Houseplants are one of the easiest ways to add class and ambiance to an indoor hot tub setting. Not all plants, however, will appreciate the hot and humid environment that your tub produces. But never fear, plenty will. Whether you like a trailing effect, bushy potted plants or interesting and exotic flowers, there are specimens that will work for your hot tub area. Set them around the tub and along the edge of the room, but never set them on hot tub covers so as not to damage the cover.
Boston ferns are a popular houseplant because of their bushy growth habit, hardy natures and bright green fronds. Evolved back in the steamy jungles of prehistory, ferns love heat and moisture. Even keeping them near a hot tub, however, may not meet all their moisture requirements, so make sure soil is consistently wet and mist the plant whenever you are not using the tub frequently.
Peace lilies, with their large, white, yellow-centered flowers, are a beautiful indoor plant. Long, deep-green leaves adorn the plant on graceful stems, and the single blooms stick around for a while. It tolerates low light conditions, so if your hot tub isn’t in a sunny location, this is a good plant to grow. It’s also relatively drought-tolerant, and only needs watering once a week.
African violets hail from the continent’s tropical regions, and are therefore perfectly suited to the steamy conditions that surround a tub. Although they are known for being a finicky plant to grow and they like a lot of light, if you keep the plant in a warm environment with moist soil it will usually be fairly happy. The cheerful purple flowers are relatively hardy and will stay on the plant for a while, though it may not bloom at all if it doesn’t receive lots of sunlight.
Epiphytes are also good plants to grow, as they are adapted to moist tropical conditions. Bromeliads and orchids are both epiphytes, which means their roots are adapted to draw much of their nutritional content from the air that surrounds them. While both produce beautiful, exotic blooms, you will likely find bromeliads the friendlier to grow; orchids can be quite demanding, especially to amateur botanists.
Happy Tubbing
Ethel Elliott
