Cultivate an indoor greenhouse with the best plants for conservatories

Palms are an ever-popular choice for conservatory houseplants. They offer exotic looks, are happy to grow in containers, and require relatively little care. Palms that thrive can also grow to an eye-catching height, which is a great way to add a touch of drama to your indoor garden.

I'm a fan of sago palms due to their erect, near-upright leaves, which give them those tropical looks without spreading out and taking up too much space - great for smaller conservatories or anyone wanting room to squeeze even more plants in. Sago palms can also tolerate lower room temperatures than other varieties, making them ideal for British homes.

As with most plants, ficus comes in a bewildering range of varieties. I'm keeping it simple by recommending one of the most common options, the readily available 'weeping fig'. This leafy indoor shrub offers glossy leaves and can grow quite densely, making it a great background for other, more ornate houseplants.

Weeping figs don't need much attention, although they will enjoy a regular misting. However, these kinds of ficus plants like a stable temperature - they won't do well near a radiator or in a draught. If you look after your fig well, the branches will grow to arch attractively (hence the 'weeping' name), and it could reach up to two metres tall.

It goes without saying that citrus plants will flourish in conservatories, especially those that are kept warm year-round. I'm partial to a cheerful lemon tree, as an evergreen you can enjoy foliage all year round, but when your tree finally produces fruit, even though in early stages it likely won't be edible, it's so rewarding.

A lemon tree will be happy to sit in full sun and can be moved outside during summer to get a good dose of sunshine. Regular watering and misting will improve your chances of it bearing fruit, as will a specialist citrus plant food.

If you have limited space in your conservatory or don't want to fuss with regular repotting, consider a slow-growing yucca plant. This bold houseplant offers striking looks with its sturdy trunk and sword-shaped leaves. You buy yuccas according to the number of stems they have developed.

I like the look of double stem options - the height difference creates drama, and they provide more verdant looks. Yuccas aren't what I would call high maintenance, but they don't want to be in full sun, or their leaves will crisp up, and if you overwater them, their tree trunk-style stems will go soggy.

I love smaller pots of cacti and succulents for conservatory window ledges, but jade plants are a great larger option. This plant has a number of aliases; it's also known as a money plant or money tree, silver dollar plant, and lucky plant. These names are borne from the fact that jade is said to bring good fortune and prosperity, so bear this in mind if you're looking for a housewarming gift for a green-fingered friend.

Jade is a succulent, so it doesn't need watering too often. However, it does love lots of indirect, bright light and will grow leggy if it doesn't get enough. When looked after well, jade plants can live for decades.

Thanks to its large, dark, glossy green leaves, a rubber plant more than deserves a space in your conservatory. As part of the ficus family, this plant is a fabulous air purifier. Larger rubber plants look stunning when placed in floor-standing plant holders, but smaller versions also work well on tables and countertops.

These plants like bright, humid conditions and should flourish in a room-temperature conservatory. They can grow to well over a metre. I've suggested the ficus robusta variety, but options with variegated leaves are also available.

Hanging plants are a great way to add more greenery to your conservatory without taking up surface space. One plant I'm happy to hang is tradescantia, also known as spiderwort. These plants love bright, indirect light. I'm highlighting the popular tradescantia zebrina variety as, in ideal light conditions, the plant will show gorgeous colours, such as pink and purple highlights on the leaves.

Good light levels also lead to "tighter" and, in my opinion, more attractive growth. Tradescantia in lower light conditions will survive, but, as I've discovered, will be a one-tone green and can grow leggy with gaps on the stem between the leaves.