Back in May, Kevin Sharkey blogged about the sansevieria plants that he had chosen for his bedroom in the process of his apartment makeover. Since the big installation, a few leftover plants have been hanging around the floral work area here in our offices, just waiting for their big chance to get some recognition. And apparently, they want it pretty bad, because the things have actually sent out dozens of flower stalks:
1 Sansevieria is hardly thought of as a flowering plant, and the fact is, they rarely flower indoors for most growers. But here, they get a lot of bright light, and they're obviously very mature plants, so flower they do!
2 The plant is in the Ruscus family, Ruscaceae, along with dracaena, cast iron plant, ponytail palm, and even lily of the valley and Solomon's seal. It is an offshoot of the lily family and was formerly classified with it.
3 While not conventionally showy, the flowers are still rather pretty and contribute an interesting effect. And there sure are a lot of them on each stalk!
4 The flowers are so full of sticky, sweet nectar that it is absolutely dripping off the stems. Tony said that on a trip to Puerto Rico, he saw hummingbirds flocking to some flowering sansevierias.
5 I'll have to ask Kevin Sharkey if the plants at his apartment are flowering as well...
From: Trish | 11/10/10 at 2:49 pm
I love it when plants surprise us like my Elephant plant did with the first bloom I have ever seen on an Elephant plant. I didn't know they 'flowered'. Sansevieria are great plants too. I wonder if those are the ones Kevin had in planters that leaked. I guess I'll check his blog to find out.
From: Stacey Hirvela | 11/11/10 at 9:26 am
Isn't it great when something like that flowers? It really reassures you that you're doing something right! I'm going to ask Kevin if his plants are flowering and hence dripping sap. Something tells me he wouldn't think that was a desirable feature!