Houseplants that flower

Most houseplants are grown for their leaves and flower rarely, if they flower at all. A plant that blooms indoors is asking for something specific, and the first thing it asks for is almost always light. The entries say it plainly. A healthy moth orchid in a dim corner will keep its leaves for years and never throw a spike. A flamingo flower survives in medium light and stops making its flowers. An amaryllis needs bright light, with some direct sun, to flower again. A plant that is short of light has nothing to spare for flowers.

The second thing is a season. Some of these plants flower only after a rest, and the rest is the whole trick. A clivia wants a cool, dry winter, with the watering stopped for about eight weeks, before it sets its flower stem. A Christmas cactus wants long dark nights and cool weeks in the run-up to flowering. An amaryllis builds next year’s flower while its leaves are growing, which is why it is fed then and not while it is in bloom. These seasons run the other way south of the equator, so count from the plant’s own winter and not from a month on the calendar.

The mistake that kills them

Moving a plant that is in bud. A Christmas cactus that has been shifted to a different room, a different window or a warmer spot will drop its buds, and it is sensible to assume the same of any plant once its buds have formed. Pick the place first, turn the pot only when the flowers are over, and keep the watering steady.

The second mistake is feeding the wrong thing. A general feed gives leaves, and a plant that has plenty of leaves and no flowers is often being fed for the wrong result. The guide to feeding your plants sets out what nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium do, and several of the entries name the feed the plant prefers. Do not feed at all while a plant is resting.

How the list was chosen

An entry is listed here when it is recorded as flowering, when it can live indoors, and once it has been reviewed. The list is sorted with the easiest first, then by name. It includes orchids and bulbs as well as plants kept for their flowers year after year, and some are here for a single winter bloom that will take a full season of care to repeat.

A plant bought in flower has told you nothing about whether it will flower again in your house. Read the entry for what the plant needs next time, and check the light it wants against the window it will stand in before you carry it home. The finder can narrow the list by light, by room and by how thirsty a plant is.