There’s something very romantic about cyclamen, one of our favorite houseplants.

Maybe it’s the petite blooms on long stems that stretch up above its green and silver foliage. Or the colors – cyclamen flowers come in shades of pink, violet, red and white and have a pleasing, sweet scent. Or those heart-shaped leaves.

We mention that they are our favorite winter houseplant, because unlike most indoor plants, their dormancy period is in the summer. Cyclamen are “tuberous perennials,” meaning they die down to their thick roots (tubers) in the heat of summer, then re-emerge and bloom again as the temperatures cool in fall.

Here are some tips for cyclamen care:

Light: Bright and indirect light in winter when the plant is actively growing. When dormant, keep your cyclamen in a cool, dark area with good ventilation.

Soil: These pretty plants like organically rich soil that drains well. Potting soil does well, but you might want to add some peat in to increase the acidity slightly.

Water: When leaves are present, the plant is actively growing and you should water when the first inch of soil below the surface feels dry. Do not overwater! It’s a common way to kill these plants. Don’t get the leaves or crown of the plant wet, which can lead to rot.

When the plant is dormant during the summer, reduce watering. All you are trying to do during this time is prevent the soil from entirely drying out.

Temperature and Humidity – Cyclamen plants don’t like extreme heat or dry air. Keep them away from drafts too. During the winter, when our air is so dry, cyclamen really want high humidity. Our suggestion would be keeping your cyclamen on a tray with pebbles and water. Just make sure that it isn’t sitting in the water, as that can cause root rot.

Feeding Time – Your cyclamen would appreciate some diluted liquid low-nitrogen fertilizer every couple of weeks while in full leaf. You don’t need to feed your cyclamen while it’s dormant.

Carnivore. Insectivore. Bug-killer.

And really kinda cute.

All of these descriptions are accurate for the Butterwort plant (Pinguicula vulgaris). It’s a highly attractive plant with a rosette of soft green leaves and, when flowering, delicate white and purple blooms that are reminiscent of orchids.

As pretty as they are, those leaves are fatal for the small insects that cross Butterwort’s path. They are coated in a sticky, glandular secretion that traps insects. Once captured, digestive enzymes in the plant’s leaf surface break down the prey, allowing the Butterwort to absorb essential nutrients.

Butterwort is relatively easy to care for as long as you give it plenty of light and the right kind of water.

Caring for Your Butterwort

• This plant likes moderately bright light. A sunny windowsill with direct light in the morning or late afternoon is perfect, but direct midday sun might be too much for Butterwort.
• In general, these plants like high humidity, but can survive in drier conditions as long as you don’t let their roots dry out.
• When watering, don’t use tap water as the minerals can burn the roots. Distilled water works well. Also, don’t allow water to collect in the rosettes as this plant is prone to leaf and crown rot.
• Butterwort will thrive in several different types of soil, but peat moss with perlite or an orchid potting mix work very well.
• You don’t have to fertilize Butterwort as it is perfectly capable of catching its own meal. If you think your plant is hungry, give it cactus fertilizer, but don’t put it in the soil – it should be applied to the leaves where the plant digests nutrients.

The Snow Bush (Breynia disticha), also known as the Hawaiian Snow Bush or Snow-on-the-Mountain, is an eye-catching tropical shrub that can also be cultivated as an indoor plant, typically growing to a height of 3 to 5 feet.

It is celebrated for its unique variegated foliage, which is a green splashed with cream and white – as if it had been dusted with snow. Pink and red hues can also appear on the leaves.

Caring for Your Snow Bush

• This plant thrives in bright, indirect light. Avoid direct sunlight, which would dry out and damage its leaves.
• This is a plant that loves the tropics and will drop its leaves if your home doesn’t have enough humidity. Consider a nice humid room or a space with a humidifier. No drafty corners, please!
• The Snow Bush wants nice moist soil as well, but should not be waterlogged.
• This plant flourishes with feeding. During the spring and summer, use a half-strength, balanced liquid fertilizer each month, then every other month in the fall and winter.

You might be familiar with the “Money Tree,” pachira aquatica. That plant got its name from a popular story about a destitute man praying for money, who discovered the plant and became rich selling it. Another money-related tree is our featured plant this week. Meet the beautiful and unique-looking Chinese Money Plant (pilea peperomioides), which has a backstory rich not in folklore but the sweep of world history.

The plant’s most common nickname comes from its circular leaves that look like coins. Other nicknames include the pancake plant, UFO plant or just Pilea, a shortening of its scientific name. But for many people, this is the Missionary Plant.

Scottish botanist George Forrest was the first westerner to collect Pilea peperomioides in China’s Yunnan Province. Its worldwide propagation is credited to a Norwegian missionary. Agnar Espegren was fleeing the ravages of the Chinese Civil War in 1944 when he was delayed in Yunnan, waiting for a plane to take him and his family to the safety of India. While in Yunnan, he picked up either a full plant or cuttings, most likely at a local market.

The plant survived the trip to India and then another voyage to Norway as the family returned home. Espegren began giving cuttings away and the plant flourished throughout Scandinavia. A Norwegian au pair brought the plant to England as a gift to the British child she was taking care of, and the Chinese Money Plant began to take off in Western Europe. (As you can probably guess, this plant is very easy to propagate, leading to two of its other nicknames, the Sharing Plant and the Pass It On Plant).

Caring for Your Chinese Money Plant

• This plant thrives in medium to bright indirect light. Avoid direct light, which would damage those lovely leaves. Meanwhile, low light will make the plant “leggy” with fewer offshoots. Rotate regularly to keep symmetrical.
• Use a rich, well draining soil. Amend with perlite to increase drainage if necessary.
• Allow the first two to three inches of this plant to dry out between waterings.
• Average household temps and humidity should be fine for your plant, but keep it away from heating vents.
• Feed your plant monthly during spring and summer.
• If you’d like to share this “pass it on plant,” wait until the offshoots are at least a couple of inches tall before cutting. Use a clean knife or shears to cut the offshoot from the main root an inch or two below the soil. Immediately put the cutting in some moist soil in a separate container. Keep the soil moist (but not waterlogged) until the new plant has established a root system in the new pot.

The Ficus elastica ‘Tineke’, commonly known as the Ficus Tineke or variegated rubber plant, is an eye-catching indoor plant prized for its attractive leaves. It’s a cultivar of the rubber tree plant with creamy-white, green, and pale pink variegation on the leaves.

Caring for Your Ficus Tineke

• Bright, indirect light is ideal. Variegated plants like Ficus Tineke require more light than solid-green varieties to maintain their leaf patterns. Avoid direct sunlight, as it can scorch the leaves. However, too little light may result in faded or uneven variegation.

• Watering – Water when the top 1-2 inches of soil are dry. Overwatering can lead to root rot, while underwatering may cause leaf drop. During winter, reduce the watering frequency since the plant’s growth slows down.

• Humidity & Temperature – Ficus Tineke prefers moderate to high humidity. If the air is dry, you can mist the plant or use a humidifier. Keep the plant between 60-80°F. It does not tolerate drafts, so avoid placing it near vents or cold windows.

• Soil & Fertilizer – Use well-draining potting soil with good aeration. A mix of peat, perlite, and standard houseplant soil works well. Fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 4-6 weeks during the growing season (spring and summer). Stop feeding in winter.

When it comes to houseplants that are both unique and low-maintenance, Saxifraga Stolonifera ‘Tricolor’, commonly known as the Strawberry Begonia or Strawberry Geranium, is definitely worth exploring. Its enchanting blend of colors, charming trailing habit, and resilience make it a favorite among both novice and experienced gardeners.

The plant earns its ‘Tricolor’ name from its three-toned foliage. The leaves have a deep green in the leaf center, creamy white or light pink edges, and are lined in a pink that becomes more pronounced and vibrant as the plant is exposed to light.

Caring for Your Saxifraga Stolinfera ‘Tricolor’

• Light: Bright indirect light creates brighter pink colour in the leaves.

• Water: Keep moist during summer and water less during the winter months. Avoid getting water on the plant’s leaves.

• Food: During the summer months feed weekly using a weak fertilizer. Avoid feeding during the winter months.

• Humidity: Normal household humidity is ideal for the Strawberry Begonia.

Lucky Bamboo plants, which really aren’t bamboo but a variation of the Dracaena plant, are popular not only to cultivate in your home, but as a gift because of the good fortune they are said to bring to a home.

Structurally these plants are very dramatic, often with the stalks swirling in curlicues or braided. The number of stalks in your plant is said to represent various blessings in Feng Shui – two is for romance, three for happiness, five for peace and balance, nine for good luck. (However, you will rarely find a plant with four stalks; in Cantonese the word for four sounds too similar to the word for death for it to be lucky.)

One of the reasons for the lucky bamboo’s popularity is its ease of care. Whether you’re a seasoned plant enthusiast or just starting your indoor plant journey, caring for lucky bamboo is simple. Here are a few tips to keep your plant thriving:

Water or Soil? This plant will thrive in well-drained, rich potting soil, but you can also cultivate it in a vase filled with water, as long as it has at least an inch of standing water at all times. However, any water you use with the Lucky Bamboo needs to be filtered, distilled, or bottled water, not tap (the chemicals and minerals in typical tap water is harmful to this plant).

If you plant your Lucky Bamboo in soil, water it every 10 days or so, keeping the soil moist, but not soggy. If your plant is in a vase, change the water every week or so.

Light. Lucky bamboo thrives in indirect sunlight. Too much direct sunlight can scorch the leaves, while too little light may cause the plant to become weak and stunted.

Temperature. A tropical plant, Lucky Bamboo understandably prefers your thermostat be set somewhere between 65°F and 90°F. Please keep it away from drafts or cold windows during the winter.

Fertilizing. You don’t need to fertilize often. A small amount of liquid fertilizer every couple of months will suffice, but even without it, your lucky bamboo should do just fine.

Staghorn ferns are different from most other common houseplants – even other ferns.

The plants have not just one, but two types of leaves, one of which resembles antlers when it matures (in fact, other common names for this plant are elk horn or antelope ear ferns). These are the fertile leaves that produce the spores that allow the plant to reproduce.

The other leaves, which are flat and broad, are sterile. Sometimes they will look brown, but don’t remove them thinking they are dead leaves; they are essential for getting the plant nutrients and making it stable. 

Although you might buy your young staghorn fern in a pot, they are epiphytes, meaning that they do not grow in soil but instead use their roots to anchor themselves to host trees. Most staghorn ferns are grown on a plank of wood (and even hung from walls as a bit of plant art), or you can grow them in a basket with moss, peat or other organic material as the growing medium.

They enjoy bright, indirect light and absorb water through their fronds as well as their roots, so they love humid places or a good misting. A good rule of thumb is to water your plant once a week in dry and hot weather and then reduce to every two or three weeks as temperatures cool.

The Neanthe Bella or Parlor Palm is one of the most popular houseplant palms in the world – and its easy to see why. With its elegant lush leaves, this palm is a lovely addition to any home.

The plant can reach three to four feet in height, but it will take several years to get there. This plant thrives in a variety of indoor lighting conditions, but a room with medium to bright light and a north or west facing window is best. Do not keep your plant in direct sunlight.

Keep your plant evenly moist, meaning the soil should never be completely dry or overly wet. Do not keep the plant in standing water for more than 15 minutes as this can lead to root rot and pests.

The Parlor Palm needs more fertilizer than most indoor palms. Feed monthly in spring and summer with a slow-release fertilizer. If the leaf tips are brown, you could be over fertilizing.