It looks like our outdoor landscape is going to remain white for quite a while; so let’s explore a few more houseplants that can help to green up your inside landscape. Try a potted palm to give your home a tropical look and feel to carry you through the bleak winter months ahead. While palms are tropical plants, there are a few that can tolerate the low light levels of a Minnesota winter; however that doesn’t mean you can stick a palm in a dark corner and expect it to survive. Growing a palm indoors requires exposing the plant to as much indirect sunlight as possible during the short winter days.
The Parlor Palm or Neanthe Palm, Chamaedorea elegans, is a dwarf palm that varies in size from 8-10 inches (which can easily sit on a table) to several feet tall. They generally top out at 4-6 feet. The plant sends out multiple tall stems that leaf out at the ends. The Reed Palm, Chamaedorea Sefreizii, can also grow in low light but will grow much taller in brighter light. While both of these palms will tolerate low light levels they are sensitive to cool temperatures, so keep them out of drafts and away from leaky windows.
The Kentra or Sentry Palm, Howea Forsterana, and the Lady Palm, Rapis excelsa, are less sensitive to cool temperatures but require more sunlight. Both are slow growing plants. The Kentra Palm has very large fronds and can eventually reach your ceiling at which point you will have to move or get rid of the plant because you cannot cut palms back. The Lady Palm is more shrub-like than tree-shaped. It is also a little more expensive to purchase, probably because it takes such a long time to grow to marketable size.
If you have a very bright west or south facing set of windows you could possible grow a high –light palm such as the Chinese Fan Palm, Livostonia chinesis, or the European Fan Palm, Chamearops humilis. As the names suggest the foliage is fan like; the Chinese Palm having huge fronds and the European having more lace-like fronds.
In spite of the varied light requirements the care of the palms is the same for all varieties. The most common growing problem is brown leaf tips or margins. This problem is directly related to watering and fertilizing. Keep the soil relatively moist. Always grow the plant in a pot with functioning (unplugged) drain holes. Water thoroughly until the water drains in to the saucer and then drain off the excess water. Fertilize, beginning in late winter through the early fall, when the plant is actively growing. Excess fertilizer salts in the soil are what cause the brown tips and margins, especially when the soil is too dry, so fertilize lightly. Keep the fronds clean of dust so that the plant can absorb the maximum sunlight.
If you are looking for a plant that is a bit more colorful, a cyclamen, with its large backswept petals, and interesting white and green foliage, is a nice plant to brighten the winter days. Like other houseplants cyclamens originated as an outdoor plant, growing wild in the Mediterranean climate. In the 1800s breeders in England and Holland cultivated the cyclamen for indoor use, resulting in the hybrids that we buy. The flowers can range from very large to cute little miniatures, and be various shades of red, pink, lavender or white. The heart-shaped foliage is splotched with white, randomly or in some cases in regular horseshoe shaped patterns. Cyclamens prefer cool temperatures, but most of us do not keep our houses as cool as they would like; 50º to 60º F at night and no more than 65º during the day. However, the plant does like bright light so if it’s placed close to a window you may be able to come close to their ideal temperatures during winter. The cyclamen grows from a tuber which will rot if it sits in too much moisture. Water it when the soil is dry and from the bottom; if you must water from the top avoid watering the crown. To maximize the blooming time purchase a plant that has many buds but only a few blooms. With cool temperatures, bright light and proper watering the cyclamen should bloom for one to two months. After it has finished blooming trim the dead flowers, cut the plant back 4-5 inches, keep it in bright light, fertilize and wait for some more blooms!
Enjoy some year-round gardening with a few houseplants.