Back to the Tropics Part 5 of 5: Lessons for the tropical indoor garden in UK

As I reflect back on my visit to Malaysia, appreciating the plants that I have come to love since my childhood days, the trip has inspired me to try to recreate this in our home. We can imagine we are on holiday in the tropics as we waft pass the large leaves of a ginger plant or look up at the trailing tradescantia above our own tropical paradise. If nothing else, it will brighten up your day, especially in the winter months. Learning how tropical nurseries and my mum care for these plants have given me the impetus to look after them better to get the lush and glow they can truly display when they are healthy and thriving.

Secondly, although we perceive indoor plants to be mostly green, this trip has made me realise that there is every colour of foliage we can have in house-plants, with vibrant reds and mesmerising patterns and some plants, given half the chance and a bit of support, would love to scramble all over your room or conservatory. The biggest danger we encounter looking after tropical plants in UK is central heating and lack of humidity so make sure you place them in the right position and mist often if the humidity drops below 50%. And feed them in the warm months, let them bask in the sun if they are meant to, and watch them supersize in one season.

As spring arrives, I have noticed new growth in our plants already as they sense the warm months ahead. They have all been fed with long-acting Osmocote plant tablets ready for the summer growth season. I will feature these new growths in the next blogs as we watch them grow. But here are some pictures of new growth in some plants now:

I trust your plants are waking up too, getting ready for a (hopefully) lovely summer ahead!

Happy WackyPlanting!Dad of Miles 😎💚🌿