5 Favorite Flowering House plants

These 5 favorite flowering house plants add emotions to your home space

Why consider our five favorite flowering house plants? Having a bit of nature inside the home is not just aesthetically pleasing, there are great emotional, health, and spiritual benefits of keeping plants and flowers in your living space. In fact, a 2016 joint study carried out in the UK (by The Wildlife Trusts and the University of Derby) revealed that simply reconnecting with nature can considerably enhance your health and happiness. In today’s world of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, connecting with nature seems even more essential.

And there’s no better way to do that than by keeping a few of our favorite flowering house plants around, especially if you live in a home with little to no room to garden outdoors. Easy to find, these five don’t demand a lot of tending to, and can improve your home environment significantly. You’ll feel happier, healthier, and more in the zone while working.

Moreover, flowering plants can add some color and freshness to your décor. They might  look fancy and high-maintenance but can actually survive with very little attention from you.

In this piece, we’ve put together a list of five of our favorite flowering house plants that can brighten up your space and add more life to it. Once you begin with one or more of these, you might venture into adding more to your home.

 

 

1)   African Violet

Also known as Saintpaulia, the African violet blooms throughout the year because it doesn’t need any period of rest. While little upkeep is needed, the best results come when you keep your African violet in a container that enables watering from the base.

If, however, you use a standard container with no water reservoir, then be careful when watering from the top. Avoid splashing the leaves and let the soil dry out completely between watering rounds. Otherwise, the leaves may turn brown and die if the cold water comes into contact with them.

Also, remember that you only need to pot up when the size of the plant requires it. These shrubs don’t have extensive root mechanisms and will need, at most, a 5 to 6-inch pot at maturity. And don’t forget to remove the dead and damaged leaves from the bottom when potting the plant.

As mentioned already, the African violet is low-maintenance and not very demanding. It can flourish for years on end but may die suddenly as well. To keep the plant in optimum condition, keep it in bright and indirect sunlight while maintaining soil moisture and humidity.  With many colors including reds, whites, blues, and purples, you can opt for a variety

Read more about the African Violet plant here

2)   Begonia

Begonia plants come in many varieties and offer wonderful options for those people seeking house flowering plants. Begonias bloom well in bright places. However, avoid placing it too close to a window or door as they don’t tolerate drafts.

Houseplant fanciers note that some varieties of the plant, such as Rex Begonias, don’t even have to be in bloom to showcase their colorful glory. So, when choosing a begonia to place indoors, consider the elegant Rex variety or go for one of the fibrous-rooted kinds such as angel-wing begonia, wax-leafed begonia.

For maintenance, the plant needs medium to high light. Frequent watering and misting help meet their need for high humidity. The begonia is available in various color varieties.

 

 

3)   Christmas Cactus a favorite of flowering house plants

The Christmas cactus is also called “schlumbergera x buckleyi.” Strangely enough, it is a plant that seems to thrive on a lack of attention. You don’t even need to adjust its exposure to light to enable blooming. Long life and enhancement from the cuttings are other signature qualities of the Christmas cactus.

The leaves cascade in long-segments with jagged edges. They produce flowers of varying petal lengths from the stem tips. The color palette contains varying shades of pink and red. In addition to the Christmas bloomers, this group of plants also includes some varieties that yield flowers over the Easter period.

For optimal growth, place your Christmas cactus near a window but don’t let the pads touch the cold panes. Otherwise, the plant may sustain cold damage. Well-draining soil is normally needed by the schlumbergera x buckleyi but the humidity needs to be high as well. Keep it in bright and indirect sunlight while watering regularly. Every round of watering must be followed by thorough draining of the soil.

 

 

4)   Chenille Plant (Acalypha Hispida)

Another favorite flowering houseplant, the chenille plant, also is known as “acalypha hispida” and “red-hot cattail.” People who love gardening often have a hard time not rubbing the fuzzy red flowers that are produced by this tropical plant. It grows fast and is a long bloomer.

In terms of growth, you can tend to the chenille plant outdoors during the summer and bring it indoors when the temperature drops in the fall. It tends to become partially dormant in colder climates. Therefore, you must not feed it until the spring season when there is new growth.

Encourage branching by cutting off the stem tips during the growing season. The plant needs high humidity to thrive. Also, you must maintain the moisture and mist it regularly when indoors to keep it healthy.

 

5)   Clivia or Kafir Lily (Clivia Miniata)

A relative of amaryllis, the clivia or kafir lily grows from a bulb. And just like the amaryllis, it needs to do so in a pot rather than a large container. There is also a period of dormancy before the flower stalk emerges.

They need complete darkness when the clivia goes dormant towards the end of the fall. This can easily be managed by placing the plant in a cardboard container or unused locker/closet. The period from April to December will be when the stalk emerges. Restore to normal maintenance after this.

Find a shady spot with no direct sunlight for your kafir lily. Moderate water is usually needed and you can put the splashing on hold for the winter. The clivia or clivia miniata normally comes in shades of orange and yellow.

 

 

Five Favorite Flowering House plants, but many more exist

These are some good examples of house flowering plants that can add more life and color to your space. Many others are available too. Do let us know your experiences with these beautiful plants.

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