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Plant of the Month – Goldfish Plant (Columnea gloriosa)

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Looking for a showy, colourful tropical office plant that blooms almost continuously? Consider a Goldfish plant. This common but exotic looking plant has fleshy, shiny, dark green leaves and in the right conditions, produces an abundance of fish shaped flowers almost year round.

Native to the Caribbean and South America, the Goldfish plant (Columnea gloriosa) blooms seasonally in the wild, but commercially produced cultivars can bloom more frequently. The most common flower colour is orange, but you may find yellow and ...

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Plant of the Month – Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

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The Spider Plant has to be the most well known and most loved tropical house plant. Everyone recognizes this distinctive grass-like plant with its delicate ‘babies’.  It originated in tropical and south Africa, but has been naturalized almost worldwide.

Two cultivars or varieties are popular. ‘Vittatum’ is very common, and has medium green leaves with white centers. The stems of the ‘babies’ are white. ‘Variegatum’ has darker leaves with white edges, and the stems are green. Less commom is an all green variety. ...

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Plant of the Month – Buddhist Pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)

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The Buddhist Pine (Podocarpus) is an elegant and graceful plant with grass-like foliage. It is native to southern Japan and southern and eastern China – alternative common names, Southern yew and Kusamaki, reference these two regions. This plant is a slow growing conifer that can reach up to 60’ in its natural habitat, but remains smaller when forced to grow in a container. Typically in a home or office setting you will see a columnar shaped Podocarpus that is 4-6’ ...

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5 Steps to Picking the Right Plants

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There are many reasons why you may want tropical office plants, and there are many benefits to having them. Plants purify and renew stale air by trapping and absorbing air toxins and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. They have also been shown to reduce Sick Building Syndrome and generally enhance a space by adding warmth and visual interest. But how do you go about picking the right plants for your office? There are many factors to evaluate when choosing plants ...

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Plant of the Month – African Violet (Saintpaulia)

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This immensely popular flowering houseplant, the African Violet, is native to Tanzania and Kenya. Because its natural habitat is rapidly disappearing due to clearing of land for agriculture, the conservation status of most species is listed as near-threatened. Several species are endangered.
There are 6-10 different species of African Violet, but most of the commercially grown plants are cultivars (horticultural varieties) of one particular species. African Violets can range in size from 6cm to over 20, and the flower colours ...

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Winter dormancy and interior tropical plants

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The period of winter dormancy in outdoor plants, shrubs, and trees is easy to see and is taken for granted with the changing of seasons. But what about interior tropical plants? We receive questions all the time about whether tropical office and house plants are actually dormant in the winter. Based on what we see and experience in our plantscapes, tropical plants do not enter a true winter dormancy period in an interior environment.
What exactly is dormancy? Dormancy is ...

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Plant of the Month – Boston Fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata)

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Although not commonly used as a tropical office plant, the Boston Fern is definitely a favourite among plant lovers. It has delicate arching fronds with light green coloured leaves. This plant is best displayed as a hanging plant to show off its full foliage and fronds that can grow to a length of up to 3ft. It does best in medium, indirect light. A north or east window works well. The leaves will burn easily if placed in direct intense ...

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Plant of the Month – Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum)

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Syngonium podophyllum or Arrowhead vine is a fast growing, trailing or climbing tropical plant. It is a very common office and house plant and is often used in hanging baskets. ‘White Butterfly’ is the most common variety. The leaves are an elegant pale green colour with a creamy coloured centre. Recently new cultivars have become available. ‘Neon’ has delicate pink coloured leaves, and ‘Mango Allusion’ has leaves with green and pink tones.
Although this tropical plant is quite easy to ...

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Plant of the month – Fishtail Palm (Caryota mitis)

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The Fishtail palm is a very unique looking palm with leaves that strongly resemble the fins and tail of a fish. It is not commonly found in interior plantscapes, but can be a great plant for large bright spaces. This palm is native to southeast Asia, China and India. Some species can grow to heights of 25-30 meters! Tropical plant growers will sell these as large potted plants 12-15 ft in height designed for bright atriums. The Fishtail palm is ...

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Plant of the Month – Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus pulcher)

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The Lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus pulcher) is a popular tropical plant often used in office plantscapes. It makes a great table-top or hanging plant as the stems grow quickly and will trail down the sides of the container.
It has small dark green fleshy leaves and when the conditions are right, will produce a very unique pink or red flower. When the flower first appears, it looks just like lipstick emerging from a tube.
Native to Malaysia and South America, this ...

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