10 Best Plant Gifts for Mother's Day

HGTV garden experts share the best plants to give this Mother's Day and care tips for helping them last, whether you grow them inside or outside.

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April 23, 2020

By: Lynn Coulter and Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Terrain

Photo By: Costa Farms

Photo By: Bill Bishoff for Chicago Botanic Garden at ChicagoBotanic.org

Photo By: Terrain

Photo By: Costa Farms

Photo By: Terrain

Photo By: Endless Summer Hydrangeas

Trailing Jade

A metallic copper pot sets off this cute trailing jade plant — sure to please a mom who likes succulents, drought-resistant plants with thick leaves and stems. She can grow it indoors in a sunny window or transplant it into her garden in Zones 10 and 11. Its trailing vines will grow to 70' high outdoors, where they'll need a sturdy structure to climb on, such as an arbor or pergola. As a houseplant, the vines can reach 4' to 8' long. It can be pruned lightly in late summer to shape it up or manage its size; pale, blue-green flowers sometimes appear in the spring or summer.

BUY NOW: Terrain, $64.00

Monstera

Go big with a monstera plant for moms who love houseplants. Thanks to the natural holes in its large leaves, this dramatic houseplant is also known as Swiss cheese plant and split-leaf philodendron. Monsteras are low-maintenance evergreens that thrive in bright, indirect light and they're an interior designer favorite for their dramatic look. They're happy with average home temperatures and humidity, although they're tropicals and prefer high humidity, if possible. Water them when the top inch of soil dries out and feed in the spring and summer with a balanced houseplant fertilizer. If mom has pets or small children around, caution her to keep them away from this mildly toxic plant.

BUY NOW: Bloomscape, $150

Phalaenopsis Orchid

Tell mom to keep her phalaenopsis orchid near a bright eastern window — never in direct sun. If plants are kept near south- or west-facing windows, provide some type of shade. And humidity is vital to succeeding with phalaenopsis orchids. Too-dry air can cause flower buds to drop. These tropical plants prefer humidity in the 50 to 80 percent range. Fall and winter air indoors can tend to be dry. Running a humidifier or placing her phalaenopsis orchid on a gravel-filled tray with water added so it remains below the gravel is another good tip to share with mom to keep her orchid thriving. As the water evaporates, it raises the humidity around the moth orchid. Find more phalaenopsis care tips here.

BUY NOW: The Sill, $75

Rabbit Foot Fern

A frilly rabbit foot fern will please a mom who loves sweet houseplants. This fern gets its name from the furry rhizomes, or modified plant stems, that climb out over the sides of its container. It's a good candidate for a hanging basket, too, if you want to pick one up as an additional Mother's Day gift; she'll be able to see more of its fuzz if it's hanging overhead. Rabbit foot ferns like bright, indirect light indoors and high humidity, so she'll want to mist it often. Her plant can vacation outdoors when the weather is reliably warm in a shaded or partially shaded spot. It's hardy in Zones 10 and 11, so it needs to go back inside if she lives where the winters are cold.

BUY NOW: Terrain, $48.00

Bromeliads

Bromeliads make unique gifts even after their colorful flowers (they're actually bracts) fade. In this "mini-rainforest" arrangement, a guzmania bromeliad (the one with a spiky bloom) is combined with a vriesea bromeliad (with a feather-shaped bloom). These tropical beauties like warm temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and high humidity, so they're ideal for keeping in bright, indirect light near a shower or sink; otherwise, mom should give them a light, daily misting. She'll also need to keep distilled or filtered water in their central cups and change it often. After the flowers die, the main plant will also die, but new plants will grow from the base. After they're a few inches tall, the "babies" can be potted up individually.

BUY NOW: Home Depot, $13.48

Rubber Plant 'Burgundy'

Add some drama to your mother's houseplant collection —or start one for her — with rubber plant 'Burgundy,' a handsome specimen with large, purple-green leaves. This Ficus elastica needs watering only when the soil dries out. and its foliage will stay glossy if she'll wipe it off from time to time with a soft, damp cloth. Tell her to feed it with a water-soluble, balanced houseplant fertilizer about every two months. 'Burgundy' grows fast, with leaves up to 12" long and 4" across, so she can repot it every couple of years or move it into her garden if she lives in Zones 10 or 11. In a frost-free area, it can reach 40' tall. Indoors, she can cut off the top of the plant to control its size, and the remaining central stem will grow.

BUY NOW: Bloomscape, $150

Calathea 'Dottie'

A 'Dottie' Calathea is a good choice for busy moms who don't have time to pamper houseplants — or who forget them sometimes. In the wild, this plant grows on a tropical forest floor, so it's content with moderate to bright, indirect light and needs watering only when the soil feels dry. It craves high humidity, though, so it should be misted regularly. Tell your mother not to worry when the plant's leaves fold up at night; that's natural and will give her a good look at the colorful undersides of its dark, pink-streaked foliage. Calatheas like average home temperatures and applications of a balanced houseplant fertilizer in spring and summer. 'Dottie' can't take temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

BUY NOW: Terrain, $68.00

Tete-a-Tete Daffodils

A pot of cheerful Tete-a-Tete daffodils is a thoughtful gift for moms who love fragrant flowers. These daffodil bulbs will be sprouting when they arrive by mail-order, and they'll soon open when kept indoors in a bright window where the temperature averages from 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Tell her to water sparingly and keep the bulbs out of hot or cold drafts. Once the flowers fade, she can transplant the bulbs into her garden, but they may or may not return; if they do, they probably won't flower for a year or two. To improve the chances of reblooming, she should let the foliage die back naturally and plant them in a sunny spot with soil that drains easily.

BUY NOW: Terrain, $48.00

Sansevieria

Maybe mom doesn't have the greenest thumb in the world. In that case, a large sansevieria already potted up and ready to bring a dose of easy-care color to her home is perfect. Also known as snake plant, sansevieria are easy to care for and have a dramatic look, work in both low to bright light and, as an added bonus, clean the air. They are, however, toxic to pets so keep in mind that they are not good for moms with animals in the house. Find out more about caring for snake plant here.

BUY NOW: Bloomscape, $150

Summer Crush Hydrangea

Potted hydrangeas are showy plants to give for Mother's Day, and Endless Summer's Summer Crush, with its raspberry-red and neon-purple blooms, is stunning. Mom can keep it indoors until the blooms fade; then help her transplant it into the garden or a large container in a spot that gets sun to part shade. Summer Crush grows 18" to 36" high and wide and is hardy in Zones 4 to 9. Tell her to wait until the flowers are finished before she prunes it, although pruning isn't necessary. When it blooms again, she can cut the flowers to bring in for arrangements. Summer Crush needs medium to large amounts of water and a balanced fertilizer.

BUY NOW: Home Depot, $36.98

10 Best Plant Gifts for Mother's Day

Related To:

Shop This Look

Trailing Jade

Monstera

Phalaenopsis Orchid

Rabbit Foot Fern

Bromeliads

Rubber Plant 'Burgundy'

Calathea 'Dottie'

Tete-a-Tete Daffodils

Sansevieria

Summer Crush Hydrangea

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