Creating a Tropical Niche

Enough about diseased and dying pinons! Enough about dryness! Let's hear something about lush and moist. Like a trailing ivy around the kitchen window...

The Zen of Gardening in the High and Arid West
Item # 99658 		The Zen of Gardening in the High and Arid West: Tips, Tools, and Techniques

each $17.95
Sunbelt Gardening: Success in Hot-Weather Climates
Item # 99613 		Sunbelt Gardening: Success in Hot-Weather Climates

each $29.95
  • Topic: Plant Selection
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: palm, orchid, tropical, lush, moist, atrium, indoor gardening, Tropicals
  • Date: September 2003

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

Enough about diseased and dying pinons! Enough about dryness! Let’s hear something about lush and moist. Like a trailing ivy around the kitchen window. Or a lovely palm tree in the living room. And why not an orchid on the table?

With fall well underway and the days becoming cooler, it’s only normal that our interests turn indoors. And if we have a ‘thing’ for plants, one way to keep that ‘plant thing’ going long into winter is to create a tropical niche in your home.

Many new homes these days come with ready-made atriums. But if your house doesn’t have an area especially made for tropical plants, you can actually create one. It just takes a little ingenuity and perhaps a different way of thinking.

Ricardo Martinez, our tropical manager, has several suggestions for transforming a home environment into a tropical locale—at least a small corner, anyway.

“You can start with the easy plants like ferns,” he said, and suggested the following as beginner ferns:

  • Nephrolepis obliterata “Kimberly Queen”
  • Nephrolepis exaltata “Boston”
  • Nephrolepis obliterata “Medusa”

Martinez suggests hanging them or setting them on a pedestal, but wherever you set them make sure it’s in medium to low light. Most houses have windows on all sides with the north and east sides often giving a good source of low light. Just a touch of window light is often enough.

There are many types of ferns from drapy fronds to ones with tree-like trunks. Once you gather some confidence with the easier ones, why not try the more touchy varieties of ferns like the:

  • Adiantum raddianum “Maidenhair”
  • Platycerium bifurcatum “Staghorn”
  • Pteris cretica “Australian Brake Fern”

“The soil for ferns needs to be consistently damp but not soggy. Reduce watering in the winter, but don’t neglect them either,” said Martinez, who grew up in the tropics of Mexico and says he just has a sixth sense about these humidity loving plants.

Another plant easy to grow in a tropical corner is the Ficus or Ornamental Fig. They come in many varieties. Some creep, some grow like bushes and others as large stately trees. For the tree Ficus find a bright spot of light. For the trailing and bushy types low light is preferred.

The trick with any of the Ficus is not to over water. Let the soil dry out between waterings, but again don’t forget to water. The trailing or creeping type requires more frequent waterings.

The Ficus leaves come in all shapes and sizes from small and dark green to variegated and light green. Rubber plants belong to the Ficus group and these have big and shiny, dark green leaves.

To keep tropicals happy, Martinez suggests misting them. “The biggest problem people have with tropicals is the dry air,” he said. “Especially in the winter, remember to mist lightly.”

So as your garden outside begins to fade with the autumn coolness, there’s no reason you can’t begin another inside your house. And because tropicals are really pleasant to have around, it’s real easy for your little niche of tropicals to turn into a lovely indoor jungle.