Houseplants

If one can't garden outside, one does it inside.  I've always had houseplants.  Over the years, I've tried many different ones, but like my outside garden, I prefer plants that don't ask too much of me, and so I have some staples.  Call me lazy, I guess.  I do tend to neglect houseplants, and the biggest reason is that they need more than garden plants.  They won't get rain, you have to provide water.  They are confined to pots so the soil gets tired and can't feed the plant properly.  You have to repot regularly.  You might have to fertilize them.

I recently read an article that said that regular fertilizing could be the death of houseplants.  I actually experienced this, but didn't realize exactly what had happened.  One of my staples is the Golden Pothos, an extremely easy and fast-growing vine that does well in the low light of indoors.  Want more pothos?  Just cut some and root it in water.  I have kept these rooting in water for a long time, and they seemed to be okay with that.  I came up with a design idea that involved pretty glass globes hanging in attractive gold chain hangers.  I found the crackled glass globes in the decor aisle, and the chain in the hardware aisle.  The globes held more water than I needed for this, so I found some drinking glasses that fit perfectly inside.  This worked out beautifully.  Since tap water will leave mineral stains on glass over time, it only appeared on the glass inserts.  The globes stayed sparkly and clean, and the smaller glasses inside anchored the plants better than if their roots were spread out in the globes.  Then I went around and gave all my pothos a haircut.  They rooted and grew in the water, and made a very attractive and different display.  I kept a small watering can filled at all times so the chlorine in the tap water could gas off before I needed to top off the pothos' water.  Learned that trick from having aquariums for most of my adult life.

One of my first experiments with this was going well until I decided to give them a shot of fertilizer.  For my houseplants, I just used water-soluble food (Miracle Gro), so that's what the pothos in water got.  They began to brown and die.  I can only assume it was the fertilizer.  They apparently didn't need or want it.  They got all they needed from the water and sunlight from a nearby window.  The next time I tried it with no fertilizer and they did great.  Never again will I feed plants living in water.

Then this article explained why some of my other plants were declining.  It was my habit to add some Miracle Gro every time I watered.  Except in winter.  I had read a long time ago not to feed houseplants during winter because they go sort of dormant in response to less daylight.  But I noticed some actually seemed to grow more in winter!  I often repotted the ones that needed it in the fall.  After reading this article, I realized why they seemed to look better when I quit feeding.  Because they didn't need or want it!  If they had been repotted, they had fresh soil, which is really what they wanted.

What this article said is that most commercial fertilizers are chemicals and minerals...salts.  Salt is deadly to most plants, and in the confined situation of houseplants, it builds up in the soil.  Less is more when it comes to feeding houseplants.  Repotting does more for houseplants than plant food, and if you do feel the need to feed, use an organic fertilizer very sparingly.  So I'm throwing out the rest of the Miracle Gro.  Maybe I'll pick up a bottle of Fish Emulsion, something that has long been recommended for houseplants.

Another thing I'll do when I get settled in a new home is set up rain barrels.  City water is not great for plants as its salts will build up in the soil.  That's what the ring of white is on vases, etc.  I'll collect rain water for the potted plants.

Besides pothos, I also have a few other hardy houseplants.  Over time, I've learned what they need.  Spider plants are beautiful and dramatic, but they want more sun and water.  They become pot-bound very fast as their root system is large and bulky.  I have both the striped and the solid green.  I've learned the solid can take less sun than the striped, so I can grow that one farther from windows.

I have a Neanthe Bella Palm that I found in the garden center at Lowes.  It was sold as a patio plant, but I thought I'd try it as a houseplant.  I learned that one doesn't like much light, it gets sunburned.  It's doing great in a corner of the room that never gets direct sunlight.  Anita Draceana was bought as an interesting topiary type of plant.  It had been grown and pruned into a globe shape atop a standard.  A standard is a tall single bare trunk.  It's not a globe shape anymore, but it does well in low light, too.  The Thanksgiving Cactus also does well with less than bright light.

Yes, I said Thanksgiving Cactus.  I've always wondered why my Christmas Cactus bloomed before December, and now I know.  A random thing that came across my Facebook feed recently showed me how they are different.  It's in the leaves.  Thanksgiving Cactus has little spikes on its leaves (actually its stems).  Christmas Cactus is smooth.  Mine is spiked.

Some plants I've tried and abandoned due to being more trouble than they're worth.  Ficus is the most annoyingly sensitive plant I've ever had, even though it's actually pretty hardy.  Any change in its environment causes it to shed leaves like a cat sheds hair.  I mean any change!  Move it a few feet, leaves drop.  Dry air in winter, it sheds.  Too much water, not enough water, cool draft, warm draft, more light, less light, it sheds.  They didn't grow new leaves fast enough to replace the ones they dropped, and I got tired of picking up after them.  I finally trashed them.

I used to grow violets, but they are a bit demanding, and need quite a bit of light.  If you have a bright window sill, they'll be fairly happy, but I've never really had a good place for them.  I prefer plants that can serve as decor which means not necessarily in front of a window.

Others I've tried just didn't do well for me.  As in my garden, if it can't make do with what it gets, it's too much trouble for me.  But I will try new ones now and then.  It's what I do.

Another tip I recently learned explained why my heavily water-rooted plants didn't adapt to soil well.  In fact, they often died after planting, and I didn't understand why.  When water-rooting plants, you must plant them in soil before the roots get long.  No more than a couple inches is best.  This is because those short young roots can move into the soil more easily.  A long thin root can't.  It just sits there unable to grow anymore, and eventually rots.  I knew this about garden plants.  I always root-prune new plants before planting in the garden.  If they've been at the nursery for very long, the roots are winding around in the pot.  You must tease them away from that circular pattern, and sometimes, it's just easier to prune them.  If there's a thick mat of roots on the bottom, I slice a good inch or two off the entire root ball.  It doesn't hurt the plant as long as it gets plenty of water after transplanting.  It actually encourages the plant to grow more roots, just like pruning branches forces the plant to grow new leaves.

In Bird news, he is finally roosting under the carport without any cajoling from me.  Whether because of his bad experience that snowy morning, or because his wings are clipped, I don't know.  I'm glad I don't have to worry about him so much now.

Weather is up and down.  Very cold and then not as cold.  So far, the very cold nights are just a couple in a row.

Happy Holidays
Naturechild