Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Striking houseplant choices
Since we’re mostly indoors now, our houseplants serve as our “nature respite” in the warmth of our homes!
We all have or have had spider plants, mother-in-law tongues, philodendron and the like. How about adding a little bite, with the striking foliage of the Rattlesnake Plant also known as Calathea lancifolia.
It’s leaves are various shades of green with wavy edges and a reddish-purple underside. The leaves alone can grow to 30 inches in it’s native habitat! As a native of Brazil, this plant likes it warm and moist. That means no cold drafts and keep it watered, not soaked. In fact, Rattlesnake prefers slight sandy soil that allows for drainage. When you place this plant in your home, don’t put it in direct sunlight, because it will start to lose those beautiful green spots. Bright, indirect light!
Another cool plant is the Kangaroo Paw Fern also known as my-kroh-SOR-um diversifolium. It’s a big thumbs up for this easy to grow plant from Australia and New Zealand.
Kangaroo Fern is a leathery-fronded creeping and climbing evergreen. It grows from rhizomes that can creep out of the pot. The leaves are green, shiny, firm, and vary in shape and size. Place this beauty in bright indirect light, water it went the top HALF is dry! It only grows about a foot tall but it’s spread is about 3 feet.
And another fantastic plant is the zee zee plant. It’s pretty much indestructible. It doesn’t need a lot of water but it’s gotten so tall I placed twine around the stems as you can see to help hold it some!
