Jan Goldsmith, host of HGTV's The Great Indoors, explains the difference between gift plants and houseplants. Flowering houseplants will come in and out of bloom and can make a permanent addition to your indoor garden. Decorative gift plants put on a showy display, then are meant to be tossed out after they've finished blooming. Indoors, a blooming azalea makes a design statement (figure A). Jan Goldsmith collects the decorative containers in which she displays indoor gift plants. Plants such as hydrangeas (figure B) and roses can't live indoors for long, but they make a beautiful temporary display.
. Cyclamen (figure C) are one of the most popular blooming indoor plants. Sold in winter, they prefer cool indoor temperatures (50 degrees to 65 degrees Fahrenheit) and come in a range of colors from white to light pink to deep red. Place florist cyclamen in a cool room with a north-facing window. To water, soak the entire pot in a basin of water for 15 to 30 minutes (figure D), then return it to its saucer.
Keep faded flowers and stems picked off cyclamen plants. Once the flowers have died back, the plant will go into a period of dormancy. During the summer, move the plant outdoors, stop watering and tip the pot on its side. At the end of the summer, check for signs of new growth, repot the plant in fast-draining potting mix, and fertilize. In six weeks, you should begin to see buds forming. Chrysanthemums come in every color except blue. Decorative varieties intended for indoor culture should not be planted outdoors. To extend the life of decorative chrysanthemums, purchase plants when the flowers are in bud.
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