Flowering Plants to Grow Indoors
Many of the plants we grow in the annual bed and outdoor containers also make superb indoor choices.
Next time you sow a Bio Dome full of geranium, impatiens, or begonia seeds, consider setting a few of the seedlings aside for your indoor garden. Or pick up some Calla bulbs to add dramatic blooms to your home.
Annual geraniums (pelargonium), impatiens, and begonias all have similar needs indoors. They love a humid environment but despise overwatering and “overpotting” — being in a large container filled with excess soil. So, find a pot not much bigger than their root system, or plant several per container. Better yet, grow them in a self-watering container, where they can wick up just the amount of moisture they need.
All of the new B. boliviensis varieties also make superb houseplants, as do Dragonwing types.
Set the pot on a dish of moist pebbles, and/or mist the foliage of these plants as often as you can (especially if you are growing them in hanging baskets). Find a location in bright light and turn the plant every few weeks to make sure that all sides receive light. Feed during the growth and flowering season and refresh the soil in the container once a year, after the plant has stopped flowering and has “rested” for several weeks.
Calla has much the same needs indoors but prefers even more moisture. Unlike geraniums, impatiens, and begonias, which will flower intermittently year-round indoors, calla is likely to flower only once or twice, with a longer resting period afterwards. Give this exquisite plant constant water, food during the growth season, and the warmest spot in the house. It will repay you with long-stemmed flowers of breathtaking beauty.
Calla has much the same needs indoors but prefers even more moisture. Unlike Geraniums, Impatiens, and Begonias, which will flower intermittently year-round indoors, Calla is likely to flower only once or twice, with a longer resting period afterwards. Give this exquisite plant constant water, food during the growth season, and the warmest spot in the house. It will repay you with long-stemmed flowers of breathtaking beauty.
