Floor plants - Medium light plants

King Maya (registered trademark) is a variety of Chamaedorea hooperiana. Relatively new to cultivation. Tolerant of low light levels.

An indoor palm with long bamboo-like canes. The canes grow to form a dense clump of fronds with dark green to grey leaves. Chamaedoreas are slow-growing palms with typical pinnate fronds.

Chamaedoreas are natives of Mexico and the rain forests of Central and South America. The name is derived from two Greek words; “chamae”, meaning “on the ground” and “dorea”, a gift, referring to the accessibility of the fruits to small animals.

Dracaena is a genus of forty species of subtropical, evergreen, woody plants grown for their statuesque form and ornamental foliage. They are sometimes mistakenly identified as palms but are actually more closely related to lilies. The name Dracaena is derived from the Greek word “drakaina”, a female dragon. The link between plant and beast is the resinous red gum produced when the stem is cut which, when thickened, is supposed to resemble dragon’s blood. It is used as a varnish and in photo engraving.

Dracaena ‘Green Jewel’ is a newer cultivar of the Dracaena deremensis species and is a member of the Dragon series dracaenas. The leaves are solid green in color and it looks similar to Dracaena ‘Janet Craig Compacta’ with longer leaves and more aggressive growth habit. ‘Green Jewel’ is a good alternative to Dracaena ‘Janet Craig Compacta’ with reduced tipping and brown/yellow leaves.

Dracaena ‘Green Jewel’ can be used as a tabletop and floor plant. It comes in a multiple cane form as a floor plant. As a tabletop plant, it will tolerate low light. The cane floor plant prefers somewhat higher light.

Dracaena is a genus of forty species of subtropical, evergreen, woody plants grown for their statuesque form and ornamental foliage. They are sometimes mistakenly identified as palms but are actually more closely related to lilies.

The name Dracaena is derived from the Greek word “drakaina”, a female dragon. The link between plant and beast is the resinous red gum produced when the stem is cut which, when thickened, is supposed to resemble dragon’s blood. It is used as a varnish and in photo engraving.

Stunning yellow-leaved variety of Dracaena deremensis, which will grow well under low light. This variety looks stunning when planted in a feature bed among dark-leaved varieties. Currently only available in North America. Dracaena is a genus of forty species of subtropical, evergreen, woody plants grown for their statuesque form and ornamental foliage. They are sometimes mistakenly identified as palms but are actually more closely related to lilies.

The name Dracaena is derived from the Greek word “drakaina”, a female dragon. The link between plant and beast is the resinous red gum produced when the stem is cut which, when thickened, is supposed to resemble dragon’s blood. It is used as a varnish and in photo engraving.

A specimen plant that is best displayed on its own. It is very robust and will tolerate a very wide range of conditions. A typical palm with pinnate fronds growing successively larger on slender stalks. The well-spaced pinnae are long, narrow and tapering to a point. They have a waxy or leathery feel and are quite flexible.

In nature these palms can reach a height of eighteen metres and produce a two metre long flower spike, but in cultivation they grow to a more sedate three metres.

Howea forsteriana grows wild only on Lord Howe Island in the Pacific. It was discovered along the coast of the island which has a total area of only five square miles. From this tenuous hold on life the species reached Europe in 1772 - thanks to the Forsters, the father and son team of German naturalists sailing with Captain Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Islands.

Philodendron Red Congo is a new and distinct cultivar of Philodendron. It is a product of the cross or breeding between Philodendron ‘Imperial Red’ as the female parent and an unidentified cultivar of the Philodendron tatei. This plant grows vigorously in an upright but spreading or open manner. New Red Congo leaves are brownish maroon to almost red in color while the large mature ones are dark green in color with a touch of red. The plant’s leaf petioles remain reddish purple to bright right with long-lasting petiole sheaths.

Climbing plants with foot-long arrow-shaped leaves, these are probably hybrids between P. domesticum and P. erubescens.

Pleomeles are natives of Madagascar, Mauritius and Southern India, where they are widely used as interior plants. The Indian connection explains one common name, but the derivation of “Song of Jamaica” is rather more obscure. It probably relates to the plant’s link with Dracaenas, some of which are native to Central America. According to many botanists the plant is wrongly named and should be included in the genus Dracaena. However this point is not universally accepted and Pleomele is still the preferred name in many countries, including its native India.

Polyscias or Geranium-leaf Aralia, a native of Brazil, is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a compact habit. It is widely used as for hedges in the tropics.

Polyscias crispatum need full sun to partial shade with warm to intermediate temperatures. We grow ours under 52% shade all year long. A suitable soil mix consists of 1 part peat moss to 2 parts loam to 2 parts sand or perlite. Although the plants are tropical, in nature they should be grown on the dry side. The most common failure with Aralias is over-watering. During the growing season, the plants are fertilized every other week. During the winter months, water the plant carefully and try to avoid cool drafts.

A slow-growing, miniature fan palm with shiny, dark green leaves. The unbranched, rigid, bamboo-like stems are covered with a coarse, brown fibre. Rhapis grows wild in Southern China and Japan and is named after the Greek word for needle, referring to its thin leaves and fine, elegant form. The latter also gave rise to its common name “Lady palm” or “Kannonchiku” in Japan, where it has been in cultivation as a pot plant for hundreds of years. During that time gardeners produced several variegated leaf forms, although only one, the aptly named “Variegata” is now grown.

Rhapis reached Europe in 1774, but in spite of their love of palms, it was little grown by the Victorians. It is only recently that it has become available in quantity as an extremely elegant addition to the range of indoor palms.

Schefflera actinophylla has large, leathery leaves attached by thick stalks to the tree-like stem. Schefflera actinophylla is similar to Schefflera arboricola in appearance but has larger, leathery leaves attached by thick stalks to the tree-like stem. In young foliage, each stalk bears four or five leaflets but this increases with age to twelve or more.

Scheffleras grow right round the Pacific rim from America to Australia, mostly in thickets along stream banks in humid damp forests.

The two main indoor species get their common names from the spread of the leaf veins, which set the leaflets into an almost perfectly symmetrical umbrella or parasol.

Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A variegated form is also available. Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A “parasol” of seven or more leaflets radiates from each leaf stalk. If the growing point of the main stem is removed, the plant will take on a bushy habit.

Scheffleras grow right round the Pacific rim from America to Australia, mostly in thickets along stream banks in humid damp forests.

The species gets its common names from the spread of the leaf veins, which set the leaflets into an almost perfectly symmetrical umbrella or parasol. In sub-tropical gardens it can grow into a noble tree producing spectacular wine-red flowers.

Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A variegated form is also available. Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A “parasol” of seven or more leaflets radiates from each leaf stalk. If the growing point of the main stem is removed, the plant will take on a bushy habit.

Scheffleras grow right round the Pacific rim from America to Australia, mostly in thickets along stream banks in humid damp forests.

The species gets its common names from the spread of the leaf veins, which set the leaflets into an almost perfectly symmetrical umbrella or parasol. In sub-tropical gardens it can grow into a noble tree producing spectacular wine-red flowers.

Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A variegated form is also available. Schefflera arboricola is an erect, well-branched shrub or tree with palmate, glossy foliage. A “parasol” of seven or more leaflets radiates from each leaf stalk. If the growing point of the main stem is removed, the plant will take on a bushy habit.

Scheffleras grow right round the Pacific rim from America to Australia, mostly in thickets along stream banks in humid damp forests.

The species gets its common names from the spread of the leaf veins, which set the leaflets into an almost perfectly symmetrical umbrella or parasol. In sub-tropical gardens it can grow into a noble tree producing spectacular wine-red flowers.

The amazing flowers of this plant resemble the heads of exotic birds, such as cranes or birds of paradise. Related to, and resembling a banana plant, Strelitzia reginae is a compact, clump-forming perennial. It grows up to 1.5m and has long, lanceolate, grey-green leaves.

The most impressive feature of the plant is its strikingly exotic and long-lived inflorescence. Each flower has three bright orange sepals and three shimmering, peacock blue petals, two of which are fused to form a nectary. Emerging from a horizontal green and pink boat-shaped bract, the flowers look like the crest on a bird’s head and give the species its common name. Sunbirds pollinate plants in the wild.

The variety, Strelitzia reginae farinosa is similar but has yellow flowers. Other forms include Strelitzia reginae juncea, which has robust, rush-like leaf stalks and Strelitzia reginae humilis,which has a dwarf habit.

There a several other species of Strelitzia in cultivation including Strelitzia nicolai which can grow up to 8m tall and has pale blue flowers, and Strelitzia alba which is similar but produces white flowers.