Winter means time to focus on houseplants

How can a green-thumber stay happy on a drab winter day? How about focusing on some of the interesting but often overlooked houseplants?

Staghorn fern is especially intriguing, thanks to its deeply-divided, forked fronds that resemble antlers. Growing on trees in their native habitat, these ferns are usually sold not in pots but attached to pieces of bark or wood.

The staghorn fern is unusual in that it also has a second type of fronds that enclose the roots and attach the plant to the bark. These attaching fronds start out green but soon dry to resemble parchment paper.

Staghorn ferns don't grow in soil. Instead, the attaching fronds are open at the top, creating a pocket that holds organic materials such as sphagnum moss and small pieces of bark.

Because staghorn ferns like humidity, I hung the board that holds my fern on the cabinet by my kitchen sink. I spend a lot of time at the sink, so it's easy to remember to take the fern down to mist the fronds every day or so. About once a week, I soak the plant in water, mounting board and all.

Very few homes provide the ideal conditions that would allow a staghorn fern to reach its full potential, but then few have room to hang a three-foot-wide plant anyway. Although I've had my fern for many years, I'm thankful is hasn't gotten big enough to block the window or stick in my face at the sink.

Ming aralia is another favorite houseplant. Some visitors think its artistic shape is the result of tedious hours spent training it as a bonsai specimen. The truth is the plant grows naturally to look like a mature tree in miniature, with a curved, branching trunk and a heavy crop of frilly foliage. The only grooming I provide is occasionally using my fingers to rake out any dead leaves.

Like the staghorn fern, my ming aralia also prospers in the kitchen with the extra humidity provided by cooking and dishwashing. A bright bathroom would also make a good home.

If you'd enjoy blooms all winter, there are a number of plants that put on a good winter performance indoors. Anthuriums are particularly exotic. For me, the waxy, heart-shaped blossoms serve as a pleasant reminder of a trip to Hawaii, where anthuriums seemed to be everywhere I looked.

Technically, what we commonly call flowers on anthuriums are actually brightly-colored, leaflike structures called spathes. No matter. Mostly in shades of pinks and reds, they're as pretty as any flower and longer lasting, too.

High humidity and bright light keep anthuriums happy.

Moth orchids and bromeliads are two more indoor plants you can count on for exotic winter blooms.

• Write to Jan Riggenbach in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006. Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.