A Bit of Advice on Houseplants

A Bit of Advice on Houseplants

houseplants

If I may, I'd like to offer a bit of advice on houseplants. Or is it house plants?

I prefer houseplants, myself.

I have a few houseplants that I keep and enjoy. I've had some of them for years, even decades.

My night blooming cereus dates back to 1987 and prior to me taking ownership of it, my father cared for it. I think he got it around 1970 or so? That would make it 46 years old.

My

Amaryllis, they barely know thee!

Amaryllis, they barely know thee!

holidays houseplants

Amaryllis blooming

I recently conducted an unscientific polling of 20 random individuals to find out who many know what an Amaryllis is.

I showed them an actual Amaryllis and asked one question.  "Do you know what this is?"

The particular amaryllis I showed them was sitting on a bed of decorative rocks in a large clear glass vase so the entire bulb, some foliage, and a big flower bud were

I'm sending my houseplants to Club Hort for the summer

I'm sending my houseplants to Club Hort for the summer

houseplants Humor

Not houseplants, just cut flowers from my garden

I am sending my houseplants to Club Hort for the summer.

Normally, they stay in the sunroom and never leave for anything.

But not this year. This year almost all of them are heading to Club Hort, an exclusive all-inclusive resort, where they will enjoy the finest of immentities for most of the summer.

Upon arrival at Club Hort, which is not

Kokedama - Must be willing to make a little bit of a mess...

Kokedama - Must be willing to make a little bit of a mess...

houseplants indoor gardening

Kokedama with ivy

I just finished cleaning up the sunroom after making my first kokedama.

Kokedama is a Japanese word that translates into English as "moss balls" though all the auto-correct editors want to translate it into chokedamp.

The idea is to mix a combination of peat and clay soil, generally a 70-30 ratio, so you can form the soil into a ball and it stays as a ball. Then you plant

Real gardeners grow plants indoors, too.

Real gardeners grow plants indoors, too.

houseplants

"I do not do houseplants."

If you tell me that, then I know you are not a real gardener.

Real gardeners also have indoor plants. Or houseplants. Or house plants. Whichever you prefer.

Real gardeners do not stop gardening when the garden outdoors goes dormant.  We don't.  We can't.

Even if we don't intend to have plants indoors, we somehow, somewhere, end up with plants in our houses.

It

Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety...

Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety...

books houseplants

Begonia 'Gloire de Lorraine' (American Gardening, 1900)

Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety of Begonia, 'Gloire de Lorraine'.

Described by Buckner Hollingsworth in Gardening on Main Street (1968) ~

"From a tight cushion of bright green foliage a great many lax stems emerged, each tipped with only two flowers, but when these fade and fall the stem lengthens and two more flowers

The Optimist and The Pessimist

The Optimist and The Pessimist

houseplants

Two houseplants just got put out on the patio to spend the rest of the summer in plant rehab. We'll call one plant "Purple Leaf" and the other "Ivy".  Let's listen in as they discuss their situation. 

Purple Leaf:  Oh, look! Look!  We are outside. Isn't it wonderful to see the sun like this and not through a window?

Ivy:  Are you kidding me? I'm going to burn up here. It's so bright. I want