Luminous flowers to fight gray winter homes

Delicate or extravagant, these flower plants bring color and a touch of Faraway for our indoors, even in winter!

A selection of three plants that have crossed the planet:

• Guzmania
• Dendrobium
• Zantedeschia

Guzmania, a designer plant

With its yellow, red or bright orange flower surrounded by a rosette of leaves, guzmania is truly unique. Hailing from the tropical forests of South America, this close cousin to the pineapple is a Bromeliaceae.

Like all the varieties that belong to this family, it absorbs moisture from the air: its leaves capture suspended water micro-droplets.

Set it up in a warm and moist spot (kitchen, bathroom), away from the sun.

While it flowers, which can last up to three months, water by filling the rosette with a little water. It’s better to avoid having its roots wallow in water.

However, you’ll need a green thumb and a lot of patience before you’ll get the guzmania to flower again, since only new offshoots can bloom and not old, spent ones.

Sensuous dendrobium

Native to a triangle bordered by the Himalayan mountain range, Southern Japan and New Zealand, dendrobium is an epiphyte orchid. Its elegant yellow, white or pink-petaled flowers encase a labellum that has a different hue. This is an easy flatmate that doesn’t require much attention.

Place it in a luminous and ventilated spot, away from direct sun.

Like all orchids, it has an aversion to standing water: simply immerse the roots from time to time or mist them with water.

After the blooming, let it stay dormant for six to eight weeks without fertilizer and just a little water. The signal to start caring for it as usual is when new buds start blooming.

Zantedeschia, modern & bright

As soft as velvet, the calyx of zantedeschia (also called calla or arum) exists in white, yellow, orange or purple. Apart from its ornamental quality, this plant native to South Africa contributes to purifying the air in the house.

Zantedeschia loves light, place it in a space that is well exposed, and ensure that the soil mix stays moist thanks to regular watering.

In fall, stop watering and store it in a cool spot, protected from freezing. In spring, wake the plant up with a little water and set it in a warm spot.

Mathilde Dubois