Tag Archives: low maintenance plants

Salvia and Weigela

  By Rachel | April 23, 2012 - 6:22 pm | Plants
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Two more additions to our spring garden- oh joy!!

Dark Horse Weigela (Weigela florida ‘Dark Horse’)

weigela

Weigela flowers in the spring and draws hummingbirds and butterflies.

It is a full sun shrub that is flexible about soil as long as it drains well, so if you have clay, you may need to amend a little.
Prune annually in winter to promote new growth- gets two to three feet high and wide. Make sure to water the first season as it gets established.

Salvia Black and Blue (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black & Blue’)

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

This perennial grows to 2-3 feet in height (may be an annual if it gets very cold in winter- check for your area). I have read mixed reviews- some say it dies and doesn’t do well- some say it become invasive- but the reason I planted it is because hummingbirds love it. I am hoping to draw lots of hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and birds to my garden (though the plants drawing bees are placed AWAY from the house)
Amend the soil and water till it gets established, make sure you plant it in full sun, will tolerate partial shade but definitely prefers a sunny location from what I have read. Will tell you how my plant does- it will be getting about 8 hours of sun a day.
Continual blooms summer to fall. Prune spent blooms to promote more flowering.

Peace Lily

  By Rachel | March 14, 2012 - 1:54 am | Plants
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Peace Lily or Spathiphyllum is a very hardy plant that is often given to family or friends after the passing of a loved one.  That is how I received this plant, a friend of the family gave it as a gift when my Grandmother passed away, and now it has taken up residence at our house.

I am thankful for this reminder of my Grandmother and her life and for the love and comfort of friends and family when we are grieving.

Peace Lilies are very easy to care for.  They are a low light plant- preferring no direct sunlight.  Make sure to repot them in a well-draining soil and keep them moist.

Peace Lilies require little to no maintenance.  To keep the plant happy, fertilize occasionally every so often with a generic house plant fertilizer.

This plant will wilt when it needs to be watered, and will perk up accordingly once you have watered it.

From what I have observed, I believe this plant blooms constantly as well as putting out new leaves.

I found this advice about pruning a Peace Lily on Dave’s Garden website:

I notice in your picture you have a lot of the seed-heads showing, even on the center bloom. That means the bloom is done!
You should cut those off as soon as the Spath flower goes to pollen and starts making a mess.
Cut the stems all the way down to where it enters the stem of the leaf it came out of. Leave about a 1/2″ of the stem sticking up as eventually, the flower stem inside the leaf stem will shrivel up and get all brown. Then you grab it by the little 1/2″ end you left and pull it straight up and out. If you try to pull it out and it does not come freely, it is not ready yet. Wait some more.

If you have only had this plant for 2 months, it is possible that all the blooms are deteriorating and should be cut off. The blooms turn green as they age. Don’t leave them on the plant.

Direct Link to post about Peace Lilies, click here.  There is a lot of other helpful info about Peace Lily care and some pictures.