Part 1. Let’s talk about giving houseplants as Valentine’s Day gifts. They make the perfect gift: living plant, heart-shaped leaves, fun colors, and a daily reminder of you the gift giver.
What Should You Give For Valentine’s Day Gift?
Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. What do you want to give your sweetheart for a love gift? Roses are beautiful, but expensive and last only a few days. Candy is sweet, but everyone I know is on the Keto diet and trying to avoid extra carbs and sugar.
You might want to consider giving that special someone a houseplant instead. One with heart-shaped leaves, so your love can have “hearts” every day and know how much you love them.
I’ve done some searches for you, and houseplants with heart-shaped leaves are not really common in the indoor garden plant world. But I found some that you’ll really like and that you can easily find at your indoor plant store or on Amazon. This is Part 1 with the top six houseplants with heart-shaped leaves and oozing romance.
Leaf Shapes in Houseplants
The first thing I noticed is that leaf shapes are categorized by the horticulturists out there. It’s called Leaf Morphology, or another term for the study of leaf shape categories.
Leaf Morphology is the science or study of the physical form and external structure of plants. Leaf shapes are a serious topic in the horticulture language, and Wikipedia has even devoted a page to the topic. Here’s a link to that page if you want to know more.
Each shape has its own botanical term to define it. Here are a few examples:
- “Cordate” means a heart-shaped leaf with the petiole or stem attached to the notch.
- “Obcordate” is heart-shaped but the stem is attached to the bottom of the heart instead of the dent.
- “Orbicular” is a round leaf.
- “Elliptic” is an oval leaf with a short or no point.
- “Hastate” is shaped like a spear, pointed at the end with the “handle.”
- “Deltoid” is a triangular leaf with the stem attached to the bottom of the triangle.
Houseplants for Valentine’s Day
We’re going to look at houseplants with cordate or heart-shaped leaves.
Anthurium (Anthurium andraeanum)
Also known as Tailflower, Flamingo Flower, Painter’s Paillette, Tale Flower, Lace Leaf, Anthuriums are an evergreen perennial from wet mountain forests in tropical and subtropical North and South America.
They have beautiful heart-shaped leaves and what some think of as their colorful heart-shaped “flowers.” The flowers are actually contained in dense spirals on the spadix, that spike in the middle of the spathe, which is a modified leaf that surrounds the flower cluster. The spathe is the modified red leaf, the spadix is the spike that suggests a phallic shape.
There you have it! People who breed Anthuriums focus on the spadix and spathe, producing desirable colors.
- Place your Anthurium in an area that receives bright, indirect sunlight.
- They love being in a constant temperature away from air vents.
- Your bathroom or kitchen can provide the natural humidity they need.
- Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Use an even watering method, misting if needed.
- Use water to wipe the leaves to remove dust or insects.
- Moderately toxic, be careful around pets and children.
- Propagate by taking a cutting and placing into the potting mix.
Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
Cyclamen are also called Sowbread and Florist’s Cyclamen.
You’ll see Florist’s Cyclamen often around Valentine’s Day. These are perfect gifts for your special someone!
They have lovely heart-shaped foliage and flowers in pink, white, purple, and red colors. Blooming in January, February, and March, the blossoms are produced on long stalks above the foliage. The blossoms have a sweet fragrance to them. The foliage is dark green, sometimes with silver marbling on the top sides of the leaves.
Cyclamen require little care and can bloom for weeks. If you give them proper care and let them go dormant, they can rebloom in the fall.
- Place them in a cool location, next to a window with bright, indirect light
- Keep them in a well-draining potting mix.
- Water when the top of the soil is dry.
- Overwatering is a common problem and can cause tubers to rot.
- They are dormant in summer so don’t water at all. Will rebloom in the fall.
- Slightly toxic, keep away from dogs and cats.
Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerrii Craib)
You might see these called Valentine Hoya, Wax Hearts, Sweetheart Plant, Porcelain Flower, Heart Leaf, Lucky Hearts, and Wax Plant.
Just around Valentine’s Day, these cute pots with a single heart-shaped leaf begin to appear on the store indoor plant shelves. This is the Hoya Kerrii, and it might remain a single leaf in that small pot forever! It’s cute though and will take up only a very small space on your desk or countertop!
If you get one of these plants, don’t repot it until it starts to get new growth on it. You might be waiting for a long time, as these single leaves have only a small chance of producing new shoots. And if they do produce new shoots, it might take – wait for it – several years!
Looking very similar to a succulent, the Hoya Kerri s actually in the milkweed family. But you can give it similar care to a succulent and be successful caring for your Valentine Hoya.
- Grow your Valentine Hoya in an area that gets filtered sunlight.
- Use a well-draining potting mix with little organic material.
- Water when the soil has dried out. Don’t overwater this plant!
- Repot when rootbound, every two years or so.
- Propagate easily by stem cuttings in water or potting soil. Take note: it takes several months before you see new growth.
Heart Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron scandens)
This lovely is sometimes also called the Sweetheart Plant, Philodendron, Heart Leaf Ivy, and Heart-shaped Philodendron. Whatever you call it, this is a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your plant lover.
The word Philodendron means “love tree” in Greek. This plant lives up to its Greek name! It just needs some light, some water, and someone to talk to it, and it will return your love in hearts.
It is a vining plant that can grow up to 20 feet long with leaves that are 2 to 3 inches across. The leaves are beautiful heart-shaped green leaves or variegated leaves in shades of light green, white, or yellow. The Philodendron is typically used as a hanging plant or climbing plant.
Easy to care for, it’s tolerant of lower light and irregular watering patterns. To help it thrive:
- Keep your heart leaf philodendron in an area with indirect sunlight.
- Actually, it will thrive in almost any lighting condition you put it into including artificial.
- Normal home temperatures are perfect.
- Use a potting soil that is high in organic matter
- Water regularly, mist often to increase humidity.
- Wipe the leaves with water to remove dust and insects.
- Repot when rootbound, loosening the roots to stimulate growth.
- Moderately toxic if ingested to cats, dogs, and small children.
- Easily propagated by stem cuttings with at least two joints or by root division.
Peperomia caperata
Peperomia Caperata is also known as Ripple Peperomia or Emerald Ripple Peperomia. The beautiful rippled leaves are heart-shaped and the striking colors make these an excellent choice for a Valentine’s Day gift. And they’re small so one will fit anywhere, in small bathrooms or on the corner of a desk.
You might think these are succulents because of their thick leaves, but they prefer more humidity than succulents do. They make great houseplants as they are easy to care for, adapt well to a variety of conditions, and are available in many leaf shapes and colors. They can grow to 12 inches wide and 8 inches tall, depending on which plant you get.
- Place them in an area that receives light to moderate light. Since they can also flourish under artificial light, they make ideal candidates for a desk-top plant.
- They like steadily moist soil, but not soggy. Don’t overwater your peperomia! Peperomia thrive when slightly rootbound, so plant them in a smaller pot using rich potting soil.
- All peperomia are non-toxic to dogs and cats.
- Propagation is easy using leaf cuttings.
- Take a large leaf with the stem and bury in seedling starting soil.
- Place it in a warm, bright area until it starts to grow.
The watermelon peperomia is very popular. You can find it at Amazon.
Satin Pothos (Scindapsus pictus “Argyraeus”)
You’ll feel confident giving this as a Valentine’s Day gift as it’s just as simple to grow as Golden Pothos is. Easy care, beautiful, heart-shaped leaves – is this the perfect gift plant or what?
It has heart-shaped, dark green leaves with silvery gray variegation splashed throughout. A vining plant, it can trail to 3 feet or more. Cut it to the length you want. Easily propagate the cuttings in water or potting mix, and you have more Satin Pothos plants for free!
Here is how you care for it:
- Keep it warm and away from cold drafts
- Don’t overwater it and don’t let it sit in soggy soil. Boost humidity around it, maybe a steamy bathroom?
- Bright indirect light will help the plant produce the best leaf color and variegation.
- Too little light and the leaves will lose their color.
- Too much light, the leaves will scorch.
- Problems show up in the leaves:
- Brown tips are caused by dry air.
- Yellow leaves mean the plant is getting too much water.
- Propagate it by taking stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, or root division.
Happy Valentine’s Day To You And Your Loved Ones!
We found six of the prettiest houseplants with heart-shaped leaves for you. Consider giving these as Valentine’s Day gifts for your love. The present symbolizes your love and the heart-shaped leaves will remind them of you every time they look at the plant.
We also have six more beautiful houseplants with heart-shaped leaves for Valentine’s Day gift ideas.
Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
Want to know which houseplants are safe for your pets? Here are some plants that love bathrooms.
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