Focus on Flowers

Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates. One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that hang over the sides of the pot. The flowers appear in late winter to mid spring and are white in color and a little like snapdragons in form and are white in color. This plant likes cool temperatures at night and soil that stays just slightly moist, so do not over water these beauties. Afternoon shade is best, so they do not like a windowsill on the western side of the house. Jewel orchids are available with several different types of patterned leaves with silver-gold veining. This type of foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom. The name is a little deceptive because this plant is not like the orchids that grow on trees.

Epiphytes are plants that get nourishment from the air. They are non-parasitic, but they frequently, for example orchids, grow on another plant such as a tree. When they are grown in a pot, epiphytes prefer a growing medium made up of two parts soil-less mixture and one-part fine bark mix. A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant. There are many varieties of this plant, and the shape, color and texture of the leaves depends on the species. The flowers, however, always come from little umbrellas called peduncles. After the blooms drop, the peduncles should be left in place as they will continue to grow and bloom. Hoya is a member of the milkweed family so the seeds are in silk in pods. The easiest way to propagate, however, is to root cuttings dipped in rooting hormone and placed in a soil-less mix for about six weeks. The plants enjoy indirect light and weekly watering, with fertilizer every second week. Hoya lacunosa has especially fragrant blooms and grows compactly in a hanging basket. However, there are many other delightful ones such as the H. shepherdii with lovely pink flowers, as well as a sweet perfume. Hoya is easy for me to remember as it is one of the only words in the English language that rhymes with Moya.(Reference: Zachos, Ellen, “All Stars of the Indoors,” Horticulture Magazine, Vol. 105, #1 Dec/Jan 2008, pp40-45.)

Torenia is a pretty annual that hails from tropical African and Asian woodlands. This branching annual is not frost hardy but grows rapidly to a height of about 12 inches with a spread of 8 inches. It flowers in summer and fall, producing racemes of trumpet-shaped, two-lipped flowers that look a bit like snapdragon blooms. There are two lobes on the upper lips and three lobes on the lower lips. Torenias make attractive plants for containers in sheltered positions. Pinch out the growing shoots of young plants to encourage them to get bushy. Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year. ‘Summer Wave’ is a trailing, long-flowering strain of torenia that has large blue flowers, but purplish-blue, red, pink and white varieties are also available. The leaves of these plants are light to dark green and ovate to elliptical in shape, and they have toothed edges. Grow them in fertile, well-drained soil in part shade. Another pretty blue annual to consider next spring is Scaevola, or fan-flower as it is also called. I am partial to it as, like me, it hails from Australia. It has profuse blue, mauve, purple, or white flowers in sun or part shade, and it drapes well over the sides of pots. ‘Blue Wonder’ is very pretty as well as being drought tolerant.

In her book Making Things Grow---a Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener, Thalassa Cruso calls succulents “neglectable plants.” That is because all fleshy-leaved succulents are slow to lose the water stored in their leaves. They also can go into dormancy to conserve water during drought. Cruso says that is why succulents make such good houseplants, thriving in the hot dry conditions in our homes and allowing us to, on occasion, neglect them. Of course, the degree of succulence in the tissues of plants varies, but the amount predicts just how long a plant can go without any water. Gloxinias and African violets are succulents, as well as hoyas, sempervivums, sedums and the various types of cacti. At this time of the year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus plants are getting ready to delight us with their colorful flower displays for the holidays. Some experts advise us to withhold water from these plants for the month before their expected season of bloom to precipitate dense flowering.Also with all succulents, always repot using a dry soil mix and never bury any of the leaves. These plants require less water than other houseplants, and they will rot if they become waterlogged so water sparingly and only when the soil is quite dried out in the pot. Succulents are durable plants and can usually be left at home alone, while we vacation.

Hyacinths were first found growing in Asia, but because of the efforts of Dutch growers, there are now many varieties in the genus Hyacinthus. Most bloom in the spring from bulbs planted in the fall. The showiest are the bedding size ones with masses of florets completely surrounding 10” stems. They are dramatic planted in the sun in groups. Probably because of their strong fragrance, deer avoid them. Deer also avoid the smaller, very hardy and versatile grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum, which will grow in sun or shade. Its flowers are small and bell shaped, arranged in a cone, and held erect on six-inch stems. They are a wonderful cobalt blue, which is rare in flowers, but white and paler blues have also been developed. They multiply and are great mixers with other spring flowers and naturalize happily.  Another hyacinth, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, also naturalizes well and is actually the English woodland bluebell, which thrives in shade. These bulbs were first brought to England from Persia in the 16th century but are now considered to be thoroughly English. Look for them under the name of wood hyacinth.Whether you prefer the large hyacinths that are synonymous with the Dutch or the smaller ones beloved by the Brits, do plant some hyacinth bulbs this fall.