In article ,
"Jill" writes:
|
| My mum has a good sized conservatory 12 ft by 12 ft at least
| We are on the west coast of Scotland - looking over the sea
| but the room is almost part of the house
| The bottom 3 foot is double block work and it is double glazed and the door
| from the well heated house is always open
| I know absolutely nothing about indoor plants these day
| our house next door has 3 ft thick stone walls and they all face north or
| east so I don't bother
| She has tried some of the "normal" greenery house plants but they seem to go
| very "washed" out
| It may be care but it seems more that the light is just too strong and they
| reduce the amount of chlorophyll to compensate

Very unlikely indeed. Even in midsummer, the sun in the UK is very
weak relative to the tropics.

It is far more likely that the humidity is too low, or the plants
are being over watered - either can cause that. For such conditions,
dry terrain subtropicals in a free-draining compost are good, as
they can survive considerable neglect, and don't mind the low
humidity.

| Amaryllis love it - there are over 50 in there - almost boring!!!
| and the few orchids she has like it too
| Its her birthday soon and she would love some of the more glam plants
| Bougainvillea comes to mind but what are your favourites ?

That is a bit tricky to get to reflower. I can support the
suggestion of Strelitzia regina (bird of paradise flower). It is
dead easy if kept dryish in winter. Another nice one is Tibouchina
semidecandra, but it is a martyr to greenfly. Clivia is also good.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.