Tag Archives: plant care

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere!!!

  By Rachel | May 13, 2012 - 8:21 pm | Plants
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We had a sale going on at our church on Friday.  Several ladies who are in the local gardening club and go to our church had plants from their gardens.  Here’s what I have so far.

Lady Crinium Lily- this is a bulb, gets up to four feet tall, blooms spring through fall depending on variety.  Won’t tolerate standing water, so needs well-drained soil- flowers best after being in the same location for at least 3 years. Plant in full sun.
white crinium

Penny Mac Hydrangea-make sure to prepare the hole well for this shrub- make sure the hole is much wider than deep.  Only light soakings and occasional fertilization needed later- this shrub seems to do best with morning sun only- esp. in the deeper parts of the south where the sun’s heat is more intense.  Be careful about pruning hydrangeas- they all have unique pruning instructions.

Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser.

Obedient Plant-not obedient at all.  Can be invasive- hummingbirds and butterflies love it- plant in full sun to partial shade- can grow 3 feet tall and will spread and spread, and spread some more. Likes well drained soil, needs very little care after planted.  Good plant for an area where you can let it fill in a large space, easy to divide any time of year.

Obedient Plant

Tartarian Aster- (big green leaves) These Asters bloom in the fall and have football-sized clusters of purple flowers.  Very tough, can plant in clay soil and walk away, requires very little care.  Full sun- even 10 hours of sun and these plants will thrive and spread.

 Aster tataricus

Fall Aster or Aromatic Aster – (not as big more upright habit) Very hardy like the Aster above, a fall bloomer, again, full sun, very little amending of soil necessary- some water and once established will flourish with little or no care.

fall asters

Becky Daisy- (toothed leaves) Spring bloomer with white flowers growing up to 3 feet tall – attract butterflies and are great cut flowers.  Like well-drained soil, a little fertilizing will help their flowering- too much fertilizer can damage plants. Divide plants any time.

Comin' up Daisies

Jasmine- (little leaves- looks more like a shrub- smells good, likes moisture and part. sun) I know very little about Jasmine.  I bought it on the recommendation of one of the ladies from the church who loves gardening.  I will have to post again once I have had this plant for about a year and get a sense of how it does through the seasons.  I don’t know what color the blooms will be.

**Note: The info in parenthesis was helpful for telling the plants apart and some basic info on where to plant them.

Winter jasmine, II

Excited to see how everything does throughout this growing season, will post more pics as my own plants mature.  Happy Gardening!

A Day in the Garden

  By Rachel | March 28, 2012 - 11:33 am | Plants
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Yesterday I planted several perennials and annuals in containers on my front and back porch.  Here are pictures and a short description of each plant and care instructions.

Pink Pop Hyssop (Agastache astromontana ‘Pink Pop’):

Flowers from mid-summer through early fall that attract butterflies.  This perennial can grow 2-3 ft tall and wide.  Very drought and heat tolerant once established.  Insect and disease resistant- plant in full sun in well-drained soil.

Agastache foeniculum Honey, hisopo anisado, Blue Giant Hyssop, menta regaliz

 

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Metallicum’:

Grows to 12 in. tall and 18-24 inches wide.  Partial sun to shade, great for a shady porch or under trees.  Prefers moist, well drained soil.

Japanese painted fern

 

Dwarf Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria sp ‘Pink or Red’):

Blooms spring to fall, need to remove spent flowers to encourage new growth and more blooms.  Makes great cut flowers.  Full-partial sun in well drained soil-severe heat may slow growth.  Grows 12″ tall and wide.  Twist and pull out spent stems- do not pinch or cut- this encourages the rhizome will be stimulated to produce new shoots.

00085cr7.jpeg

 

Pink Million Bells (Calibrachoa):

They love the heat- be sure to place them in full sun- even 4-5 hours of afternoon sun during the hottest part of summer. Great for containers and hanging baskets since they have a vining habit.  Keep soil moist, watering 2-3 times a week.  Attract hummingbirds. Continual flowering from spring to fall.  When watering, try to keep water off the leaves.

Pink Million Bells

 

Dragon Wing Begonia (Begonia sempervirens):

Full sun to shade- grows 12 to 15 inches tall and 18-24″ wide.  May grow taller in deep shade.  Water regularly keeping water off leaves and flowers.

Ashley and Dragon Wing Begonia

 

Pineapple Lily (Eucomis Comosa ‘Tugela Jade’):

Topped in August with 18″ flower spikes that are chartreuse in bud and open into white flowers.  They will come back year after year and spread if left alone.  They are slow to emerge in spring and usually appear after other flowers are already showing new growth.  This perennial likes full sun with some shade at the hottest part of the day.  The flowers are followed by green berries- grows 18″ tall and 1 1/2 ft wide in clumps.  Needs moist, well drained soil.

Eucomis pole-evansii #2

 

Orange Avens (Geum coccineum ‘Cooky’):

Plant in full- partial sun, attracts butterflies.  Low-maintenance perennial growing 18″ tall and 16″ wide.  Clumps will need to be divided every 3-4 years to keep plants healthy, prune back hard after blooming to encourage health of foliage.  Needs well drained soil.

 

Geum (avens)

 

Frosty Begonia:

This was an impulse buy- at $1.50 I couldn’t resist the lovely leaves.  I am not sure that this plant is a frosty begonia- I am headed back to the plant place again on Friday- so I will ask for more info while I am there.  For now, I have this plant in part. sun on the front porch.

 

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.

Boston Fern

  By Rachel | February 17, 2012 - 8:09 pm | Plants
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The newest addition to my indoor plant family!  I have admired this plant at other people’s houses many times, so when I saw a little plant for $3 I just couldn’t resist!

I have found some conflicting info about care for this plant online.  Some of the info I have read says that this plant likes direct sunlight and needs it, other places it says only indirect bright light and that Boston Ferns do not like direct sunlight.

Needless to say, I am feeling a little unsure where I should put it.  I am going to keep an eye on it these first few weeks and see how it does.

I have also read a few places that they like high humidity.  I do not usually mist things or put them on a tray of pebbles.  So, we will see how it does without it, and maybe I will take these extra steps if it starts to die on me.

According to the sources I have read, the soil needs to stay moist for this plant, it does not like to dry out.  I also say some mention of amending the soil with peat moss.  I did not do this, but for most plants drainage is really important too- so we’ll see how things go.

I have seen conflicting reports about fertilizer too.  I will wait to fertilize like I usually do- I like to wait about 6 months before I fertilize any houseplants.

As I keep finding, there is info out there, but many times the best way to learn with plants is experimenting yourself.  There always seems to be exceptions to every rule when it comes to plants.

Anyone else have a Boston Fern?  Where do you have yours?

 

 

 

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Gardening Websites

  By Rachel | February 11, 2012 - 9:04 pm | Random
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English: Amber Flush rose - Bagatelle Rose Gar...

Image via Wikipedia

I am going to use this post to start a list of gardening websites that I like.  I get so frustrated sometimes b/c I am looking for care information about a plant.  Sometimes I don’t even know what the plant is b/c someone gives it to me and they may not know specifically what its name was.

So far, these are some of my favorites for finding info. about a variety of plants- indoor and outdoor.

easytogrowbulbs.com :  Ok, they are trying to get you to buy bulbs from them while you are there, but the pics are gorgeous and they have great information about bulbs- I like the layout too, very easy to search and quickly find what you need.

naturehills.com : Great site with a wide variety of plants- perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, bulbs- they have it all.  They do NOT provide good info. on caring for plants however, and they are trying to get you to buy their product- so I could not go to them for more than just to surf plants- they have great pics and well organized site.

plantcare.com :  Just discovered this site.  I love the menu where you can choose plant encyclopedia- then you select specific things you are looking for in a plant like how much sun, flowering or no flowers, fragrant or no, and then level of expertise.  Then, you hit search and you can hover over plant pictures and it makes it bigger- Ok, I LOVE this- I choose plants often by aesthetics- so I love being able to see a close up of the plant without having to click on each one.

 

I will add more to this list as I discover more sites that I like- please comment and leave some info. if you have a favorite site you like to use to find plants/plant care info.

 

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Prayer Plant

  By Rachel | February 10, 2012 - 8:43 pm | Plants
6 Comments

I just bought this plant today.  I have admired it many times when I have seen it in the past.  From what I have read today, Prayer plant is very easy to grow.  It is a good beginner plant.  It is also called Maranta.

Prayer plant likes bright light, but not direct sunlight.  It is a fast grower according to the sources I have read, and is flexible with soil- just doesn’t like to be soggy- most plants like well-drained soil.

I have read some places that they like to be misted with water on leaves and that they prefer a higher humidity.  I usually wait to see how a plant does before I spend the time to do any extra things above and beyond watering.  I like to try to keep things simple and low-maintenance with my plants.  So, if it starts to die, maybe I will look at misting or getting a humidity tray for the plant to set on.

Will post some updates after I have had this plant for a while (2-10-12).

I am having problems with the new growth on this plant dying- I think that the soil isn’t draining well and it is getting a little soggy- and I think I might be overwatering.

I think the soil I purchased might not be draining well- I might have to repot. (4-14-12)

Tradescantia – Red Hill

  By Rachel | February 9, 2012 - 8:26 pm | Plants
4 Comments

I just picked up this plant, called Tradescantia “Red Hill” at Lowe’s over the weekend.  I have not been able to find out much about the plant.  From what I have been able to find, it is a flowering plant- I will post another pic when and if it flowers.

It looks like it tolerates a variety of soils, does not like direct sunlight but bright light- I have it about 5 feet away from an eastern window.  Sounds like they like to be dried out between waterings and propagate easily from cuttings- I will try this once the plant gets a little larger.

The few things I have read recommend holding off on fertilizing until the plant has gotten over the shock of being moved to a new location.  I tend to do that anyway, I like to wait about 6 months before I fertilize any new house plants.

I really liked the look of this plant- the leaves are green and have a slight purple color underneath- very subtle- and the leaves have a fuzzy type of texture to them- and the growth habit is unusual as well- it might be more of a vining look as the plant gets larger.  I am looking forward to keeping an eye on it over the coming months.

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Alocasia Polly- African Mask

  By Rachel | February 6, 2012 - 9:33 pm | Plants
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This is one of the most beautiful plants that I own.  The leaves are so unusual.  I got brave with this plant and decided to combine it with a spider plant.  I had never tried combining plants before, but I had read that spider plant was very flexible about growing conditions so I thought I could find a location to make the Alocasia happy and hopefully they would both do well.

So far so good!  There is not a lot of care information out there for the Alocasia- some of the plant sites where you can ask questions have other people looking for help caring for the plant- but the answers are inadequate.  So, here’s what I have read about this plant so far.

They like bright sunlight but direct sun scorches the leaves.  (I know this is true b/c some of the leaves of my plant started to get scorched so I moved it) They may be sensitive to chemicals in the water so you may want to use distilled or filtered water- I have used tap water and so far I see no negative results.

I am not sure about watering needs, I have this plant in a self-watering pot so weekly I just check the water level and add if needed.

I can’t find anything about soil preferences- I just used a generic potting mix.  The plant seems to be doing well, I have had it for about 3 weeks.  So, I will keep you updated but it seems to be pretty easy to please.  If you have any further information about care for this plant, please let me know.

This pic below shows a nice shot of one of the leaves, but it is not my plant.

Alocasia x amazonica

Dracaena

  By Rachel | February 6, 2012 - 9:07 pm | Plants
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Dracaena reflexa cv. Song of India

Image via Wikipedia

I love the variety of colors and growth habits that you can find with this hardy and low-maintenance plant.  It seems like there is one suited for about every location and personality- you can find one to fit whatever your decorating style might be. (top pic not one of my plants but I wanted to share)

I bought this Dracaena for a few dollars about six months ago (pictured below), and I have been very pleased with this plant.  The growth rate has been medium, not snail-pace but a little slower than I expected (you might want to purchase something a little bigger depending on your budget and how patient you are for things to grow).

From what I understand and have read, these plants are flexible when it comes to the amount of light they get, they do not have specific humidity needs, and can easily be pruned to thicken them up.  There are many different popular cultivators that are widely available.

I have Dracaena Magenta or (Dracaena marginata).  It seems to like bright light but no direct sunlight and likes to dry out between waterings.  That seems consistent with what I have read, they do not like to remain moist all the time.

I also had a friend tell me that these plants also prefer water at room temperature rather than cold water- I think this is a safe practice to adopt for all your plants indoors- not all plants are negatively affected by cold water- but it also simplifies the process of trying to remember which plants don’t care and which ones are particular.

Dracaena plants are also very sensitive to fluoride- so be careful about not using soils or fertilizers that might contain even small amounts.  It won’t necessarily kill the plant, but parts of the leaves may turn brown.

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Camellia

  By Rachel | February 5, 2012 - 5:12 am | Plants
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My Camellias are blooming.  What a glorious sight for late January/early February.  I planted these shrubs in partial sun next to our house this past summer and I have thoroughly enjoyed the color they have brought to our rather shabby and gloomy winter exterior.

I have two Camellia japonica ‘Elizabeth Ann’ (pictured above) that are presently in bloom and one Camellia sasanqua ‘Mine-No Yuki’ that bloomed over Christmas and early January- it has white blooms.

The Camellia japonica will not get very tall, probably about 3 ft.  but the sasanqua is supposed to get up to 6 feet tall and wide.  I hope it does.  What a lovely site that will be.

Camellias require a little bit of work.  They like some acidity in the soil, so we amended with peat moss, checked for good drainage (also important) and heavily mulched the plants.  We were also diligent to keep them watered during the hot summer months (we had a very dry summer).  Some pruning is also required after they have bloomed- I have a book called The Pruner’s Bible by Steve Bradley that I have been using to help me with some basic pruning tips. Once established, this shrub does very well with little attention. This pic below is not my shrub, but the flowers look similar to my Camellia sasanqua when it was blooming.

Camellia japonica English: Flower and leaves o...
Image via Wikipedia
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