THREE HOUSEPLANTS THAT CAN SURVIVE IN SHADY SPOTS
HOUSEPLANTS are a great way to brighten up the indoors – but what if your home has shady corners where your greenery won’t get the light it needs? You could get some ideas from the Giant Houseplant Takeover, an exhibition of houseplants at the glasshouse at the flagship RHS Garden Wisley that starts later this month. Each room of the house will be themed around different kinds of houseplants, including a shady living room. Here, Emma Allen, garden manager at Wisley, recommends three plants which will withstand shady spots in your home...
1. PLATYCERIUM BIFURCATUM (COMMON STAGHORN FERN)
PLATYCERIUM are evergreen, epiphytic ferns, growing on trees and not in soil. P. bifurcatum has a combination of shield-like sterile fronds and grey-green fertile fronds to 90cm in length, forked into strap-shaped segments, which resemble a stag’s antlers, hence the common name. They originate from Asia, Polynesia and Australia and their natural habitat is rainforest, so a humid bathroom is a great spot for them.
2. MONSTERA DELICIOSA ‘VARIEGATA’ (Variegated Swiss cheese plant)
IF you’ve got some space, this monster will explore it, growing to 3m or more. A variegated form of this classic evergreen climbing shrub is harder to find than the block coloured varieties. Due to its natural habitat being warm tropical rainforests in central America, it prefers to be out of direct sunlight. Mist the leaves, particularly if the room is dry, and wash them occasionally.
3. CLIVIA MINIATA (FOREST LILY)
STRIKING houseplants, with their bold strap-shaped, leaves and trumpet-shaped red, yellow, orange or cream flowers, borne in groups on stout stems from spring to summer. Clivia are evergreen perennials growing to 45cm and originate from low-altitude woodlands in South Africa, prefering indirect light. Ideal for cooler areas.
The Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Garden Wisley runs from January 25 to March 1. Visit rhs.org.uk