Flowering House Plants That Need Lots of Light

Aloealoe image by Magdalena Mirowicz from Fotolia.com

Growing a plant indoors is always a little tricky because it greatly affects the amount of light that is available for the plant, as well as the temperature of the plant's soil and surrounding air. If you have a sun room or windows that get plenty of light, you can grow plants that love to soak up the sun's rays. They'll be happier than shade-loving plants, which can become scorched and dried out.

Aloe

Aloe, also known as aloe vera or aloe barbadensis, is an excellent indoor plant for a sunny window or room. According to Aloe Vera Studies and Union Country Community College, people prize this plant for its medicinal properties. Gel-like sap from the leaves is used to soothe itchy, dry skin and to promote healing.

The aloe plant appears yellowish to dark green, depending on the species. When the plants are young, they may have some white markings on the leaves. Aloe does not like a lot of moisture, so water them only once a week. You may propagate the plant easily by planting cuttings from the leaves or by potting the shoots that form around the main base of the plant.

Moses in the Cradle (Tradescantia spathacea) is a popular houseplant because it doesn't take up a lot of room. According to the Park Seed Company, it usually doesn't get much bigger than 1 foot high or wide. This makes it a good accent plant. It gets its name from the way the flowers present. The bracts that carry the white flowers look like little boats, so the plant gives the impression of a little vessel working its way around reeds in a river. This reminds people of the Christian story of Moses being left in a basket in the reeds on the Nile River.

Moses in the Cradle plants are deep, rich green on top, but have a purple hue on the bottom. This plant needs a lot of water, so you have to watch that the sun doesn't dry it out. However, it doesn't need repotting often, as it likes to be a little potbound.

Zebra plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) gets its name from its dramatic markings. There are white stripes on the deep green leaves, which reminds people of the markings on a zebra. Connie Corder of Houseplants For You explains that these plants are a little finicky when it comes to water. They like soil that holds water well, but the soil needs to have adequate drainage to keep leaves from dropping.

Zebra plants have large, yellow blooms that appear on yellow spikes. Sunlight not only keeps the soil from staying too moist, but also promotes flowering.