Guides / Tropical
Tropical
Plants from warm climates.
A
African violet
Streptocarpus ionanthus
How to care for Streptocarpus ionanthus. Light for flowering, watering from below, avoiding leaf spots and understanding the name change.
Air plant
Tillandsia xerographica
How to care for Tillandsia xerographica. Soaking, drying the rosette upside down, mounting without glue and propagating after flowering.
Alocasia
Alocasia amazonica
How to care for Alocasia x amazonica. Recognising winter dormancy rather than death, getting the watering right, treating spider mite, and why it drips water.
Aluminium plant
Pilea cadierei
How to care for Pilea cadierei. Light, watering, pruning leggy stems, keeping the silver markings clear and replacing old plants.
Amazonian Zebra Plant
Aechmea chantinii
How to grow Aechmea chantinii. The silver-banded rainforest tank bromeliad whose cup shelters tree frogs in the wild, and needs warmth, humidity and care with its spines at home.
Angel Wing Begonia
Begonia coccinea
Practical guidance for growing angel wing begonia, Begonia coccinea, including cane stems, silver-spotted wing-shaped leaves, watering, humidity, pruning, and toxicity to pets.
Angel Wings
Caladium bicolor
How to grow angel wings, Caladium bicolor. Why losing every leaf each year is dormancy rather than a dying plant, keeping the tuber dry through its rest, and the mouth pain calcium oxalate crystals cause if a leaf is chewed.
Areca palm
Dypsis lutescens
How to care for Dypsis lutescens. Watering a palm sold as a clump of seedlings, why the tips go brown, treating spider mite, and never cutting the growing point.
Arrowhead plant
Syngonium auritum
How to grow syngonium, Syngonium auritum. The arrowhead plant, why the leaf shape changes as it matures, and keeping it bushy rather than climbing.
Arrowhead vine
Syngonium podophyllum
How to care for Syngonium podophyllum. The plant that changes leaf shape as it climbs, why the arrowhead you bought turns into something else, and how to keep it compact.
Asparagus fern
Asparagus setaceus
How to care for Asparagus setaceus. Light, watering, humidity, toxic berries, its false leaves and its weed risk in warm climates.
Azure Halopegia
Halopegia azurea
How to grow Halopegia azurea, the azure halopegia, a tall prayer-plant relative with rare blue flowers that needs wet soil and warm, humid air.
B
Baby rubber plant
Peperomia obtusifolia
How to care for Peperomia obtusifolia. Light, watering, dry rooms, propagation and avoiding root rot.
Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
How to grow Strelitzia reginae. Light, watering, the cool winter rest, slow flowering and the bird-pollinated flower structure.
Bird's nest fern
Asplenium nidus
How to care for Asplenium nidus. Watering around the rosette, humidity, scale insects and protecting new fronds.
Black Gold Philodendron
Philodendron melanochrysum
How to grow Philodendron melanochrysum, the black gold philodendron, with long velvety near-black leaves veined in gold and a need for a moss pole.
Black Velvet
Alocasia reginula
How to grow Alocasia reginula, the Black Velvet alocasia, with near-black velvety leaves and silver veins, and how to keep it from rotting or going dormant.
Blushing Bromeliad
Neoregelia carolinae
How to grow Neoregelia carolinae. The centre that blushes red before flowering, bright light for colour, the cup as its main water source.
Blushing philodendron
Philodendron erubescens
How to care for Philodendron erubescens. The red-stemmed climber behind 'Pink Princess' and 'Red Emerald', why it needs a pole to make big leaves, and what the red pigment is for.
Boston Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata
How to grow a Boston fern, Nephrolepis exaltata. The humidity it demands, why fronds shed in winter, propagating from runners, and the Victorian craze that made it famous.
Breadnut
Brosimum alicastrum
How to grow breadnut, Brosimum alicastrum. Why it is a fig-family tree rather than a true nut, its likely role as a Maya staple crop, the latex sap that irritates skin, and roasting the seed into a flour substitute.
C
Cabbage Tree
Cordyline australis
How to grow cabbage palm, Cordyline australis. Why it is not a palm, tying the leaves up for winter, what to do when the trunk rots after a hard frost and how it regrows from the base.
Calla Lily
Zantedeschia aethiopica
How to grow Zantedeschia aethiopica. Why it will grow in standing water when its coloured cousins rot, how to get it through a cold winter, and why it is not a lily.
Campos-Portoana Rhipsalis
Rhipsalis campos-portoana
How to grow Rhipsalis campos-portoana, a fine-stemmed trailing jungle cactus with a soft feathery cascade and tiny white flowers.
Canary Island Ivy
Hedera canariensis
How to grow Hedera canariensis, the Canary Island ivy, with large glossy leaves on wine-red stems. It suits a cool room and has an irritant sap.
Cast iron plant
Aspidistra elatior
How to care for Aspidistra elatior. The Victorian parlour plant that survives dark corners and cold hallways, why it grows so slowly, and the two things that kill it.
Century Plant
Agave americana
How to grow the century plant. Flowering, sap irritation, overwintering in wet climates and propagating the offsets.
Chapistle
Pereskiopsis rotundifolia
How to grow Pereskiopsis rotundifolia, the roundleaf or chapistle cactus, a shrubby leaf-bearing cactus with near-circular green leaves on spiny stems.
Chinese evergreen
Aglaonema commutatum
How to care for Aglaonema commutatum. Why cold does more damage than low light, watering it correctly, and why the pink varieties need brighter conditions than the green ones.
Chinese Evergreen
Aglaonema nitidum
How to grow Aglaonema nitidum, a Chinese evergreen with broad glossy leaves that tolerates low light. Its sap is toxic.
Chinese Fan Palm
Livistona chinensis
How to grow Livistona chinensis, the Chinese fan palm. Its pleated fan leaves with weeping tips, slow growth as a houseplant, and how to avoid brown tips.
Chinese hibiscus
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
How to grow Chinese hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Flowers that last a day, why bud drop happens, and keeping it through a cool winter indoors.
Chinese Money Plant
Pilea peperomioides
How to grow Pilea peperomioides. Light, watering, why the leaves curl, and how to take the offsets that carried this plant across Europe before any nursery sold it.
Coco Plum
Chrysobalanus icaco
Practical guidance for growing coco plum, Chrysobalanus icaco, including salt tolerance, coastal hedging, ripe fruit, pruning, wet soil tolerance, and container growing.
Coffee Plant
Coffea arabica
How to grow coffee plant, Coffea arabica. Why a plant can grow for years without ever flowering, telling a dramatic thirst-wilt from silent root rot, and keeping the caffeine in its leaves and raw cherries away from pets.
Cola de Lagarto
Pereskiopsis kellermanii
How to grow Pereskiopsis kellermanii, the lizard's tail or cola de lagarto, a leaf-bearing cactus of Mexico and Central America with long green leaves on spiny stems.
Coleus
Plectranthus scutellarioides
How to grow coleus, Plectranthus scutellarioides. Pinching out the flowers to keep the leaves, taking cuttings that root in a week, and overwintering it.
Common Staghorn
Platycerium alcicorne
How to grow Platycerium alcicorne, a staghorn fern with antler fronds and clasping shield fronds, and why it grows mounted instead of potted.
Coral Cactus
Rhipsalis cereuscula
How to grow Rhipsalis cereuscula, the coral or rice cactus, a bushy trailing jungle cactus with short stem segments clustered into coral-like tufts.
Corn plant
Dracaena fragrans
How to grow corn plant, Dracaena fragrans. Brown leaf tips, cane pruning, watering, light and toxicity to cats and dogs.
Creeping fig
Ficus pumila
How to care for Ficus pumila. The one ficus that takes real shade, why it climbs walls without support, and the adult growth phase that turns a neat green sheet into a coarse shrub.
Cretan brake
Pteris cretica
How to care for Pteris cretica. The variegated table fern that outlives the rest of a mixed bowl, why the two frond types look like different plants, and how it seeds itself.
Cross Berry
Grewia occidentalis
How to grow cross berry, Grewia occidentalis. Why slicing the ripe berry reveals a cross-shaped cross-section, how a hard frost cuts new growth back to older wood, and the poor, stony soil it prefers over rich ground.
Croton
Codiaeum variegatum
How to care for Codiaeum variegatum. Why it drops every leaf when you move it, the light it needs for colour, treating red spider mite, and settling a new plant.
Crown of thorns
Euphorbia milii
How to grow crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii. The caustic milky sap, flowering almost all year in good light, and the spines that make it a poor choice near children.
Crystal Anthurium
Anthurium crystallinum
Practical guidance for growing crystal anthurium, Anthurium crystallinum, including velvet foliage, silver veining, humidity, chunky compost, watering, and mild toxicity.
D
Dancing Bones
Hatiora salicornioides
How to grow Hatiora salicornioides, dancing bones or drunkard's dream, a small Brazilian jungle cactus with bottle-shaped joints and yellow flowers.
Devil's Ivy
Epipremnum aureum
How to grow pothos, Epipremnum aureum. Keeping the variegation, propagating in water, why a climbing plant grows different leaves, and the calcium oxalate that makes it toxic.
Dragon Tree
Dracaena marginata
How to grow Dracaena marginata. Why tap water browns the tips, cutting a leggy cane to make it branch, and the saponins that affect cats.
Dumb cane
Dieffenbachia seguine
How to care for Dieffenbachia seguine. Handling it safely, keeping it from going leggy, air-layering a bare stem, and where the name comes from.
Dutchman's Pipe Cactus
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
How to grow Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the Dutchman's pipe cactus, with huge white flowers that open for a single night on flat leaf-like stems.
Dwarf umbrella tree
Schefflera arboricola
How to care for Schefflera arboricola. The tough bushy shrub that takes hard pruning and medium light, why the leaflets drop, and how to stop it becoming a bare stick.
E
Earth Star
Cryptanthus bivittatus
How to grow earth star, Cryptanthus bivittatus. Why it roots in soil rather than needing a tank bromeliad's water cup, how brighter light deepens its pink-bronze stripes, and why the rosette fades once it has produced pups.
Ecuador Philodendron
Philodendron verrucosum
How to grow Philodendron verrucosum, the Ecuador philodendron, with velvety heart leaves, wine-red backs and bristly stalks. It needs humidity.
Elephant Apple
Dillenia indica
How to grow elephant apple, Dillenia indica. Why the fruit sold in markets is a swollen sepal around a small true fruit, the single flower that opens 20 cm across for a day, and the sourness that means it is cooked rather than eaten raw.
Emerald ripple peperomia
Peperomia caperata
How to care for Peperomia caperata. The deeply corrugated rosette peperomia, why water sitting in the crown rots it, and how to propagate one from a single leaf.
English Ivy
Hedera helix
How to grow Hedera helix. Whether it damages walls, the two completely different forms one plant takes, why it feeds bees in November, and where it is a banned weed.
Eternal Flame
Goeppertia crocata
How to grow Goeppertia crocata, the eternal flame calathea, a rare calathea with saffron-orange flowers and dark crinkled leaves that needs humidity.
F
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Ficus lyrata
How to grow Ficus lyrata. Why it drops leaves when moved, telling root rot brown spots from sunburn ones, and how to make a single stem branch.
Fishbone prayer plant
Ctenanthe burle-marxii
How to care for Ctenanthe burle-marxii. The toughest of the prayer plant family, why the leaves fold up at night, and how it differs from a calathea in the ways that matter.
Flame Violet
Episcia cupreata
How to grow Episcia cupreata, the flame violet, with quilted coppery leaves and scarlet flowers. It spreads on runners like a strawberry.
Flaming Sword
Vriesea splendens
How to grow Vriesea splendens. The banded vase rosette, the sword-shaped bract spike, cup care and why humidity matters more than feeding.
Flamingo Flower
Anthurium andraeanum
How to care for Anthurium andraeanum, the flamingo flower. Light, chunky compost, humidity, watering and repeat flowering.
Flamingo Lily
Anthurium scherzerianum
How to grow flamingo lily, Anthurium scherzerianum. Why its calcium oxalate crystals cause an immediate burning bite rather than a slow poisoning, the curled spadix that sets it apart from Anthurium andraeanum, and the fluoride-sensitive browning mistaken for underwatering.
Flying Goldfish Plant
Columnea gloriosa
How to grow flying goldfish plant, Columnea gloriosa. Why its fish-shaped flowers need brighter light than the foliage alone, and what causes buds to drop before they open.
Foxtail Fern
Asparagus densiflorus
Practical guidance for growing foxtail fern, Asparagus densiflorus, including plume-shaped stems, tuberous roots, bright light, drought tolerance, and toxicity to cats and dogs.
Furry Feather
Goeppertia rufibarba
How to grow Goeppertia rufibarba, the furry feather calathea. Its wavy leaves with fuzzy purple undersides, and how to stop the edges browning.
G
Gardenia
Gardenia jasminoides
How to care for Gardenia jasminoides. Why the buds drop, the ericaceous compost and rainwater it insists on, and the steady conditions that decide whether it flowers.
Goldfish Plant
Nematanthus gregarius
How to grow Nematanthus gregarius, the goldfish plant. Its pouched orange flowers like leaping goldfish, why it suits a hanging pot, and how to flower it.
Green aglaonema
Aglaonema modestum
How to care for Aglaonema modestum. The plain green original of the Chinese evergreens, tougher in shade and cold than the coloured cultivars that replaced it, and why the plain leaf is the point.
H
Hairy Philodendron
Philodendron squamiferum
How to grow Philodendron squamiferum, the hairy philodendron, with oak-leaf-shaped leaves on red bristly stalks. It climbs and needs warm, humid care.
Heartleaf Philodendron
Philodendron hederaceum
How to care for Philodendron hederaceum. How to tell it apart from pothos for certain, why climbing gives bigger leaves than trailing, and how it behaves around pets.
Holly fern
Cyrtomium falcatum
How to care for Cyrtomium falcatum. The stiff, dark, glossy fern that takes cold halls and dry air, why it looks nothing like a houseplant fern, and where it has escaped.
Hoya
Hoya carnosa
How to care for Hoya carnosa, the wax plant. Never cutting off the flower spur, keeping it pot-bound so it blooms, and the winter rest that sets the buds.
J
Japanese aralia
Fatsia japonica
How to care for Fatsia japonica. The big-leaved shade shrub that works as a houseplant and a garden plant, why it hates warm rooms, and what the shiny black berries are.
Jungle Velvet
Goeppertia warszewiczii
How to grow Goeppertia warszewiczii, the jungle velvet calathea, with large velvety leaves, feathered markings and cream cone flowers. It needs humidity.
K
Kentia palm
Howea forsteriana
How to care for Howea forsteriana. Watering a palm that hates wet feet, why the brown tips appear, never cutting the growing point, and the one island it comes from.
King Anthurium
Anthurium veitchii
How to grow king anthurium, Anthurium veitchii. Why its huge corrugated leaves need far more humidity than an average anthurium, and what a moss pole does for its pendant habit.
L
Lady palm
Rhapis excelsa
How to care for Rhapis excelsa. The most shade-tolerant palm in cultivation, why it costs what it does, and why a plant that suits cool dim rooms is still sold as difficult.
Lindberg's Mistletoe Cactus
Rhipsalis lindbergiana
How to grow Rhipsalis lindbergiana, Lindberg's mistletoe cactus, a vigorous trailing jungle cactus with long pink-tinged stems and pink berries.
Lipstick Plant
Aeschynanthus radicans
Practical guidance for growing lipstick plant, Aeschynanthus radicans, including tubular red flowers, dark calyxes, trailing stems, bright light, humidity, pruning, and non-toxic houseplant care.
Lucky bamboo
Dracaena sanderiana
How to grow lucky bamboo, Dracaena sanderiana. It is not bamboo, why tap water yellows the tips, and moving it from water into compost.
M
Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum raddianum
How to care for Adiantum raddianum. Why it crisps in an ordinary room, the one thing that revives a fern you think you have killed, and how it differs from its near-hardy wild relative.
Mind your own business
Soleirolia soleirolii
How to care for Soleirolia soleirolii. The tiny-leaved carpet that fills a shaded pot in a season, why it is a nettle without a sting, and why it is hard to remove once loose in a garden.
Miniature Wax Plant
Hoya bella
How to grow Hoya bella, the miniature wax plant, a dainty trailing hoya with clusters of white star flowers that suits a hanging pot.
Mistletoe Cactus
Rhipsalis baccifera
How to grow Rhipsalis baccifera, the mistletoe cactus, an easy trailing jungle cactus with thin green stems and white mistletoe-like berries.
N
Nerve plant
Fittonia albivenis
How to care for Fittonia albivenis. The plant that faints when it dries out, keeping the humidity it demands, growing it in a terrarium, and pinching to keep it bushy.
Never-Never Plant
Ctenanthe setosa
How to grow never-never plant, Ctenanthe setosa. Why its leaves fold upright every evening and flatten again by morning, and telling hard-water leaf scorch from simple dry-air browning.
Nidularium
Nidularium innocentii
How to grow Nidularium innocentii. The bird's-nest bromeliad that needs shade instead of sun, with bracts flushing red low in its central cup.
O
Oblong Rhipsalis
Rhipsalis oblonga
How to grow Rhipsalis oblonga, the oblong rhipsalis, a trailing jungle cactus with flat, leaf-like segmented stems and small white flowers.
Oleander
Nerium oleander
How to grow oleander, Nerium oleander. Overwintering it under cover in a cold climate, pruning after flowering, and why it is among the most poisonous plants sold in Europe.
P
Parlour palm
Chamaedorea elegans
How to care for Chamaedorea elegans. The Victorian drawing-room palm that still tolerates a dim corner better than almost anything, why it stays small, and the two things that brown the tips.
Peace Lily
Spathiphyllum wallisii
How to care for Spathiphyllum wallisii. Why it wilts on purpose, what brown tips are telling you, why a shop-bought plant often refuses to flower again, and how it behaves around cats.
Pencil cactus
Euphorbia tirucalli
How to grow pencil cactus, Euphorbia tirucalli. Not a cactus, the seriously caustic sap, and why 'Firesticks' needs full sun to keep its colour.
Pink Silver Hoya
Hoya pubicalyx
How to grow Hoya pubicalyx, the pink silver hoya. Its silver-flecked leaves and near-black flowers, why it is an easy wax plant, and how to bloom it.
Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima
How to buy a poinsettia that lasts, keep it alive past January, and get the bracts to colour up again. Plus the truth about whether poinsettias are poisonous.
Polka dot begonia
Begonia maculata
How to care for Begonia maculata. Pruning to stop it going leggy, watering a cane begonia without rotting it, keeping the spots bold, and rooting cuttings.
Ponytail palm
Beaucarnea recurvata
How to grow ponytail palm, Beaucarnea recurvata. The swollen base that stores water, why it needs watering monthly rather than weekly, and its slow growth.
Porter's Pereskiopsis
Pereskiopsis porteri
How to grow Pereskiopsis porteri, a leaf-bearing cactus best known as grafting stock, with thin leafy stems and remarkable speed.
Prayer Plant
Maranta leuconeura
How to care for Maranta leuconeura. Why the leaves fold up at night, what causes the crispy edges everyone gets, and one of the few striking houseplants that is safe with cats.
Purple Heart
Tradescantia pallida
How to grow purple heart, Tradescantia pallida. Why light matters more than feeding for keeping the purple colour strong, and the sap that can trigger a skin rash even after years of handling it without trouble.
R
Rabbit's foot fern
Davallia fejeensis
How to care for Davallia fejeensis. The Fijian fern whose furry rhizomes crawl over the pot rim, why they must never be buried, and how to grow one in a hanging basket.
Raindrop Peperomia
Peperomia polybotrya
How to grow raindrop peperomia, Peperomia polybotrya. Why its thick, teardrop leaves cope better with a missed watering than with compost left wet, and why it is safe for a home with cats, dogs or a toddler who chews everything.
Rat's Tail Cactus
Disocactus flagelliformis
How to grow Disocactus flagelliformis, the rat's tail cactus, an easy hanging-basket jungle cactus with long trailing stems and pink spring flowers.
Rex begonia
Begonia rex
How to care for Begonia rex. The begonia grown entirely for its leaf, why humidity matters more than light, and how to raise a new plant from a single leaf.
Rose Apple
Syzygium jambos
Practical guidance for growing rose apple, Syzygium jambos, including frost sensitivity, fruit fly hosting, fragrant fruit, pruning, humid soil, and container growing in cooler climates.
Round-Leaf Calathea
Goeppertia orbifolia
How to grow Goeppertia orbifolia. Humidity, filtered water, leaf movement at night and the Calathea name change.
Rubber Plant
Ficus elastica
How to care for Ficus elastica. Why it drops leaves when you move it, what the red sheath on new growth is, how to stop it becoming a bare pole, and the latex problem.
Russell's Cactus
Schlumbergera russelliana
How to grow Schlumbergera russelliana, the wild species behind the Christmas cactus, a Brazilian cloud forest epiphyte with magenta flowers.
S
Sacred Fig
Ficus religiosa
Practical guidance for growing sacred fig, Ficus religiosa, including its heart-shaped drip-tip leaves, obligate fig wasp pollination, its role as the Bodhi tree, frost tenderness, and its milky irritant sap.
Sago palm
Cycas revoluta
How to care for Cycas revoluta. Watering a cycad that stores its own water, the one flush of fronds a year, treating cycad scale, and why it is lethal to dogs.
Satin pothos
Scindapsus pictus
How to care for Scindapsus pictus. The silver-spotted trailer that keeps its markings in far less light than a variegated pothos, why it is not a pothos at all, and how to stop the leaves shrinking.
Scarlet Star
Guzmania lingulata
How to grow Guzmania lingulata. Bright indirect light, filling the central cup, feeding through the leaves and rescuing the offset after flowering.
Silver Vase Plant
Aechmea fasciata
Practical guidance for growing silver vase plant, Aechmea fasciata, including central cup watering, pups after flowering, silver banding, bright light, humidity, and non-toxic houseplant care.
Sky Plant
Tillandsia ionantha
How to grow Tillandsia ionantha. The small clustering rosette that blushes scarlet before it flowers, dunked instead of soaked, and its rapid pups.
Snake Plant
Dracaena trifasciata
How to grow a snake plant, Dracaena trifasciata. Watering, light, why variegated cuttings turn green, and what the air-purifying claims are worth.
Spanish Moss
Tillandsia usneoides
How to grow Tillandsia usneoides. Not a moss and not Spanish, with no roots at all, misted instead of soaked, and hung instead of potted.
Spider Plant
Chlorophytum comosum
How to grow a spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum. Fixing brown tips, rooting the babies, and whether it is safe for cats.
Spoonleaf Peperomia
Peperomia magnoliifolia
How to grow Peperomia magnoliifolia, the spoonleaf peperomia or desert privet, a compact semi-succulent foliage plant with thick glossy leaves.
Spotted Dumb Cane
Dieffenbachia seguine
How to grow spotted dumb cane, Dieffenbachia seguine. Why a bitten leaf can swell the tongue enough to affect speech and breathing, and why it needs a shelf out of reach rather than just supervision around children and pets.
Staghorn fern
Platycerium bifurcatum
How to grow staghorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum. Mounting it on a board, why the brown shield fronds must be left alone, and watering by soaking.
Star jasmine
Trachelospermum jasminoides
How to grow star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides. Evergreen scent for a sheltered wall, why it bronzes in winter, and whether it is hardy where you live.
String of hearts
Ceropegia woodii
How to care for Ceropegia woodii. Watering a semi-succulent trailer, getting tight leaf spacing rather than bare threads, and propagating from the beads on the stems.
String of Nickels
Dischidia nummularia
How to grow Dischidia nummularia, string of nickels, an epiphyte with trailing threads of round coin-like leaves for a hanging pot.
String of pearls
Curio rowleyanus
How to care for Curio rowleyanus. Bright light, careful watering, shallow pots, propagation and signs of stress in the beads.
Summer Torch
Billbergia pyramidalis
How to grow Billbergia pyramidalis, the summer torch bromeliad, an easy tank bromeliad with an upright flame-red flower head.
Sweetheart Hoya
Hoya kerrii
How to grow sweetheart hoya, Hoya kerrii. Why a single heart-shaped leaf sold as a gift can never grow into a vine unless it was cut with a stem node, and why letting the mix dry out fully matters more than any feeding schedule.
Swiss Cheese Plant
Monstera deliciosa
How to grow and care for Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant. Watering, light, feeding, common problems, and whether it is safe around pets.
Swiss cheese vine
Monstera adansonii
How to care for Monstera adansonii. The small-leaved monstera with holes and no splits, how to tell it from the plant sold as obliqua, and why the holes only arrive with age.
T
Taro
Colocasia esculenta
How to grow taro, Colocasia esculenta. Why every part of it has to be cooked, how the same plant became the elephant ear in a garden centre, and the crop that fed the Pacific.
Ti plant
Cordyline fruticosa
How to care for Cordyline fruticosa. The red-leaved Pacific plant carried across an ocean by canoe, why fluoride in tap water browns the tips, and how much light the colour needs.
Tree Philodendron
Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum
How to grow Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, the tree philodendron. Its huge deeply cut leaves on a thick trunk, why it needs floor space, and its easy care.
Triangle Fig
Ficus triangularis
How to grow Ficus triangularis, the triangle fig, a compact African fig with wedge-shaped glossy leaves that it drops in a draught.
Tropical Pitcher Plant
Nepenthes alata
How to grow Nepenthes alata indoors. Upper and lower pitchers, a slippery rim insects cannot walk on when wet, and why this species tolerates a home so well.
Turtle Vine
Callisia repens
How to grow Callisia repens, the turtle vine, a fast trailing mat of tiny round leaves for a hanging pot. It can irritate skin mildly.
V
Variegated Fig
Ficus variegata
How to grow Ficus variegata, the variegated fig. Its broad leaves, figs borne on the trunk, fast growth, why the sap irritates, and how to grow it indoors.
Velvet Cardboard Anthurium
Anthurium clarinervium
How to grow velvet cardboard anthurium, Anthurium clarinervium. Why its flower barely registers next to the velvety, vein-patterned leaves, and the chunky aroid mix that keeps the roots from rotting.
Velvet Philodendron
Philodendron gloriosum
How to grow Philodendron gloriosum, the velvet philodendron, a crawling plant with huge white-veined velvety leaves that needs a wide shallow pot.
W
Warming's Lepismium
Lepismium warmingianum
How to grow Lepismium warmingianum, a trailing South American jungle cactus with thin angular notched stems and small pale flowers, in a hanging pot.
Watermelon peperomia
Peperomia argyreia
How to care for Peperomia argyreia. The silver-striped peperomia whose markings are structural rather than pigment, why the stalks snap, and how to propagate one from half a leaf.
Wax Vine
Hoya linearis
How to grow Hoya linearis, the wax vine, a cool-growing Himalayan hoya with curtains of narrow furry leaves and scented white flowers.
Weeping fig
Ficus benjamina
How to care for Ficus benjamina. Why it drops every leaf when you move it, settling a new plant, treating scale, and handling the irritant sap when you prune.
Wendland's Gasteranthus
Gasteranthus wendlandianus
How to grow Gasteranthus wendlandianus, a bushy Central American gesneriad with hooded yellow flowers spotted red that needs warm, humid, shaded conditions indoors.
White Fusion Calathea
Goeppertia lietzei
How to grow Goeppertia lietzei, the White Fusion calathea, with white-marbled leaves and lilac undersides, and how to stop the variegation browning.
Z
Zebra Alocasia
Alocasia zebrina
Practical guidance for growing zebra alocasia, Alocasia zebrina, including striped petioles, arrow-shaped leaves, humidity, watering, winter dormancy, mild toxicity, and pest control.
Zebra Billbergia
Billbergia zebrina
How to grow Billbergia zebrina, the zebra billbergia, a tall tubular bromeliad with silver-banded leaves, pendent pink flower spikes and a water-holding tank.
ZZ Plant
Zamioculcas zamiifolia
How to care for Zamioculcas zamiifolia. Low light, dry compost, rhizomes, leaflet propagation and the false cancer claim.
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