Many flowering houseplants don’t bloom much during the winter, so finding one that does is a great discovery, even if the plant is rather high maintenance. Jasmine is one such plant. The type most commonly used as a houseplant is Jasmine polyanthus — a perennial vine. Plants that have buds are usually available in garden
Jasmine is a high-maintenance plant but really worth the effort
When the perfume of the scented flowers fills the room you’ll be glad you gave it all that TLC
‘Silver Queen’ is often called Chinese evergreen
Foliage of rich-green leaves with silver patches is main attraction of this easy-care plant
Last month I wrote about houseplants with metal in their name, such as copper, iron, or aluminum. Here’s one with silver in its name — Aglaonema “Silver Queen.” Aglaonema plants are often referred to as Chinese evergreens since they originated in Asia. There are dozens of cultivars but my favourite is “Silver Queen” which has
‘Metal’ houseplants with mettle
Here’s some tough plants that will thrive even under less-than-ideal growing conditions
Some of the most resilient and tough houseplants have a lot of mettle — they can endure inhospitable conditions and will thrive even when somewhat neglected. Is it any wonder that some of these plants have the names of metals in them? I call them “metal plants with mettle!” Aspidistra Elatior (cast iron plant) Probably
Displaying trailing plants indoors
This can be a challenge as they take up a lot of space but there are ways to do it
It can be difficult to display trailing plants indoors as they can take up a lot of space and are hard to position so that they look like they are part of the interior landscape. There are many attractive trailing plants that are ideal for use indoors because they demand relatively low light levels. Heart-leafed
Propagating a polka-dot plant
They do have a short lifespan but it is possible to get new plants from cuttings
Last spring I bought a lovely pink polka-dot plant, big and bushy and about 20 cm tall. The single plant filled a six-inch pot, and I think it had either been kept over for the winter or else grown from seed planted months earlier. I was fascinated by the speckled leaves and the plant’s tidy
Don’t forget to check those plants that were brought indoors
Now’s a good time to examine each one and make sure there are no problems developing
It has been a couple of months since we brought all those plants indoors for the winter. We took slips and cuttings, dug up and repotted some, and simply moved some potted plants inside without doing anything to them. We were also (hopefully) diligent about avoiding bringing unwanted visitors indoors with the plants. We cleaned
A geranium with sentimental value
My mother-in-law had given me a slip of this plant almost 50 years ago
Many of the plants in my collection have sentimental value, often coming from someone who is important to me and sometimes those people are no longer with us. Such is the case with one of my geraniums which I fondly call “Elsie.” Elsie was my late mother-in-law’s name and she gave me a slip of
Pilea plant family has lots of species
This family contains over 600 species that are easy to grow and not demanding
Often the common name of a plant perfectly describes it, but the name is inaccurate botanically. The common name has developed over the years because of the plant’s appearance or because of some other unique attribute. Such is the case with the artillery fern, which is not really a fern at all. It got its
Storing apples for winter
There’s something really satisfying about eating a crisp homegrown apple while gazing out at the snow
Storing apples for winter use is relatively easy, but having the appropriate space is vital. I have a refrigerator in the garage that is used almost exclusively for vegetable/fruit storage. In the summer it becomes a flower cooler as I store flowers in preparation for upcoming flower shows. A cold room works well but the
Growing a peperomia plant
Peperomias are a great addition to an indoor plant collection and are easily propagated from cuttings
I rescued a little plant this spring. The local horticultural society had a sale and someone had donated a plant — the person had filled a Styrofoam cup with soil and stuck in three small slips of a green plant. They were quite wilted and not surprisingly did not sell, so I brought the cup
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
