15 Tropical Plants You Can Grow Indoors (If It’s Too Cold Outside)

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Although tropical indoor plants wo n’t digest northern winter outdoors , they can enliven the cold months indoors with luxuriant leaves and bright blooms . If you are bored with tropical foliage works , try some of the blooming type rather .

When develop tropical houseplants , keep in nous that woody species often drop many of their leafage after being brought into the house . That is how they manage with thelower sparkle stratum ; it does n’t mean the exotic works are expiring , just line up their expectations . If your windows do n’t provide as much sunlight as some tropical character prefer , consider placing them under a grow lighter .

White room with many tropical houseplants hung from ceiling and in planters.

Photo: istockphoto.com

1. Amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.)

Everybody is amorous of amaryllis , one of the most vernacular tropic houseplants , for good reasonableness . What other coinage can farm big lily - likeblooms indoors in the dead of winter ? Keep this South American native grow throughout saltation and summertime in full sun before you may cut back on water it to countenance it to drop into dormancy . After a couple of month , start water it again to bring it back to life in time for the holidays . It should bloom 6 to 8 weeks after its germination . Keep in mind that evergreen commercial-grade types do n’t ask a abeyant period .

2. Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus spp.)

Despite its genus name sounding like a disease , this is one of the best indoor tropic plants for abject light . Although the typical fuzzy - leavedAfrican violetis included in this kin , someStreptocarpushybrids have long quilted - looking leaves . The plants seldom surpass a metrical foot in altitude and can produce trumpet - shaped bloom throughout the year . Give the plant only fond sun or promising , collateral igniter and cool stipulation ( between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit ) for the salutary termination . As with most gesneriads , it also execute well under grow lights . Water it with lukewarm H2O whenever the open of its soil is dry .

3. Clivia (Clivia spp.)

Blooming in late winter or early spring , these African specie have large strappy leaves similar to those of amaryllis , but it produces clusters of 10 to 20 blooms at a time — most in warm color such as orange or red . Also known as bush lily or fire lily , it should be left outdoors until just before frost and then kept on the dry side in a location with temperatures below 60 degree Fahrenheit . Place it near an eastward - face window until it flower , after which you may move it to a warm position and water it more frequently .

4. Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)

The spiky but not picky crown of irritant plant that hails from Madagascar can thrive under the low - humidity conditions of the average home in wintertime , producing colorful “ blooms , ” which are in reality bract , for months on end . The easygoing - to - rise plant need at least 3 to 4 hour of sunlight per day , preferably more . Allow its dirt to dry out a flake beneath the surface before you irrigate it again . If your plant is n’t blooming , give it long nights ( at least 13 hours of total darkness ) to encourage it to do so . Just mark that it can have crisp spikes , and its ashen sap can chafe tegument and oculus .

5. Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)

Persian Cyclamen purpurascens blooms in the eye of wintertime , its heart - shaped leave often exhibit intricate mottled normal while its petals resemble upswept annexe . Place it in aneast - facing windowwhere it have a duet of hour of sunlight per day , and irrigate it from the side to avoid getting its corm ( conceited hugger-mugger main base ) wet . Once it has finish flowering , allow it to dry back to the corm in tardy spring and keep it in a cool location for most of the summer . When it begins to germinate again in late summer , move it out into the luminosity again and resume watering it .

6. Flowering Maple (Abutilon spp.)

Although named after a more “ sappy ” coinage due to the similarity of their five - lob leave of absence , Abutilonisn’t actually a maple and make much more telling bloom than the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree does . As a houseplant , it can raise dangling campana - shaped flowers in most calendar month of the year if it gets full or partial light and its soil is allowed to dry out out to about 1 column inch down between waterings . Barbara Pleasant , author ofThe Complete Houseplant Survival Manual , suggests that you also cut the plant back by about one - third in spring .

7. Geranium (Pelargoniumxhortorum)

One of the most well - have intercourse types of indoor tropical plants , theannual geraniumwith its roundish leaves and heads of lob blooms is the quintessential florescence houseplant for skillful reasonableness . If moved indoors to a cheery windowsill in fall and prune back a routine , it can take up unfolding within a month or so . Ahouseplant originating in the wildsof Africa , the geranium prefers somewhat arid conditions , so be heedful not to exaggerate the wet . Allow its soil to dry out out about an column inch below the surface before irrigate it again .

8. Wax Plant (Hoya spp.)

A climbing or swing works with succulent foliation and exotic balls of waxy blooms , hoya prefers only partial sunlight — sooner from an east - confront window — or lustrous , collateral luminousness . Most hoya coinage are native to Asia or Australia . piddle the works when the airfoil of the container ground is ironic in summertime and allow the soil to dry out more during winter . For the best winter show , choose wintertime bloomers such asH. calycinaor ever - bloomers such asH. krohniana .

9. Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus spp.)

Also call handbasket plant life for its dangling way , this mintage produces cascade foliation and metro - like maroon flower with the “ lipstick ” emerging as a more bright colored red peak from the crown of the tube . Lipstick plants can flower on and off all year , though you might desire to prefer a cultivar specially tout for winter flowering such asA. obconicus‘Mona Lisa ’ . Give it partial sunlight , with no direct twelve noon rays , and irrigate it when the surface of its dirt looks dry .

10. Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.)

“ The well-off orchid to mature in the home , ” according to theMissouri Botanical Garden , this wintertime - blooming type is one of thehouseplants that postulate no soil . It typically grows in a bark or moss medium instead and prefer only fond sun or a grow light . Allow its medium to dry out an in or so down before you water the plant again and appropriate the temperature for thisorchidto fall into the LX at Nox . You might want to leave it outdoors for a calendar month in autumn when nighttime temperatures are in the 50s to spur it into blooming .

11. Passionflower (Passiflora spp.)

Beloved for its special prime that have been associate with Good Friday due to their crown and spikes , the mounting lob - leaved passionflower involve plenteousness of sun and warmth to flower . Allow the aerofoil of its dirt to dry out before watering it again . If you need your flora to flower during winter , reckon for wintertime - blooming types such asP. miniataandP. sidiflora . Otherwise , just keep the plant alive indoors during the dark month so it can bloom outdoors during the bright ones . Keep in head that seed - grow specimens reportedly take much longer to flower than those propagate by clipping .

12. Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana)

One of the most unusual tropical plants for indoors , this species with its shrimp - similar blooms made up of salmon - coloured bracts and white flowers is actually one of the easy to grow , flowering at almost any time of year in which it has enough brightness level . Place it in full or fond sunshine and piss it whenever the surface of its potting admixture is dry . Choose Variegata for clean - streak leaves or ‘ Fruit Cocktail ’ for fleeceable bracts with red flowers .

13. Skyflower (Thunbergia grandiflora)

This climbing vine with fondness - mold leaf can make 3 - inch sky - down in the mouth rosiness with yellow centers almost all yr in tropic climate . So , it might continue to flower indoors during winter if it receives plenty of sunlight and water when the airfoil of its dirt is dry . However , you will desire to keep the plant in a way that remains gloomy at Nox , since short mean solar day duration reportedly is what palaver it into flush .

14. Tropical Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Among the big indoor tropical plants in both pinnacle and flower size , tropic hibiscuscan continue produce showy blooms up to 8 column inch across — individual or dual according to cultivar — into fall and winter . However , it will call for a position at a gay south- or west - facing window to do so . Water the works whenever the surface of its dirt is ironic . Because hibiscus shrubs make bud on the wind of their shoots , it ’s a good thought to void pruning thisfast - raise houseplantin autumn until you are sure that all of the buds have bloomed .

15. Winter-Blooming Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)

Being ahouseplant that fly high in winter , this species can perfume your Valentine ’s Day with starry white and scented peak . To encourage yourjasmineto set buds , give it full to partial sun during summertime and leave behind it out of doors into autumn until it has experienced at least 6 calendar week of 40- to 60 - degree Fahrenheit condition . Then move it indoors to a similarly shiny location . There , the temperature should continue to hover near or below 60 degrees at night , proving indoor tropical plant life aid does n’t always call for warm status . water supply it when the surface of its ground has dry to ½ inch down .

Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners

We ’ll help you set up your first garden — whether that ’s a few gage on your patio , a heighten seam , or an in - reason plot of ground out back — and pick out the right plants for your land and region .

Pink and white amaryllis with green leaves in the background.