If you are reading this then you must be passionate about indoor gardening. Every enthusiastic gardener dreams of adding some exotic indoor plants to their collection.
Your houseplant collection will stand apart from the rest of the indoor gardeners. So, here I’ll talk about some exotic indoor plants that will bring adventure to your home.
They will take you to remote places just with their scent, colors of their flowers or the intensity of the green of their leaves. Do you want to find out?
Let’s dive right in.
Exotic Indoor Plant Species
Exotic plant species fall into this category due to difficulties in growing, high prices or special maintenance requirements. Sometimes it is difficult to provide them within the indoor conditions.
Do not worry if you are a beginner gardener. Here I’ll walk you through the steps to care for the exotic plants.
Now, I have made a list of the most popular and exotic indoor plants:
- Indoor Carnivorous plants — Venus flytrap, sundew, Trumpet pitchers, Tropical pitcher plants;
- Exotic indoor fruit plant— Calamansi, kumquat, feijoa, figs, potted pomegranate, banana, avocado, coffee, olive;
- Hanging plant — columnea, String-of-pearls, ornamental pepper, passion fruit, nertera, Burro’s-tail, fittonia,
- Exotic orchids — brassia, Cambria, miltonia, odontoglossum, oncidium;
- Flowering Plant— Tuberose, Tabernaemontana, Frangipani, Medinilla, Lantanas, Calceolaria (Slipper flowers), Grevillea (Spider Flower), Hardenbergia.
Bring Exotic Beauty to Your Lovely Home
You can create a perfect distant exotic environment within your lovely home. Some are more suitable for the kitchen or the bathroom. While others are perfect in the bedroom, living room or windowsill.
All of them have unparalleled beauty, beautiful colors, and vivid aromas. You can bring home the mountains of the Himalayas, the jungle of Myanmar, the unique landscapes of Australia or South America.
If you get hold of any of these spectacular exotic plants, your house will look different one!
Sleep on the Summits of Himalayas
Yeap, you can make your bedroom a piece of a Himalayan mountain. A piece of Sampaguita also known as Arabian jasmine can make it happen.
This exotic plant will make you enjoy the aroma of the Himalayan mountains. Decorate your bedroom with Arabian jasmine and enjoy the aroma Himalayan Mountain.
It opens at sunset and distills a refreshing and delicate scent that you will love.
Keep your Arabian jasmine in a temperate environment. The temperature between 15 to 30 ºC/ 59 °F to 86°F is optimum to keep this exotic species in a perfect condition.
It likes sunlight, but it’s better if it’s indirect. The good thing is, you only have to water it once a week.
Australia in Your Living Room
If you’re looking for one of those original exotic plants that catch all the eye, Australian Fern is what you need. It has different leaves, with a very curious shape similar to deer horns. In fact, it’s also known as Staghorn Fern.
Its place of origin is Australia and New Zealand. It usually grows attached to tree trunks. Keep it away from heat sources (it doesn’t like temperatures above 30º) and water it twice a week in winter.
You May Also Enjoy: Why Is My Asparagus Fern Turning Brown? (And How to Fix It)
Decorate Home With A Shameplant
You can place the Mimosa pudica in the hall. You can also place it in the dining room or in any other corner of the house where it is well visible. Its flowers couldn’t be more beautiful, as well as its stems and leaves.
However, this peculiar semi-tropical plant will not let you touch it. If you do their leaves close on themselves to reopen within a few seconds. That’s why it’s called shameplant.
Do not water the shameplant! Sounds weird?! Believe it or not, it is the best way to take care of this exotic plant. Just keep the soil in your pot moist.
A lot of flavor in your kitchen
One of the most special plants for cooking is the Tulbaghia Violacea. This plant is native to South Africa. This is also known as society garlic. The interesting thing is if you ever run out of garlic, you can use a little piece of its leaves. They give off a similar aroma.
On top of that, this South African plant will also help keep insects away. Mind you, it doesn’t cope well with the cold. So, protect it and put it in a warm corner. If possible, where it can receive direct sunlight.
The jungle in your bathroom
You can transform your bathroom into a magical place. If you decorate it with a Persian shield or royal purple plant. This is one of the most exotic plants of all. It comes from the jungle of Myanmar. It stands out for its original purplish-blue leaves.
As it loves humid and warm environments, the bathroom will be the best place in the house to put it. Besides, it doesn’t need much light to grow.
Plants That Take Care of You
You must agree that decorating with exotic plants is not just a great idea from an aesthetic point of view. It also has other benefits.
Like the one that gives you the bamboo palm or Chamaedorea seifrizii. In addition to being elegant and decorative, this exotic species is able to purify the air of your home. It cleans the environment and acts as a powerful humidifier.
Bonsai Tree
A miniature tree grew from a shrub or tree. The ideal option for bonsai is plants with a hard woody trunk and branches, better conifers (pine, cypress).
You have to prune the roots and crown of the tree regularly. Otherwise, it will be difficult to maintain the desired shape.
Also, you have to transplant it in new soil. It is better to transplant the plant in spring. Make sure to use a larger diameter pot with a good drainage system. Remember, the tree needs regular fertilizing with fertilizers and careful watering.
Sprekelia
You may not have heard of it but this is An unusual Mexican mountain flower of the Amaryllis family.
Rich purple inflorescences resemble a tropical Orchid and look very impressive against the background of bright green leaves. Sprekelia blooms in mid-June and pleases with its beauty for 15-20 days.
Sprekelia loves bright, sunny areas.
In the warm season, Sprekelia will make you feel good on the balcony. But with the onset of autumn, you must move it inside the house. And, store it at a temperature of +15 degrees.
Needs careful and moderate watering, until the leaves wither. After the leaves are completely dry, soil moisture stops.
You can propagate Sprekelia by bulbs in the spring.
Lithops
This is a very interesting plant to keep in your house. A living plant that mimics the stones on which it grows in its natural environment.
Lithops are light-loving, prefer low humidity. In summer, keep your lithops at a higher temperature. In winter keep it in a bright and dry place. But remember the temperature should not be higher than 12°C / 53.6°F.
From March to June, water your lithops abundantly. But keep in mind that overwatering can be fatal for your lithops. So, there should be good drainage in the pot. In winter, there is no need to water it.
All lithops resemble small multi-colored stones, the size of which does not exceed 5 centimeters. This is more interesting than the decorative decoration of the room. If you are a true lover of exotics then this plant is for you to grow.
You can reproduce Lithops only by seed.
Vanda
You may find it similar to orchids. Because this is a variety of them. It’s luxurious colors of pink, raspberry or blue will mesmerize you. Vanda prefers a lot of light and does not tolerate low temperatures.
You have to supply a lot of moisture during the growth period. In winter, you have to reduce the water frequency. It is not recommended to allow drying of the soil.
Feed the orchid all year round with a low concentration of fertilizer. You can multiply it by the shoots growing at the base of the stem.
Cyclamen: More Than a Houseplant
If you want to take care of your cyclamen, you should pay particular attention to your watering frequency. Here are some basic tips.
In the gloomy grey of winter, cyclamen appears like a shining relic of spring. You should take care of your cyclamen to preserve the classic beauty of the houseplant. With a few tips, you can easily achieve this.
As a winter plant, cyclamen prefers a bright but cool location. You should keep them away from direct sunlight. A temperature of up to 15 degrees Celsius is ideal. Heated window sills are therefore less suitable.
Like other house plants, cyclamen also doesn’t like stagnant water. So you should ensure the proper drainage of the water. This way you can prevent root rot.
During the growth phase, you should apply weakly concentrated liquid fertilizer every two weeks.
Ylang-Ylang
This can be a very exciting plant for your indoor garden. Let’s know some basic information about this exotic plant.
This tree reaches a height of less than 3m, with a bluish bark and oblong dark green leaves. Within your home, ylang-ylang will grow only in greenhouse conditions at a constant temperature and high humidity.
In winter, the ylang-ylang needs artificial lighting for photosynthesis.
Hypocyrta glabra Clog Plant
If you compare it with other plants, the Hypocyrta is hardly a popular indoor plant. People also call it a goldfish plant. With all the rules of care, there is nothing difficult about growing a Hypocyrta glabra.
You can enjoy Hypocyrta flowers for 120 days. The color of the flowers depends on the variety, but most often they are pink, yellow or red-orange.
Surprise Guest With Carnivorous Nepenthes and Sarracenia
Nepentes and his close relative Sarracenia are predatory plants that feed on insects. There is no magic that these plants can digest insects or meat. The reason is they can produce digestive enzymes form jars of leaves. The insects that get into the jug become food for Nepenthes or Sarracenia.
I should warn you, these are difficult species to grow indoors. Because, they need a moist atmosphere, rainwater for irrigation, fresh air, feeding with pieces of fresh meat or insects.
Even if you are careful of all requirements, predatory plants are not long-lived inhabitants of indoor gardens. A few years later they will die. But it is very interesting to watch them. So, indoor gardeners who are not afraid of difficulties, it is worth adding a few specimens of predators to the green collection.
Arabica Coffee
Arabica coffee is suitable for growing indoors. It is a beautiful tree with shiny, wavy leaves along the edge, growing to a height of two meters. You can easily grow this plant from coffee beans.
But you should keep in mind that the seeds lose their germination very quickly. If you can’t get fresh seed, you can buy arabica coffee from amazon.
In spring and summer, you get to enjoy snow-white flowers blooming on the plant. If you can make the plant feel comfortable at home, the flowers are followed by fruits. The orange and red berries, inside them you’ll find coffee beans. The best part is, Coffee fruits are edible and have a sweet pulp that resembles cherries.
Fill Your Home With Fragrance of Kumquat
Kumquat is a plant of the Citrus family. If you can ensure good lighting conditions you can get a harvest of oblong orange fruits. You can eat them with the peel. Even if the fruit fails, the kumquat is worth growing for beautiful leathery leaves and fragrant white flowers, which abundantly sprinkle the tree.
Kumquat prefers humid air, plenty of light. You have to provide artificial lighting in winter. Insufficient light will not kill the plant, but it will form weak shoots and no new bud will form.
To form its crown, you need to trim the tree periodically. In good conditions, the kumquat grows so large that you cannot keep it on a narrow window sill.
When the tree is big enough it requires enough natural light. Then it may not be possible to keep it indoors.
String-of-pearls
I bet you will agree with me that string-of-pearls have the most unusual leaves of all indoor plants. Similar to green beads connected by thin threads, hanging from the edges of a container.
In the arid plains of African Namibia, where rain is very rare, the plant has learned to accumulate and retain precious moisture in the pearl leaves. So the Senecio rowleyanus does not need frequent watering and high humidity.
If you are a beginner level gardener string-of-pearls is a good choice. It will adapt indoor lighting conditions and rare watering. You can grow it as a hanging plant and soil-covering plant.
If the conditions of the room suit the plant, in spring it will delight in flowers with a subtle spicy scent.
Warning!! If you have pets, keep them away from this plant. Because this guest from the desert is poisonous and contains substances that irritate the mucous membranes and disturb the liver. The green beads can attract pets as well as children, so you need to keep it out of their reach.
As you can see, the benefits of decorating the house with exotic plants are many and varied. You just have to go out and get some of these special varieties.
So, Which is your favorite?
Rules for growing indoor exotics
Healthy and strong exotic indoor plants impress and fascinate with their appearance. To accomplish this objective you need to follow some general care rules. As a professional agriculturist I recommend:
- Exotic plants for the home require special care at the time of active growth and during dormancy.
- Keep the plant container in a place where there is a lot of light. You can choose the spot near the window. Because there will be plenty of natural light for the plants.
- In winter you have to illuminate the plants with artificial light. This will help them continue their photosynthesis. You may ask, can plants use artificial light for photosynthesis? The answer is in this post.
- Create optimal humidity and temperature. Exotic house plants remain in the dormant phase in the winter. The optimum temperature in the spring-summer is 18-24 °C/ 64.4-75.2°F. Also, in the autumn-winter, it is 16-18 °C/ 60.8-64.4 °F. Lastly, the Humidity requirement is 40-60%.
- Water the plants regularly. Frequently check for the moisture content. Try to keep the soil moderately moistened. Don’t get too fancy for watering, you can use normal tap water without any doubt.
- Choose the soil according to the type of exotic plants and it’s requirements.
- Exotic indoor plants prefer a nutritious substrate. Normally, you need to fertilize them every 10 days during the growing season. During the dormant period, keep the amount of fertilizer to a minimum.
- Basically, all exotic plants are thermophilic. So, they should receive enough light and heat.
Now, after a certain period of time, you may have to transplant your exotic plant. Exotic plants prefer nutritious, loose soil.
Here are the general practices for the transplanting process is as follows:
- Prepare a pot of suitable size.
- Place a drainage layer.
- Pour a ball of soil.
- Remove the plant from the old pot and place it in the center of the new one without destroying the earth ball.
- Fill the voids with soil, gently compacting it.
- Pour warm water over the plant.
In the warm season, if you decide to take them out to the balcony, do not immediately put them in direct sunlight. It is better to start with partial shade, gradually moving the pot to the open space.
Conclusion
Exotic plants add a different dimension to your indoor decoration. That’s why I have described some of the most desired exotic indoor plants for you. So, you can now create a distant exotic environment within your lovely home.
I am curious to know your suggestions and opinions. Please let me know your thoughts by dropping a comment below.