Add color to your home this winter with vibrant indoor flowering plants like cyclamen. Photo by BIGSTOCK.
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Gardening with Janet
Indoor flowering plants brighten home
Our homes look a bit drab after the holiday decorations come down, and with colder weather and shorter days, we spend more time inside. Flowering indoor plants can add some color and brighten spirits as well.
With proper care, poinsettias can continue to flaunt color well into spring. And there is a wide range of plants you can buy to add color for a few weeks up to a few months.
| Plant | Description | Care |
|---|---|---|
| African Violet | Small rosettes of foliage topped with clusters of pink, purple, white or bi-color flowers. | Needs bright light, even moisture (usually watered from the bottom of the container). Can bloom for months. Plants can last for years. |
| Amaryllis | Large strappy leaves usually follow the tall trumpet-shaped blooms in reds, pinks, whites and bi-colors. | Plant a dormant bulb in soil, water it, and give it bright light. In six to eight weeks, plant will usually have blooms that last for a month or longer. Top-heavy plants may need support to prevent toppling. With care, bulbs can last for years. |
| Anthurium | Glossy green leaves with waxy spathe blooms in shades of red, pink, white, salmon or purple. Red is most common. | With bright light and even moisture, it can bloom for two months or longer. Toxic to children and pets. It is challenging to get it to rebloom in our climate unless you have a greenhouse. |
| Begonia | Wide range of types, including Angel Wing, Reiger and Tuberous. Colors can be pink, red, white, yellow or orange. | Bright, indirect light. Moist, but not too wet; let them dry out in between waterings. Depending on variety, can last for years. |
| Bromeliad | Wide range of types. These plants are epiphytes and do well with little water. The colorful center stalks or blooms can be red, yellow, orange or purple. | Bright or indirect light. Infrequent watering. Color can last for months with little care. Many mother plants die after bloom but will produce “pups” at the base. Time-consuming to rebloom, so buy new ones. |
| Chrysanthemum | Same plants you put in the garden in the fall, but florist mums can be purchased year-round. Orange, red, yellow and white flowers. | Bright light and even moisture. Color can last for four to six weeks. |
| Cyclamen | Almost heart-shaped leaves topped with interesting pink, red or white blooms. | Bright light for four to six hours a day with well-drained soil. Too wet and they rot; too dry and they stop blooming. Can be a bit finicky but can last with proper care for four to eight weeks. |
| Kalanchoe | Waxy, scallop-edged leaves topped with clusters of blooms in red, white, pink, orange or yellow. | Bright light, well-drained soil. Don’t overwater. It can bloom for two months or longer, and with cool temperatures and no artificial light at night, can rebloom off and on all year. Long-lived. |
| Ornithogalum – Orange or Yellow Star | A bulbous plant in the hyacinth family, it has lance-shaped leaves with taller clusters of orange or yellow flowers. | Bright light and even moisture, but does not like wet soil. Can bloom for six to eight weeks. You can try planting outdoors after frost, but it’s usually best just to discard after bloom. |