Thinking of getting a houseplant but don’t know which one to choose? Then check out this list of the ten most popular houseplants here in the UK. Some are pretty obvious choices due to the lack of care and attention they need, but some are a real surprise…
Tradescantia
10 – Tradescantia
Info Source: Tradescantia are weakly upright to scrambling plants, growing to 30–60 cm tall and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and fields. A number of the species flower in the morning and when the sun shines on the flowers in the afternoon they close but can remain open on cloudy days until evening.
Fern
9 – Fern
Info Source: Ferns first appear in the fossil record 360 million years ago in the late Devonian period but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous, after flowering plants came to dominate many environments.
Rubber Plant
8 – Rubber Plant
Info Source: The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is a popular ornamental plant from the Ficus genus. In its natural habitat it grows over 30 metres tall, however, the varieties grown indoors are a much more manageable height.
Begonia
7 – Begonia
Info Source: Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. In cooler climates some species are cultivated outside in summertime for their bright colourful flowers, which have sepals but no petals.
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African Violet
6 – African Violet
Info Source: Saintpaulias, commonly known as African violets, are a genus of 6–20 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa. Typically the African violet is a common household indoor plant but can also be an outdoor plant.
Ivy
5 – Ivy
Info Source: Hedera, commonly called ivy is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.
Busy Lizzie
4 – Busy Lizzie
Info Source: The flowers are profusely borne, 2–5 cm diameter, with five petals and a 1 cm spur. The seedpod explodes when ripe in the same manner as other Impatiens species, an evolutionary adaptation for seed dispersal. The stems are semi-succulent, and all parts of the plant are soft and easily damaged.
Spider Plant
3 – Spider Plant
Info Source: Chlorophytum comosum, often called spider plant but also known as aeroplane plant, St. Bernard’s lily, spider ivy, ribbon plant and hen and chickens is a flowering perennial herb. It is native to tropical and southern Africa but has become naturalised in other parts of the world, including western Australia.
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Geranium
2 – Geranium
Info Source: Geranium is a genus of 422 species of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as the cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.
Cactus/Succulents
1 – Cactus/Succulents
Info Source: Cactus spines are produced from specialized structures called areoles, a kind of highly reduced branch. Areoles are an identifying feature of cacti. As well as spines, areoles give rise to flowers, which are usually tubular and multipetaled. Many cacti have short growing seasons and long dormancies and are able to react quickly to any rainfall, helped by an extensive but relatively shallow root system that quickly absorb any water reaching the ground surface.