House Plants

Tropical, Flowering & More

Our greenhouses have a terrific selection of lush tropical house plants and colourful flowering plants for every season and occasion.

Look for our handy light requirement signs and matching tags to help guide you to the right house plant for your living space, or ask one of our knowledgeable staff to assist you

  • Croton
  • Ficus
  • Orchids
  • Begonias
  • Bromeliads
  • Potted Bulbs
  • Kalanchoe
  • Philodendron
  • Azalea

... and much more

Clean the air with House plants

  • House plants are nature’s “eco-friendly” living air purifiers.
  • Plants placed within your own personal breathing space will add humidity, remove bacteria and chemical toxins and suppress airborne particles.
  • By adding a variety of house plants including blooming plants such as the Gerbera Daisy, you can create feelings of relaxation, calm and well-being in any room.
  • For the best results, use a variety of plants with 1 potted plant per 100 square feet.
     
Clean the air with House plants

Did You Know?

Tropical house plants are natural air filters. According to studies conducted by NASA (yes, that NASA), the following indoor plants are the best at filtering out air pollutants:

✓ Bamboo Palm
✓ Dracaena
✓ English Ivy
✓ Golden Pothos
✓ Philodendron
✓ Snakeplant (Sansevieria)
✓ Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
✓ Spider Plant

Corn Plant

Corn Plant
  • Excellent house plant – rates above average in all categories listed
  • Suits a contemporary décor

Bamboo Palm

Bamboo Palm
  • A favourite for homes and offices
  • Creates a peaceful and tropical feel
  • Reaches a height of approximately 6 ft.

Peace Lily

Peace Lily
  • The best Dracaena for cleaning indoor air
  • Will tolerate dimly lit areas
  • Popular choice for office buildings and homes
  • Reliable bloomer

Snake Plant

Snake Plant
  • Perfect “starter” plant if you are new to growing house plants
  • Extremely hardy
  • Will tolerate low to moderate light conditions

Spider Plant

Spider Plant
  • Perfect “starter” plant if you are new to growing houseplants
  • Ideal for hanging baskets
  • Fast growing

Gerbera Daisy

Gerbera Daisy
  • Will brighten any home or office with its colourful flowers
  • Popular cut flower
  • Will thrive when placed near a sunny window

Rubber Plant

Rubber Plant
  • Will tolerate dim light and cool temperatures
  • Extremely resilient
     

English Ivy

English Ivy
  • Ideal in topiary form or in hanging baskets
  • Hardy
  • Vigorous climber
     

Marginata Dracaena

Marginata Dracaena
  • One of the easiest to grow of the dracaenas
  • Tolerates low light and dry winter air
  • Hardy

Warneckei Dracaena

Warneckei Dracaena
  • Tolerant of low light and dry air conditions commonly found in office buildings
  • Slow growing

Indoor Florist Mum

Indoor Florist Mum
  • Most popular year-round flowering plant
  • Popular cut flower
  • Provides a brilliant display of colour in your home or office

Boston Fern

Boston Fern
  • Great for shady decks and porches during warm months
  • Adds a classic, formal look to any decor
  • Best displayed in hanging baskets or on a pedestal
     

Janet Craig Dracaena

Janet Craig Dracaena
  • The best Dracaena for cleaning indoor air
  • Will tolerate dimly lit areas
  • Popular choice for office buildings and homes

Light Requirements

Take the guesswork out of growing beautiful, healthy plants with colour coded plant tags

Match the colour below to your light conditions:

High Light
Full or direct sunlight

Moderate Light
Partial sun or bright location out of direct sunlight

Low Light
Shade or poorly lit areas bright enough to read by


House Plants for High Light


I’ve just moved into a condo with south and west facing windows. What plants would enjoy all the direct sunlight?
  • Cactus, yuccas, and succulents would thrive in the heat and the sun.
  • An arrangement of Barrel Cactus, Jade Plant, Agave, Euphorbia, Aloe Vera, Echeveria, and Crown of Thorns would be striking.
  • You can even have succulent hanging baskets of Burro’s Tails and String of Pearls.
  • The best part about all these plants is low maintenance.
  • They don’t require much watering (follow instruction tags), rarely need to be repotted, and can be fertilized with Schultz Cactus Plus Liquid Plant Food 2-7-7 when they’re actively growing.
  • Or, if you prefer flowering plants, there are standard Hibiscus trees, Oleander, Flowering Maple (Abutilon), and Calamondin Orange.
  • If you can provide support for a flowering vine, try Plumbago, Passion Vine, Bougainvillea, Hoya, Jasmine, or Stephanotis.
  • One of the brightest foliage plants is Croton in shades of yellow, orange, red, and green.
  • Or try a vibrant new Dracaena called Colourama that has bright pink to red striped foliage.
  • Lemon Lime Dracaena is also very bold and colourful.
I’d like to grow some house plants in my sunny kitchen and I wonder what I need besides the plants themselves?
  • Watering cans come in many sizes and when filled with water can be quite heavy so choose accordingly.
  • A long spout on the watering can is very practical for hard to reach places.
  • Make sure there’s a saucer under each pot to catch excess water.
  • Parkwood® 20-20-20 All Purpose Plant Food keeps plants healthy and strong every time you water.
Because my plants are in high light they seem to grow really fast. I know I need to do some repotting but when should I do it and how do I determine what size pot each needs to go into? Also, what kind of soil should I use?
  • The best time to repot is whenever the plant is actively growing.
  • If it appears to be resting due to lower light levels in winter, for example, let it rest.
  • Disturbing any plant’s root system when it’s semi-dormant can cause stress and possible transplant shock.
  • Choose a container 2.5-5 cm (1-2”) larger than the one it’s presently in and make sure the pot has a drainage hole at the bottom.
  • For most houseplants, use a tropical plant soil mix or Parkwood® Enriched Potting Mix for indoor plants. They are ready-to-use (nothing needs to be added) and sterilized.
  • For all cactus and succulents, choose a cactus soil mix.
  • If you’re repotting African Violets, there’s a specially formulated mix just for them.
  • Lastly, to minimize transplant shock, mix Parkwood® Transplanter 5-15-5 with water and soak the soil.
     

House Plants for Medium Light


I’d like a fairly tall plant for my large front hall. It’s quite bright all day though not direct sun. What would look good without appearing skimpy?
  • A Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina) tree always looks great and it’s available in many sizes. Ficus remains popular for its profuse, shiny, small, oval-shaped leaves on gently arching branches. You also have the choice of a straight, braided or corkscrew trunk. There are “poodle-style” topiary ficus available as well.
  • An alternative choice would be a Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata) with its large, slightly wavy leaves.
  • Palms like Rhapsis, Fishtail, Areca, and Majesty make a very tropical statement as does Bird of Paradise.
  • Corn cane (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’) comes with single or multiple trunks and long, arching leaves that have a green margin and a wide lime-green stripe down the centre.
  • On the other hand, Norfolk Pine looks like an outdoor evergreen and is particularly festive strung with white mini lights.
  • Whatever plant you choose, keep it away from draughts and place it in an attractive container.
I’m looking for unusual foliage houseplants for medium light.
  • If unusual texture is what you’re after, the Aralias are an amazing group.
  • For example, Ming Aralia is like triple- curled parsley while the almost black leaves of False Aralia look like lace.
  • Staghorn Fern is a conversation piece with its decorative leaves that resemble reindeer antlers.
  • Calathea is also unique in terms of various coloured leaf markings.
  • Rex Begonias come in dazzling foliage colours too.
I’d like one unique plant to place on my coffee table. Any suggestions?
  • A Bonsai would definitely be appropriate as they look like miniature pieces of living sculpture.
  • Tropical and semi-tropical bonsai like Umbrella, Serissa, Ficus, Fukien Tea, Chinese Banyan, and Ponytail Palm are easier to care for than evergreen varieties.
  • Or create your own dish garden in a shallow bowl or lined basket. We also carry a wide variety of pre-made dish gardens.
  • Choose from a huge variety of plants in 10 cm (4”) pots and combine them to suit your taste.
  • You can regularly change 1 or more of the plants to match the season, for example, include a Poinsettia, Primula, Crocus, Dwarf Daffodil, Cyclamen, Geranium, or Chrysanthemum.
  • Be sure to place a cork mat beneath the container so the surface below won’t be scratched and moisture won’t leave a stain.

House plants for Low Light


How do I know when it’s time to repot my indoor plant?
  • When roots completely fill the container and start to grow out the drainage holes or the root ball lifts the whole plant above the rim, it’s definitely time.
  • Another sign is when you water and it drains immediately because there’s very little soil left, only roots.
  • A third signal is small or abnormally shaped leaves caused by severe root compaction.
  • If in doubt, firmly grasp the base of the plant and lift it straight out of the pot to examine how dense the root system has become.
What type of hanging basket would survive in low light?
  • White Butterfly or Arrowhead Vine (Nephthytis) would be attractive with its variegated light green and darker green, arrow-shaped leaves.
  • Pothos is remarkably hardy and very easy to grow, in fact, it can develop such long, trailing branches, and it can be trained around a window.
  • Pothos has a green and yellow, heart- shaped leaf that brightens up any dim corner and it cleans the air at the same time according to NASA.
  • Grape Ivy is also tough and distinctive with its dark green, tri-lobed, glossy foliage.
  • Any time Pothos or Grape Ivy gets too long give it a good haircut and root the cuttings for new plants.
I’d like to place some houseplants on shelves under a window but it’s not the best light. Can you make any suggestions?
  • Warneckii Dracaena is another strong performer with bright green leaves and white stripes and it’s an air purifier too.
  • A more compact Peace Lily is Spathiphyllum Wallisii that only grows 30-45 cm tall and is just the right size on your low shelves.
  • Aspidistra has strong, dark green, long, arching leaves that emerge at soil level. It thrives on neglect.
  • For contrast, you could place beside it a Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) with its speckled foliage. Silver Queen is a particularly bright variety with its predominantly silvery markings while Rachel has white stems and dark green leaves with silver stripes.
  • While Chinese Evergreen has an arching form, Snakeplant (Sansevieria) is strikingly different with thick, slightly undulating, upright leaves. Snakeplant is available with vertical green leaves and a creamy yellow margin, dark green with horizontal silver colouring, or as a rosette.
Is there one houseplant that is utterly dependable for low light and doesn’t require much maintenance?
  • The Philodendron group fits the bill perfectly.
  • Heart-leaf Philodendron, for example, has a heart-shaped leaf and is considered a vine so it can be used in a hanging basket, trained up a bark slab, or in a container where the long branches can be allowed to trail.
  • Selloum has large, dark green, very deeply lobed leaves and can become quite a statuesque-sized plant.

Orchids Q&A


What’s the easiest Orchid to start out with?
  • Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchid doesn’t require any direct sunlight so bright light from an east window, for instance, is perfect.
  • Their floating flowers come in a wide array of colours on a long, arching branch.
  • Blooms, up to 15 cm (6”) across, open in succession from bottom to tip and each lasts for 2 months or more.
  • Foliage is thick, leathery, dark green, and strap-like.
  • Phalaenopsis don’t store moisture in a pseudobulb so they should never be allowed to dry out completely.
  • Always feel surface before watering and wait if cool and damp.
  • Average indoor temperatures of 16-30°C (60-85°F) are fine and try to maintain a 50% humidity level.
  • Fertilize with Schultz Water Soluble Orchid Food 19-31-17 while plant is flowering and growing.
  • If mature plants fail to bloom, give them 2 months with 10°C (50°F) night temperature in fall.
  • Repot every 2-3 years.
Are Cymbidium Orchids hard to grow?
  • Like all plants, they grow and flower best when a couple of requirements are met.
  • From March to October, water plants copiously and at other times potting medium can be kept barely moist but never allow to dry out.
  • They like a lot of light in summer and early fall but prefer cool evening temperatures of 16°C (60°F) during this time.
  • To encourage flowering, provide a cool period at 13-16°C (55-61°F) for 4-6 weeks in late fall.
  • Fertilize every 2 weeks from January-July and about once a month August-December.
  • Repot only when there’s no room for pseudobulbs to expand.
I always hear about providing Orchids with high humidity but I seem to forget to mist them often enough. Any suggestions?
  • You can sit the Orchid on gravel (available in small bags of white marble chips or red crushed tile) placed in a saucer that is kept moist at all times by simply adding water.
  • Be sure to put a cork mat under the saucer so constant dampness doesn’t stain surface below.
  • There’s also a new, clear, plastic humidifier tray that can be used for Orchids, African Violets, Ferns, and Bonsai.
  • The plant sits higher on pre-formed ridges in the centre of the tray with water below.
  • Or leave the mister bottle right beside the Orchid and mist whenever you walk by.
  • Never position an Orchid near a heat source in winter.