Get Planting .... feel-good houseplants

Plants stimulate all our senses, but those that stimulate wellbeing through sense of touch, however fleeting, quickly become favourites, like meeting an old friend when encountered at the windowsill or on a table in a conservatory.

Some plants demand to be touched or stroked because they’re covered in white, velvety hairs, from a distance looking like they’re covered in snow. The four plants profiled here fit the bill, are generally easy to grow and will soon become firm housemates.

To look their best, succulent plants, such as Echeveria bombycina and white velvet plant Kalanchoe tomentosa, need bright light, well-drained, gritty compost and a spartan diet so they don’t grow too lushly and keep their silken look.

Far tougher than it looks, the echeveria can be grown outside in summer and looks good in a patio pot on a table or in a massed display of containers. The kalanchoe needs warmer conditions, a minimum of 15C (60F) so is best kept in a conservatory or sunny windowsill over winter. They also make good companions for being planted together in a bowl or trough of loam-based compost.

Loving the same kind of conditions as the succulents, Tradescantia sillamontana will form a clump of erect or spreading woolly shoots, with typical purple-pink tradescantia flowers in summer. Conversely, gynura, or purple velvet plant, needs warmer conditions, a minimum of 15C (60F), but also good light. Although preferring moister compost and humidity, it hates being sat in cold, wet compost, particularly in winter and will rot. In the winter the shoots elongate to produce thistle-like, egg-yellow flowers diminishing its lush velvety appearance. Pinching out shoots as soon as they start to extend will encourage new bushier growth.