Turning over an exciting new leaf

Hannah Stephenson discovers nine weird and wonderful houseplants to be transfixed by

Whether they snap shut, grow towards the light or fold their leaves at night as though sleeping, you can watch it all.

Houseplants aren’t there just to look at. If you’re careful with your choices, you can see them move, emit scent when you brush your hands over them and even snap shut if prey lands on their leaves.

Plant lovers have captured the movement of many of the moving plants in timelapse videos and not all of them are just moving towards the light.

So if you are looking to improve your home with a wonderful houseplant that’s anything but boring, here are some of the less ordinary specimens…

1 Prayer plant

(Maranta leuconeura) The prayer plant, so called because it raises its leaves in the evening as though it is praying, is a great one to watch.

“Every night, the leaves roll up and you can hear them moving as well,” said Claire Bishop, head of houseplants at Dobbies Garden Centres (Dobbies.com).

“They are great plants for kids, as they’re not toxic. And the fact you can see the plant alive and moving gets kids interested.

“It’s one of the easiest plants to look after but it actually looks stunning. It can double in size in a couple of months.”

Marantas prefer plenty of light but not direct sunlight, along with well-drained soil and high humidity. 2 Also known as the sensitive plant, this one reacts to being tickled as the leaflets close like dominoes if you run a finger down them or they are exposed to heat, while the whole stem collapses if you touch it firmly. It’s considered a weed in tropical countries but give it plenty of sun and moderate watering, and you should keep it happy.

Mimosa pudica 3 Calathea

Closely related to the maranta, these increasingly popular exotic-looking plants, often with colourful foliage and striking shape, are also known as peacock plants and are similar to the prayer plant in that most of them move.

“There’s a particular type called the rattlesnake plant, whose leaves open and close every day because they need the sunlight. They will open up every day and then close back up again to conserve energy when it gets darker,” said Claire.

Rattlesnake plants need bright indirect light. Water them when the top two inches of soil have dried out and don’t use shine products on dusty leaves. Just wipe them occasionally with a damp cloth. 4 Venus fly trap This carnivorous culprit is popular in homes, its leaves snapping shut when an unsuspecting insect climbs in to investigate and is promptly trapped in its vice-like grip and later digested. It’s fussy about its food, preferring spiders, ants, beetles and grasshoppers, with a few flying insects thrown in.

They need direct sunlight to remain healthy, otherwise their leaves will become weak and floppy. Plant them in a sandy, damp soil and water them with rain water, preferably sitting them in about 1cm of water, rather than watering them from the top. 5 Alocasia Increasingly popular among houseplant fans because of their unusual shaped leaves and distinctive veins, these beauties spring visibly back to life after a good water.

“There are a lot of really unusual ones out there. There’s a beautiful one called ‘Pink Dragon’ with pink stems and unusual leaves,” added Claire. 6 You may not see this houseplant move before your eyes but play around with a time-lapse camera and you should enjoy the vast movement of the leathery leaves overnight.

Philodendron

7

For those who prefer scent, houseplant specialist The Ginger Jungle (thegingerjungle.com) recommends this moderately drought-tolerant candidate, whose leaves smell like sweet pepper.

It prefers to be kept on the dry side, especially in lower light conditions; so let the top of the soil dry out by a couple of inches before each watering. 8 Known as the Swiss cheese plant, this striking houseplant should make significant growth if you put it in moderate brightness but out of direct sunlight. Winter brightness is essential, otherwise you’ll get spindly stalks and leggy growth. 9 Oxalis triangularis This plant is particularly active because of its striking reactions to light changes. As it moves in response to light intensity, its look changes dramatically. Film them with a timelapse camera and you’ll see how much they move towards the sunlight over a 24-hour period.

Peperomia Clusiifolia ‘Red Margin’ Monstera