At this time of year we focus on indoor gardening, our houseplants! I know many of you have beautiful houseplants: some very dear friends of our have the most amazing orchid plants, with long, graceful, arching stems of blooms that look like they should be part of a bridal bouquet. They are stunning and simply take my breath away. At the other end of the spectrum, some of us just have a few straggly plants that are limping along!
No matter! Whether you have one houseplant or twenty, watching something grow is so rewarding in the middle of winter. Make a cup of tea and let’s sit down together; I’ll tell you more about that great book I’m reading, “The Indestructible Houseplant” by Tovah Martin. If you remember the wonderful television show “Victory Garden” you will probably remember Tovah, as she was a frequent guest and very knowledgeable about houseplants. This lovely book talks about “200 beautiful plants that everyone can grow” in “an imperfect, time-challenged world”.
First of all, I recommend the book because of the amazing photographs that are sure to inspire you. Not only are the plants lovely, but the imaginative way they are planted up is very exciting. For example, there is a photo of a collection of sedums and kalanchoe planted in a colander: not only cute, but practical for drainage! Even back in Victory Garden days, Tovah created beautiful tablescapes with plants, adding little props that enhanced the plants: shells, rocks, or tiny statues. She added these items not only around the planters but in the planters as well. There is a great photo of a container of lush aloes planted among blue glass insulators! The effect is so interesting.
This is also a great book because of the wonderful information on the plants themselves. I’ll tell you briefly about a few of Tovah’s top indestructible houseplant picks. One is the African violet: an old favorite that we are encouraged to enjoy again because it is tolerant of low humidity and low light, and will even forgive us if we forget to water it once in a while. They come in beautiful colors and keep on blooming! She suggests grouping several together for maximum impact.
If you have east or west facing windows and would like a tidy, elegant plant, consider aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen. It does not look like an evergreen, but you will recognize it as a familiar plant. It has spear-shaped leaves, in a variety of colors from solid green to green with white stripes or red edging. It does not like direct sun, but will go quietly about its business with filtered light. It does not require much care aside from watering.
Aloes are another good choice because they require little care and propagate easily. A plant listed as a “cast-iron plant” is the aspidistra, because it can tolerate very-low light conditions and is very forgiving if you forget to water it. Since it is a very slow grower, the book advises us to invest in a plant of decent size so we can start enjoying it right away.
More suggested plants: think of the pretty croton, or the dracaena: plants that we take for granted and overlook when we choose a houseplant. Both are durable plants that like east or west exposure, and do no grow fast enough to cause a space problem in our homes.
Looking for a plant that will grow to a venerable age and seems to bloom best if you neglect it a bit? Try the hoya, which actually likes being in a cozy pot that might look too small; in fact if you move it to a bigger pot you may have to wait years for it to bloom. It likes to be “potbound”. It does not like very bright light. Tovah’s book says that this plant is a winner because the vines grow down by nature, making it much easier to manage.
Peace lilies, peperomias, philodendrons, scheffleras are also all suggested as good, tough plants that will take care of themselves for a while if we don’t. If you have the chance, borrow this book from the library and discover some other houseplant gems that you might want to try.
See what’s new with the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society by logging on to our website at www.yorktonhort.ca Have a good week!
