Brighten Your Home with Houseplants

Brighten Your Home with Houseplants

By Melinda Myers

Growing colorful plants indoors can be a real mood lifter during the dark days of winter, but sometimes there are challenges like providing enough light.

Supplemental lighting may be the key to seeing repeat blooms. Grow lights, which provide bright, full-spectrum illumination, are an ideal solution. They include simple hanging lamps, DIY fixtures and metal stand lights. Or, if you want a light that looks nice enough to inhabit your living room, consider furniture-style light stands. They’re outfitted with special high-output bulbs that are tucked out of sight and provide more than twice as much light as most standard LEDs.

So what kinds of plants bloom indoors? Common houseplants like violets, overwintering annuals and tropical plants. Here are some favorite tropicals.

Flowering maple (Abutilon) needs bright light and cooler winter temperatures. Plants may be compact and upright or vining, while the flowers may resemble those of hibiscus or dangling lanterns. Choose varieties known for year-round flowering.

The chenille plant (Acalypha) offers long, fuzzy, cascading flowers that resemble chenille yarn. Perfect in a hanging basket, it can also be placed in a plant stand or pruned into tree form. It needs high humidity and plenty of light to maintain its health and year-round beauty.

The shrimp plant (Justica brandegeana) offers coppery bronze flowers. This long-blooming Mexican native performs best in bright light and high humidity. Use it as a hanging basket, prune into a small tree or set it on a plant stand, where the cascading blooms can be enjoyed.

The lipstick vine (Aeschynanthus) brightens fall and winter décor with its vivid red flowers that emerge from dark maroon structures, resembling tubes of lipstick. As always, check the plant tags for specific care instructions.

Incorporating plants into your home can boost your mood and reduce stress. Learn more at Melindamyers.com .❚

Plant lights can be attractive, like this Bamboo LED Grow Light.

(Gardeners.com photo)