TheMondayGarden.com

Don’t let these plants totally dry out or the buds’ll die. Web sites offer wonderful varieties but watch out for start-ups selling overpriced junk. Long-time industry leaders are www.glasshouseworks.com and www.logees.com.

1. Crown Of Thorns (Euphorbia) – This tough, spiny plant has year-round flowers in bright light if kept slightly moist in bright light. (pictured in issues no. 23 & 34).

2. – The best indoor jasmine; blooms intermittently in bright light.

3. Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis) – Give this easiest orchid bright light, and a window spot where the temperature falls 10F at night. Water with diluted fertilizer when dry. No water in its leaf-crown; no mid-day sun.

4. African Violet (Saintpaulia) – Great grandmother’s favorite wants some morning sun, weekly diluted fertilizer, and a fluffy, peat-mix soil. Keep it away from cold drafts, hot sun, and natural gas.

5. Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus) – African Violet relative with showy bell-shaped flowers. Watch out for mealy bugs.

6. Parlor Maple (Abutilon) – Sold by garden centers as an annual, it needs sun and fertilizer. Watch out for white flies.

7. Peace Lilly (Spathiphyllum) – This florist’s dream is also on my “light-light/easy” list (issue no. 41).

8. Fuchsia ‘Honeysuckle’ – This fuchsia makes good for bonsai and flowers indoors in the winter with sun. Watch out for white flies. Garden centers carry it as an annual.

9. Clivia (Clivia Miniata) – Featured in issue no. 13, this plant is “low light/easy” with spectacular orange flowers once a year. Worth $25 since it’s so reliable.

10. Mock Orange (Mitriostigma Axillare) – This tough slow-growing, ever-blooming tree with waxy white flowers needs part sun. Get it from the above web sites.

picture: Sambac Jasmine (Jasminum Sambac)from my collecton

To get flowers, Indoor plants need fertilizing weekly or bi-weekly, diluted to ¼ recommended strength. I’ve had good results with a tropical flower fertilizer with trace minerals from www.stokestropicals.com. Outdoor trials show that organically-fertilized plants have significantly fewer pests. MaineStreamOrganics.com has flower-suitable ones.

Be very careful with fertilizers. Over-fertilizing kills the plant and leftovers in the drain or garbage end up in the watershed, as does all outdoor run-off. Outdoors, use only organics and use them sparingly. Treat chemical fertilizer as the hazardous material that it is.

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And the readers said

Wow! What a photograph. Barbara (NY)

What great ideas....I love the scent of Jasmine and ordered a Sambac Jasmine from Logee’s. Jennifer (NJ)

I dreamt about jasmine last night. I had for years a wonderful jasmine…that needed coolness …. a wonderful, delicate, sweet smelling plant. This listing of plants was a great idea. Liz (CT) [Her jasmine was the narrow-leafed kind often trained into wreaths; it has hissy fits without the exact right light and temperature. The amiable Sambac has medium size, Kelly green, round, wavy leaves.]

Neat pic. I've never seen a flower on a maple. Nice colors. Mike Burger. [It's not really a maple; it's just called “parlor maple” to confuse. Look closely at true maples in spring, there are tiny flower corsages at the branch tips.]

This one is like a watercolor. I love it. I had a hibiscus and did very well with it. However, last year the poor thing dried up. I don't know why it was watered but once the second round of buds bloomed it started dropping leaves and it was all down hill from there. [possible causes: pot bound, too cold or excess fertilizer-salts build up.] I've owned most of your 10 easiest flowering plants.... Lin (NY)