In case you hadn’t noticed, houseplants are hot. Again, or still, depending on where you are in your gardening life. Not only are plants more readily available, the varieties are practically limitless. For one thing, we can find them at the supermarket in the middle of a January blizzard, or order them online. Traditional sources like local garden centers are usually the best for selection, size and price, but don’t discount public gardens. Some of the healthiest and most unusual plants can be found at places like Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, or Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. And finally, seek out local plant societies that sponsor shows or conventions during the fall and winter months.
Online nurseries ship throughout the winter months, so the season won’t limit your satisfaction when the urge for green strikes you. How do they do it? Lindsy Mandeville, customer service plant and insect specialist for Josh’s Frogs in Owosso, Michigan, explains their system for determining when plants will be shipped during seasons of extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.
In winter, plants are boxed with heat packs and foam insulation on a two to three-day shipment schedule when the low in the recipient’s area remains 20° F or above, or on an overnight shipment if temperatures are above 10° F.
Once the plants arrive, they must adapt to the new location, which includes recovering from the stress of being boxed up and knocked around for a couple of days. They also are typically blasted with excessively dry air. If your house’s furnace runs without a built-in humidifier at a high temperature (somewhere above 65° F), plants can suffer from lack of humidity.
The warmer you keep your house, the more humidity you will have to provide your plants. And here’s the best part, and a requirement that offers an excuse to buy more plants—you can increase humidity by grouping several plants together. There’s a downside to this, however. Lack of air circulation created by grouping plants together can contribute to disease and increase insect activity. Part of the solution to this conundrum is to get a fan and let it run at least half a day. I have two ceiling fans I run in the room with the majority of my plants.
Many types of houseplants will thrive with light from a sunny window, as long as they don’t receive direct sunlight. Others can take as much sun as you can give them, while some blooming houseplants require special lighting. If you opt for lights, make sure you give plants a period of darkness, which plants require in order to bloom.
A plant with an unpronounceable name and the ability to bloom in little light is Porphyrocoma pohliana (por-fy-ro-KOH-muh pohl-ee-AY-nuh), or Brazilian fireworks. This tropical shade-lover prefers a shady position, sports leaves streaked with silver, and will flower even in the winter months if given a half-strength blooming fertilizer.
One surprise in the sunlight department is any plant in the citrus family, especially if they’ve spent their summer outdoors soaking up the sun, and you’ve kept up with a modicum of fertilizer. There are special citrus fertilizers, but in a pinch, water soluble types made for acid-loving plants (like Rhododendrons) work very well. I feed them at half strength once November rolls around, and still they’ll bloom, their waxy white flowers giving off the unmistakable fragrance of orange blossom.
And don’t let anyone tell you not to bother with orchids. These irresistibly exotic beauties might have a high price tag, especially if they’re of blooming size, but they are worth it. The easiest type with repeating bloom is Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid. It is also the most easily available for purchase. I bought mine at my local supermarket three winters ago and it’s working toward its third bloom.
Josh’s Frogs’ Plant Department Manager, Tina Potter, offers up to 500 different types of plants on its website. “I’m always looking for low maintenance, no fuss plants. Some that come to mind immediately are Syngoniums. We always have some of these in stock,” she said. “The varieties we rotate in and out are ‘Confetti’, ‘Neon Robusta’, ‘Pixie’, ‘Cream Supreme’, ‘Bold Allusion’, ‘Green Star’ and ‘Princess’.
Potter loves them all for their great color, low maintenance requirements, and forgiving nature. “They don’t require a lot of light and do well in shade or part sun,” she explained. “They also are tolerant of being over watered or under watered which is huge for people who are just starting out growing houseplants, and might not have the hang of it yet.”
Philodendron and Pothos are others Potter recommends to anyone just starting out in houseplants, or those who need to brighten up a darkish corner with some greenery.
Growing plants indoors has become more exciting with increasing availability of plants. Find colorful houseplants at supermarkets, big box stores, and traditional garden centers, but here are ideas for more sources for buying plants as well as seeing them displayed. Shipping tender plants through the winter months is much more common thanks to packaging and two-day mailing options. And most public gardens and conservatories have plants for sale. Attend one of many orchid shows throughout the Midwest, or check out African violet, cactus and succulent, or herb society events.
In Search of Houseplants – Online:
In Search of Houseplants – Brick and Mortar:
In Search of Houseplants – Society Shows:
Orchids:
Herb, African Violet and Cactus and Succulent Societies: