ALL plants are outside plants - so no such thing as inside plants (when you think about it). Those we DO choose to regularly grow indoors represent the outdoor plants that more easily adapt to/tolerate indoor conditions.

Al

true. so what plants would be growing outside that would also be suitable and tolerant as being a inside plant? :) definitely gonna be bringing some in.

For the most part, shade tolerant kinds.

Hi
Most "house plants " are of tropical origin for good reason because the average house is much like a "lowland forest habitat" Low light tending to be lower humidity as well as always above frost with little seasonal change . Most anything can be grown in the house for a time and of course you can always alter the growing conditions. That's why they invented the greenhouse?? lol gary

I found that anything perennial will look like trash by the spring if healthy at all...
Then anything annual will look just as bad until the longer and warmer days appear for the exception of Begonia and Coleus when in a warm sunnier window.

All tropicals and desert plants do wonders in doors for me if provided the right light, mix, and watering

Any plants requiring a dormancy period do well for me as long as they are held in a room lower than the 50's, better if above the freezing mark into the low 40's.

This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Sat, Feb 1, 14 at 5:24

Morning,

Jeannie. How long have you had Hens and Chicks indoors?

There was a discussion here about growing H&C's indoors last summer, I believe.
Some people said it can't be done. I'm curious if it works and how they're doing.

Which varieties are you growing, and do you have a recent photo?

Of all stores, Walmart usually sells interesting H&C's..not the type with small foliage, instead leaves grow upright...they flower, too.

Toni

Here's some to get you started... Ferns, spider plants, ivy, arrow head vine, palm trees (at least until they get too big), snake plant/ mother in laws tongue, peace lily, golden pothos etc

Mike is so right about the coleus, mine are doing really well, the only thing is that they arent getting enough sun, the color has faded but will enhance come summer.
Christine

I don't have the hens and chicks inside right now. theres mommas and a lot of babys filling a tire outside. im going to try growing some inside as a houseplant. my boyfriend says his mom used to grow them inside also.

Jeannie, can't hurt, and it's an interesting experiment.

Last summer, we discussed growing Sedum indoors. I have a hardy variegated in the garden...
Most likely all variegation would revert..not enough light indoors.

I can say from personal experience that Impatiens make a good houseplant. I kept a double pink one as a houseplant for years and it would even bloom indoors.

A number of begonias can be good houseplants. Cane begonias, in particular.

Passion flower vine will also grow indoors though I doubt it would bloom.

Christine, just noticed your plant.

Your Coleus has lost color, but foliage is healthy and compact. By spring, colors will return.

Summershine. You're right about cane Begonias. One of my canes, 'don't know its variety,' has been in flower all winter. The cane, citrus and Squill are the only plants in bloom.

Strangely enough, I have some red verbenas that have been blooming under my fluorescent plant lights for most of the winter. A local store was selling pots of fresh annuals in late summer, with which you could replace your container annuals that had already gone to seed.

The verbenas still had lots of buds at the time I took everything indoors in mid-October, so I stuck the pot under the lights. A miniature petunia and an unidentified yellow-flowering plant also in the pot have bloomed a couple times too, but not nearly as much as the verbenas. The back room where the lights are is pretty airy and cool, which may help.

{{gwi:68954}}

i've had hen an' chicks indoors for years - in a south facing window. kept them very dry. they grew and multiplied and did very well. they were planted in a clay shallow wide pot and draped over the sides very nicely. i had no outdoor space so they never went outside.

Just for the record, Coleus and Begonias are not annuals. Like many tropical plants sold 'as annuals,' these are some of many that can be brought inside to save for winter, or indefinitely as house plants. Most plants sold 'as annuals' are not true annuals, which die after making seeds.

When shopping for annuals, I stick to mostly tropicals, not true annuals, since the tropicals can usually be saved by bringing inside. As said above, the shade plants are the stars of this realm. Plants valued only for their flowers don't usually look great at times when they aren't blooming. Flowering plants usually need full sun, virtually impossible to replicate inside without supplemental lighting or really great, big windows, so the non-flowering version of the plant is usually what one ends up with inside. That's great if it can go back outside in the spring to do its' thing again.

As one goes farther south, the number of (house) plants that can survive outside goes up. For that reason, I don't have any more potted spider plants, asparagus ferns, Cannas, or elephant ears, like I did in OH. They are hardy ground plants here (and in the case of spider plant and a-fern, horrible weeds.) Most people don't bother potting hardy plants unless they have no outdoor space to garden, but there's no rule that says you can't try (and even have great results in many cases.)

Jeannie, look for a book by H. Peter Loewer called "Bringing the Outdoors in: How to Do Wonders With Vines, Wildflowers, Ferns, Mosses, Bulbs, Cacti, and Dozens of Other Plants Most People Overlook." He's written many plant books, but this particular book covers exactly what you're after.

I think it's out of print. Your local library system may have a copy, or you can buy a pre-loved used book. Sellers may abbreviate the title to "Bringing the Outdoors In" but there are other books by different authors under that title.

i looked this book up and i can get it free shiping in the US for 4 dollars

In the UK we use Fatsia Japonica and Aucuba Japonica inside and out.