Indoor Flowering Plants

Match the plant to your light

Indoor flowering failures are almost always light failures, so be honest about the room before you choose the plant.

• Low to moderate light. Peace lilies are the only plants here that flower reliably away from a window. The compact 'Chico' and 'Stephanie' suit shelves and desks from $15.95, while the metre tall Sensation Peace Lily makes a serious floor plant.
• Bright, filtered light. Anthuriums, Medinilla myriantha and the extraordinary Black Bat Plant all flower well within a metre or two of a bright window, out of direct sun.
• Cool and bright. Cyclamen are the winter specialists, flowering for months on a windowsill, in an entry or in the coolest room of the house. Most varieties here are $14.95.
• A sunny windowsill. The flowering succulents and cacti, including String of Pearls, Ruby Necklace and the small ball cacti, want the brightest spot you own.

Where they work around Australia

Indoors flattens the climate map, but not completely. In humid northern homes, anthuriums, bat plants and Medinilla grow almost as easily as they would outside. In the southern states the challenge is winter heating, which dries the air, so group the tropical bloomers together and keep them off cold sills overnight. Cyclamen run the other way: they thrive through cool southern winters and sulk in subtropical humidity. Poinsettias colour naturally through the Australian winter, when short days trigger their red and cream bracts.

Care basics that keep flowers coming

Water when the top 2cm to 3cm of mix feels dry, which in most homes means weekly in summer and every 10 to 14 days in winter. Feed at half strength with a liquid fertiliser monthly through spring and summer, snip spent blooms at the base, and repot into fresh mix every second year. A drooping peace lily is asking for water, not dying, and stands back up within hours of a drink.

Common questions

Why won't my peace lily flower?

Light, almost every time. Peace lilies survive dim corners but only flower freely near a bright window with filtered light. Move the plant brighter for a month and feed it, and flowering usually restarts.

Are these plants safe around pets?

Treat most of this collection as not for chewing. Peace lilies, anthuriums and philodendrons contain sap that irritates mouths, and cyclamen tubers are toxic to dogs and cats, so use stands and shelves out of reach.

Do cyclamen die after flowering?

No, they go dormant. When flowering finishes and the leaves yellow in late spring, ease off the watering and rest the pot somewhere dry and shaded. Fresh leaves return in autumn.

How do the plants arrive?

Potted and secured for transit, delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95 and a 30 day healthy plant guarantee. There is a minimum order of $300 before delivery, which suits a shelf worth of plants rather than a single cyclamen, so browse the wider indoor plant range or the succulent collection to round out an order.