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04 Beautiful Plants That You Can Grow Indoors 1. Opuntia Verschaffeltii Cactus Plant The Opuntia Verschaffeltii is a cactus plant that grows slowly and is bushy with slender cylindrical stems. The ones usually cultivated have stemmed slightly thicker than a pencil and are generally without spines. The stems range can be 10 to 12 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) long, with some of the stems being much shorter and in the form of tiny spheres. As already stated, this plant takes a long time to grow. However, once it grows significantly, it produces red flowers at the tips of the stems. After some years, the plant becomes very untidy, and it would be a good idea to take out a stem and plant it separately to start a new plant. The Opuntia Verschaffeltii tolerates low but dry temperatures. During the summer months, it requires more water than other cactus species. It is a fascinating plant to grow for cactus lovers, and it can be gratifying with flowers once it reaches a certain age and size. 2. Echeveria Harmsii - Flowering Succulent The Echeveria Harmsii is a bushy succulent that can grow up to around 30cm tall. It has a lax terminal rosette of narrow green leaves. The succulent genus originated from Mexico and the North West of South America. It derives its name from a Mexican botanical artist who lived in the 18th century, Atanasio Echeverria y Godoy. It is a popular plant in gardens and has an inbuilt resistance to a lack of water supply. Despite this statement, the Echeveria thrives in environments where it is adequately watered and fertilized. The stems and leaves are slightly velvety and often have a red touch to the edges. What is attractive about this plant is that the flowers produced are out of proportion compared to the rest of the plant, in that they are larger than expected. The flowers can be up to 2.5cm long and are a mixture of red and yellow. It is not considered difficult to care for, but keeping it in the right condition is essential. It grows mostly in spring, requiring more watering than the other seasons. The leaves and flowers develop quickly under the right conditions, but it sheds its leaves if left too dry. The ideal place to grow this houseplant is shady, with regular watering, especially in spring and summer. It is propagated using cuttings, and these must be sown in spring. 3. Euphorbia Milii (Crown of Thorns) The Euphorbia Milii (also known as Crown of Thorns) originated from Madagascar, and it is succulent with spiny stems. Many different cultivation variations, adapted from the original Madagascar type, with varying sizes of a leaf, sizes of bushes, and flower colors. The colored part of the 'flower' is not the flower but a modified leaf (also known as bract), with the flower being at the center of the bracts. This plant can Grow Indoors between 30 cm (one foot) to 1.2 meters (four feet). There is no standard leaf size as, within the same plant, these may differ in size and shape. Several shades of leaf colors are available nowadays, being adapted from the original red paint. The Euphorbia Milii is an easy houseplant to Grow Indoors. They do not like full summer sun but still require a sunny position. Their preferred temperature is around 21 Degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit), but they can withstand temperatures as low as 10 Degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit). When kept in high temperatures, they need to be watered often and retain leaves and flowers for most of the year, unlike when the temperatures are low, when the Euphorbia Milii needs to be kept dry and shed its leaves and flowers. One can propagate the Euphorbia Milii from a cutting, but it is not very easy to root. 4. Aloe Variegata: Tiger Aloe / Partridge-breasted Aloe The Aloe Variegata is a common plant that has been cultivated for many years. The succulent is also known as Tiger Aloe or a Partridge-breasted Aloe, owing to the white/light-green markings on the boat-shaped leaves. Despite being common, it is not an easy plant to grow. It is a flowering succulent, producing flowers in spring on short flower stems. The ideal place to Grow Indoors this plant is on a windowsill. The Aloe Variegata likes relatively dry summers and very little water in winter. Many cactus and succulent collectors fall into a trap because they keep it too wet in summer and dry in winter. To propagate this plant, one needs to remove some of the offsets from its base and plant it separately. It is also possible to plant it from a seed, but seeds of this succulent are not widely available. The plant grows to between 20 and 30 cm and has between 18 and 24 leaves arranged in three levels. The new leaves emerge from the center, pushing the old leaves outwards. The old leaves eventually die off and turn golden brown. The Tiger Aloe reaches maturity in 3 to 7 years, depending on the conditions in which it is kept. The flowers of this succulent are orange, and they develop in clusters at the top part of the raceme of flowers emerging from the center of the Tiger Aloe. Flowers are usually produced in March and April. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram