This vigorous, evergreen, hardy vine has beautiful, variegated, glossy green leaves with creamy white margins. It is less than 1' tall but can spread 10'. This vine is great as a wall climber or groundcover but it should not be allowed to climb tree trunks. Train on trellis or structure. This vine tolerates full and part sun; it prefers moist fertile soil. It tolerates urban pollution and saline soils. Looks great in containers. Prune in early spring.
Tradescantia zebrina is native to Mexico. It is a very popular trailing plant. Where winter hardy, it is commonly grown as a groundcover that roots at the nodes as stems spread along the ground. Foliage typically grows to 6" tall, but creeps to 2' wide or more if allowed to do so. Where not winter hardy, it is commonly grown in hanging baskets or pots as a houseplant. Trailing stems cascade down from a hanging basket. Stems are clad with fleshy, pointed, stem-clasping, oval leaves (to 2.5" long) that are blue-green with two broad silvery longitudinal stripes above and solid purple underneath.
Lemon Button Fern is the smallest Boston ferns. It is compact with tiny green button-like leaflets on dark green, arching stems that reach just a foot high. A lemony scent is often expressed when the leaves are crushed. It is an evergreen.
H. phyllostachya is native to Madagascar; other species in the genus come from South Africa and Southeast Asia. Polka dot plant is a bushy plant with oval, softly downy leaves. Under ideal conditions the species grows up to 30 inches high and wide; many cultivars remain much smaller than this.
This evergreen vine has dark green leaves with pale green veins, climbing upwards to 100'. If used as a ground cover, this plant is less than 1' tall but will spread 100' with time. When mature, clusters of small green flowers bloom in fall, followed by black berries. Best used in pots. Considered invasive in some areas. It does best in part and full shade although it will grow in full sun. It prefers moist, loam soil but established plants will grow in any condition. Be careful where you plant this vine as it may climb and cover gutters, siding, walls.
Easily grown as an indoor houseplant or outdoor accent plant in well-drained, humusy soil. Winter hardy in Zones 11-12. Plants need bright light for best leaf color, with some direct sun. May lose lower leaves in too much shade. Plants also prefer high humidity. Consider standing plant on bed of wet pebbles to increase humidity when indoors. Water regularly to keep soils moist, but not wet, during the growing season. Does not require winter dormancy, but appreciates a resting period with reduced watering from fall to late winter.
Easily grown as an indoor houseplant or outdoor accent plant in well-drained, humusy soil. Winter hardy in Zones 11-12. Plants need bright light for best leaf color, with some direct sun. May lose lower leaves in too much shade. Plants also prefer high humidity. Consider standing plant on bed of wet pebbles to increase humidity when indoors. Water regularly to keep soils moist, but not wet, during the growing season. Does not require winter dormancy, but appreciates a resting period with reduced watering from fall to late winter.
Coffea arabica, commonly called Arabian coffee, is an upright tropical evergreen shrub or small tree that grows to 10-15’ tall. Although native to Ethiopia, Arabian coffee has been cultivated in Arabia for over 1000 years. It is now commercially grown in subtropical and tropical areas throughout the world. In coffee plantations, plants are kept trimmed to 6’ tall for ease of harvest and best production. Indoor container plants typically grow to about 4-6’ tall. Plants feature (a) glabrous, glossy, elliptical, dark green leaves with prominent veins and wavy margins, (b) fragrant (resembles the aroma of jasmine), star-shaped, white flowers that bloom in axillary clusters of 2-9, (c) green two-seeded fruits (berries) that gradually mature to yellow, light red and finally deep red and (d) fissured bark on older branches. Berries are edible with a pulpy grape-like texture, but it is the seeds (coffee beans) that are coveted. Berries are picked by hand when ripe and depulped, with the extracted seeds/beans then dried in the sun before roasting. Coffee beans contain caffeine.
The Heartleaf Philodendron is known as the sweetheart plant because of the unique heart shape of its leaves. This ease to care for plant is one of the most popular houseplants. The Heartleaf Philodendron is an evergreen vine that thrives in partial shade at moderate temperatures. In tropical regions it can survive outside, however in most places it is used strictly as a houseplant. While blooms on this fast-growing climber may appear at any time during the year most plants in confinement never bloom.
Hemigraphis alternata, commonly called hemigraphis or sometimes red ivy, is native to India and Java. It is a prostrate tropical perennial that typically grows to 6-9” tall and spreads indefinitely along the ground rooting at the stem nodes as it goes. It is primarily valued as a ground cover for its colorful foliage. Toothed, puckered, ovate-cordate leaves (to 3” long) are metallic silvery gray-green above and purple beneath. Tiny, five-lobed, bell-shaped, white flowers in 1” racemes bloom in summer. Flowers are insignificant.
White Heart is a beautiful new introduction from South Florida that sports the whitest of all Anthurium blooms with a beautiful contrasting bright pink stamen. After a few weeks the brilliant white blooms fade to green before turning to seed.