Fun Facts & Trivia About Foliage Plants

The word foliage refers to a collection of plant leaves. Foliage plants are thus the ones that have a leafy or bushy appearance and don’t produce any flower or fruit. The leaves are often ornamental and colourful. That’s why they never fail to add exuberance to a garden, office or home interiors. Also amidst the herbs, vegetables, and flower beds in gardens, these foliage plants offer a beautiful visual break. Some common examples of foliage plants are- Colocasia, Rex Begonia, Caladium, China Doll, Croton Plant, etc.

Here are some fun facts and trivia about Foliage Plants:

1. Most of the foliage plants belong to the tropics or rainforest zones of the earth.
2. Sometimes foliage plants can be a smart substitute to flowers in adding beauty to any space.
3. Foliage plants are gorgeous, easy, and interesting to grow. Foliage plants are the best container plants as they are fuss-free.
4. These beautiful tropical foliage plants can offer extra benefits to people. They purify the air and reduces stress.
5. Marc Berman, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan at the University of Michigan researched and found that staying closer to foliage plants helps in boosting memory, focusing and concentrating more, and improved mood.
6. Coral bells, also known as Heuchera originally have perturbed green leaves and airy pink bell-shaped flowers. That made them quite a favourite among hummingbirds.
7. Artemisias are popular and unique foliage plants. Most Artemisias have silver foliage and they provide a beautiful contrast to the pastel and other deep colours. They pick up the slenderest spark of sunlight in partial shade and light up the surrounding plants.
8. Coleus plants were very popular during the Victorian period and then its popularity slowed down a bit. But now again it has gained prominence in gardens.
9. Plectranthus has an interesting leaf design. The edges are white while the rest of the leaves are deep green in colour. It prefers soggy soil
10. Another very interesting foliage plant is “lamb’s ear”. It has a soft, fuzzy, and grey leaves that resemble a lamb's ear and children love to rub them.
11. For landscaping gardens, these days’ foliage plants are profusely used.
12. The leaves of the foliage plants change their colours during fall. Some look red, some have an orange colour, and some have yellow colours during the fall. But actually, these colours of pigments are present in the leaves all-round the year. The only difference is that during other seasons, the colours are primarily underneath the leaves’ surface.
13. This beautiful colour change has something to do with sunlight also. As the summer season bids farewell the chemical chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down and that brings out the hidden colours on the leaves.
14. The foliage leaves that fall on the ground during fall are very important for the ecosystem because they turn out to be a form of protection for tree seeds when they germinate during the winter season.
15. Stowe in Vermont is one of the best places in the world to watch fall of foliage plant leaves followed by Camden in Maine, Portsmouth in New Hampshire, Kent in Connecticut and Mountain Lakes in New Jersey.
16. The foliage plants with orange leaves have carotene which is the same chemical that makes carrots orange.
17. The red coloured foliage plant leaves get their colour from anthocyanin which is the same thing present in blueberries and grapes.