Flowering plants that keep on giving say “I love you” louder and longer than your standard Valentine’s gifts. Give that special someone a flowering houseplant, and your sweetheart will think of you often.
“A live houseplant for that someone special on Valentine’s Day is a unique and personalized gift that allows you to pick just the right flower for that person,” says Costa Farms’ garden expert Justin Hancock, who recommends the following blooming beauties for your beloved.
African Violet
These easy-to-grow flowering houseplants offer a wide variety of bloom colors, including cranberry, pink, purple, coral, mauve, lavender and white. Some blooms are variegated with spotting and striping. The plant features single or double flowers, with some ruffled or fringed.
Provide African violets with bright, indirect light. A northern facing window is ideal. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy, and fertilize monthly with a well-balanced, organic fertilizer. These plants prefer high humidity, so place African violets on a humidity tray.
Anthurium
Few plants are as perfect as anthurium for Valentine’s Day. This beauty features heart-shaped leaves and flowers. The blooms come in shades of pink and red, as well as purple, white and coral.
Red Arthurium (Costa Farms)
Grow anthurium in bright light and provide humidity by placing the plant on a humidity tray. Water when the top inch of soil has dried out. Promote blooming by fertilizing every three months with a well-balanced, organic fertilizer.
Arthurium(Costa Farms)
Bromeliad
A relative of the pineapple, bromeliads are exotic and bold plants that add architectural interest to the indoors. Their long-lasting blooms come in red, pink, white, purple and orange, and many feature eye-catching variegated leaves.
Place bromeliads in a bright location over a humidity tray, which will prevent the leaf tips from browning. Water when the top inch to two inches of soil has dried.
Orchid
Elegance and sophistication describe orchids, and you are sure to impress with this blooming beauty. Moth orchids are an especially good choice, as their blooms can last for three months or even longer indoors, providing the plant is kept out of drafty conditions. Orchids come in a wide variety of flower colors, including red, pink, purple, gold and white.
Provide orchids with medium light and water when the orchid bark has dried, which is generally once a week. Avoid overwatering, as this will cause the flowers to drop.
Orchid (Costa Farms)
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of seven books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com.
