Growing Wise : indoor gardening

Florist's Cyclamen

Elisabeth — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

If you love hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen coum or Cyclamen hederifolia) outdoors, you will want to have some indoors to tide you over the winter months. Fortunately, at this time of year, you can find "florist's cyclamen" (Cyclamen persicum) in all kinds of stores, garden centers and nurseries. These plants, which are usually available in six or eight inch pots, have the same butterfly-like flowers and beautifully mottled leaves as their cold-hardy cousins. The difference is that florist's cyclamen have larger flowers and cannot take the cold.

Cyclamen have been known and used for millennia--from Ancient Greece, through the Victorian era, to modern times. Flower lovers have long been drawn to the white, pink, purple or red flowers and in the eighteenth century, the forerunner of the modern florist's cyclamen was first described. Since then amateur and professional hybridizers have worked with Cyclamen persicum to create the large-flowered plants we enjoy today.

Good looks are not the only thing that make cyclamen popular. They are also very easy to grow. They are sold in bud or in flower, and the blooms tend to last a long time. The plants go dormant, so as the flowers fade, decrease watering gradually. After the leaves have disappeared, place the cyclamen in a dark indoor space with good air circulation or take it outside and place the pot on its side in the shade. About September, new growth should occur, at which time the plant can come inside and the plant owner should resume watering and fertilizing. Cyclamen are helped by being grown with the pot sitting atop a tray of pebbles and water. The plant itself doesn't like standing in water, but the humidity from the pebble-filled tray is very beneficial. Water the plant only when the top of the soil feels dry to the touch.

Hibiscus Woes

Elisabeth — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:07:00 GMT

A friend of mine has a potted tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) that has been a garden delight over the summer and early fall months. Now, however, it's in the house and it's unhappy--dropping leaves and giving a good approximation of a dying plant. My friend is worried, and, like most gardeners, feels guilty, "Where," he asks, "did I go wrong?"

It's possible that he hasn't done anything wrong at all. His hibiscus is a tropical plant, and tropical plants like tropical conditions. The hibiscus may simply be stressed by the garden to house transition and mourning the loss of the large quantities of light, humidity and warmth that it enjoyed while it was outside. It may be situated on a windowsill where it catches drafts. It may not be getting enough sunlight because it is not in a south-facing window. Then again, my friend may be doing what a lot of plant lovers do when they are trying to save a specimen--killing it with kindness by over watering.

So what should he be doing? He should move the plant to the sunniest space possible and only water when the soil surface feels dry. He should fertilize once a week. And finally, he should be patient. The plant is probably sulking and will recover enough to get through the winter. My friend will have to accept the fact that tropical plants like hibiscus will not perform as brilliantly indoors, unless they are indoors in a heated greenhouse.

Great Big Bulbs

Elisabeth — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:55:00 GMT

In my house, it wouldn't be the holiday season without a few amaryllis sprouting in the sunny dining room window. There is something wonderful about the big, ostrich-egg size bulbs that adults, kids and everyone in between respond to. The plant also has an amazing growth habit--once it gets going, you can almost see the flower stalks shooting up. Once the bulbs are potted up, there is nothing to do except water and wait for the show. Some varieties, especially the big-headed doubles, need staking once the blooms open, but it takes only a moment to stick a stake in the pot and tie the stems to it.

Then, of course, there are the flowers, which bring to mind Oscar Wilde's famous quote, "Nothing succeeds like excess." Some amaryllis varieties have relatively subtle blossoms, but most of them make a big dramatic statement. Men seem to prefer the bright red ones. Florists make dramatic statements with bouquets or potted arrangements in pure white. I am currently in love with the double varieties, like the flame red 'Double Dragon' and the gorgeous pink and white 'Peacock'. I am also fond of the papilio or butterfly types, which have an almost orchid-like appearance.

I love to give plant gifts to friends and relatives for the holidays and I find that amaryllis always gets a great reception. They are always the right size and generally the right color and most people greet them with joy. What could be better?

Coleus Tips

Elisabeth — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:35:00 GMT

If the frosts have not touched your annuals yet, take a good look at any coleus plants that are still in good shape. To add some color to your indoor landscape, try taking cuttings from last summer's coleus.

Clip off several mature coleus stalks that are three or four inches long and have some leaves attached. Strip off the lower leaves and "plant" the lower half of each cutting in moist vermiculite or even moist potting mix. Make sure the vermiculite or potting mix remains uniformly moist (not wet) and place in a bright location away from direct sunlight. After a few weeks, new growth should begin to show. Transplant the cuttings into a larger container and place in your sunniest window. The coleus may not be quite as vigorous as it is outside, but it will make a nice indoor plant.

Coleus and other members of the mint family will also usually root perfectly well in water. Remember to strip off the lower leaves and change the water regularly. When you see roots develop, plant the cuttings into a pot filled with regular potting soil and place in a sunny spot.

February in Bloom

Elisabeth — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:17:00 GMT

There are times when it seems that all the trouble that I take cultivating indoor plants is not worth it. Then there are times like yesterday. I walked into my dining room--which doubles as a conservatory in the winter months--and there were not only blooms, but good smells. I was inspired.

My newest African violet was blooming like crazy and the climbing hibiscus that lives outdoors in the summer was sporting a big, yellow, hollyhock-like flower. 'Grand Soleil D'or', a narcissus that can be forced like a paperwhite, finally produced seven or eight extremely fragrant blossoms, and they were worth the ten week wait. Each small daffodil-like bloom has an orange cup and soft yellow petals. The handful of flowers from one bulb is enough to perfume a ten by twelve room. What's more, the scent is sweet, not at all like the fragrance of the common 'Ziva' paperwhite, which some people find objectionable.

Last year's amaryllis bulbs, which I brought up from the cellar around Thanksgiving, will bloom over the course of the next few days. Of course, they have no scent, but they are a stunning sight anyway.

Some of us force bulbs and tend flowering plants. Others buy bouquets at the supermarket. Either way, there is nothing as wonderful at this time of year than a house or apartment full of flowers.

Tropicals

Elisabeth — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:22:00 GMT

I love tropical plants--the brilliant flowers, colors and luxuriant plant forms. In my dreams I have a large green house filled with bountiful citrus trees, vibrant bougainvillea, fragrant clerodendrum and gorgeous brugmansia. Some plant or other is in bloom at all times, and many bloom during the darkest months of the year. I spend the winters soaking in all that warmth and fragrance and high humidity. Every summer my trusty helpers take many of those same plants out into the garden, where they serve as dramatic focal points.

Then I wake up and remember that I live in a cold winter climate without benefit of a greenhouse. My trusty helpers are actually two lazy cats who can't lift anything heavier than a medium-size cat toy and the supply of sunny indoor space is limited. It is all extremely depressing.

I make do with a twenty year old lemon tree that has never so much as flowered, a four year old orchid cactus that flowered for the first time last summer and a few fancy-leaf begonias. Several months ago I augmented this tropical collection with a small clivia and an even smaller jasmine. Hopefully they will get enough light to thrive and even bloom someday.

In the meantime I am saving my pennies for the greenhouse.

In Praise of Kalanchoe

Elisabeth — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:52:00 GMT

You may not know its name, but kalanchoe is everywhere right now. Last week I went to the grocery store, the Home Depot and the local garden center and I saw kalanchoe plants in each place. Now that the holidays are over and the decorations are stowed away, most of us are searching desperately for something colorful to carry us through the next few weeks. Kalanchoe, often overlooked when flashier plants are available, comes to the rescue.

Kalanchoe is easy to spot. The common grocery store type is actually a hybrid or selection of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, which is native to Madagascar. The plants are about twelve inches high and have big succulent leaves and clusters of small four-petaled flowers that are somewhat trumpet-shaped. The big selling point is the colorful blooms, which come in vivid shades of orange, magenta, white, yellow, pink and red. The blooms on the newer double-flowered forms look almost like small roses. Kalanchoe is always sold in bloom, and the flowers last for a long time.

As a member of the Crassulaceae family, kalanchoe is related to the well-known jade plant. Like the jade, it is relatively undemanding and prefers to be on the dry side. Water the plant when the top of the soil is dry. You can also determine the plant's relative thirst level by feeling the leaves. If the leaves feel plump and fleshy, the plant has had enough water. If the leaves feel somewhat less meaty or even limp, water the plant right away.

Most people buy kalanchoe in mid-winter, enjoy them while the blooms last and then throw them away. If you want to keep your plant, cut off the dead stalks, and pinch back the branches when the plant grows leggy. Like the vast majority of other houseplants, it thrives best in a sunny location.

Every plant should have its moment in the sun--so to speak--and each of us should surround ourselves with flowers as much as possible. Kalanchoe has its moment in January, boosting morale after the poinsettias and amaryllis are just a memory.

Indoor Garden

Elisabeth — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:28:00 GMT

In the winter my dining room doubles as a conservatory, with the built-in bench that runs along the bowed wall on the south end serving as home to most of my houseplant collection. I am fond of them, but they have always played second fiddle in my affections to the plants that live outside. Lately I have been trying to find ways to make the dining room plant collection look less like a mishmash of unrelated specimens and more like an indoor garden.

For starters I have put everything in attractive containers, with all the plastic nursery pots camouflaged by decorative bowls and vessels. I have also added height, placing some specimens on two-foot tall plant stands. Short plants go in front of taller ones, with sun lovers grouped directly in front of the windows and shade lovers positioned a bit farther from the light.

There is still more that I can do. All the saucers should match the pots, which is not the case at the moment. Every plant should be in peak condition and I'll start paying more attention to that. I am not happy yet with the plant groupings, so I will do a little more experimenting. In the meantime I'll deck the lemon tree with a string of twinkling holiday lights. The indoor garden won't be perfect, but it will be festive.

Scratchings

Elisabeth — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:06:00 GMT

I love my plants and I love my cats. Both cats are great gardeners, supervising the planting, pruning and tending during the growing season and the watering and repotting activities during the winter. Unlike some other pets of my acquaintance, they do not eat plants, which is a great help--to me and to them. They do have a fondness for dirt, however, and the instinct to dig. That's where we sometimes come into conflict.

I have a large lemon tree in a pot that is nearly thirty inches across. Several years ago I noticed that every morning the dirt in the pot was disturbed, with holes in the surface of the soil and clods of dirt all over the floor. The lemon tree itself was fine, but the pot was a mess. This was not a case where the cats used the pot as a litter box; clearly they were just having a little fun.

I don't really need to spend time each day shoveling dirt back into plant pots and wiping up the floor, so I decided to find a solution that would save the soil without hurting the cats. I took a large container of beach glass that my daughter had collected during our summer vacation and spread the contents over the soil surface so that it was completely covered. The effect of this glass mulch was very pretty and I hoped that it would act as a cat deterrent. The next morning when I came into the dining room I found that there were no telltale dirt clumps on the floor. In subsequent days the cats gave me what I thought were annoyed glances, but the floor around the plant pots remained clean. I was afraid that they might turn their attentions to some of the smaller pots, so I added beach glass to those as well. When I ran out of my daughter's supply I bought some additional man made beach glass at the craft store. Now I keep some on hand for newly acquired plants as well.

I am lucky. The time that I save not cleaning up dirt around the plant pots I can spend cleaning up the shreds of toilet paper from the bathroom floor. Bored felines are endlessly ingenious.

In From the Cold

Elisabeth — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:50:00 GMT

For the past eight weeks the first floor of our old house has been torn apart as contractors rebuilt the floors. My houseplants spend the late spring, summer and early fall outside, and normally I would have brought them back in sometimes in September. However, most of them spend the winters in the large, south-facing bay window in my dining room. Not only was the dining room floor not there, but the window seat was gone for the duration of the construction project.

Fortunately we have had a fairly warm fall, and the plants have survived, grouped together on the back porch right by the house. The least hardy of the lot were brought indoors and placed in sunny windows on the second floor, but several, including large jade and lemon trees, were too big to make the trip up the stairs.

Now, the last of the contractors is finally finished, which is fortunate, because tonight the temperature is supposed to dip down into the twenties. The wind is already cold, and the plants are shivering as they await the trip into the house. I bring each one in, check for bugs and dead stalks or canes, then wipe down the pots, rinse the saucers and put them back in the dining room where they belong. I expect that all of them will suffer from the combined shocks of light deprivation and dramatic temperature change, so they will look awful for at least two weeks. With tender loving care, though, I think they'll pull through. I am grateful that Mother Nature decided to hold off on the Arctic blasts until I could rescue my green "children" from the elements.

House Plants

Elisabeth — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:08:00 GMT

Now that the garden is somewhat quieter, my thoughts have turned to the state of my house plants. I have quite an array--from a large lemon tree that I have had for more than two decades to a tiny little auricula-type primrose that I bought last spring. I have a Christmas cactus and a large jade tree as well as a big pot of Parma violets. What I don't have is a greenhouse, sunny conservatory or even an abundance of accessible south-facing windows. This makes it a challenge to give some plants optimal environments.

This year I have committed myself to paying more attention to the houseplants. After all, what is a collection of indoor plants, but a garden? As in any other garden, plants should be positioned in the locations best suited to their needs and tended regularly. My new indoor plant initiative will include keeping better track of temperatures in my plant areas, providing plenty of humidity (since many plants suffer because of dry winter air) and paying attention to specific water needs. None of these things are particularly hard to do and tending the indoor garden requires considerably less work than tending the one outside. A slight change in my focus should result in better health for my houseplants.

And maybe some day I'll get that greenhouse...