BEAD PLANT

NERTERA GRANADENSIS

This neat, eye-catching little creeping plant makes a wonderful windowsill specimen for a sunny, humid room: a kitchen is ideal but avoid a south-facing aspect, as direct sun damages the foliage. The bead plant is grown for its plump, orange berries, which resemble pinheads in a pincushion.

HEIGHT 3in (8cm)

SPREAD 8in (20cm)

FLOWERS Insignificant

FOLIAGE Tiny, green

LIGHT Filtered sun

TEMPERATURE 55–68°F (13–20°C)

CARE Fairly easy

PLACE OF ORIGIN Chile

WARNING! Berries are mildly toxic

CARE

This is a fun plant that takes up very little space. It grows best when kept at 55–68°F (13–20°C). Although it will survive in higher temperatures, the chances of fall berries forming after flowering are very slim.

The bead plant is shallow-rooted, so it will grow in a shallow container filled with commercial potting mix. The kitchen is the perfect place to keep the plant as you’re unlikely to forget to water it. In spring and summer, keep the potting mix moist at all times but during the winter months, allow it to dry out before rewatering. Apply a half-strength balanced fertilizer by using a mister once a month during spring and summer. Mist every week with water, or more often in a room that has low humidity.

The bead plant can be quite tricky to keep year after year and encourage into berry. For this reason, it’s often grown as a temporary plant, bought in berry, and then discarded once the berries are finished.

Buy more than one bead plant and be adventurous when displaying.

PROBLEM SOLVING If you keep your plant for more than one year and it fails to produce berries after flowering, this is likely to be due to it having been placed in a room that’s too hot. Another common issue is browning leaves, which is due to overheating and the plant receiving too much direct sun.

DISPLAY

Treat yourself to three or more bead plants and keep them on the kitchen windowsill; in the evening, move them to the center of the dining table for decoration. Plant them in colorful pots and you’ll have quite a glamorous display. Other low-growing, small plants that would look great alongside bead plants as a temporary centrepiece are the mosaic plant and African violet.

Houseplants A–Z | BEAD PLANT