This is the second part of the article on indoor plants. In part 1, we looked a selecting the right indoor plant and looked at some that require very little attention. We also looked at growing bulbs indoors.

d) Indoor plants that love the sun

Although some plants prefer cool, dark spots, there are also plants that need sunlight. These plants receive direct sunlight for all, or part of the day. The strength of the sunlight will depend on the latitude, the time of year, the position of the window and whether any shade is provided.

Bright direct sun suits plants like the Desert Cacti, succulents, hard leaved Bromeliads and certain flowering plants like the Passion Flower, which needs heavy pruning in spring to retain it’s shape, and the Hibiscus, which will give abundance of flowers if put on a sunny windowsill.

Some other indoor plants that like the sun are

Black Eyed Susan

Earth Star Plant

Poinsettia

Swedish Ivy

Urn Plant

Wax Flower

e) Indoor plants that like shade

As much as these plants thrive on the sun, there are others that are happier in the shade. When we talk of shade, we are not talking dark and dank, but a moderately well lit spot, about 4 to 6 ft from a sunny window. In other words, not in the direct, hot sun. These plants might need moving closer to the window during the cooler winter days.

Some indoor plants that prefer shadier conditions are

Angel Wings

Bird’s Nest Fern

Burgundy Philodendron

Button Fern

Peacock Plant

Herringbone Plant - the vivid colours of these flowers will fade in bright sunlight

Peace Lily - needs high humidity, so mist spray often

Spotted Dumb Cane - has poisonous sap, so keep out of children’s reach

f) Indoor plants that like a dry atmosphere

The amount of water vapour in the air, is usually very low, like a centrally heated room in the winter. Not many plants can survive in these dry conditions, so it is not surprising to find mostly desert plants in this group. Plants that like low humidity are

Cacti

Succulents

Bishop’s Cap

Golden or Rose Pincushion

Painted Lady

Moulded Wax Plant

Rosary Vine - needs some sunlight. If not, the leaf colour will fade and growth will be scraggy

Silver Crown - must be fed with liquid fertilizer, during active growing season

Golden Barrel Cactus - must not be watered during winter rest period

So, as you can see there are many types of indoor plants, suitable for different situations. By matching the right plants with the spots you have available, you can mix and match and enjoy your plants all year round. This information will be useful to you if you would like to position plants throughout your living space. You can have one suitable type of plant in each room, like the bathroom, kitchen, alcove, sunroom, bedroom and so on. So, there is no excuse now for not having an array of pretty plants indoors.

I have divided this article into 2 parts. Be sure to see part 1 of Indoor Plants. 

A very informative book if you are interested in indoor plants is The Gardener’s Handbook. Find out more about this book here http://dersalsites.com/ghand/

Sally Robson is an up and coming, South African internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet. She and her husband Derek, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. She also has a passion for gardening.

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For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally’s website at http://www.dersalsites.com/gardening/  and her blog at http://dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips

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