Hi gardeners
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| See the morning glory down in the right corner? |
Morning glory seed normally requires stratification, but
this didn’t get any. But if someone did
stratify seed and kept them in a south window (this window faces south), and
they were in larger pots and fertilized I wonder what would happen. That’s a project for next year.
You can see birds in the pictures outside my window at the
feeders. So, onto birds. Most gardeners like to watch birds in their yard also.
February 18-21 is the Great Back Yard Bird count, and you can help. Knowing the population numbers of various species
of birds helps scientists determine if the species is declining or growing in
numbers. It can determine if birds are moving their ranges due to climate
change.
On one or all three of the above dates you simply count the
birds you see at your feeders or on a walk in your area. You can do it from
inside where it’s warm if you like. Some adventurous people go out in the cold
to observe and count birds at nature sanctuaries or parks also.
If you go to the site https://www.birdcount.org/ they will explain how to sign up to count
birds, and there are even tips on bird ID.
You don’t have to be an expert at all. It’s quite simple and you can
volunteer as much or as little of your time as you like. I’ve done it for years and it’s fun.
How are your houseplants?
This time of year can be tough for houseplants. Online
garden sites are full of sad houseplant pictures with owners asking for help. Three
things seem to be very common this year, plants with cold damage, plants
without enough light and plants that are dying of thirst.
First, it’s not a good time to buy houseplants especially if
they have to be shipped. It only takes a few hours in a cold truck or warehouse
for plants to be damaged, and often killed. Most good sellers realize this and
won’t ship until the weather is right in your area. But there are literally hundreds
of small start-up plant sellers online now and many of them are either
inexperienced or unscrupulous. They collect your money and ship the plants even
when conditions aren’t good. Many of
these are the sellers that don’t guarantee plants or won’t honor a guarantee.
If you are buying plants from a store locally you need to be
careful this time of year too. The plant
must be wrapped, preferably in paper not plastic, even for a short walk to your
car when temps are below 40 degrees.
Your car should be warmed up and you need to go straight home. You cannot go shopping at other stores or go
inside to eat and leave the plant in a cold car, even for a short time. And when
you get home the plant should come inside first, before you unload other items.
Signs of cold damage include blackened, wilted leaves, or
leaves that rapidly fall off the plant. It can show up right away or even a few
days later. Usually the damage occurs from transporting plants but it can also
happen when plants sit in front of doors that are frequently opened or when
they are in cold drafts. If you lose power and temps drop below 40 degrees F.
damage can occur.
And for goodness sake don’t put houseplants outside in
winter months, even if temps have climbed into the fifties. I have read a few
stories lately of people doing that and then forgetting to bring the plants
inside as the temps rapidly fall in the evening. Leave them inside until nights
stay above 40 degrees F. They don’t need
to be outside until then, they don’t appreciate being moved in and out, even if
it’s sunny outside.
Some plants recover from moderate cold damage given time,
but some do not. Most blackened leaves are goners- they don’t recover. Some
plants grow back from the roots, others put out new leaves. If the plant is now
in a warm spot and you don’t see any new growth after a month, it’s probably
dead.
Light
Somewhere along the line people began to believe that there
are species of plants that can live in dark rooms. While there are plants that
can survive in lower light levels that does not mean in a room without windows,
or far from any window unless you use grow lights. Plants suffering from low
light get yellow leaves, drop leaves, get spindly looking, and stretch toward
the light. In vining plants, the spaces between leaves are far apart. Plants
don’t bloom and growth is poor.
Lower light means in front of an east or north window, no
more than 2 feet from a south or west window or in consistently brightly lit
rooms. This applies to all those plants like snake plant, peace lily, pothos
and other plants advertised as liking low light. Even plants that are said to
be “low light” lovers appreciate sunny windows from about November to March.
Bright light means right in front of that south or west
window. In the winter in northern states even this may not be enough light for
plants that require bright conditions. You’ll need to provide a grow light
also.
And it does no good to put a plant in the window if the blinds
or curtains are drawn most of the time. Even sheer curtains filter out an awful
lot of light. Plants also need to be up in front of the window not down below
the window ledge.
Grow lights are so cheap now, and LED ones use so little electricity
that there’s just no excuse to leave a plant languishing in dark corners. There
are attractive clip-on types and those you hang or use on a stand. Grow lights need
to be about 2 feet above plants that like lower light and a foot above those
that like bright light. You may need to
adjust them as plants grow.
Some plants may survive for a while in that windowless
bathroom, or that darkened bedroom or on the shelf 10 feet from the window, but
they won’t be lush, healthy plants. Plants must have light to make food for their
growth and survival.
Pitcher plants require very moist conditions
Water
It used to be that watering problems tended to be
overwatering and new plant owners were warned about overwatering constantly.
Some people do overwater still, especially if they refuse to use pots with
drainage holes. But the trend seems to
have overcorrected itself and now I see many plants that are dying from thirst.
I have read stories where the owner of the dying plant says
something like “I give it a tablespoon of water every 2 weeks, so I know I’m not
overwatering it.” And they aren’t, they are letting it die of thirst. Succulents are very popular and yes, some
species need little water. But some species of succulents need more water than
people tend to give them. And other types of plants can use much more water.
If a plant is wilting, yellowing, leaves look wrinkled or
shrunken it’s time to check the pot. Over and under watering symptoms can look the
same but if the soil feels dry and the pot feels light, it needs water. Don’t be afraid to water your plants!
Proper watering of houseplants is not so much about how much
water you give them but when and how you water them. And you cannot put plants
on a regular watering schedule, you need to adjust watering times to the
season, temperature, growth of the plant, humidity, pot size and other factors.
You need to feel the soil or use a water meter to know when to water.
To water properly, all pots must have good, free flowing
drainage, even pots for succulents. Rocks in the bottom of a pot are not a
substitute for drainage holes. Each
species of plant has different water requirements but with few exceptions, all plants
can be watered the same way. You drench the pot with water until it runs out
the bottom. Then you wait an hour or so and drain off any water in the saucer. That’s
the proper way to water, at least until you are experienced enough to judge
water needs by the plant’s appearance.
You adjust how much water the plant gets by when you do that
soaking. Plants like peace lilies like moist soil so you will drench them
whenever the top of the soil feels dry and certainly any time they begin to
wilt. Plants like many succulents can be
left to thoroughly dry out between waterings, then soaked. Look up the species
of plants that you have and find out what type of soil moisture they require.
Most plants fall somewhere in between succulents and peace
lilies, so you will stick your finger in the soil and see if its dry an inch
down or so and then drench them. If the
soil still feels wet you won’t water, even if it’s Sunday or whatever day you
like to water. You need to know what moisture level each species of plant
prefers.
Sometimes when you allow soil to get very dry it actually
repels water instead of soaking it up. Water seems to be running out the
drainage holes but its all running through, none is being absorbed. If water
seems to run out as soon as you start pouring it in, this is probably the case.
In this case you can set the pot in a sink or tub and run water on it very
slowly for about 30 minutes. Or you can sink the pot in a bucket of water until
the soil surface is covered and hold it down until it no longer floats, and no
bubbles are rising up. Then take it out and let it drain.
Having the right potting soil makes a difference also. Don’t
use soil from outside for houseplants, use potting medium. Succulents and
cacti, of most species, need a coarser, better draining soil than other plants.
Orchids and some other rare plants need bark chips or other medium instead of
soil.
After light, water and keeping the plant from getting too
cold problems with houseplants often come when people repot them too often or
split them when they shouldn’t be split or divide them too often. Not all plants can be propagated by dividing
them. And every time you repot a plant it disturbs the root system which causes
stress to the plant. It’s a rare plant that needs repotting more than once a
year.
Moving a plant is also stressful. Chose the right place for the plant when you
bring it home. Move a plant only when it’s obvious it’s in the wrong spot and
not growing well. In nature plants do not move from location to location. You should not move plants around like you do
furniture or other décor.
Houseplants can also suffer from disease and insects, but
this article would be too long if I covered those topics. I will say that if
plants have enough light and the right type of watering, you’ll have fewer pest
problems.
Houseplants brighten dull winter days and give gardeners
something to tend when they can’t work in the garden. But take the time to
identify your houseplants and then find out what conditions they require. Plants
with sufficient light and proper watering will reward you by growing more
beautiful each week.
To the right of this article are links to articles about
some species of houseplants. You may want to try these links; Peace lily
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/peace-lily-do-youwant-houseplant-that.html
Snake plants
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/sansevieria-snake-plants-and-mother-in.html
Tropical hibiscus
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/chinese-hibiscus-rosea-sinesis.html
Norfolk Island Pine
https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/httpsgardeninggrannysgardenpages.html
Happy Valentines Day everyone
Kim Willis
Nothing in this article may be used without permission.
Contact author at kimwillis151@gmail.com
