Winter can be a little gray outside, but there are many houseplants that can brighten things indoors. From African violets to holiday cactus and bromeliads to begonias, blooming houseplants can bring much-needed color, fragrance, and life to the indoors during the winter. Learn about the special light, temperature and management considerations needed to get beautiful blooms from a wide variety of common and harder-to-find blooming indoor plants. 

Register online by February 3.

Presenter: Aaron Steil, Assistant Director Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University

This program is part of Gardening in the Air, a virtual series offered January 30 and February 6 and co-hosted by University of Illinois Extension and Iowa State University Extension.

Sessions will be hosted using Zoom at 9 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time. Participants may register for a single session or the entire series. Sessions are free to attend, but a donation is appreciated. Access links and handouts will be provided upon registration.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in programming, please contact Martha Smith at smithma@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for the requested accommodation. Some programs will be recorded. If recorded, closed captioning for requested programs will be honored after the event.

Other Sessions in the Series

January 30

Winter Gardening Activities

• 9-10 a.m. Gardening is Good
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. Introduction to Fruit Tree Pruning
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Purchasing Seeds and Plants

Wildlife

• 9-10 am Native Plants with Winter Wildlife Interest
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. Backing Backyard Birds in Yards and Gardens
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. When Your Nearest Neighbors Aren’t Human (a.k.a. Living with Wildlife)

Food and Nutrition

• 9-10 a.m. Funkalicious Fermentation
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. Flying Knives: Vegetable and Fruit Preparation Tips
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Preserve the Taste of Summer

February 6

Design

• 9-10 a.m. Ornamental Grasses with Winter Interest
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. Introduction to Sustainable Landscapes
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. How to Create an Out-of-the-Ordinary Theme Garden

Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs

• 9-10 a.m. Growing Herbs and Microgreens Indoors
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. Straw Bale Gardening
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Starting Seeds for the Garden Indoors

Houseplants

• 9-10 a.m. Growing Blooming Houseplants
• 10:15-11:15 a.m. What is Wrong with My Houseplant?
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Succulent Wreaths