So, you finally discovered the secret to getting your Christmas (or other holiday cactus) to bloom. Do you want to know another secret? You can get it to bloom again a few months later. In fact, you can get it to bloom anytime you want to. Curious? Keep reading.

For many folks, getting their holiday cactus to bloom is a struggle. But once you read Christmas Cactus – How to ID & Care for Everyone’s Favorite Holiday Plant, suddenly you have the keys to a beautiful, blooming Schlumbergera every year.

It’s all about understanding the needs of a photoperiod blooming plant, in this case, a short-day photoperiod bloomer.

As days shorten and nights grow long and cool, holiday cacti enter a period of dormancy for a few weeks before putting out buds. Naturally, this process happens at opposite times of year in the Southern Hemisphere.

Regardless, Christmas cactus and all other holiday cactus need to experience this dormant period, or you won’t get blossoms, no matter how pampered your specimen.

So, when you finally get it figured out, there’s nothing quite so rewarding as a spectacular cascade of blossoms, except when you do it again in the same year.

I have several Schlumbergera, one for each holiday: Christmas, Thanksgiving & Easter. I’m used to them blooming, right on cue, around said holidays. So, it was a surprise one summer to walk into my living room and see a plump, pink bud on the end of my Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving cactus).

“Huh, okay.”

I went over to inspect it, and sure enough, there were several other smaller buds on the plant. Within a week, my Thanksgiving cactus was blossoming…in July.

It wasn’t the same show-stopping number of blooms that show up during its normal blooming period, but it was still nice.

It was only when the blooms began to fade that I realized we had been having an especially rainy season (darker days), but it was still good and muggy (air conditioning was always on).

My holiday cactus had gone through a mini-dormant period and set blooms because the weather was so gloomy, and my plant was only feet away from the air conditioner.

Force a False Dormancy

Since then, I’ve forced my plants to bloom several times just for the heck of it. And it’s the same process your plants naturally go through, only you’re the one controlling the long, cool nights.  

Obviously, in the summertime, this can be a bit tricky.

It’s easy enough to ensure your plant experiences shorter days and longer nights; simply move it further away from a window and cover it with a black sheet in the afternoons. Or move it to an interior room that gets less daylight.

The harder part is the temperature.

Schlumbergera needs to experience nighttime temps of around 55 degrees to enter dormancy and set buds – not the easiest thing to do in the summer. You can do what I did and set it near a window-unit air conditioner; just be sure it’s not directly in the cold air path. Relocating your plant to a cool basement is another option.

You’ll need to mimic these conditions for roughly 3-4 weeks. You should start to notice new buds at some point. You likely won’t get the same number of blooms that you normally would during the plant’s natural blooming cycle, but it’s still a nice display, regardless.

If you’re going to force a dormant period, it’s important to ensure your plant has enough energy.

Wait at least a month or two after all the blooms have faded before you try to get it to bloom again. You’ll also need to feed your plant with a fertilizer that has a higher phosphorous content.

I always give my Schlumbergera Schulz African Violet Plus starting in late summer and into the fall. It seems to be the perfect fertilizer for bloom development. Use this starting a month before you force dormancy. While the plant is actively blooming, use a balanced houseplant fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth’s Pure Gold Pump & Grow All Purpose Plant Food.

Related Reading: 7 Secrets to Keep Your African Violet Blooming All Year Long

How Often Can I Get My Plant to Bloom?

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how often you could trick your plant into forced dormancy. I’ve managed to get my Thanksgiving cactus to bloom three times in one year. My Christmas cactus has bloomed twice in one year. But after a certain point, my efforts produced diminishing returns.

It took a lot more work, moving plants and remembering to cover them than simply letting them take their natural course and setting them up for a natural dormant period in the fall. But it was still a fun experiment.

Of course, it also meant my plants grew very little in size that year, and I fed them more frequently to replenish nutrients lost to multiple sets of buds.

Give It a Rest

Now that you know how to force your Christmas cactus to rebloom, the inevitable question is, should you? If you’re providing adequate nutrients for the plant to replenish its stores and want to invest the extra work involved in mimicking shorter days and long, cool nights, go for it. You could easily get new blooms every three or four months.

However, if you have to keep moving your plant and remembering to cover and uncover it, suddenly, the whole process becomes work.

Eventually, though, it’s a good idea to let your plant return to its natural cycle. By forcing it to bloom, you’re cutting short its natural rest and growth period. You may enjoy more blooms, but your plant probably won’t grow much.

Related Reading: How & When to Prune Your Christmas Cactus (& Why You Need To)

Opt for the best of both worlds: let your plant bloom naturally one year, then force blooms more frequently the next year—cycle between these two years. Or rest in the knowledge that you know how to get your plant to bloom during its expected bloom time and be happy with that.

Read Next:

10 Things Every Christmas Cactus Owner Needs To Know About Their Plant

The post How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom More Than Once Each Year appeared first on Rural Sprout.

I’ll bet I know why you’re here. Some well-meaning friend or family member told you your plant wasn’t a Christmas cactus. Or maybe you’ve had a Christmas cactus for ages, but you’re struggling to get the silly thing to bloom. Or you’ve got a massive Christmas cactus on your hands, now you’re wondering whether or not it’s time to pot up.

Whatever reason you find yourself here, this is your one-stop post for all your Christmas cactus care questions.

Grab a hot beverage and get comfy. By the time you finish reading, I’ll bet you end up learning something new about everyone’s favorite holiday plant.

(Unless, of course, this is your favorite holiday plant.)

Just Misunderstood

Christmas cactuses are easily one of the most misunderstood houseplants. The poor things have a reputation for never blooming or blooming when they aren’t supposed to.

It seems as though everyone knows someone who has one that’s been in their family for decades. Cuttings from grandma’s treasured specimen are passed among family and friends, and for some reason, Grandma and your cousin who lives in another state are the only ones who can get theirs to bloom.

Related Reading: Why Is My Christmas Cactus Not Flowering? & 12 More Common Problems

To make matters worse, there’s a ton of confusion around the name “Christmas cactus.”

Many of us are finding out, much to our dismay, that the Christmas cactus we’ve been tending and growing for years isn’t even a Christmas cactus.

(The most popular listing for “Christmas cactus” on Amazon appears to be a Thanksgiving cactus which helps to add to the confusion!)

But like most things in life, once you learn the trick to mimicking their natural habits, these humble plants will explode each year with colorful blossoms. From there, it’s only a matter of time before you become the family member passing out cuttings from your treasured holiday cactus.

No need to be a grandmother, although, who knows, it might help.

Let’s Start with the Most Common Complaint

Much to the frustration of Christmas cactus owners everywhere, their plant never blooms at Christmas, or worse, it doesn’t bloom at all. I can assure you there’s nothing inherently wrong with your plant; it just needs different care from the rest of your plants. They march to the beat of their own drum, and that drum is daylight.

Christmas cactuses are short-day photoperiod blooming plants. Basically, photoperiod means the amount of time a plant is exposed to the sun to trigger blooming.

Christmas cactus set buds and blossom as the days grow shorter. Another popular Christmas short-day photoperiod bloomer is the poinsettia. Violets and chrysanthemums are short-day bloomers as well.

This explains why they bloom around Christmas here in the Northern Hemisphere. But it may surprise you to know that in their native region, Brazil, they are known as the Flor de Maio – the May Flower.

To understand how to take care of them and finally get them to bloom, it helps to take a look at how they grow in the wild.  

They generally show up in the crooks of trees and on jagged rocks. They use their roots to cling to the rough surface. Christmas cacti are aroids, usually epiphytic (growing on a tree) or epilithic (growing on a rock). They live symbiotically with the plants they grow on. In the wild, these plants get much scragglier and woody than the pampered, cultivated plants we have in the living room.

All Christmas cacti fall into the Schlumbergera family.

What do you mean by “all” Christmas cacti?

Without blooms, and with a quick glance, all appear to be the same plant. However, on closer inspection, you can easily distinguish three different species. And here in the northern hemisphere, each species blooms around Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter, thus giving them their common names.

(It’s becoming increasingly common for them to simply be called Holiday cacti to lessen the confusion.)

• Thanksgiving cactus – Schlumbergera truncata
• Christmas cactus – Schlumbergera buckleyi
• Easter cactus – Schlumbergera gaertneri

By far, the most common Schlumbergera is the Thanksgiving cactus.

They’re so common here in the US because they’re the easiest variety for growers to have ready to ship, arriving in stores with buds ready to bloom at the start of the holidays. These cacti are what you see flooding every garden center or home improvement store around November.

How do you tell them apart? Keep reading; we’ll get to that. But for now, let’s figure out how to make this plant happy so it will bloom.

While there are three different holiday cactus, they all prefer the same care.

Despite being a cactus, their care preferences are more of what you would expect from a tropical plant like a pothos or a Monstera.

Light and temperature

Holiday cactuses need lots of bright indirect light. An eastern-facing window is a perfect location for your plant. They love the same kind of warmth we’re comfortable in, preferring temps between 60-75 degrees.

You can even grow them outdoors if you live where the nighttime temps don’t fall below 50 F. However, they will not tolerate direct sun, and you need to plant them where they will be protected. They do best on a porch or under a tree, where they will be shaded from the sun during the hottest part of the day.

Or you can put your plant outside during the summer and bring it in when the weather starts to cool down in the fall.

Just remember that they do not tolerate cold and are not frost-hardy. Be sure to bring your plant in before daytime temps drop much below 50 degrees.

Watering

As I said earlier, the holiday cactus is more like a tropical plant than a desert-dwelling cactus. Give them a good soaking when you water the plant and let them dry out between waterings.

These guys don’t like wet feet at all and easily develop root rot if you overwater. Be sure you use a pot with drainage hold and tip standing water out of their saucer so the roots aren’t sitting in water.

Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter cacti prefer a humid environment. If you don’t live in this kind of climate, you can provide your cactus with the humidity it needs by placing the pot on a flat dish or saucer filled with pebbles and water. The water will evaporate and keep your plant happy. Just be sure water is below the stones, and the pot isn’t sitting in water.

If your home is on the dry side, you can provide humidity for your plant with a pebble tray or a humidifier.

Soil

In their native habitat, these plants don’t grow in soil per se; rather, they grow in spots where dirt and debris would collect. Think about all the natural litter that accumulates in the crook of a tree or a shallow indent in a rock. They prefer similar soil when potted. Choose a good aroid potting mix such as this blend from Gardenera.

If you’d rather make your own, my African violet mix works well, too.

The holiday cacti prefer to be a little root bound, so let them get good and snug in their pot. You only need to repot them every few years. When you do replant them, choose a new container only slightly bigger than the old one.

Fertilizer

Feed them with a balanced fertilizer during their active growth period – after the blooms have faded and new leaf segments begin to appear on the plant.

I’ve had great results with Dr. Earth Pure Gold Pump & Grow All Purpose Fertilizer. I use it at ¼ strength with every watering and add it directly to my water rather than following the directions on the bottle. Using a balanced NPK fertilizer will support new growth and give you plenty of new leaf segments.

About a month before the days start getting noticeably longer, I fertilize my Christmas cactus with Schultz African Violet Plus. Yup, I know, but don’t let the name fool you. The high phosphorus content supports bud development.

While the plant is actively blooming, feed it a balanced fertilizer once a month.

Blooming

These cactuses have beautiful blooms with delicate petals of pink, fuchsia, orange, white, or even purple. But how do you get these silly things to bloom anyway?

Remember, they are short-day bloomers.

As days begin to shorten, holiday cactus will go dormant for around four weeks before setting blooms. You can help this process along by giving it what it needs to bloom – longer, cooler nights.

Keep your plant in the dark for about twelve to fourteen hours a day. If you don’t have a place to put your plant where it will be in the dark, you can cover it gently with a black sheet.

The plant will also need cooler temperatures between 50-55 degrees to set buds. Move it to a cool room in your home.

Growing up, my mom would always put her Christmas cactus in the little pantry off the kitchen that led down to the basement. There was a door to the outside with a window, and the cool air from the basement came up the steps. It was the perfect place to create a false dormant period.

Once your cactus begins to set buds at the very tip of its segments, you can move the plant back to its usual location. Be careful, and don’t jostle the plant; they will drop buds if you disturb them too much.

Holiday cactus can be temperamental and drop their buds if disturbed too much. While the plant is budding, be sure to water it regularly, keep it out of drafts and away from heat sources, and try not to move it around a lot.  

As long as your plant goes through this dormant phase, your cactus should provide you with beautiful blooms every year.

Propagating

Once your plant has finished blooming, let it rest for a month or two, then trim the plant back if it’s too leggy or you don’t like its shape. Trim it back to the desired length by clipping it at the base of a leaf segment with a pair of sterilized scissors.

Save these segments to propagate and share with friends and family. Let the leaf segments callous over for a few days after cutting. Then tuck each section 1” deep into a pot of fresh soil.

Water them sparingly while they are putting down roots. The plant should be well established within a couple of weeks, at which point you can water it normally.

Take a look at our complete step-by-guide to propagating Christmas cactus – or any other holiday cacti here: How to Propagate Christmas Cactus + 2 Secrets To Big, Blooming Plants

Don’t forget to share with family and friends, especially if you have a true Christmas cactus. They are tough to find!

Pets, pests, and problems

Holiday cactus are not poisonous to cats and dogs.

These cacti are generally pest-free.

Over-watering can lead to root rot. If your plant starts to look sickly and begins to drop entire segments, stop watering it. You may wish to dig out some of the dirt and expose the roots so they can dry out. Consider using terra cotta or other breathable clay pots for holiday cactus rather than plastic containers.

If your cactus leaves turn reddish-brown, they may be getting too much sun or not enough water. Move your plant to a location with less direct light and water it a little more.

How to tell holiday cactus apart

So how do you know which holiday cactus you have? Take a look at their segments.

The Thanksgiving variety has pointed teeth at the top of each segment and the same on their sides. The segment is elongated and slightly boxy.

The Christmas cactus has a similar boxy shape but with notched sides rather than teeth.

Finally, the Easter cactus has very rounded leaf segments with shallow indents on its side.

When they bloom, both the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus have tube-shaped blooms, whereas the Easter cactus has a more daisy-shaped flower.

Check out your plant; you may be surprised to find you don’t have a Christmas cactus at all.

With proper care, you will be enjoying the beautiful blooms of your holiday cactus for years to come, maybe even decades. They are incredibly long-lived plants, just made for sharing.

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Read Next:

15 Rare & Unusual Houseplants To Grow

The post Christmas Cactus – How to ID & Care for Everyone’s Favorite Holiday Plant appeared first on Rural Sprout.

I have been growing (and killing) houseplants for decades, and after years of experience, pothos has become my go-to houseplant. They’re beautiful, lush, easy to get your hands on, even easier to make more of, and nearly indestructible. Whether I need a nice last-minute gift for someone or there’s a corner that could use (even more) greening up, most of the time, I’m looking for a pothos.

What I’m about to say will make me sound like the biggest hipster:  I was growing houseplants long before the current houseplant craze. Granted, back in the day, it was only a not-so-Christmas cactus started from a cutting from my grandmother, a spider plant and a few African violets.

Over the years, I’ve gone through my share of plant-crazed purchases.

I’ve grown them all: maranta, ZZ plant, Monstera deliciosa, Monstera adansonii, fiddle-leaf fig, and dumbcane. Some of them I still have, and many of them were given away to friends. And yes, a few died along the way; I’m looking at you, prayer plants.

No Pansies Allowed

Over the years, I’ve developed a No-Pansies Allowed Policy. If plants are too fussy or hard to care for, off they go to be fussy in someone else’s home. (No offense to pansies.) And do you know what I never give away?

Pothos.

Okay, I might take cuttings, propagate them, and give them away, but I still have the first pothos I received years ago. These days, it has numerous roommates, too. There’s a lot to love about this lush, tropical epiphyte.

17 Pothos Varieties

Do you know how many varieties of pothos there are? Seventeen – it’s a good number. There are enough to collect them all. But not so many that you’re overwhelmed by choice or looking for a variety that is hard to obtain.

Green, gold, white and neon – stripes, splashes, blotchy dots – there’s a pothos for everyone. If you want a great statement piece for your living room, place three different pothos together in the same style pot.

• Golden pothos – Epipremnum aureum
• Marble Queen pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen’
• Neon Pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Neon’
• Variegated neon pothos
• Jassenia pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Jessenia’
• Manjula pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘hansoti14’
• Pearls and Jade pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘UFM12’
• Pothos N’Joy
• Cebu Blue pothos – Epipremnum pinnatum ‘Cebu Blue’
• Jade Pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Jade’
• Snow Queen pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Snow Queen’
• Harlequin Pothos
• Global Green pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Asaoka Second’
• Glacier pothos – Epipremnum aureum ‘Glacier’
• Silver or Satin Pothos Scindapsus pictus
• Epipremnum pinnatum (Dragon’s Tail Pothos)
• Epipremnum pinnatum ‘Baltic Blue’    

The Indestructible Pothos (Well, mostly.)

As part of my No Pansies allowed rule, plants have to bounce back if I forget to water them occasionally. And pothos certainly oblige. I would even go so far as to say they thrive with a little neglect.

It takes quite some time for their foliage to noticeably wilt if you forget to water them. And potting up? Meh, they like to be a little rootbound. Fertilizer? I mean, sure, if you insist. Most varieties of pothos are incredibly hard-wearing.

They truly are a great, easy-care plant for the novice or experienced plant owner looking for something that isn’t a time-sink.

Pothos, the Pest-Free Plant

Did I mention that you rarely have to be concerned about pests with pothos? These guys are virtually pest-free. I have cleaned scale off of my hoya several times a year. I’ve had to pitch a poor parlor palm because I could not get rid of the spider mites that had taken up residence. Even when my other plants had fungus gnats, my pothos were gnat-free.

They just don’t seem to attract pests the way other houseplants do.

While they aren’t completely immune, your pothos will rarely have pest issues. Pests that can bug your pothos are spider mites, mealybugs, scale, fungus gnats or thrips.

And would it surprise you to know that pothos are generally disease-free? Really, the one thing you need to be mindful of is not to overwater them, as they are epiphytic plants. They don’t like wet feet, and sitting in soggy, damp soil will lead to root rot.

I’m trying hard to think of a downside to growing pothos, and I’m having a tough time. Oh! Sometimes, they can get leggy and lose their nice, bushy shape.

What to Do With a Leggy Pothos

If your plant doesn’t start with a lot of stems or you don’t get the lighting right, pothos can become a bit leggy. What usually starts out as a small pot full of beautiful leaves turns into long trailing creepers inching toward the nearest light source. Interesting, but not really the look we’re going for.

You’ll notice much more stem growth between leaves and leaf nodes on these tendrils. In fact, a good way of telling whether your pothos is receiving enough light is if there are lots of leaves spaced within a few inches of each other along the stem. If leaves are more than four inches apart, your plant probably needs more light.

Like most houseplants with tropical origins, pothos loves bright, indirect sunlight.

If this term has you stumped, you’re not alone. Simply put, you want the most light possible without the plant being in full sun. Stand in the room you want to put your plant in and find the brightest spot where you can’t see the sun from nearby windows.

Of course, if it’s a north or western-facing window, you can usually get away with placing your pothos directly in a window. My N’Joy hangs in a western-facing window and loves it there.

Two Months

I advocate for letting your plant hang out in the same spot for two months. That’s long enough to see whether it’s happy in that spot. If it’s still putting out leggy growth, you need more light. Well before the two months are up, you’ll know if your plant is getting too much light, the leaves will either fade in color or show brown, crispy edges. At the first sign of either, move your plant away from the light source.

You’re Full of It, Pothos

Another cause of leggy pothos is when there aren’t enough stems in the pot. You won’t have a full plant if you’ve only got 4-6 stems growing out of the soil. It seems counter-intuitive, but you want there to be enough stems in your pot to cause it to be a little cramped.

The easiest way to fix this is to cut the plant back hard.

But save those cut ends. Cut them into pieces that are roughly 3-4” long. Place one end in the soil with a node touching the soil. Poke as many in the soil as you can get. Water them consistently until they put out new growth. Between the soil-propagated cuttings and the pruned stems, within a few weeks, you’ll start to see new growth everywhere. You’re well on your way to a full pothos plant.

Speaking of Propagation

Pothos are super simple to propagate. (They even made our list of plants that are easy to propagate. You simply snip off a portion of the stem that includes a leaf node. You can start them either in soil or water. As long as you keep the soil moist (not damp), within a few weeks, the cutting will have rooted.

Don’t forget to make sure you put enough cuttings together in one pot to ensure a bushy plant.

Related Reading:

How To Propagate Pothos In Soil Or Water

Propagate and Stay There

Pothos are easy to root in water as well, and the best part is once they start growing, you don’t have to repot them. Yep, pothos will grow in water, which opens up a world of beautiful display possibilities. You can learn all about growing them in water here.

Related Reading: 7 Houseplants You Can Grow In Water – No Soil Required

Watch Out, Monstera, Pothos is Coming For You

One of the coolest things about pothos is something the average houseplant owner is unlikely to see. Did you know that pothos are climbers? Yup, if you give them a sturdy, rough surface, they will climb up it. But that’s not the cool part most people will never see.

In the wild, pothos can get huge. Usually, they’re climbing up a tree. And their leaves can grow to between three and four feet long, with, wait for it, fenestrations. Oh yes, Monstera, you’re not the only one with fancy windowed leaves.

However, indoor plants simply don’t receive the light and nutrients needed for these stunning displays. You’ll have to travel to places like South America to see giant, tree-climbing pothos.

But regardless, they’re pretty amazing and beautiful plants. You should pick up a couple or maybe even seventeen.  

The post Why I Grow Pothos More Than Any Other Houseplant appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Snake plants are popular houseplants for many reasons. Lovely to look at, easy to keep alive, and slow growing enough to maintain their shape long-term, there’s much to like about this plucky plant.

If you’re new to snake plants, you likely have some questions. How much water do they need? Do certain varieties make for better houseplants than others? And where should you place one in your house?

This article will answer all these questions and more to ensure you learn everything you need to know about snake plants.

1. They are members of the Lily family (Kind of).

Actually, this simple statement is up for debate. Some recognize snake plants as members of the Sansevieria family, to which lilies belong. But recently, that family has been folded into the Dracaena family, which contains asparagus. Today, you’ll still find both classifications in use, and both are accepted.

2. It’s possible to make them flower.

While snake plants are known for their lush green foliage, they will bloom under the right conditions. These delicate, tubular flowers are creamy-white and resemble lilies. In nature, the plants bloom yearly in the spring.

Indoor environments mess with this cycle, but it’s still possible to coax yours into flowering.

The key, as we’ve highlighted in this article, is to cause the plant to experience stress. Giving your snake plant a sense that its cushy life might be in jeopardy will make it put more effort towards reproduction to ensure another generation lives on—meaning flower production.

You accomplish this by switching up the plant’s environment. Boost the amount of light it receives daily (grow lights are a great option) and limit how often you water. Refrain from repotting, as cramped roots can also trigger bloom production.

With the right environmental stressors, your snake plant will push out a flower shoot. Observe for signs of flowering—snake plants tend to bloom at night, and the flowers never last long. Once it’s finished blooming, you can return to a standard care routine.

Related Reading:

How To Get Your Snake Plant To Flower

3. They are slow growers.

Part of a snake plant’s appeal is that they don’t change quickly. Put one in a pot, and you can expect it to look reasonably identical over the next few months. These slow growers can go through growth spurts during changes in seasons, but in an indoor environment, these changes are small.  

Size at maturity will vary based on variety but ranges from dwarf plants that peak at under six inches tall to towering giants that grow over seven feet. The plants usually live for five to ten years, though 25-plus isn’t unheard of.

4. Snake plants are a popular “air purifying” houseplant – although their impact may have been overstated

Snake plants saw a surge in popularity thanks to NASA, of all things. The space organization funded a landmark study about indoor air purification that found that plants do an excellent job of removing toxins like formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, and nitrogen oxides from the air.

Note: some websites report that the study found snake plants make it possible for humans to survive in an airtight room. This is NOT true.

Snake plants stand out from other varieties because they can perform Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). Essentially, they can convert CO2 (carbon dioxide) into O2 (oxygen) at night, while most plants only do so during daylight hours.

This makes them popular in bedrooms, especially in homes with minimal airflow. It’s a common trait among succulents and other plants that evolved in arid conditions.

If you’re interested in learning more about the NASA air purifying houseplants study and why it might actually have been the soil and not the plants that removed the contaminants, take a look at Rural Sprout editor, Tracey’s, article here:

No, Houseplants Don’t Purify The Air In Your Home

5. They are hard to kill and easy to maintain.

Snake plants deserve to be a contender for the “easiest houseplant on the planet” award. Once you have one, you can largely ignore it.

Really. The plants almost do better in a state of moderate neglect.

Start your snake plant out well by placing it near a north or east-facing window. This ensures it gets bright but indirect light. But no sweat if that’s impossible—this hardy variety is known for tolerating both low light and direct sun.

Depending on your climate, you can start yours outdoors in the spring and move it inside once the weather turns in the fall.

A standard houseplant soil blend works perfectly—they thrive with a nutrient-rich potting mix with good drainage to prevent root rot (more on that later). If the plant seems piqued, apply a fertilizer watered down to half strength. Monthly infusions should be enough to restore its perkiness. 

Snake plants thrive in arid climates. As such, they don’t need much water. In fact, too much moisture is one of the quickest ways to kill them. The plants have shallow root systems and will develop yellowing leaves if they sit in water too long.

Plan to water a few times a month during the growing season while ensuring the soil has time to dry out. In the winter, you can limit watering to once a month or less.

6. Repotting usually isn’t necessary.

Since snake plants are such slow growers, they can stay in the same pot for years without issue. You must only consider replanting if you see roots pushing against the edges or out the bottom.

When repotting, remove the plant and gently massage its roots to loosen them. Fill the new pot with fresh soil and bury the roots in it. Ensure you give the plant a good soaking to settle it into the soil.

7. Over 70 snake plant varieties exist. 

There are more snake plant varieties than meets the eye. Most potted plants sold in nurseries are the trifasciata species (nicknamed mother-in-law’s tongue), known for their variegated and thick, sword-shaped leaves that come in various colors and patterns.  

However, snake plants are more diverse than this single family. A few popular varieties include:

Bird’s nest snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata hahnii): At just six inches tall, the bird’s nest grows leaves in clusters that form a shallow cup, similar to a bird’s nest. They pair well with succulents for indoor displays.

Cylinder snake plant (Dracaena angolensis): known for its dark green, tubular leaves that can reach up to seven feet tall.

Moonshine (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Moonshine’): Short and silvery green, moonshine snake plants produce thin, broad leaves.

White snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Bantel’s Sensation’): also known as “Bantel’s Sensation,” this pale-green plant grows to approximately three feet tall and has pale white and yellow vertical stripes. 

Twisted sister (sansevieria trifasciata ‘twisted sister’): a dwarf cultivar of snake plant that maxes out at 15 inches and whose yellow-green leaves grow in whorls.

Golden Hahnii (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’): These squat succulents produce short leaves with bright yellow borders.

Rhino grass (Sansevieria pearsonii): A fan-like growth habit and thick, tubular leaves make rhino grass a show stopper. It tops out at twelve inches tall.  

8. It’s easy to grow snake plants from cuttings

Already own one snake plant? It’s an easy process to multiply it through cuttings. You can take leaf cuttings from a mature plant or divide up plant roots for a more efficient split. The roots produce rhizomes that you can remove with a sharp knife and pot separately to grow into new plants.

Tracey walks us through four different ways of propagating snake plants and how to do it in this article.

Leaf cuttings can rot quickly, so it’s vital to water their pots infrequently and ensure they are in well-drained soil as they get established.

To take a leaf cutting, use a sterile cutting tool to remove a large leaf at its base. Submerge the cut end in a jar of water and place it in a partly sunny location. Change the water out every two weeks until roots start forming, at which point you can plant it. Alternatively, you can leave the cut end exposed for 24 hours so that it forms a callous. Then, pot it cut-end down into fresh potting soil.  

Note: Never divide a plant before the leaves are at least four inches tall.

9. The primary health concern is root rot.

Snake plants are stress-free. They rarely develop pest and disease problems, although infestations of mealybugs, aphids, or spider mites are possible. If you see signs of insect damage, a few treatments with an insecticidal soap should be enough to get them under control.

A far more pressing problem will be root rot, which occurs when these arid-loving plants receive too much water. Prevention is your best strategy. Only water snake plants when the soil feels dry a full finger-length down, and repot plants in fresh soil if you see wilting or yellowing leaves.

Remove as much of the old soil as you can from around the roots to reduce the risk of spreading fungal spores into fresh soil.

10. Pruning is sometimes necessary.

Thanks to their slow growth and vertical structure, snake plants rarely get unwieldy. Even so, you may someday find yourself with more plant than desired or unsightly damaged leaves that need removing. Thankfully, pruning is an easy process.

Isolate the tallest leaves and cut them at the soil line with a sterile cutting tool. While pruning is possible at any time, plants experience the least amount of stress in winter.

Read Next:

10 Things Every Christmas Cactus Owner Needs To Know

The post 10 Things Every Snake Plant Owner Needs To Know appeared first on Rural Sprout.

When you think of blooming houseplants, I’ll bet you don’t think of snake plants. Yet, the recently reclassified Sansevieria trifasciata does, in fact, flower. They can bloom, usually once a year in the spring. But you wouldn’t think so to look at them. The (now) Dracaena trifasciata are tough plants.

Everything about these succulents comes off as slightly imposing.

From the long, sword-shaped leaves of Dracaena trifasciata to the spikey columns of Dracaena angolensis to how much neglect they can receive and still keep growing – these plants don’t mess around.

Heck, even their common names evoke menacing images: St. George’s Sword, mother-in-law tongue, snake plant.

It’s no wonder that the fragile blooms often take unsuspecting houseplant owners by surprise. Walking through their sun-filled living room one morning, coffee in hand, they notice something that wasn’t there before – a stalk of flowers.  

“Huh, I didn’t even know snake plants could flower.”

Of course, some of us know they flower, but we can’t seem to get our plant to do it.

To add insult to injury, it’s usually that friend or relation who offers haphazard care to their plants that find a surprise flower stalk rather than us. You know, the one who forgets to water their plants or doesn’t repot them when they’re supposed to. The one who casually mentions they have killed yet another houseplant.

No matter which camp you fall into – still striving toward a flower stalk or unwitting recipient of a snake plant bloom – knowing the conditions in which snake plants flower will help you achieve that goal.

Or explain why your houseplant-loving friend’s eye keeps twitching when you tell them about your lucky blooming snake plant.

Oddly enough, the key to a flowering snake plant reveals a hormonal link we share with our spikey little friend.

How to Get a Snake Plant to Bloom

Getting a snake plant to bloom all comes down to everyone’s favorite word – stress.

Okay, so maybe not everyone’s favorite word. (Did your shoulders hunch up a little when you read it?) But still, it’s what causes your spider plant to bloom and why some houseplant owners are a little hesitant to induce blooming in their plants but trust me, it turns out all right in the end.

There may even be flowers.

Stress – a Short Life Lesson & the Key to Blooming Snake Plants

Like most living creatures on this giant blue ball, plants are all about two things – surviving and producing more of themselves. If a plant becomes stressed and detects even the slightest chance that it won’t make it, it will turn its energy toward creating more copies of itself.

For most plants, that means producing flowers, which will produce seeds and, hopefully, the next generation. When environmental stressors begin to crop up, plants release hormones that start the process of producing flowers, snake plants included.

Of course, for us, stress is a four-letter word.

It’s only natural that when we think of intentionally putting stress on our plant, we tend to think the worst – a dead houseplant. That’s because we compare what we’re about to do to our plants with our experience with this word.

Stress isn’t bad. It’s there to keep us safe.

Our brains are inherently good at detecting things that can harm us. And when they do, our bodies flood with cortisol, preparing us to fight or flee from the lion we just heard hiding in the grass. But once we realize that the rustle in the grass was only the wind and not a lion about to devour us, the cortisol dissipates, and it’s no harm done.

Unfortunately, in our modern times, our brains mistake many common occurrences with deadly threats.

• Getting stuck in traffic when you’re already running late.
• Grabbing your mail and noticing that the Internal Revenue Service is one of the return addresses.
• Hearing your phone ring and seeing the number of an unwanted caller flash on the screen.

All these things trigger the release of cortisol, and all these tiny stressors add up, meaning we are now dealing with a constant and steady supply of cortisol with little to no abatement. We would be well past making flowers if we were plants.

So, it’s no wonder that intentionally stressing a plant to get it to flower elicits a resounding “Nope!” from so many plant enthusiasts.

However, it takes minimal environmental stress to get your snake plant to flower. (Plants are pretty cautious like that.)

In fact, to get a snake plant to bloom indoors, you only need to change three specific growing conditions. Only two of these are stressful to the plant: letting the plant become root-bound and watering less frequently.

I’ll even put it into human stress scenarios.

It’s a bit like wearing that pair of jeans in the back of your drawer that are a smidge too snug because all your other pairs are in the laundry and how thirsty you feel in the evening if you forget to drink water all day.

Uncomfortable? Sure. Insurmountable? Hardly.

Naturally, if you put too much stress on a plant, the results will be disastrous, but that’s not what we’re after here.  

The non-stress element? Light. Lots and lots of light.

Mild stress + light = a blooming snake plant.

Light Requirements

Light is one of the most important factors when trying to induce a plant to flower, not just snake plants. If you have other flowering houseplants that have stopped blooming, like a peace lily or your African violet, fixing their light is usually enough to trigger blooms again.

Place your snake plant where it will receive bright, indirect sunlight. (An easy way to judge if it’s indirect light is that you shouldn’t be able to see the sun from where your plant is sitting.) Most houseplants can’t handle direct sun on their leaves and will burn. (That’s true plant stress.)

Usually, setting your plant near a south or east-facing window, but not in it, will provide the correct intensity of light needed.

If you want to be sure your plant is receiving the right light, you can purchase a light meter or download a light meter app on your phone, such as Lux Light Meter Pro. Bright indirect light should be over 10,000 lux to promote blooming.

However, it’s not simply the amount of light that’s important, but also the duration.

Indoor plants receive far less light than they would outdoors. As houseplant owners, we’re kind of terrible at estimating light needs. More often than not, we wrongly assume we’re providing an equivalent to what a plant would receive outdoors.

Even if you have your plants in a location that receives bright indirect sunlight, they may not receive enough of it throughout the day to trigger blooming.

The answer is to supplement with grow lights.

Your plant should receive 8-12 hours of bright indirect light daily. Setting up a grow light with a timer to turn on for a few hours in the morning or afternoon is the easiest way to ensure your plant receives enough light. Again, you may want to use a light meter to gauge whether or not the plant is receiving enough.

Let Your Snake Plant Wear Tight Jeans

Slightly rootbound plants will be under just enough stress to trigger blooming. However, severely rootbound plants won’t bloom and will stop growing altogether. How can you tell the difference?

A slightly rootbound plant will continue to grow, but its growth may be a bit slower than in previous years. You should see an even mix of roots and potting media if you gently lift the plant from the pot. A severely rootbound plant will stop growing altogether, with roots protruding from the bottom of the pot. If you lift the plant out of the pot, you will see mostly roots, as the root ball will have displaced most of the potting media.

If you want to trigger your snake plant to bloom, keep it in a small pot and only pot up once it has stopped growing. Move up to a slightly larger pot, no more than one inch larger in diameter.

Water Infrequently

Snake plants don’t need a lot of water to begin with. They do not like wet feet and prefer to dry out between waterings. During their active growth period, this equates to around once every two weeks. However, as the plant begins to slow its growth in the fall, you can stretch that out a bit. In the winter, you can even get away with watering them once a month. (See? Tough plants.)

But if you want to induce flowering, you’ll want to water them even less frequently.

As most snake plants will flower in the spring, pay careful attention to when you water it as the plant emerges from dormancy. Once the days grow longer and things warm up, give it a good soaking and then let it really dry out, waiting about a week once it’s completely dry before watering again. Then, water sparingly, letting the plant dry completely before watering it again.

With the right amount of light, a snug pot, and infrequent watering, your plant will eventually push out a shoot at the base of a rosette. Within days, it will grow into a flower stalk. And who knows, it may take you by surprise one sunny morning, even if you’re looking for it.

The flowers exude a sticky nectar that hangs from the blossoms like dew drops. The flowers will open in the evenings, releasing a unique scent. Not many people get to experience this scent. So, if you get your snake plant to flower, take time to stop and smell them.  

Post-bloom Care

Once your plant has finished blooming, it’s important to return to the normal standard of care. After all, the plant’s stress should be temporary, only long enough to induce flower production. (Lucky plant.)

Remove the flower stalk once the blooms have faded, and return to watering it as it dries out. If you’ve been supplementing with a grow light, you can stop using it.

Allow the plant to grow and renew its strength. You may even wish to repot your snake plant once it sufficiently recovers.

Keep in mind that each rosette is only capable of blooming once. So don’t expect to repeat this flowery display too often in the future. But depending on the size of your plant, you can get other rosettes to bloom if you wish. While the snake plant isn’t generally considered a flowering plant, it’s worth the time and effort to experience it once.

And now, here we are, at the end of this article, and I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson. Live like your snake plant: be tough but capable of fragile beauty; too much stress will kill you, but being slightly uncomfortable will cause you to bloom, especially if you surround yourself with light. Oh, and, of course, I hope you learned how to get your snake plant to flower.

Read Next:

The Real Reason Your Peace Lily Won’t Bloom

The post How to Get a Snake Plant to Flower appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Many years ago, when I first discovered that a surefire way to get free houseplants was to bring some in from the garden, you would have thought I’d hit the jackpot.

When you’re a plant-obsessed student on a half-a-shoestring budget, it does feel like winning the lottery when well-meaning family members give you plants from their garden. 

Even now, after more than a decade of enjoying gardening, I feel giddy when I successfully turn garden plants into indoor plants. Some of them stay indoors just for half a year, from fall until spring, and we overwinter together. Others I keep indoors all year long. It’s often a combination of the two, sometimes with the same type of plant. 

If you want some bonus plants, too, here’s a short list of plants I’ve turned from garden plants to houseplants without too much of a hassle. 

1. Begonia 

I have to start with begonias because they have been, by far, my most successful indoor-outdoor-indoor transition every year. Rhizomatous begonias, wax begonias (also known as Sempterflorens), and rex begonias are the three types that will handle this transition well.

They will certainly live to see another season in the garden. 

Whether you’re growing your begonias in containers or in the ground, I highly recommend changing their soil before you take them indoors. You don’t want any hitchhikers coming indoors and moving on to your other plants. 

I have to warn you that begonias tend to be a bit finicky indoors. They need humidity which is often in short supply in the winter indoors. They also can’t handle cold drafts. Even though my begonias are happy and thriving in a partly shaded location outside in the garden, they tend to get a bit stretchy indoors in the winter.

So even though they don’t need direct sunlight, they do need plenty of daylight.

Does that mean that begonias won’t be happy indoors? Not at all. They’ll be thriving inside as long as they have enough humidity, water and bright indirect light. You might even get your begonia to bloom inside in the cold months. 

Begonias will bounce back wherever you move them.

Now here’s a piece of good news: even if your begonia might get a little bit frazzled indoors, it will bounce back very quickly when you take it back outdoors.

If you’re nervous about taking your begonia indoors, you can reach a compromise with this garden queen and take just a snippet inside. This will ensure that should you get frost during the cold months, you’ll still have a backup begonia ready to go. 

I like to take begonia cuttings early enough in the season – usually in September – and root them in pots outdoors. This gives the cuttings enough time to grow a strong root system in ideal weather before I bring them indoors. 

For more begonia care tips, have a look at this article I wrote about this very versatile plant. 

2. Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) 

Coleus is another indoor-outdoor favorite of mine. Just like with begonia, you can bring your entire coleus plant indoors when the temperatures dip or just take a cutting to overwinter inside.

Another similarity to begonia is that coleus can tolerate shade outside – and thrives in part shade – but really reacts poorly to lack of light indoors. So if you can find a place where it can reliably get enough bright indirect light indoors, you’re all set. And just like begonia, it will bounce back quickly once you relocate it outdoors. 

Without a doubt, the main coleus attraction is its mesmerizing colorful foliage. There’s a coleus in every color or shade imaginable in nature, from lime green to bright red to deep burgundy. 

But will coleus keep their colorful leaf pattern indoors? Yes and … no? 

Here’s what happened to my coleus when I moved it inside, then planted it out in the garden, then moved it inside again. 

Out in natural light, the colors were deep and intense. In indoor light, especially during the winter, it turned a bit more pale (but still had some splashes of color). When I returned it outdoors, this time in a generously large container, it went back to growing strong, velvety leaves. 

One year, I wanted to see what would happen to my coleus if I kept it as a houseplant. I had the pleasant surprise of ending up with this. An enormous houseplant that was in bloom for weeks. Surprisingly, a plant with such stunning foliage doesn’t have equally show-stopping flowers. The coleus flowers are delicately small, baby-blue or purple blooms. 

It was getting a bit out of hand and a bit too etiolated (leggy) for my taste, so out into the garden it went the following spring. I could have kept it a bit more compact by simply pruning it where it branched to encourage lateral growth. 

3. Oxalis

My story with oxalis happened the other way around. I had been growing it as a houseplant for a good five years before I dared turn it into a garden plant. I carried it from one apartment to another, and it reliably brightened up dark corners or rentals while being the least fussy plant I had. (Yes, that included the pothos.) 

When I once again had my own garden, I moved the oxalis outdoors with nary a trepidation in my heart. My intuition was right. It thrived as an outdoor plant just as much as it did as a houseplant. 

Outdoors, oxalis will start dying back when the temperatures reach the low 50s F (around 10-14C). But it’s only the part above ground that dies. Both oxalis grown from rhizomes and those grown from bulbs will just retreat underground and sprout back up in spring. When you’re bringing your oxalis indoors and turning it into a houseplant, you get to skip this part. 

Most oxalis will keep the foliage year-long when you keep them indoors, although it may slow down their flowering. 

The best way to make sure your oxalis thrives – both indoors and outdoors – is to avoid overwatering it at all costs. You should also upsize its container every year or at least every other year. A happy oxalis is an oxalis that has enough room to split and multiply without any constraints. 

4. Geraniums 

Are you surprised that geraniums weren’t number one on my list? Well, I’ve already written an article about overwintering pelargonium geraniums indoors on our sister site, Blooming Backyard. So I feel that shows I’m firmly in the ”geraniums as houseplants” camp.

My favorite type of geranium to grow as a houseplant is the lemony-scented Pelargonium crispum. Pelargonium tomentosum (which smells like mint) is also a good choice. Just slightly brush past them, and the entire room will smell fresh and crisp. 

Light is especially important for geraniums. So when you bring them indoors, place them in a south- or east-facing window. This goes well for both geraniums that flower and the ones that we grow for foliage.

I had to move my lemon-scented geranium around a bit before I found a spot that suited it best. Close to the east-facing double window – not right in front of it, but slightly below it, reaching up. It did lose some older leaves as it adapted to a lower level of light than it was getting outside on my deck, but once it stabilized, it started growing again, even through the winter months. 

Geraniums are also sensitive to overwatering, so keep a light hand in winter. But don’t let them get too dry between watering sessions, as they’re also not big fans of frequent water fluctuations. 

The downside of keeping geraniums indoors is that they won’t bloom as profusely as when you’re growing them in the garden. But that’s okay since, with this type of plant, it’s the foliage that carries both visual and olfactory appeal. 

5. Chinese hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa sinensis)

Growing up in a temperate climate in the Northern Hemisphere, I only ever saw hibiscus grown as a houseplant. (One of my aunts who had a particularly green thumb used to have an indoor hibiscus the size of three of my cousins put together.)

It was only when I started traveling further south that I started seeing hibiscus grown outdoors. 

In all honesty, if you look at a hibiscus shrub, it’s hard to imagine ever taking it indoors. That’s because not all hibiscus make good houseplants. And with over 200 varieties of hibiscus in circulation, that would be hard to imagine. 

The one that always does, though, is the tropical hibiscus (also known as Chinese hibiscus). You’ll recognize it by the shiny deep green leaves and the bright flowers that come in shades of pink, red, orange or white. 

The trouble with hibiscus is that, because they’re tropical plants, they need to get as much bright sunlight as possible. Since that’s easier said than done in the winter months, your hibiscus might throw a bit of a temper tantrum when you first bring it indoors. 

Two common signs that the hibiscus is still adapting to the transition include the flowers falling and the foliage turning yellow. That’s okay as long as the plant still has a healthy-looking stem and is growing new foliage at the top. 

Hibiscus dislikes dry air as much as they dislike darkness.

So placing them in the company of other plants, on a humid pebble tray, or in a room with more humidity will help hibiscus cope better in the dry months. Of course, make sure you keep this plant away from sources of direct hot air, such as furnaces, stoves, vents or fireplaces. 

Some hibiscus may bloom all winter long, provided they get enough sun. Mine never does, though. It enters a state of complete bliss and relaxation in which it doesn’t grow but doesn’t die back, either. And that’s good enough for me. Once the days start getting longer and brighter in spring, my hibiscus starts growing and blooming as usual.  

4 Tips for Transitioning Outdoor Plants to Houseplants

In my opinion, there is no definite right or wrong way to transition plants from the garden to an indoor environment. However, through trial and error, I found a few tips that will make the job easier. 

1. Before you move them inside, transition to an outdoor space that mimics indoor conditions. 

This is similar advice to the one I had when I was talking about moving houseplants outside in the summer.

It’s just as important to acclimate our garden plants to indoor conditions before we take them fully indoors.

However, my outdoor plant pots are inhabited by all sorts of critters that have been feasting and burrowing in the soil. They’re welcome to it, but I don’t want them spreading to my houseplants. The last thing I want is a school of pill bugs dispersing over my living room floor. 

So it’s not practical to move the same pots from outdoors to indoors and back again over a period of a few weeks just to acclimate them. What I do instead is move the plants I plan to take inside to a more shaded location. This helps them adjust to lower levels of light intensity. In the case of plants that tend to go dormant in the winter, such as hibiscus, I also start watering them less. 

2. Clean up the plants thoroughly.

If the plant you’re bringing indoors is currently residing in the ground, half the job is done. Lift it gently, spray the root structure with water to clean everything thoroughly and pot it up. Make sure you use fresh potting soil specially mixed for indoor containers. 

However, if the plant has been happily residing in a container outdoors, the choice is a bit trickier. If you decide to leave it in the same pot and just move it as is, you have to be really thorough when you check it. Really thorough! 

Check the drainage holes because that’s where slugs, snails and earthworms reside. Then thoroughly check the top of the soil and dig a bit deeper around the rim of the container. That’s where you’re more likely to find slug eggs. 

Speaking of above soil level, take the time to inspect and clean all the leaves. I start by giving the plant a nice shower with the hose (while still outdoors, of course); I then wipe it dry with a soft rag and inspect it at the same time. I check the underside of the leaves for spider mites and the stems and new growth for aphids. 

And repot the plants if you’re not sure. 

Yes, my advice may sound a bit overly cautious, but it’s a case of “been there, done that, regretted it, and now I’m warning everyone against it.” That’s why I prefer to repot all the outdoor plants I’m taking back indoors. I do it for my own peace of mind and for the well-being of all my houseplants. And I always find new uses for the old potting soil because I hate waste just as much as any gardener does. 

And if you have a transitional space available, such as a sunroom, an enclosed porch, or even a guest room where no other houseplants reside, that’s where I would put them first. Keep the garden plants as far away from your houseplants as possible for at least a couple of weeks. 

3. Reduce the size of the plant, if necessary. 

First, I start by removing all the dead and diseased leaves or branches. No diseased matter should enter the house. No exceptions. Then I trim some of the leggy growth. You don’t have to do this step if you have plenty of room to accommodate a larger plant, but I find things get a bit cramped with this new influx of houseplants. 

For example, in the case of both begonia and coleus, I almost always end up trimming a few errant branches. Again, in the interest of no waste, you can try to propagate the cuttings, although for some plants, it might be a bit too late in the season. 

Please keep in mind that I don’t do any major pruning at this time. I don’t want to stimulate new growth. So just a light trim will do. 

4. Expect a bit of a rough patch.

Listen, there’s no way to sugarcoat this.  When you turn outdoor plants into indoor plants, there will be an adjustment period. And the best way to deal with it is to adjust your expectations accordingly. 

Due to the changes in light, temperature, humidity, airflow and temperature (so basically almost everything a plant relies on to thrive), the plant will react. It will stop blooming. Then it will lose leaves. It may even start growing altogether. But that’s okay. And it’s just temporary. Please don’t attempt to “save it” by adding more fertilizer or giving it more water. That’s only going to make matters worse. 

The post 5 Outdoor Plants You Can Turn Into Houseplants + Tips to Bring Them Inside appeared first on Rural Sprout.

All-purpose potting soil has been around for quite some time. Its invention changed how we garden. It has made growing plants easy and accessible, whether you have a large plot of land or a small terracotta pot. But the name can be misleading. Is all-purpose potting mix really all-purpose? Not where most houseplants are concerned.

Cornell mix

Picture yourself back in the 50s. (Nice hair.) You want to grow a potted gerbera daisy. But there’s no all-purpose potting mix. It hasn’t been invented yet. At least not in the way we know it today.

So, you find some nice loamy soil out in the wild blue yonder. That’s all well and good if you live near a wooded area where the soil has plenty of natural organic matter in it.

But if you don’t have access to good natural soil?

Tough luck; you made do with whatever you could find or hit up a local greenhouse to purchase some of their pre-mixed soil.

Fast forward to the 60s, and an Ivy League school nestled in upstate NY – Cornell University. Horticulturalists James Boodley and Raymond Sheldrake were busy playing in the dirt. Between the two of them, they came up with a light, fluffy potting mix – Cornell Mix – that changed how we garden forever.

The ingredients included a blend of sphagnum peat moss (the main ingredient), vermiculite, ground limestone and a bit of fertilizer.

This potting mix revolutionized home gardening. Suddenly, we had the perfect blend for starting tomatoes and other seedlings. It was light, drained well, yet still retained moisture. Hurrah!

Eventually, what began as Cornell Peat-lite Mix became known as “All-Purpose Potting Mix,” this moniker has been tripping up houseplant enthusiasts for decades. Because when it comes to most houseplants, all-purpose doesn’t cut it.

To Find Out What’s Up – Look Down

All-purpose potting mix, despite the name, was never meant to be used for houseplants. It was created for seedlings and bedding plants. Most of these plants have a highly developed vascular system below the ground.

The roots of tomatoes, marigolds, and your potted mint grow deep into the soil, branching out in endless tiny roots to create plenty of surface area for water uptake and nutrients.

Nearly all the lush, green plants we’ve cultivated to be grown as houseplants are grown for their foliage rather than a fruit or flower. 

These plants have very different root structures, which are much smaller. In their natural habitat, epiphytes grow symbiotically with another plant (usually a tree) or on a rock, using it for support. These tropical plants use their shallow roots to cling to whatever they’re growing on.

They take in nutrients and water differently, using their roots, thick leaves, and woody aerial roots.

Many of these plants don’t grow “in” soil in the wild, but rather whatever shallow organic matter has collected in the crook of the rock they’re clinging to or the crotch of a tree.

Their roots don’t do well when submersed in heavy soil. Epiphytic plants need extremely lightweight soil with plenty of air pockets so the roots can breathe. Because of this, nearly all houseplants are more susceptible to root rot than the plants in your garden.

So, when we reach for the all-purpose potting soil to repot our favorite Christmas cactus, orchid, or Monstera deliciosa, we’re asking for trouble.

What Makes a Good Houseplant Mix?

Despite being lighter than garden soil, all-purpose potting mix is still too heavy for these types of plants to thrive.

Instead, you should use a potting mix designed specifically for aroids or epiphytes. Luckily, there are many good ones to choose from. Most of these will have a much higher percentage of perlite, vermiculite, or both. Many will also include fir bark to help hold moisture without leaving the soil soggy.

A good rule of thumb when choosing a commercial potting mix for my epiphytes is to look for surprisingly light packages. When you pick them up and think, “Oh!” because it’s so light, you’ve probably got a good mix in your hands.

If you’re a diehard houseplant enthusiast, you may want to try mixing your own custom blends.

Remember you want something that will drain quickly (coconut coir or peat moss), filled with tiny air pockets (perlite), but that will still hold moisture (vermiculite, perlite, fir bark or a combination of the three.)

Related Reading: 5 Ingredient African Violet Potting Mix

The Problem with Peat

Since its invention, all-purpose potting mix has always contained peat moss. Peat moss was used in horticultural applications well before Cornell mix came along. But it’s only in recent decades that we’ve begun to understand the ecological toll harvesting peat has on the environment.

From the permanent destruction of delicate habitats to the release of carbon stored for centuries to the prevalence of forest fires – harvesting peat moss from peat bogs is no longer a good choice for potting mixes.

Look for a houseplant mix that contains coconut coir instead of peat moss for a more sustainable potting mix alternative.  

The post “All-Purpose” Potting Mix & Why You Shouldn’t Use It For Your Houseplants appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Why isn’t my peace lily blooming? It’s the most commonly asked question about this popular beginner’s houseplant. And while Google will throw numerous articles at you with numbered lists suggesting why your plant won’t bloom, few get it right.

You see, they fail to address something plant breeders have known since the 80s about the blooming habits of Spathiphyllum.

If you want to know the real reason your peace lily isn’t blooming, then it will take a bit more reading than “7 Reasons Why Your Peace Lily Won’t Bloom.”

The Peace Lily – a Brief Overview

Spath or Peace lily, Spathiphyllum, is a monocotyledonous flowering plant. Basically, they’re a type of grass that happens to flower. Yup, without the blooms, you’re just growing fancy grass. And if you’re like most houseplant owners, you already have plenty of ‘fancy grass’ in the form of Monstera deliciosa, pothos, spider plants and other plants grown for their foliage.  

But we bought our peace lilies for their stunning white blooms.

Those beautiful, elegant, stately, blooms. They aren’t really flowers in the sense that we normally think of flowers.

The creamy white ‘petal’ is actually a leaf called a spathe or bract. Bracts are specialized leaves that serve a function usually pertaining to reproduction. For instance, the colorful bracts of this ridiculously popular ‘flower’ attract pollinators.

The spathe of a peace lily surrounds and protects the plant’s reproductive organ, called a spadix. The spadix is usually white, green or yellow. Yup, that knobby little growth is the flower.

Peace lilies are touted as a great beginner-friendly houseplant.

They do well in medium-light situations, as direct sun can easily scorch their leaves. They only need to be watered when the first top inch of the soil is dry, and a balanced NPK fertilizer will help them to thrive.

With the right care, there’s no reason that your potted peace lily won’t last for decades.

Notice, I didn’t say bloom for decades.

A Modern History of Peace Lily Cultivation

Up until the 1980s, there were only a couple of peace lily cultivars available. Bringing a flowering peace lily to market could only be done once a year. It took growers a year to grow the plants to maturity, ensuring they received the right amount of light. They were kept at proper temperatures and fertilized regularly so the mature plants would bloom in their natural cycle just before being brought to market.

Because of this, peace lilies were marketed as a foliage plant.

“The flowers are okay, but hey, look at those glossy emerald leaves; pretty nice, am I right?”

But we fell in love with these plants anyway, and demand for peace lilies grew.

Capitalism did its thing, and breeders began to try to develop new cultivars that would flower constantly. The problem was that to breed new plants, you needed flowers, and they only had flowers during a three- or four-month window each year.

(The wise green thumb will note here that if breeders were struggling, maybe it’s not the plant but our desire for more blooms that’s the issue.)

However, a breakthrough came when it was discovered that applying a plant hormone called gibberellic acid would induce blooming. We could now get peace lilies to bloom on command, well, within two to four months of applying GA, anyway.

Suddenly, growers didn’t have to wait for a plant to reach full maturity for it to bloom.

A little spritz of GA and a much smaller, more immature plant could be forced to flower. This meant they could produce smaller blooming specimens, which are much easier to sell.

Thus, peace lilies began to be marketed as a flowering plant.

Flowering plants make up a larger market share than foliage plants because flowering plants sell better.

(Hey, wise green thumb, I hope you’re still reading between the lines.)

Of course, gibberellic acid had its drawbacks; sometimes, flowers were malformed, and new leaves of a GA-treated plant were often much narrower than their usual glossy oval shape. Rising chemical costs made using gibberellic acid less cost-effective.

Back to the Drawing Board

So, breeders continued their search for a true, continuous blooming peace lily, focusing more on the environmental factors. They made several important discoveries.

• All peace lily cultivars will only flower once they have reached maturity, usually between nine and fifteen months. (Unless chemically induced with GA.)
• Some cultivars are seasonal and will only bloom during spring and summer; the development of their blooms occurs the previous fall. No amount of extra light or fertilizer will change this; it is what it is.
• There are a couple of multi-seasonal cultivars that will flower periodically throughout the year, but not continuously. Spathiphyllum x Clevelandii, the most popular and abundant peace lily, appears to be a multi-seasonal cultivar.
• Temperature also plays an important role in bloom development. Peace lilies require a consistent temperature of around 72 degrees F to develop blooms.
• Hybridization had occurred naturally within the species of the cultivars they were studying, leading them to believe that someday there could be an ever-blooming peace lily. But they’re still working on it. (University of Florida Extension)

Asking the Right Question

Most people find this article because they asked Google how to get their peace lily to bloom again. However, after reading about the breeding history of these plants, I hope you’re beginning to see that just because you can get a plant to flower, that doesn’t make it a “flowering plant.”

Rather than asking how to get your peace lily to bloom again, perhaps the better question is:

“Is peace lily really meant to be a ‘flowering’ plant?”

An 18.5-billion-dollar industry certainly worked very hard at convincing us that it is.

Perhaps, we need to manage our expectations and accept that peace lilies are more like their close relatives, Monstera deliciosa.

Did you know Monstera also produces spathe and spadix blooms? (You can even eat the spadix.)

They only develop blooms in specific environmental conditions that are beyond difficult to replicate, nearly impossible indoors. Yet, you rarely see someone in a Reddit thread wondering why they can’t get their monstera to bloom.

Because everyone knows Monstera deliciosa is grown for its foliage.

Hey, wait a minute, weren’t peace lilies initially grown and marketed as foliage plants?

Yup. Then, the plant industry changed their label from foliage to flowering to make more money after discovering they could make the plants bloom with a little spritz of plant hormone. And we all started tearing our hair out, feeling guilty because we couldn’t get their flowering plants to flower again.

Once you consider what breeders have known for ages, it makes more sense that most of the time, you will have a peace lily without blooms rather than with. You need to manage your expectations about what is meant by the description – “flowering plant.”

As long as you provide consistent care and feeding and have a healthy plant, yes, you can get your peace lily to bloom again.

While many articles point to a lack of fertilizer or things like the plant being rootbound as a reason the plant isn’t blooming, these are not often the issue. Rather, the problem usually lies within one of the following three parameters.

Maturity

The plant’s, not yours. Peace lilies will not bloom until the plant has reached maturity; this takes anywhere from nine to fifteen months, depending on the cultivar. Conversely, plants that are too old will no longer bloom. Have you had that peace lily for ages? There may be nothing wrong with the plant otherwise, it just may not bloom anymore.

Temperature & Light

These things need to go hand in hand. Peace lilies need consistent temperatures of around 70-75 degrees F to develop blooms. Temperature is easy enough to control indoors; just be sure to keep the plant away from drafty doorways in the cooler months.

They also need a ton of light to make the energy needed to produce blooms.

And by a ton of light, I mean duration and intensity. We already know that direct sunlight is a no-go for peace lilies; instead, they need bright, indirect sunlight. If you want the plant to develop blooms, it needs 10-12 hours of light daily.

That may mean you need to supplement natural light with grow lights. Keep in mind, no matter how bright you think your space is; it’s incredibly dim compared to the greenhouses that got your peace lily to bloom in the first place.

Cultivar Blooming Frequency

Remember, some cultivars will only bloom once a year, in the spring and summer. Even multi-seasonal varieties will likely only bloom a couple of times a year.  

The Most Important Factor in Getting a Peace Lily to Bloom

Patience.

It’s important to remember that it takes peace lilies several months to develop and produce new blooms, anywhere from 70 to 110 days. So even if you have a peace lily cultivar that will produce blooms “continuously,” rarely will you have a plant covered in blooms.

It’s more likely that you will have a flower here and there, now and again. It’s the nature of the beast.

Remember, we’re talking about a foliage plant that’s been forced into the role of a flowering plant. But with a little patience, you can get your peace lily to bloom again.

You may even decide to enjoy it for its beautiful emerald green leaves and be pleasantly surprised when it produces a bloom, naturally, all on its own, without your ministrations.

The post The Real Reason Your Peace Lily Won’t Bloom appeared first on Rural Sprout.

While orchids are becoming increasingly common in garden centers (and even grocery stores!), an aura of mystery remains around them.

Their svelte form and tropical plumage can feel intimidating for beginning home horticulturists. But that’s a misconception. Orchids thrive under the proper care, and it’s surprisingly easy to provide (especially if you can avoid these common mistakes.)

Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know whether you have dozens of orchids in your home or you’re just about to bring your first one home.

1. There are 25,000 types of Orchids in the World.

Not only are orchids the largest family of flowering plants in the world, but they are also some of the oldest flowers still in existence. Orchids thrive in diverse ecosystems and are found on every continent except Antarctica.

These versatile flowers grow in tropical and sub-tropical climates throughout South and Central America and Asia, as well as the deserts of New Zealand and Australia. The United States alone has over 200 native varieties.

2. Vanilla is an Orchid!

The vanilla plant is the only commercially grown orchid crop. It’s a vine-like plant that tends to attach to tree trunks to support its large, fragrant pods that are harvested for their distinctive flavor.

3. Orchids are Challenging to Grow from Seed

For a plant that’s thrived for millions of years, orchids are notoriously tricky to grow from seed. While a single seed pod can produce up to three million seeds, the seeds are some of the tiniest found in the plant world. Expect to need a microscope to see them.

It can take two or more years for the orchid seeds to germinate and produce leaves, and four to eight years before they bloom. Worst yet, the seeds require contact with specific strains of fungus called mycorrhiza to germinate.

It took decades of research for orchid enthusiasts to learn how to grow the plants from seed, and today, the most popular varieties tend to be cloned instead.

4. They Used to Inspire “Orchidelirium”

The challenge of growing orchids made them wildly popular in the Victorian era. Like the tulip mania, orchidelirium prompted plant collectors to pay exorbitant prices for rare varieties at auction. Professional plant finders would travel the world in search of exotic new species that they make their fortune off.

But despite this passion, success rates were dismal due to a lack of orchid care knowledge. Most buyers were forced to watch their prized plants wilt from heat stress and over-watering.  

5. Many Orchids Naturally Grow on Trees 

Orchids fall into two categories: epiphytic (air-growing) or terrestrial (earth-growing). Most tropical varieties grow high on tree branches or stumps, primarily pulling moisture and nutrients from the air and decomposing leaves—not soil.

Other types grow in the ground, either with a network of shallow roots or deep tubers. This growing style will dictate the soil requirements for growing an orchid indoors. Epiphytes require a mix of bark, soil, and moss, while terrestrial do best with a more standard soil blend.

6. Orchids are Hypoallergenic

For those with allergies, orchids can offer welcome relief. Orchid pollen isn’t airborne and is stored in waxy packets called pollinia. You aren’t likely to sneeze when exposed to one.

7. Aerial Roots are Common

As orchids tend to perch themselves on branches, exposed roots are common, even in planters. That’s normal and a survival strategy to pull extra moisture from the air. You can occasionally mist any exposed roots for the healthiest orchid.

8. Beginners Should Stick with the Moth Orchid

When you picture an orchid, it’s probably the phalaenopsis. This beginner-friendly variety is easy to clone, so it’s prevalent in grocery stores and garden centers worldwide. The flowers can last for months, and the plants are relatively easy to coax into reblooming.

Buy one phalaenopsis, and you can enjoy flowers from it for a decade or longer.

Read Next:

9. Repot Sparingly

When you see exposed roots on most houseplants, it’s time for a bigger pot. That’s not true for orchids, though, as the plants prefer tight spaces. Don’t consider replanting unless the roots have fully grown through the bottom of the pot or if it’s newly purchased and growing in sphagnum moss. You’ll want to switch this out for an orchid mix instead.   

Avoid replanting when orchids are dormant or still flowering. You’ll get better results doing so when the flowers are fading.

10. Orchid Flowers Can Last for Months

While most flowers bloom for weeks at most, orchids hang on to their thick flowers for months at a time. This makes them a worthwhile investment as indoor décor.

11. Fertilizer is Not Necessarily Your Friend

One common mistake with orchids is overapplying fertilizer. Less is more, as fertilizer use leads to salt build-up that can damage the plants. The plants still need nutrients but do better with low concentrations. It’s best to dilute an orchid fertilizer by ½ or even ¼ and apply it to the base of the plant weekly. One week in four, skip fertilizing entirely.

Refrain from fertilizing during the orchid’s dormancy period and when you first see a new flower spike emerging. You can start again once the buds open.

12. But Temperature Fluctuations Are

While intuition tells us that tropical plants like orchids require consistent temperatures, in reality, they do best with mild temperature fluctuations. You can accomplish this by keeping pots close to windows, as the lack of insulation causes temperatures to drop.

This is crucial for getting an orchid in and out of dormancy and onto flower production.  

13. Let Them Dry Out

Tempting as it is to give orchids lots of water (many come from the rainforest, after all), they require far less than you would expect. Weekly tends to be plenty. Before watering, stick your finger in the potting mix to determine whether it still feels wet. If so, wait another day before watering.

What shouldn’t dry out, however, are the leaves and blossoms. An occasional mist with a spray bottle should keep the orchid happy.

14. Ice Cubes are a Reliable way to Water your Orchids

There’s a lot of debate online about using ice cubes to water your orchids.

Opponents of the idea say that the cold melt water will damage the delicate roots, while proponents of the idea say it’s a reliable and effective way to slowly deliver water to your orchid roots. One of the most popular orchid retailers in the USA are even called Just Add Ice Orchids.

Rural Sprout editor, Tracey, analyzed the science and here’s what she found.

Spoiler alert: The science shows that there is no difference in orchid health when ice was used over water so if ice is a more reliable way for you to keep your orchids hydrated, then go ahead and use it. Just make sure the ice doesn’t come in to contact with the leaves as the cold will cause damage.

15. Keep Things Humid

Give orchids an extra moisture boost by keeping them in a humid environment. Bathrooms and kitchens work well, as does keeping the pot on a pebble tray. You can also cluster plants together to increase the humidity level naturally.

Related Reading: 10 Plants That Thrive In Bathrooms

16. Know The Temperature Requirements

Most orchid varieties fall into one of three temperature groups: warm, intermediate, and cool-growers. Know where yours falls to ensure you can accommodate it.

17. Bright, Indirect Sun is Best

Orchids like (but do not love) sunlight. After all, their natural habitat is nestled into crevasses on tree branches. Keep them out of the hot summer sun, and avoid northern exposure if possible, as it might not offer enough light for reblooming.

If your natural lighting isn’t ideal, consider using artificial lights.

18. Dormancy Is Normal

Your orchid won’t do much for large portions of the year. That’s known as dormancy, and it’s completely normal. Allow the plant to have a period of rest by reducing the fertilizing frequency.  

19. Orchid Clinics Exist

Is your orchid failing to thrive despite your valiant attempts to revive it? Consider attending an orchid clinic for expert advice on this elusive plant family. Clinic mechanics will vary by location, and many are offered by plant nurseries and garden centers.

Do your research! Many require you to book in advance or pay a small repotting fee.

20. Fans Can Deter Pests and Disease

Orchids are relatively resistant to pest and disease problems. Prevention is the best management strategy, and fresh, circulating air from an open window or gentle fan can work wonders to prevent lingering moisture that could attract mold and fungal problems and deter insects from landing on them.

21. The Roots Reveal All

Orchid roots tend to grow near the surface. That gives gardeners an inside look into their plant’s health. If you’re curious whether your orchid is thriving, take a closer look at the roots. Limp, lifeless roots signify too little water, while tan or brittle roots are thirsty.

Silvery green or white roots are dry and healthy, while bright roots were recently watered. If the roots have black tips, there is too much fertilizer salt in the potting mix.   

22. Orchids Can Reflower for Decades

Many people buy a blooming orchid and assume it’s at the end of its lifespan as soon as those flowers fade. In fact, orchids can bloom continuously for years, even decades, with the right treatment.

Here’s our guide to help your orchid to bloom again… and again… and again.

How To Get Your Orchid To Flower Again

The post 22 Fascinating Things Every Orchid Owner Needs To Know appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Inch plant, spiderwort, Wandering Dude, whatever you call them, tradescantia is the perfect houseplant for when you get tired of all the philodendrons that look the same.

Tradescantia, which are native to the Americas, have striking foliage.

Some have leaves that seem to shimmer, and others have leaves of the deepest emerald on one side and burgundy on the other. Some have stripes that almost look as though they’re made of silver. There are inch plants with tiny leaves on the most delicate stems; others have large leaves cascading down thick stems.

There are even soft, fuzzy tradescantia. But no matter which you choose to grow, you should know a few things about this popular houseplant.

1. Tradescantia are Virtually Unkillable

Inch plants might just be the easiest houseplant to keep alive. Their ability to thrive in nearly all parts of the world has landed them on several invasive species lists. But this ability to grow no matter where they’re planted makes them the perfect houseplant. They’re even on our list of Hard to Kill Houseplants.

These hardy plants always seem to bounce back no matter how sad-looking they get from neglect.

If you travel or are a forgetful waterer, this houseplant is for you. They’re very forgiving and will fit into any space. They can be kept quite compact or large and bushy. And they make a stunning hanging plant with long trailing stems of colorful foliage.

They aren’t super picky about soil, and as long as you don’t overwater them too often, they’re relatively disease-free. As far as pests go, spider mites can sometimes be a problem, but they’re easily dealt with by misting the plant once a week.

And even if you forget all those things, an inch plant will probably still survive.

2. Easy to Propagate and Start New Plants

Tradescantia are incredibly easy to propagate; it’s part of what makes them grow so easily. Anywhere a node touches the soil, it will put out roots and begin growing. You don’t even have to bother with water.

Simply place stems in a pot of moist soil so that the leaf node is below the soil. The more stems you poke in the dirt, the fuller your plant will be. Cover the pot with a clear plastic bag to keep in moisture, and within a couple of weeks, the stems will have roots.

If you’ve already got a tradescantia and it’s looking a little thin, lay one of the trailing stems across the surface of the soil. Wherever there is a leaf node, it will put down roots and start growing new stems.

Related Reading: 7 Houseplants You Can Grow In Water – No Soil Required

3. Use Your Tradescantia to Help Root Other Plants

Because tradescantia are so prolific, you can use them to help other plants set roots. The fluids in the stem contain natural rooting hormones, which make it easy for the plant to set roots from any node.

Some plants can be difficult to propagate and can benefit from applying rooting hormones.

If you have a tradescantia, then you’re in luck; simply snip a stem and squeeze some of the juices onto the cut stem of the cutting you are trying to propagate. Or if you’re propagating by water, squeeze the juices into the water.

Related reading: 5 Easy To Find And Scientifically Backed Natural Rooting Hormones

4. The Wandering Dude

Until recently, several species of inch plant were known by the common name of Wandering Jew. The name seems innocuous on the surface; most people assumed it was related to the bible story of the Israelites wandering in the desert.

However, it’s derived from a fictional story about a man who supposedly mocked Jesus on his way to the cross.

The mocker was cursed to wander the earth. This mocking Jewish man has been used to promote antisemitism as recently as WWII and as far back as the 13^th century.

These days, the Wandering Jew has been replaced by the Wandering Dude. And as we all know, the Dude abides, so it’s a fitting name for such a prolific plant.

5. Fairy Flowers

Tradescantia produces tiny three-petaled flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, and snowy white. The flowers bloom for a day, but when many bloom at once, it creates stunning points of color against the dark emerald leaves.

Like all flowering plants, they need plenty of bright, indirect light to blossom.

If you want to encourage flowers, use a fertilizer made for African violets to provide the right nutrients for blossom development. Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and with a little patience, you should see buds, especially if the plant has gone through a period of dormancy in the fall and winter.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that most tradescantia species are not prolific bloomers. But there are a few, such as Tradescantia pallida and Tradescantia multiflora, that are more likely to produce blooms than others. Be patient; you’ll be rewarded eventually.

6. Tradescantia Leaves Often Fade

The most common question about tradescantia is why the leaves are fading or changing color. It all has to do with light. To achieve the best color and healthiest leaves, stick to the following:

Low Light – Tradescantia plants need plenty of bright, indirect light. If your plant isn’t receiving enough light, the leaves may lose their vibrant color and appear washed out. Move the plant to a location with brighter, filtered sunlight to improve color.

Direct Sunlight – On the other hand, too much direct sunlight can also cause leaf color to fade and may even lead to sunburn. If your Tradescantia is in direct sunlight for extended periods, move it to a spot with indirect light or provide shade during the hottest part of the day.

7. All the Inch Plants

One of the coolest things about these plants is how many species there are – well over 75. There are numerous varieties grown as houseplants, such as the popular Tradescantia zebrina. But you’ve probably also seen Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida), grown in outdoor planters and landscapes.

Tahitian bridal veil is a personal favorite of mine, with its tiny emerald leaves and delicate stems. It’s easy to see where it gets its name from when tiny flowers appear.

But one of the most fun species is Tradescantia sillamontana, and it’s leaves are soft and fuzzy. If there was ever a plant that begged to be cuddled, it’s this one.

What I’m getting at is there’s a tradescantia for everyone.

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