Inside secrets
Plants aplenty will be happy to sit out winter alongside you, writes David Overend.
Winter is the time when the home can become the garden, when tender plants can thrive and flower indoors while their hardier cousins hunker down outdoors and wait for spring to arrive.
But what kind of plants can brighten up a room, perfume a place that’s normally associated with an ornament of a family photograph?
If the space isn’t particularly large and is warm and dry, it could house a cactus. If the space lacks light, then perhaps an aspidistra would be ideal. And if the space is big, then give it a big plant, a bold and colourful foliage plant.
Surprisingly, there is no shortage of leafy giants that can transform a spacious room and even provide year-round interest. Some may try to take advantage, so a bit of annual pruning may be necessary.
Other than that – and the mandatory watering and feeding – the likes of the Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) and the blushing philodendron (Philodendron erubescens “Burgundy”) will be quite happy to reach for the ceiling. Both like it warm and bright.
But for something quite eye-catching, go for a croton, those dashingly-colourful evergreens which relish bright, warm corners. Water them sparingly in winter and feed them fortnightly when daylight lengthens.
Crotons come in a multitude of contrasting colours – their glossy leaves have veins of yellow, red, orange, pink and even purple, and if there’s a container spacious enough to hold three or four, then the result could be spectacular.
Some spaces, however, are not meant for the bright and gaudy, but they are perfect for the likes of Ficus bennendijkii “Alii”, particularly if there’s not a lot of width to play with.
This is a stately evergreen, whose long, narrow leaves arch downwards. It likes a bright place (but no direct sun, thank you) and a reasonably humid atmosphere. Water it when the surface of the compost feels dry and feed it fortnightly when it’s growing strongly.
Where width isn’t an issue, the Japanese aralia, Fatsia japonica “Variegata”, comes into its own. It can easily grow five feet high and the same across, but it needs that sort of room to be able to show off its sensational leaves.
It’s a bit of a cool customer, so avoid hot rooms. And as with most indoor plants, reduce watering in winter.