A houseful of plants can help keep you occupied while you wait for warmer temperatures to get outdoors and back into the garden, and there are interesting and unusual, easy-to-grow houseplants that do well in both bright sun and low-light conditions.
Two for the sun
The succulent known as euphorbia, or "crown-of-thorns," is a common houseplant with prickly stems — hence the "thorns" reference in its common name. The sap in its stems can also be toxic if ingested by cats and dogs.
These large plants commonly grow with lots of red and yellow flowers, but if you're looking to add a smaller plant to your home in a different color, a newer dwarf euphorbia called "Peachy Mood" grows to about a foot tall with salmon-colored flowers. This easy-care plant thrives best in a sunny room and will continue to flower often. And because its a succulent, you won't need to water it very much. This euphorbia will even transition nicely outside in the summer.
Another succulent that does best in a sunny spot in your house is a crassula called "Red Pagoda." It's a cascading, creeping succulent that grows only six inches tall with green leaves that, given enough sun, will become tinged with red and resemble the terra cotta tiles on a traditional Chinese roof.
Two for the shade
If some spots in your home have lower light, then vining, easy-care philodendrons will live their best lives in those spaces. One philodendron type, the philodendron gloriosum, grows up to two feet tall and is a standing plant. It has dark green leaves that grow to nearly a foot in diameter with contrasting white veins and likes high humidity, so keep it in a place with other plants nearby, or in a spot that stays humid.
The tropical tacca plant, also known as the white bat flower, is an interesting standing plant for lower light situations. It grows up to a couple feet tall, with large leaves and a flower stalk that comes up in the spring. The center flower is actually made up of large bracts, which turn white and sprout foot-long, whisker-like threads that cascade down from the plant. It looks dramatic but if you can grow moth orchids, you can grow this one, too! It likes low light and humidity and could do well outdoors in the summer.
Treating spider mites on hydrangea
Q: I have a hydrangea I’m trying to keep alive in a pot indoors. It has dropped its leaves from last summer and has many promising buds and new foliage emerging. Today I noticed that there are what look like spider webs on some of the stems. What could this be and what should I do? I really want to keep this plant alive. - Doreen, in Ripton
A: Those webs are probably spider mites, which is a very common problem with house plants, especially during our dry winters as spider mites thrive in those conditions. Once you see the webs, that likely means there are a lot of them.
Take a look at any new leaves on your hydrangea. If you see a stippling on the bottom sides of them, that's another sign of spider mites. You might even be able to see the mites with a magnifying glass.
To combat them, spray insecticidal soap or a horticultural oil on that hydrangea. The key with this hydrangea is just to get it to survive the winter. Even if those leaves end up dropping off, or you pick them off because they're so infested, don't worry.
Those other hydrangea buds are there, and if those buds can survive, you'll be able to plant your hydrangea outdoors in spring.
Growing citrus trees indoors
Q: A couple of years ago just for fun I planted some seeds from a lemon and mandarin orange. Now I have four trees, two of each type in one big pot. I keep them outside in the summer and inside in the cold months. They seem to be doing well but I don't have space for them inside. One lemon tree is going crazy. I hate to throw them away. What do I do? - Bob, in Colchester
A: You're in luck! The nice thing about lemon and orange trees is that you can cut them way back, to maybe half its size. Prune each tree down to a set of leaves or set of side branches.
This keeps the plant smaller, and it might even stimulate it to flower and fruit, which can be challenging with seed-grown citrus. Give it a try and see what happens and let us know!
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