Hardy Houseplants
- • Living Christmas trees are now available. The slower growing spruces can be used for several Christmases before you need to plant them.
- • Holiday Amaryllis are easy to bring into bloom and they make lovely gifts.
- • Stop peach leaf curl by spraying now with copper sulfate to help prevent this disfiguring disease from attacking your trees next spring.
- • Wild bird feeders will attract migrating birds so you can enjoy the pleasure of their company.
The Hardiest Houseplants
Houseplants brighten our environment, especially in the winter time. Many houseplants require minimal care and are able to put up with adverse conditions, like not being watered regularly, low-light conditions and not being fed on a regular schedule. Here are some of these “toughies “:
There are many varieties of Dracaena, like the corn plant, with a yellow stripe down the center of each leaf, and “Janet Craig”, a compact plant with dark green leaves, that will adapt well to low light conditions yet remain attractive. Dracaena marginata has slender leaves and attractive trunks that make it a fine upright plant.
Philodendrons are a large family of plants that take adverse conditions. There is the trailing philodendron with its dark green, heart-shaped leaves, and the split-leaf philodendron which has large, attractive leaves and needs a sturdy stake. A new variety of trailing philodendron is called ‘Brazil’ and it has attractive variegated leaves.
Chinese evergreen is a tropical foliage plant is valued for its lush green leaves that often have silver or cream variegations on them. It is one of the best for low light situations and will tolerate light or heavy watering.
Spathiphyllum is one of the few plants that will flower well indoors. It is known by several common names including white flag and peace lily. It has large dark green leaves on slender stems and its white flowers resemble calla lilies.
Pothos is similar in appearance to the trailing philodendron. Its leaves are brightly splashed yellow on top of an apple green background. It grows to be a very long, trailing plant that can be trained around a macrame hanger or up the wall. It will take lower light conditions and just needs the soil evenly moist. It’s sister plant is called Marble Queen and it has green leaves splashed with white. It is also very hardy.
Parlor palm is one of the smaller palms, eventually growing to 3 feet tall. It is slow-growing and takes low light, dry soil and varying house temperatures. They are easy to care for and live for many years.
Sansevieria, also known as mother-in-law’s tongue or snake plant, is a tall, slender plant with thick waxy leaves that likes to be pot bound. It is excellent in the home as an air-cleaning plant and almost impossible to kill.
Spider plant, or air plant, is extremely adaptable and will even grow in low light if necessary. The variegated leaver are attractive and the plantlets that emerge on long stalks from the mother plant can be cut off and rooted to make new plants. They are very good at cleaning the air.
The “Money Tree”, Pachira, looks a lot like the familiar Umbrella Tree, but is much easier to grow. With its braided trunk and broad leaves, it is very attractive and may eventually grow to be a small tree. It is durable and versatile and makes a lovely gift plant.
If you have a difficult, low-light situation or you find houseplants hard to grow, try some of these beauties and enjoy their greenery around you.
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