Houseplant care
Crassula ovata – Jade plant, Money plant
Succulent plant native to Eastern cape provinces of South Africa and Mozambique, a common houseplant worldwide.
Water sparingly in winter, only when the compost is completely dry. Water weekly or fortnightly in spring and summer, feed monthly with a balanced fertiliser monthly. They are susceptible to overwatering and would prefer to be on the dry side. Likes medium shade but some sunlight, may display a red tinge if given more sunlight. Too much sunlight will cause harm and may cause the leaves to go yellow in stress. Not hardy and so should not be exposed to frost.
Crassula arborescens subsp. undulatifolia – Ripple Jade
A succulent plant native to the Cape Provinces in South Africa.
Water sparingly in winter, only when the compost is completely dry. Water weekly or fortnightly in spring and summer, feed monthly with a balanced fertiliser monthly. They are susceptible to overwatering and would prefer to be on the dry side. Likes medium shade or bright, indirect sunlight. It may scorch or burn in full sun. Too much sunlight will cause harm and may cause the leaves to go yellow in stress. Not hardy and so should not be exposed to frost.
Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’
A cultivar of Crassula ovata with rounded leaves, often with red tips.
Water sparingly in winter, only when the compost is completely dry. Water weekly or fortnightly in spring and summer, feed monthly with a balanced fertiliser monthly. They are susceptible to overwatering and would prefer to be on the dry side. Likes medium shade or bright, indirect sunlight. Not hardy and so should not be exposed to frost.
Dracaena trifasciata ‘Hahnii’
A dwarfing form of Dracaena trifasciata.
An easy houseplant to care for as they can handle low light levels, although they will do better in full sun, and require little water. They will suffer if overwatered so water once every month or every other month in winter and once a fortnight in spring and summer. Feed once or twice during spring and summer. Not hardy so should not be exposed to frost.
Dracaena trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’
A dwarfing form of Dracaena trifasciata with variegated leaves.
An easy houseplant to care for as they can handle low light levels, although they will do better in full sun, and require little water. They will suffer if overwatered so water once every month or every other month in winter and once a fortnight in spring and summer. Feed once or twice during spring and summer. Not hardy so should not be exposed to frost.
Dracaena trifasciata – Mother in Law’s Tongue, Snake plant
Native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria to the Congo. Another common name for this plant is Viper’s Bowstring Hemp because it is one of the main sources of plant fibres to make bowstrings. It is in the Asparagaceae plant family.
An easy houseplant to care for as they can handle low light levels, although they will do better in full sun, and require little water. They will suffer if overwatered so water once every month or every other month in winter and once a fortnight in spring and summer. Feed once or twice during spring and summer. Not hardy so should not be exposed to frost.
Mixed selection of succulent plants in terracotta pots
Require a sunny window but not in full sun. restrict watering to once a month in winter and once a week in spring/summer. Feed fortnightly in summer.
Chlorophytum comosum 'Variegatum' - Spider plant
Although these look like grasses, they are more closely related to Asparagus. They produce small white flowers and young plantlets on the end of long stems. We have variegated and non-variegated plants available for sale. This species is native to South Africa.
This is one of the easiest houseplants to grow and will suit most homes. They will need watering when the pot feels a bit dry and feeding throughout most of the year, but most importantly in the growing season of spring and summer.
Guzmania
A member of the Bromeliad family, that also includes pineapples, this is a fairly easy houseplant to look after. They originally come from South America where they grow as epiphytic plants on trees.
They are tender and so need to be kept indoors; they prefer a sunny room but not in direct sunlight. Being epiphytes, they prefer to be grown in a free draining compost.
When watering, it is important to ensure that water is sitting in the centre of the plant in the base of the leaves. They have evolved to be able to collect the water they need at the base of their leaves and absorb it from there.
Feed with a general purpose feed throughout spring and summer, making sure that it sits in the base of the leaves.
Coleus
These plants are also known as Solenostemon and are in the Lamiaceae family along with Mint and Sage, although they are not edible.
They need to be kept as houseplants as they are not hardy, but would be find to be outdoors during the summer.
Grow them in a warm, sunny spot and keep them well watered during the growing season.
Feed them with a general seaweed feed weekly or fortnightly during the growing season.
They can easily be propagated by cuttings if you would like to share your plants with others.
Echeveria
Succulent rosette forming plants native to Mexico and Central and Southern America; they are tender perennial plants and make the perfect low maintenance houseplant.
They can be grown outdoors in the summer, but will need to be kept indoors when it gets cold.
They need to be grown in a free-draining compost and only need watering when the pot is really dry; it is more risky to overwater than to underwater them. Remove old and dead leaves when they come away easily from the base of the plant.
Cineraria 'Jester Mixed'
Although these are evergreen perennials, they are often grown as annuals in the UK. They should flower over winter if kept indoors; a cool greenhouse or windowsill should do.
They have large heads of daisy like flowers that can be in many shades from white to pink to blue.
They like to be grown in a warm sunny spot and kept fairly well fed and watered, especially during the growing season.
Feed weekly or fortnightly with a general seaweed feed, mainly through the growing season.