With the unpredictable climate to contend with, it’s time to think outside the box to keep plants vibrant, says Gardening Which?
In new research released recently, Gardening Which? has challenged convention by trialling 15 types of house plants outside and 15 types of outdoor plants inside, with exciting results.
By keeping sun-loving plants on sunny windowsills and shade-loving plants on shady ones, ten of the 15 outdoor plants flourished successfully indoors.
For those house plants trialled outside, most were happiest positioned in shade during the hottest part of the day. Those that didn’t make it tended to be devoured by slugs and snails. | 
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| Outside-in successes
Garden pinks
- favourites include the Dianthus ‘Whatfield Cancan’ |
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New Zealand Flax
- ‘Maori Queen’ pink stripe glowed in the sun |
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Heather
- winter flowering Erica carnea is also lime-tolerant |
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Hosta
- all three varieties were happy on the windowsills |
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Hardy Ferns
- Polypdium and Gymnocarpium varieties do well |
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Houttuynia
- Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’ needed lots of sun |
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Euonymous
- a smart, neat, drought-tolerant little foliage plant |
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Lavender
- Lavendula stoechas flourished from July to August |
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Conifer
- Thuja orientalis ‘Aurea Nan’ was popular with all trialists |
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| Inside-out successes
Tillandsia
- a striking plant that looks lovely in a hanging basket |
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Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)
- had vibrant coloured leaves |
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Prayer Plant (Stromanthe)
- this plant did best out of direct sunlight |
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Swiss cheese plant
- for masses of character keep it in the shade |
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Bougainvillea
- B. ‘Alexandra’ gave a Mediterranean flavour |
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Money Plants
- sun loving, drought tolerant and trouble free |
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Dragon tree (Dracaena)
- successful whether in the sun or shade |
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Tradescantia
- great for window boxes, avoid the midday sun |
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Spider plants
- only need early morning sun for the best green leaves |
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