Hi Colleen,

I have purchased episcias online before. They are usually very well packaged and arrive in good condition. Depending on what type of episcia you’d like to get, they will range in price from anywhere between $5 to 12$. Just keep in mind that you’ll be receiving a small starter plant, but they generally grow very quickly and are very easy to propagate. I would recommend the Violet Barn. They have a pretty good selection of episcias and good prices (I would also recommend checking out their selection of gesneriads). You can also try Ebay, but you may or may not receive a plant in a good condition (you never know how they’ll package it). But even if your plant arrives broken up a bit, you can literally start if off from a leaf.

Sometimes episcias are sold in local nurseries as foliage plants, and are often mislabeled. If you have a good eye for their leaf type, you might be able to spot them among the starter foliage plants. Those go for 2-3$ usually, but you wont know the variety and it’s sometimes a hit or miss.

If you are looking for the classical chocolate soldier plant, that might be a bit trickier to find, so I would probably look on Ebay. Also it’s good to keep in mind that some varieties are easier to take care of than others!

Hope this helps!
Vesi

Hahah, yes definitely!

Also, that first picture looks like it would make a great wig. Lol.

Hello Christene,

This particular plant is non-toxic (my dog ate some of it, so I had to check it to be 100% sure) and has low light requirements. If you have plenty of light, passifloras make a wonderful and cheerful display. There are so many hybrids available for both passifloras and epsiscias, that you can virtually chose any type of flower color and leaves pattern. Passiflora fruits are edible and the leaves are often used to make tea that lowers the blood pressure and helps with falling asleep and anxiety. Impatiens, begonias, Christmas cactus, most commonly available orchid species and some hoyas are also non toxic. Mahonias (especially ‘soft caress’) are really pretty plants. They look like small palm trees (but with soft leaves) and flower in the winter. I also grow dwarf fruiting trees indoors. Lemons and dwarf mulberries would be on top of my list.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or would like more suggestions :)!

Vesi