Choosing Suitable Plants for your Conservatory
Conservatories have a rich history of being used for the cultivation of exotic plants that would otherwise be impossible to sustain in this country and it is possible to nurture a wide range of plants inside your conservatory.
Carefully chosen plants can form part of your conservatory decor and help to create a space that is very much part of your home but which also brings a small part of your garden view inside the home.
It is important to consider the maximum and minimum temperatures within your conservatory when choosing plants, particularly if you do not have conservatory blinds or heating that will protect against the lower extremes of temperature.
It is also worth bearing in mind that adding a large number of conservatory plants will mean an awful lot of regular watering in summer months. Some plants may be moved outdoors during the summer – onto the patio for example – and then brought back inside for the colder months.
Popular plants for conservatories include varieties of dracaena, palm plants and trees, many different types of yucca plants, including giant yuccas and extremely bright and colourful plants such as ‘bird of paradise’ which produces absolutely spectacular flowers.
There are a huge variety of tropical plants and even jungle plants that can be grown inside a conservatory, many of which will produce vibrant colour displays that will help you to brighten up the appearance of your conservatory.
For those looking for something even more different, your choice of conservatory plants is by no means limited to those serving no purpose other than that of pure aesthetic contribution – it is perfectly possible to cultivate useful plants and fruit-bearing varieties.
Let us not forget the origins of the ‘orangery’ type of conservatory – orange trees, lime trees and lemon trees can all be grown inside a conservatory!
Other suitable useful plants include chillies and other types of peppers, which grow exceptionally well in a conservatory and thrive in warm sunny conditions. With hundreds of varieties available, chilli plants are an attractive looking plant that can range from a few inches to several feet tall, bearing any number and colour of interestingly-shaped chillies.
You can use the chillies fresh from the plant in your own home-cooking if you enjoy spicy food – many varieties can also be dried and stored for later use or ground into your own chilli powder! Chilli growing is becoming increasingly popular and a range of the more common varieties can be found in DIY & garden centres and even some supermarkets. Weird and wonderful varieties can be obtained through the numerous specialist online seed merchants.