UW - Stout Greenhouse

By Harper Westgaard

Common name: Dusty Miller
Scientific name: Senecio cineraria
Family: Asteraceae

Region of origin: Senecio cineraria is native to the Mediterranean in areas such as northwest Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia.

General Care: Dusty Miller does best in full sun with well-draining soil. It is drought-tolerant and will require minimal watering once established. It can be okay in partial sun and does not require heavy fertilizer, a general-purpose fertilizer during the growing season is just fine. The plant does tend to become leggy, but pruning can help make it more bushy.

Interesting fact: Because of its fuzziness, deer tend to stay away from the Dusty Miller plant!

By Khloe Toman

Common Name: Baseball plant
Scientific Name: Euphorbia obesa
Family: Euphorbiaceae

Region of Origin: South-central Africa

General care requirements: Euphorbia obesa (Baseball plant) needs bright sunlight, minimal water, and containers that have great drainage along with well-draining soil. A good example of well-draining soil for this plant is a mixture of sand, potting soil, and pumice. An ideal ratio for the soil could be 60% potting soil, 30% perlite, and 10% coarse sand.

An interesting (but sad) fact about this species is that it is endangered due to over-collection and poaching.

Dr. Chapman grew this one from a seed!

By Max Stroup

Opuntia sp., commonly known as the Prickly Pear Cactus, is a member of the family Cactaceae native to the western hemisphere, occurring naturally from western Canada through South America.

Opuntia thrives in full sun conditions with little water, usually in well-drained loamy or sandy soils. They are extremely hardy and can even withstand frost and snow in nature, and are generally low-maintenance plants.

Prickly pear has been traditionally used medicinally to treat liver problems, high blood sugar, and inflammation.

By Nolan Stauffacher

Welcome to one of the more unique succulents here, the String of Pearls. It has a long bead-like body making for a great plant to hang in a basket.

Common Name: String of Pearls

Scientific Name: Senecio rowleyanus

Family: Asteraceae (The Daisy or Aster family)

Region of Origin: Native to the dry, arid regions of Southwest Africa

General Care Requirements:

Light: Flourish best in indirect light. Place it in a spot near an eastwardly window, or a south or westerly facing window a few feet back. Too much direct sun can burn the rather delicate pearls.
Water: This plant is a succulent so overwatering is a real concern for this plant. Water when the top two inches of soil is completely dry.
Soil: Best growth in a high draining soil mix. A cactus mix you can pick up from the store will do the job.
Temperature/Humidity: Prefers normal indoor temperatures, but you must protect it from frost. Average home humidity is usually fine.

Note: Keep out of reach of pets and children, the succulent is mildly toxic when eaten.

Interesting Fact:
The pearls of this plant are modified leaves designed for water storage. Each sphere has a translucent slit known as an epidermal window. This window allows sunlight to get into the leaf's interior, maximizing photosynthesis even with the leaf's reduced surface area.

By Raegan Sorensen

Common Name: Fuchsia
Scientific Name: Fuchsia triphylla
Family: Onagraceae

Region of origin: Dominican Republic and Haiti

General care requirements: Fuchsia triphylla needs 0.8 cups of water every 9 days when it doesn’t get direct sunlight. This plant also prefers bright light but should not be full sun unless the roots are moist and cool. Fuchsia triphylla thrives in soil that is well drained but can hold some water. Some examples they like is either peat-based soil or coir-based soil.

Fun Fact: People often described the flowers on the plant Fuchsia triphylla, as resembling tiny dancers in fancy skirts due to their vibrant, pendant-like blooms. Another fun fact is that hummingbirds love the nectar in the flower.

By Ryder Simington

Desert Rose
Adenium obesum
Apocynaceae or dogbane family

Native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

Likes well draining soil, lots of direct sunlight, and deep watering once the soil is completely dry, around 1-2 weeks. Drops its leaves for dormancy in colder months and is prone to root rot.

This stumpy rose succulent produces a toxic sap that can be harmful to pets and humans if ingested.

By Payton Sevcik

The common name is: Staghorn Fern
The scientific name is: Platycerium sp.
The name of its family is: Polypodiaceae

The staghorn fern is native to rainforests in parts of Africa, Asia, South America, and Australia

For general care, staghorn ferns need areas with indirect sunlight and watering every 1-2 weeks. Misting is also a good idea. They should be planted on a piece of wood or easily drained substrate.

Staghorn ferns are epiphytes, which means they grow upon something else. In most cases, staghorn ferns grow on trees.

By Sophia Schewe

Common name: Arrowhead plant/vine
Scientific name: Syngonium podophyllum
Family: Araceae

Region of origin: Native to Central and South America

General care requirements: Soil with good drainage, high humidity, bright, indirect light

Interesting fact: Syngonium podophyllum is considered poisonous to humans if ingested!

By Hunter Larson

Adanson’s Monstera
Monstera adansonii
Family: Araceae

Originating from Central and South America, this plant enjoys slightly acidic soil that is well drained. Though it is vine and can climb toward sunlight, it prefers the light to be indirect. It prefers warm and humid environments due to its native habitat being more tropical. Another name for this plant is the Mini Swiss Cheese plant because of the holes the leaves form. They form these holes to allow light to filter through the plant.

By Madison Malecha

Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Family: Droseraceae

Native to: North & South Carolina, USA

Care Tips:
Water: Distilled or rainwater only
Light: Full sun (4–6 hrs/day)
Soil: Sphagnum moss + perlite (no fertilizer)
Dormancy: Requires a cool winter rest to stay healthy

Cool Fact: This plant snaps shut in under 1 second to trap insects.

By Paulette Lambert

Red rose hibiscus or (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) is a plant in the Malvaceae or mallow family. This plant is native to Polynesia in the West Pacific.

Care: This plant requires full sun but is shade tolerant and likes to have moist soils.

Fun fact: an endangered butterfly called Papilio homerus likes to use the red rose hibiscus as a food source.

By Shelby Kraco

Common Name: False Shamrock

Scientific name: Oxalis triangularis

Family: Oxalidaceae (wood sorrels)

Region of origin: Central South America (Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay)

Care Requirements:
• Bright indirect sun
• Fast-draining soil (regular potting mix in a pot with drain holes is fine!)
• Keep soil slightly moist during active growing season and dry during dormancy
• Excessive soil moisture will kill this plant, direct intense light will burn the leaves

Fun Fact: This plant “sleeps”! At night or in dim light this plant’s flowers and leaves will fold up. This behavior is called nyctinasty!