When I was a kid, I was fascinated by stalactites and stalagmites. (Here’s the memory device that helps you tell them apart: stalaCtites hang from the Ceiling). Hanging plants hold the same sort of appeal as the cave formations. Because some hanging plants hang down and others will climb up. Like free-ranging explorers, vining plants like to chart their own course. Here are 6 vines you should hang out with.
POTHOS
Pothos will either climb or trail. Or both. Pothos
offer dark green leaves that are splashed and marbled in shades of yellow, cream, or white. See the differences between varieties
here.
Light needs: High, medium, and low light
PHILODENDRON
Philodendron are avid climbers. They produce long
tendrils that will loop around without any shape or form, so they can hang down or grow up. If you want plants to
maintain a bushy shape, trim back tendrils. If you like a green drape, allow the vines to grow with abandon.
Light needs: High, medium, and low light
ARROWHEAD PLANT
Arrowhead plant (aka Syngonium podophyllum) develop
aerial roots that sprout from the stems and cling to a support or will cascade over the side of a pot. When
arrowhead plants are young, they have a full and bushy form. As the plants grow and mature, they become climbers,
able to leap onto trellises or other structures.
Light needs: Medium and low light
ENGLISH IVY
Grow English ivy in a hanging basket, and it will trail over the sides of a pot, forming long tresses of foliage. Like Rapunzel. It’s an ideal shelf plant, and looks lovely hanging in front of a window like a living curtain.
Light needs: Medium and low light
COLUMNEA
Columnea offers beautiful variegated foliage. Its pendulous
stems makes it an ideal option for hanging baskets. It also has a graceful growth habit that flows out horizontally
over flat surfaces.
Light needs: High light
HOYA
Hoya (aka wax plant) comes in a wide variety of leaf
types. They are vigorous trailers that create curtains of glossy foliage. Hoya varieties offer many looks:
variegated leaves, crinkled leaves, almond-shape, and round leaves. If you only collect one plant, you could happily
collect just hoyas because they all look so different.
Light needs: High, medium, and low light
Written by Karen Weir-Jimerson
