Indoor plants are a great gift that will lighten any mother’s heart on her special day.
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More green and less glitz! That’s the word for Mother’s Day 2010 - which is celebrated on Sunday May 9. With household budgets still under strain, an inexpensive gift that will give months of pleasure is the way to go this year. Indoor plants are a perfect gift to give at this time of the year. Many indoor plants are flowering now and will continue to bloom right through the cold winter months.
Classy cyclamens
The orchid-like pink or white blooms of the cyclamen are quite exquisite and very feminine, and perfect for a ‘girly’ Mum. The foliage of cyclamens is also most attractive and often variegated.
If your Mum likes to make a bold statement in her style of dressing and home décor, she will love the newly available ‘bold colour’ cyclamens. ‘Robust Purple’ has extra large blooms in a rich magenta, while ‘Scarlet’ has unusual scarlet red blooms.
Position the cyclamen in a room that receives plenty of light from the sun, but where no direct sunlight falls on the plant. Water only when the surface of the soil is dry.
Colourful chrysanths
The bright blooms of chrysanthemums – red, orange, yellow – may be more to your Mum’s taste, and they provide vivid colour for about six weeks if watered every two or three days and fed once or twice with a liquid fertiliser. Choose from daisy-like singles with a yellow centre to large blooms with layer upon layer of petals. There are even stunning multicoloured chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemums enjoy a little morning sun, but will hate being placed in a position where they get the direct afternoon sun as it is hot and drying. Deadhead the old flowers to encourage new buds to form. Once they have finished blooming, you can plant chrysanths out in a sunny spot in the garden.
Delicate violets
African violets make a delicate gift for Mother’s Day. The range of bloom colour is now vast, so even if your mother already has one or two, there are new hybrids to create groups of African violets. Place two or three violets in a basket and you have the makings of a fabulous gift.
Remember that violets are one of the most sensitive indoor plants. Originally from the forests of Tanzania, African violets grow naturally on the forest floor in deep shade, so their leaves are easily burnt by direct sun. They require water every two or three days and prefer to be watered with tepid water. Make sure they are not placed in a draughty spot. African violets are very rewarding as they will flower a number of times during the year.
Other indoor plants that also make great gifts for Mums include kalanchoe, cymbidium orchids, delicious monster, cinerarias, miniature roses, crotons and palms.
