I also used to love bridal veil, and used to be able to find it everywhere, but it's fallen out of popularity with growers, so they're hard to find.

I think cane begonias are underrated. They love shade, and they're great in a bright window. The blooms are gorgeous, and can be encouraged by regular feeding with a bloom fertilizer in the summer. Some of them need more light then you can give them indoors because of their dark colored leaves, but the green ones are amazing.

dirtygardener, I love cane and Rex begonias - so bold and gorgeous, and easy to propagate; I, too, think they're underrated.

I 100% agree with Rex begonias. I used to walk past them all the time until my partner wanted one, a rare intance of him wanting a plant lol. I have since gotten more and they are easy to care for and are gorgeous! I can't believe I over looked them for as long as I did!

And both cane and rex begonias are really easy to propagate.

I've never had a lot of luck with the Rex begonias except for one iron cross that did very well for me. After that one, I could never get an iron cross to grow again. I never could get the leaves to root or leaf sections. The canes are just so easy to root. I have a bunch of cuttings in water right now that I've been putting off doing something with, and they seem just happy in water, just growing away. I'm waiting for some shade plants to get larger so I can put them outside.

dirtygardener, I haven't tried water-rooting, but I found it very easy to root Rex begonia leaves in regular potting soil.

i also have a rex begonia but i never rooted one

Adela, is there a trick to rooting leaves in soil? Ive done some research and tried, but they ended up shriveling up. Maybe not kept moist enough.. Do you do leaf sections or a whole leaf?

You can do sections or a whole leaf. I've done whole leaves but scored to veins on the bottom of the leaf. That way you get several babies. Pin it down on moist medium. Plastic bag over it. Forget it. Check in a few weeks.

Ryan, the short answer is: no trick at all; all I did was put the little stem into moist soil; no plastic bag over it (great practice, just didn't do it), nothing.

I do all my propagations in soil, so naturally that’s how I also grew my beautiful Begonia x erythrophylla, several years ago, from a full leaf (with stem attached) I got from the local post-office. It rooted very quickly, too, so I’m quite surprised to hear from not one but two (!) people that rooting Rex begonias in soil is supposedly not easy. I now no longer have it - upon relocating, I ended up giving it away along with most of my plants at the time.

Luckily for me though, my SIL has a Rex begonia (only different variety, I think), so… time to pay her a visit, I guess. ;) I won't do anything different this time either, just stick the leaf into moist soil. I’m very curious as to what will happen. I’ll keep you posted!

With the method I described you don't stick the stem in the soil. You cut it off and lay the leaf flat on the medium. It needs to be pinned or weighted so the nicked veins touch the soil. It will produce multiple plantlets from a single leaf.

Adela, does your method give you one plantlet, or several?

floral_uk, a few months later, I had an adult plant with about 8-10 leaves.

Interesting. The flatleaf method gives you lots of babies but they don't grow that fast into multi leaved plants.

This thread had turned into begonia propagation

Mike, thread drift is inevitable. We can't stop it. I usually just post something that brings it back to the topic.

That being said, I think sansevieria is also underrated. There are so many different varieties and you can literally stick them into a dark corner and water them once a month and they keep growing.

Regarding Rex begonia leaf propagation: when I was working my way though my horticulture studies at Va. Tech, one of my jobs was as a propagator in a small production greenhouse. One morning, the owner had a large pile of assorted whole leaves and several standard plastic flats pre-filled with a soilless medium that had been well watered and allowed to drain.

Oh.....and an ordinary paper punch!

I was shown how to apply the punch along the veins and press the discs of begonia into the damp potting medium, securing each with a little pick. Amazing to see the tiny leaflets form in a couple of days with nearly 100% success.

rhizo_1, what a cool job for a horticultural student – thanks for sharing!

Mike FLFG, I can’t believe you have a begonia and didn’t list it here. So what other underrated gems in your plant collection are you not sharing with us? :)

yes i do. I never propagate them. They are so overrated so I never mentioned

One of my favorite plants is pretty common as a garden ornamental but very underutilized as a houseplant is Coleus, Plectranthus scutellaroides. I drool over the Rosy Dawn Gardens offerings, treating myself to a new plant when I can't resist.

There is nothing that equals the colors and patterns of a coleus to add pizzazz to a bright window or sunny corner. Some argue that coleus is difficult to grow inside but it really isn't, as long as it lives as a houseplant the whole time.

Rosy Dawn Coleus

"They are so overrated so I never mentioned"

'Overrated' in who's opinion?? Is there some official listing somewhere that we are not privy to that lists which houseplants are overrated?

Just very curious where these bizarre ideas are coming from............

GG, those bizarre ideas come from the land where the trolls live.

What do you mean bizarre ideas? Begonias have always been in the top 10 most popular houseplant since the 70s!

Begonias are easy to propagate after you kill a bunch. HA!

The easiest way I know of is Jiffy pellets and I've tried many methods over the years.

A finished pot from pellets to nice sized plants (3 rexes and Bashful Bandit)

If you are a commercial grower then they start out with the small plug trays. Being in a greenhouse requires no lids.

Mike FLFG, hang on to your begonia, because tastes change over time, and you may soon come to love it. I felt the same way about Dieffenbachias until I saw a really nice one at a relative, and this plant grew on me since then (just not enough to get one… yet.)

Also, while I agree with you that a plant cannot be popular and underrated at the same time, there is a very important distinction to be made between a popular plant and an overrated one. You probably wouldn't think of your FLF as overrated, just because it's so popular.

rhizo_1, here’s a pic of a Coleus grown inside, in an enclosed balcony, courtesy of my SIL. I called to ask about her begonia and she sent me pics of some of her other plants as well, to see if there’s anything else I’d be interested in. She’s had this Coleus for many years and it’s quite hardy, considering she travels a lot and her plants don’t always get the best attention from their alternate caretaker.

And here’s a Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus coleoides) I recently got that, I must admit, I’m not too in love with at the moment; it was cheap and kind of an impulse buy… It tends to get leggy and woody, and I already had to take cuttings and stick them in the pot next to the mother-plant to root, for a fuller look. However, I will say that the leaves emit a nice fragrance when rubbed between the fingers, that it’s said to repel mosquitos. I keep it outdoors during summer, along with the rest of my plants.

hc mcdole, these begonias are ah-mazing!

I think a plant can be both popular and underrated. We often don't fully appreciate the stalwart common plants in our homes and gardens but we'd miss their toughness, easiness and reliability if we didn't have them. That's why I voted for spider plants. Common as muck and not highly prized but great footsoldiers in the plant world.

floral_uk, I agree with you, in essence, and I now realize that I should have been more specific, or perhaps used a better term altogether; I meant "popular" in the sense of a plant being appreciated, held in high regard, rather than it being common, ordinary.

Thanks for making such a great point and for helping clear up a misunderstanding.

I think being underrated does not necessarily mean being hardy. They are 2 different criteria. Begonia is not hardy at all but is being classified as underrated here while spider plant may be hardy but is overrated

Mike FLFG, no one said begonias are hardy, and no one said hardy = underrated.

Exactly. You seem confused, Mike. Nobody equated underrated with hardy. In fact no one said 'hardy' at all. I did mention toughness but that is entirely different from hardiness. Nor was spider plant ever said to be hardy or overrated. The thread is called 'underrated houseplants'. I offered spiderplant as a candidate.

I've always been a huge fan of Pothos even though some varieties are a dime a dozen. I love that there are lots of varieties available in store so I feel like I'm building my collection set every time I purchase a new one. Even though they're also relatively easy to keep alive and great for beginners, there's a huge difference in appearance between a flourishing pothos and a struggling one.

I am confused as to where these terms are coming from. Who has decided what is overrated or underrated, popular or not popular?? And the term "hardy" is seldom ever used with any houseplant, as it typically refers to a plant's ability to withstand winter condition outside in the ground!! And since most houseplants are tropical or semitropical in origin, hardiness is pretty much a nonissue under most growing conditions.

I took underrated to mean common and not particularly sought after. I took popular to mean common. The sort of thing everybody has but nobody really thinks much about. Bread and butter plants rather than haute cuisine.

Nobody ever said anything about hardiness, which, as you say is it relevant for house plants, until Mike introduced it for some reason.

Lantana, Pothos are my top favourite trailing plants! I have two varieties and wanting to get more...

gardengal48, I tried to give as good an explanation I could for what I consider to be underrated: a plant you love and think it doesn't receive the full appreciation it deserves from the public at large. Of course, this matter is highly subjective: what I view as underrated may be very different from what others view as such.

While I realize this isn't a topic of interest to everyone, I sure hope it doesn't offend anyone either. As far as I'm concerned, I'm curious as to what plants other people value in their collections, and that I may have overlooked, either due to not seeing them in every plant shop, plastered all over social media, any top plants list, or for whatever other reason.

Mike FLFG, perhaps I confused you with my comment about Coleus? I meant to say that it was able to withstand quite a bit of neglect, without seeming too bothered by it.

Adela, I guess I just do not understand the concept :-) I have no idea how the "public" views or rates various houseplants nor do I care very much. I grow what I grow because I like it or it was given to me. Popularity doesn't really fit into the equation!!

Adela, yes, they're also my favorite vining plant! I've collected Golden, Marble Queen, Cebu Blue, and Pearls and Jade pothos. Each has a bit of a different growing habit and environmental needs. I also love how easy they are to propogate. I'm still hoping to stumble upon Majula, Neon, and Jessenia.

gardengal48, I hear you, and even if you were buying them based on popularity, all peace and love to you. I’m glad that people are enjoying their plants, regardless of the criteria for their selection. Everyone’s different and that’s what makes this world interesting. :)

Lantana, you have quite a collection, some I've not heard of or seen yet. Thanks, now you've given me something to look into. :)

Adela, i think the topic is confusing because everyone has their own definition of underrated.

How many underrated plants are we coming up with? Top 10? Top 5?

Mike FLF. you can assign your own meaning to any word, if you’re so inclined; you can even invent new words, and probably no one will stop you (I know I won’t). However, if you looked up the word “underrated” in any English dictionary, you’d find its definition very straightforward, without much room for interpretation. Not liking the actual word? Just replace it with underestimated, undervalued.

If this word confuses you, I wonder how you feel about other words, that carry a multitude of meanings, such as “light” or “fast" or even "kind"...

People may have different opinions on what plants they consider to be underrated, and that is to be expected, as there are no absolute truths here; that should not be the least bit confusing, either.

Don’t try to make this discussion into more than what it is: merely an exercise in looking at certain plants through other people’s lens, and maybe even falling in love with them (i.e. plants).

But if you still find this too confusing or too boring, that’s also okay.

Karen, your Sansevierias are such beauties, and you describe them so well! I think the reason more people don't talk about them is because they're so rare, few people have even seen them. Thanks so much for showing them off!

Adela, i am not trying to redefine the definition of underrated here. All I am saying is, plants are underrated for a reason and that reason is what we are missing in this discussion. I said FLF because they are so hated and everyone said no. Then came along begonias, dont know why people say they are underrated. should you just list all your plants and we all say they are all underrated?

Mike FLFG, the purpose of this discussion is not to compile a list of so-called underrated plants - such list would be worthless, as the concept itself is highly subjective. The actual intent is to discover plants you may not have otherwise known about from other sources (have you seen Karen's Sans?), or to look at plants you already know, from someone else's perspective; be curious, ask rhizo_1 and hc mcdole why they love begonias or Coleus, and you may gain a whole new appreciation for these plants, as well.

Aspidistra elatior for sure. I'm on the hunt for them for my fairly dark bedroom since finding out they put out oxygen at night. No luck so far and when I've asked around few people have even heard of them.

I will track one down eventually.

As for plants I have, I'm quite fond of my palm which I think is a Chamaedorea elegans (it came unlabeled). Common as anything but quite elegant.

pugetsound, Aspidistra elatior (Cast Iron plant) is a pretty common landscape plant in warm climates. I've not seen it used inside much but as an outdoor ornamental, it really fills a niche. Have you looked in the landscaping part of your garden centers?

Aspidistra is a fine plant, and probably a lot cold hardier than most people ever realized. I have two..., one in the ground (in NJ/Zone 7) and one in a big, glazed ceramic tub.

I also like Chamaedorea palms. (My collection specializes in palms.) My local big box stores used to sell SOOO many different types of palms, now, it's ALL MAJESTY, ridiculous! (And yes, I do have a Majesty..., for the CHALLENGE.., my coconut is EASY by comparison, LOL!) Palms are not grown successfully by many people, but there are a few that are terrific with home conditions (just not sold too often). If you like palms, I highly recommend Rhapis palms (Lady Palms), and the Kentia palm (Howea). Yes, they can be expensive, but they SURVIVE! I can purchase a lot of exotic palms in my area (outside of the big box stores now), but there is another that has recently become a favorite of mine.., 'Wedding Palm' (Lytocaryum weddellianum). This palm is extremely elegant, does well indoors under less than opitmal sun but I have NEVER seen it sold here, from NYC to Miami. Seems to be a European thing even though they are from Brazil..., go figure!

When I found my Aspidistra it had clearly been grown as a landscape plant even though it was in the houseplant section of my garden center. (They can go either way in my zone.) The pot had moss and slugs in it, so I re-potted right away for its indoor life. It still hasn't forgiven me for that. If it continues to pout, it may move outdoors.

But it's true that they are harder to find and pricey when they do turn up.

I hadn't thought to look among the landscaping plants for an Aspidistra elatior. I'll have a look and see what I can find. Thanks!