12/14/2024
It's Houseplant Season!
Here is a bit of appreciation for one of our favorite Edible Houseplants, the Vick's Plant. Its calming fragrance really helps make being indoors more enjoyable when it's cold outside!
Plectranthus (Coleus) tomentosa, aka Plectranthus (Coleus) hadiensis var. tomentosa is native to Southern Africa, and can be grown as a small perennial woody shrub if protected from freezing temperatures (and given a bright window or grow-light over the Winter).
Vicks Plant is one of the easiest indoor plants to care for, requiring water only once the soil has dried. In addition to its attractive, fuzzy, succulent leaves, it eventually produces light purple flowers. It is generally regarded as safe for pets, but is a bit fragile, so keeping out of reach may be a good idea.
This member of the Mint family has a multitude of traditional ethnobotanical uses, as well as bioactive compounds currently being studied by Western medicine. Its possible benefits include antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antianxiety, expectorant, decongestant, antioxidant, anticancer (colon & cervical), and antimalarial properties.
The leaves are edible (tasty!) and can be eaten fresh, in a salad or smoothie, and leaves/stems/flowers can be steeped as a tea, or they can be boiled and the vapors inhaled to soothe the respiratory tract. Just the fragrance alone from gently rubbing or crushing a leaf can have a calming effect.
This plant is shallow-rooted, and can remain comfortable in a small pot without repotting for quite some time, though periodic trimming/harvesting of longer shoots to keep a compact shape would be a good idea. It can be fed with an organic liquid fertilizer a few times per year when actively growing, and can be moved outside during the warm months after danger of frost has passed; a well-ventilated spot with indirect light or dappled shade such as a porch works well. Vick's Plant is pest-resistant, and seems to have some efficacy in repelling insects. One caution would be to avoid excess moisture in the soil or on the leaves to avoid any fungal issues.
If you'd like to grow your own, check out the link below for our current Marketplace listing, or reach out anytime with any plant requests.
Happy Planting!
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