea
- Crown of thorns
- Flowering maple
- Fushia
- Hibiscus
- Impatiens
- Lady Jane Anthurium
- Peace lily
- Streptocarpu
- Zonal Geranium
These plants might bloom nonstop all year long if exposed to artificial light for at least 14 to 16 hours a day. The idea is to make them think it's always summer.
Choosing Indoor Flowering Plants
Choose from the above list for your indoor flowering plants, or try some of your favorite flowering plants. Research them carefully for growth requirements. If you have pets and children, stay away from poisonous plants. That's the first thing you should look for when purchasing a plant. Once poisonous is ruled out, move on to care requirements.
Raising flowering houseplants is for the dedicated, determined gardener. Use artificial light if your house doesn't have enough light. In the winter especially, pay attention to the humidity in the house. Homes that have the heater blasting all day and night will be dry. Research the growing requirements for the plants you choose; give the plants a double dose of what they need to keep them blooming in the house. Finally, don't buy poisonous plants if there are small children and pets residing in the home.
References
Larry Hodgson,"For the Budding Indoor Gardener: Flowering Houseplants," in Houseplants for Dummies, (IDG Books Worldwide 1998), 63 - 88.
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