Climbers and trailers

Two wonderful climbers for a warm greenhouse are the golden trumpet and the marmalade bush, with huge yellow flowers and smaller orange or orange-yellow ones respectively. Both may survive lower temperatures (7°C145°F); prune back after flowering or in winter to keep them the size you want them.

Tradescantia fluminensis (white- or yellow-variegated leaves) and Tradescantia zebrina (silver-striped foliage) are easy, trailing house plants that like the brighter conditions of a greenhouse. Grow them for their foliage, because their flowers, though bright, are very small. Goldfish plant has long stems decorated along their length with bright flowers in winter or early spring. For something out of the ordinary, grow sweetheart vine. It produces long, very slender, trailing stems threaded with well-spaced, grey-green, heart-shaped leaves heavily marked with silver. Delicate, pink-brown flowers appear in summer. Keep it out of direct sunlight.

If you want plants for more confined shelves and hanging baskets, bromeliads are a good option, producing a magnificent show for very little pot room (see box, opposite).

Easy orchids

A number of orchids can be grown where night-time temperatures don’t drop below 10°C (50°F) and daytime ones are in the region of 16-18°C (60-65°F). Many orchids are not difficult to cultivate and keep alive; it is getting them to flower that is a problem, because they need quite specific conditions, including a difference in temperature between night and day, constant humidity, shade from strong sunlight and good ventilation. Water plants very well and then allow them to dry out before watering again. Feed with orchid food in summer. Keep them on the dry side in winter, when they are dormant. Repot in spring if necessary and always use good-quality orchid potting compost.

Cymbidium — Tall, grassy leaves and long stems of large flowers.

Miltoniopsis (pansy orchid) — Large, flat-faced flowers and strappy leaves.

Odontoglossum — Variable flowers and foliage; some can have more than 12 flowers on a single stem.

Oncidium — Leathery leaves and long, arching stems carrying many small flowers; some are scented.

Paphiopedilum (lady’s slipper orchid) — Thick, fleshy leaves, sometimes spotted or freckled, and flowers that have a pocket-like lower petal, or lip.

Phalaenopsis (moth orchid) — Short, strappy leaves and elegant stems of moth-like flowers. Very widely available but really needs hot-house conditions.

Orchids are very easily hybridized, which has led to some rather complex names. Don’t be put off — they are worth trying.

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