“My cactus and succulents are indoors and under lights all year. Should I try to give them a dormancy period with less light and lower room temps in the winter?” Question from Kendra of Humboldt, Iowa
Answer: It looks like your succulents have plenty of light! They look great. Keep them under lights for winter, but feel free to turn them off at night. If you want to save money on lighting bills, consider bringing them outdoors in the summer months, after the threat of frost has passed. They will thrive in the natural sunlight. Just be sure to check them for insects before bringing them back indoors in fall; cleaning the plants with insecticidal soap is also a protective measure.
When it comes to winter growing temperatures, cacti and succulents do like it a little cooler. Maintaining a room temperature between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit would be ideal.
Water less, too. Indoor succulents tend to require little to no water during the winter months. This mimics the winter dry season that they experience in their natural habitats, so be sure to water them very sparingly during the cold season. It also pays to plant them in a premium, fast-draining mix, like Black Gold Cactus Mix.
Golden jade has remarkable sunset-hued leaves. (Image thanks to Mountain Crest Gardens)
A mature, well-formed jade (Crassula ovata) is an arboreal treasure of a house plant worthy of indoor garden ardor. Its thick, trunk-like stems ascend to a rounded top with glistening clusters of fleshy, jade-colored leaves. In winter, happy plants will do double duty by producing a wealth of starry white flowers. But, succulent connoisseurs know there are other remarkable crassulas that take everyday jades to a whole new level!
Growing Jades
Excess summer heat and sun can cause stress, resulting in orange-brown tinged foliage.
All jades are tough—a testament to their droughty African origins. They grow best in filtered or partial sunlight, and during the winter months, they require low water to mimic the dry winters of their home country. Plant them in pots of porous soil with moderate organic matter and excellent drainage. Black Gold Cactus Mix is the perfect medium for jades to dig their roots into.
In the summer, bring jades outdoors to bask in the natural heat and filtered sunlight. (If you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, you can grow them outdoors year round). Give them moderate water, and be sure to allow the soil to become quite dry between watering. Avoid placing them in full hot sun, because this can cause sunscald and heat stress, resulting in orange-brown-tinged foliage.
Before bringing them back inside in fall, check them from scale insects and mealybugs. Washing and spraying the stems and leaves with insecticidal soap will help. It’s also good to remove and replace the top inch of potting medium to remove any pests that may be harboring there.
Remarkable Jades
Golden jade
Golden Jade(Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’): You can’t miss golden jade, with its leaves in sunset shades of green, red, yellow, and orange. It reaches two to three feet high when mature, and its leaves are most colorful when placed in bright filtered sunlight. Golden jade is relatively slow growing and has white winter flowers.
Gollum jade
Gollum Jade (Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’): As the name suggests, the leaves of ‘Gollum’ jade look like creepy, tubular, suction-cup fingers of green with red edges. The plants age to a sturdy four feet tall and always receive comments from passersby. If you love jades, you have to grow this one!
Ripple jade (Image thanks to Mountain Crest Gardens)
Ripple Jade (Crassula arborescens subsp. undulatifolia): This more compact jade reaches just one foot high and has undulating leaves of bright blue-green. It will grow quickly if placed in bright light and bears starry white winter flowers.
Silver dollar jade
Silver Dollar Jade (Crassula arborescens): The extra-large, silvery leaves of this jade plant are edged in red. Mature specimens reach a bushy two feet high and wide, making them just the right size for potted indoor specimens. Their starry, pink and white winter flowers play off the brightly colored leaf edges.
Tricolor jade (Image thanks to Cologne University)
Tricolor Jade (Crassula ovata ‘Tricolor’): Bright variegated leaves of green, yellow, and ivory are the star of this unique jade plant. It reaches over one foot high and bears white flowers in winter. Like most variegated plants, it is slower growing than standard Crassula ovata.
Sources
When in full flower, jade plants look extra pretty.
Mountain Crest Gardens has a wonderful array of jades for online purchase, and their plants always arrive at your door fresh and healthy. You can also check quality garden centers or plant nurseries in your area that carry interesting selections of succulents.
Give your connoisseur jades good care, and they will be with you for a long time. Specimens have been known to live for as many as 100 years! They are true house plant investments.
“What are the best low-light house plants that are cat safe?” Question from Margaret of Houston, Texas
Each of these eight beautiful house plants grow well in shade or filtered sunlight, and according to the ASPCA, all are non-toxic to cats.
Cast Iron Plant
Non-Toxic House Plants for Cats
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior, full to part shade, 1-3 feet): This bold-leaved house plant needs average water and fertile soil. Some varieties have gold or variegated leaves.
Rex Begonia (Begoniarex-cultorum, part shade, 1-2 feet): Grown for their fantastic leaves and flowers, these are some of the prettiest houseplants that are cat safe.
Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans, full to part shade, 2-6 feet): The classic parlor palm, with its deep green palm leaves, looks great indoors and is safe for all pets.
Rex Begonia
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum, full to part shade, 1-2 feet (cascading)): The classic spider plant is safely chewed upon by cats like cat grass and is very easy to grow.
False Aralia (Scheffleraelegantissima, part shade, 5-10 feet (indoors)): False aralia has beautiful foliage and is very easy to grow in partially shaded areas.
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata, part shade, 2-3 feet): Common Boston ferns are lovely, safe, and always pretty in low-light spots in the home. Just be sure to water them regularly and remove old, browning fronds.
Parlor Palm
Emerald Ripple Peperomia (Peperomia caperata, part shade, 6-10 inches): The corrugated leaves of this compact house plant always look pretty and won’t pose a threat to cats.
Silverleaf Peperomia (Peperomia griseoargentea, part shade, 6-18 inches): This peperomia has silvery, textural leaves that glow in partial shade locations in the home.
House Plant Care
All of these house plants will thrive in Black Gold All-Purpose Potting Mix, which is specially formulated for indoor growing. Choose a planting pot that is just larger than the root ball of your house plant, and leave at least 2-3 inches of space at the top for watering.
Emerald Ripple Peperomia
Water plants regularly. Feel the soil down to your middle knuckle, and if it’s dry, it’s time to water. Less water is generally needed during the cold winter months. House plants also grow better if fed with a quality fertilizer formulated for house plants.
Be sure to place house plants away from heating vents, as this causes their leaves and soil to dry more quickly. It is also wise to clean the leaves of house plants to remove dust that can inhibit growth. This is especially necessary for larger-leaved specimens that readily collect dust.
Just imagine if you could grow a drought-tolerant plant that may actually reduce fly populations. One group of South African succulents, carrion flowers (Stapelia spp.), does just that. Unique carrion flowers have evolved very exotic starfish-like blossoms that kill the most ubiquitous insect in Africa: the fly. But death does not come until these insects have first pollinated the blooms. Prey are always prevalent and active, keeping these curious succulent flowers well pollinated.
Carrion Flower Fly Catching
Desiccated maggots (fly larvae) dot the center of this meat-colored carrion flower.
So just how do they kill flies? Let’s look at Stapelia gigantea, which thrives in the high heat and low humidity of the desert. When flies peak in late summer, it comes into bloom with buds like pointed balloons and unique leathery blossoms that actually look like starfish road kill. The largest can be dinner-plate-sized. Some are creamy yellow (puss colored) with hairs while others have smaller flowers that are the color of red meat (these are more commonly available to gardeners). Both share the fetid odor of rotten meat and death that originates at the center of the flower where flies of all types may be found vying for a place to reproduce.
Such activity ensures flower pollination and fly death. Convinced there will be plenty of carrion for their larvae to thrive, female flies lay their eggs beneath the central pistil, where the scent is strongest. But when the larvae hatch out, they have no food and quickly starve to death. Over the life of each flower, hundreds of flies will leave their progeny, the accumulating corpses highly visible to the naked eye. Growing lots of them around the chicken coop or dog run may prove to be helpful biological fly control where it’s too dry for other options. Where it’s cold, grow carrion flowers in pots to move indoors before frost and bring out for the summer.
Caring for Carrion Flowers
Stapelia gigantea is a fine garden plant for arid, warm winter regions of the American Southwest
In general, carrion flowers like dry heat. Wait until they show wilt before watering, unless they are growing in a very fast-draining pot. Beware watering at all in humid heat, during rain, or under any conditions that don’t allow pots to dry quickly. Moisture trapped inside pots is what usually kills them. That’s why they do very well in low wide pots with large or multiple drainage holes. This provides room for them to grow and spread. Ensure superior drainage by planting them in pure Black Gold Cactus Mix.
Carrion flowers bloom on new growth. If you keep them actively growing through summer, and don’t trim, they will bloom far more prolifically. Once blooming season ends, cease watering through the winter.
Propagating Carrion Flowers
The blood-red variety of carrion flower is popular for dry gardens with shade.
Experience proves carrion flowers ask for different means of propagation than other succulents. After they flower is the best time to take cuttings. Take cuttings at the natural joints. (I like to let them break cleanly at the weakest point.) Don’t sever a stem or cut it in parts as open wounds invite fungal exposure and potential rot.
Stapelia cuttings are highly vulnerable to fungi in the soil, so burial is not advisable. Instead, lay a cutting down onto damp Black Gold Cactus Mix, and snug it into place. Do not cut the stem or cover any part of it because that’s what kills cuttings.
Set the pot in a warm, dry place with bright shade, and roots will quickly form during the fall. Check occasionally for signs of rooting all along the bottom, then transplant once they are deep enough to support the cutting.
Buying Carrion Flowers
You can buy carrions online, but many succulent growers include them in small flats of inexpensive mixed plants. Once you learn to spot them, buy them up. They are great fun to experiment with; each is a surprise when it blooms.
Let carrion flowers remind us that flies are pollinators, too. Curious floral adaptations for fly attraction can become useful, if we collect and cultivate these maggot tricksters.
Dense and colorful, Aloe juvenna (foreground) makes a great rockery subject or potted specimen.
While we ogle big fancy aloes blooming in frost-free gardens, their sensitivity to cold winters limits their cultivation elsewhere. The plants in the same genus as Aloe vera, the popular Arabian species used for skin care, rarely survive the winters of sub-tropical zones. For everyone who cannot grow succulents outdoors year round, like we do in coastal California, welcome to my little aloe world.
South African Beauties
A grass aloe (center front) will fill a pot quickly for lots of easy offsets to divide and transplant.
The aloes of southern Africa include some very small species that produce the most exquisite bell-shaped blossoms. They have always reminded me of a lady’s drop earrings because they droop from very thin wiry stems. Even the slightest breeze will send their blooms nodding and swaying. Like the big aloes, they bloom every spring, attracting hummingbirds to porch or patio, and light up a home and sun porch with early spring color.
Most garden aloes hail from the maritime Cape Floristic Region or the east coast of South Africa on the Indian Ocean. These are soft, beautiful, and adaptable. The further inland you go, the larger and stiffer and pricklier the aloe species become, so that big game cannot browse upon them during drought. In the wide, treeless, grasslands of the African veldt the little grass aloes blend into big patches among the grasses.
Collecting Aloes
Most of the tiniest aloes have been collected at the Huntington Desert Garden to view.
I began to learn about little aloes by collecting all that I could find, whether named or not. I purchased small ones from succulent racks (without labels), then tested each in my desert garden. I also started new plants from fallen pieces of rare grass aloes gleaned from working at the botanical garden in Palm Springs. Still, more offsets (also unidentified) were shared from friends’ mature aloes. I had a stone slab front entry walk edged with these tiny aloes, potted and in-ground, which provided the jewel box garden I had dreamed of creating.
Planting Aloes
Grass aloes, which are native to African grasslands, produce delicate bell-shaped flowers.
For beginners, aloes are among the easiest succulents to start with because they aren’t finicky. Plant them in Black Gold Cactus Mix to make sure they have supreme drainage. Choose deeper pots for big aloes, because their roots are a lot like a daylily’s, thick and deep. Blend cactus mix with equal amounts of Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil at a 50-50 ratio to boost fertility and blooming.
It’s easy to know when your potted aloe needs water during the growing season. It should be fully turgid, which means its cells are full of water. Squeeze one, and it should be firm. When they run short of water the cells loose turgidity, stems soften, lose color, and small wrinkles appear on the skin.
Hand water your ground aloes sparingly as many become summer dormant after blooming. Bottom water your little pots by setting them in a pan of water. Allow them to wick up moisture for over an hour’s time, then drain and return them to their place. This will ensure their soil is fully saturated, while keeping water away from your potted aloes’ crowns, where rot begins.
Aloe Sources
Aloe brevifolia offers orange flower stalks that hummers just love.
A great selection of little aloes is available at the California succulent nursery, Mountain Crest Gardens. Quality photos, accurate labeling, and excellent cultural information is offered for each plant. And, they will send aloes right to your door, if they aren’t available locally. Everybody can enjoy little aloes no matter where they live!
Once you have your aloes, know that they will produce offsets or “pups”. This is how they reproduce in very dry climates. To keep a single tidy rosette, remove the offsets that will otherwise spread and change the shape of the overall plant as it ages. When dividing little aloes, it helps to remove them from the pot to surgically sever offsets (maintain stems or roots for better rooting). Root the offsets in a well-drained nursery pot of moistened Black Gold Cactus Mix and keep transplants in the shade until roots form. Then plant them in small pots, so they can grow through the fall before you protect them from frost.
While there are some hardier aloes, they are few and far between outside tropical and sub-tropical zones. If you live in prime time locations, grow them outside. Where there’s light frost, try pots on the patio. And in cold, rainy, totally unsuitable climates, create your own indoor collection for just $5 per plant and enjoy them year-round.
Moth orchids are one of the easiest orchids to grow!
House plants have made a resurgence in popularity over the past several years and the trend shows no signs of diminishing. On a recent visit to a large Portland garden center that had just finished their annual January house plant sale, the manager told me it was the best one they have ever had. By the end of the first weekend, they were almost sold out. Throughout the sale, restocking was continuous.
Some customers buy house plants for the flowers and others buy them for the foliage. Of course, it is a bonus if you can have both flowers and attractive foliage. Also, many flowering house plants bloom in winter when color is most desired.
Like any plant, whether grown indoors or outdoors, good soil is essential. Black Gold All Purpose Potting Mix is an ideal potting mix for most indoor plants, except for orchids where orchid bark is recommended for epiphytic (tree-dwelling) orchids and Black Gold Orchid Mix is recommended for terrestrial (ground dwelling) orchids.
Flowering Kalanchoe
Flowering Kalanchoe
You will love the bright and colorful flowers of flowering kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana). You may not recognize this popular house plant by the name, but once you see it, you will know it. Its succulent green leaves sometimes have scalloped edges that make this plant attractive, even without flowers. And, its small, brightly colored blooms of pink, orange, red, or yellow appear in clusters above the leaves.
Clivia
Clivia
Clivia (Clivia miniata) is a member of the amaryllis family and produces clusters of large, orange, funnel-shaped flowers. Sometimes Clivia may have yellow flowers but orange is the most common. The strap-shaped leaves can be up to 2 feet long and are usually about 2 inches wide and very dark green. Clivia will bloom best if the roots are crowded in the pot.
Bird of Paradise
Bird-of-Paradise
For large pots try the 5- to 7-foot bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae). It is like Clivia in that it blooms best with crowded roots. It is named for its large, unusual flowers that look much like the head of a crested bird. The primarily orange flowers have highlights of blue and magenta and appear on long stems, making them excellent for cutting. (The cut flowers last a long time in the vase.) It’s bold, tropical leaves are dark green, often with a blue-green tint. Fertilize this one often.
Dwarf Citrus
Chinotto sour orange
Dwarf citrus trees come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are popular because their flowers are so fragrant. If they actually set fruit, that is an added bonus. For a ‘starter’ citrus, I would suggest the Meyer lemon (Citrus limon ‘Meyer’) as it seems to adapt to being indoors better than some others. Another one to try is Chinotto sour orange (Citrus x aurantium ‘Chinotto’), which is compact, grows slowly, and bears clusters of sour orange fruits.
Night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) has a very powerful fragrance, and as the name implies, it is a night bloomer. Grow this evergreen vine on a window sill, and prune it hard after bloom to encourage new growth and flowers. The attractive small flowers tend to be greenish white, but it is the fragrance that attracts one to this plant.
Orchids
Moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) (Image by Jessie Keith)
Orchids are flowering plants that are available in not only garden centers but in many grocery stores. There is a huge selection available as to flower color, shape, and size. Orchids are popular because the flowers last for a long time, often over several months. (Click here to learn more about how to grow orchids.)
Gardenia
Gardenia
Gardenia (Gardenia spp.) is another blooming plant with an intense fragrance that is most aromatic at nighttime. If you have enough light to grow citrus in your house, you can probably grow gardenia. These evergreen shrubs have shiny leaves, and the flowers are pure ivory. Gardenia ‘Mystery’ has large, white, double flowers that bloom over a long blooming period. Keep gardenias pruned regularly or they will become rangy.
Lipstick Plant
Lipstick vine
The vine-like lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus radicans) is a very easy houseplant to grow, and it looks great in a location where it can trail. Its tubular flowers are red and the stems cascade downward. It has a long blooming period and will tolerate low light.
House plants brighten the home, especially those with impressive flowers. It is always fun to try a new house plant, so I encourage people to experiment with something they have not grown before. Many can be taken outdoors during the summer, to improve the looks of the garden, porch, or patio.
African violets seem to do best in a planting soil that has been created for them. Plants need enough water to keep the soil moist but not soggy and Black Gold African Violet Potting Soil fulfills this requirement. The blend of Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, compost, perlite/pumice and earthworm casting is ideal.
Stumped about what small token of appreciation to take to a holiday open house, a close friend’s party, or your annual family gathering this festive season? Consider gifting the host and hostess with a traditional winter-flowering houseplant as a long-lasting reminder of your thoughtfulness.
One of the most popular holiday houseplants associated with our wintertime holidays is the colorful Poinsettia, named in honor of South Carolinian, Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), the first United States Minister to Mexico, who sent their native shrubby Flor de Noche Buena back to the States in 1825, where this colorful spurge was enthusiastically grown and shared.
Variegated forms of poinsettia are a colorful option for the holiday home.
Poinsettias
Its scientific name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, which means “most beautiful”, as poinsettias are indeed stunning. Wide serrated leaves called bracts surround clusters of unassuming flowers at the center of each leaf bunch, and it is these dramatic bracts that turn deep red, pastel pink, bright white, warm salmon, or variegated as nights grow longer and the temperature drops.
When choosing a gift poinsettia, select a plant that doesn’t appear spotted or wilted, and one that has a good overall shape (as euphorbias are extremely brittle, so will break easily if mishandled). Also, choose a plant that hasn’t completely changed bract color and whose true flowers are not yet spent. Keep your potted poinsettia warm when transporting it home or to its final destination to ensure its best survival and long term handsome appearance.
New poinsettia cultivars come in lots of colors and sizes.
Poinsettia Care
Poinsettias are easy to care for if you remember that they prefer bright light, but not direct sunlight; that you should moisten their potting medium as soon as the soil surface feels dry to the touch, but do not allow them to sit in water; and, that these plants prefer consistently warm indoor temperatures ranging between a high of 74 degrees F to no cooler than 60 degrees F at night.
There are euphorbias that are poisonous to humans, but the poinsettia isn’t one of them. Do remember that its milky sap may cause a dermatological reaction for extremely sensitive people. And, you will want to take extreme care around indoor pets, who may be tempted to chew these plants, as the poinsettia is on lists of plants that can potentially harm small animals.
Old cyclamen flowers are best clipped off with a sharp pair of shears.
Florist’s Cyclamen
Another darling of the winter interior plantscape is the popular florist’s Cyclamen persicum. These cheerful, compact, low-growing plants have extremely decorative leaves and send up myriads of backswept flowers that hover just above the foliage. Their naturally rounded habit makes them perfect centerpieces for holiday tables.
Growing Florist’s Cyclamen
These winter-flowering plants do well arranged near large windows as cyclamen thrive in cool rooms that do not get above 68 degrees F during the day, yet can drop down into the 40s—50s at night.
Winter bulbs for forcing are the perfect gift for winter.
Do water them before they wilt, as soon as the potting soil surface feels dry. Since cyclamen are grown from a rooting base called a corm, it is essential to keep water out of the center to keep the corm from rotting. This can be done by sitting a potted cyclamen in a shallow bowl of water for 5-10 minutes, allowing the water to wick up into the potting medium, then removing the pot from the water bath to allow any residual water to drain off before finally returning the cyclamen to its place of honor.
A trick that I had to learn the hard way is that it is best to remove spent cyclamen flowers with scissors. If you pull the stem of a fallen flower or a spent leaf, you may tear the plant’s tuber. A quick clean up about once a week usually is all the time that it takes to keep these delightful plants looking their holiday best.
Amaryllis
Finally, the grand queen of holiday plant gifts has to be the amaryllis (Hippeastrum hybrids). Tall, regal, and always a conversation piece, these amazing tropical-looking houseplants can be gifted already flowering or as large bulbs brimming with potential.
Amaryllis often come in holiday-perfect color combinations.
Growing Amaryllis
If you share an amaryllis bulb as a present, consider adding an appropriately-sized decorative pot along with some quick-draining potting medium, such as Black Gold All-Purpose Potting Soil with RESiLIENCE®. Your container should be close to the size of the bulb, leaving only a ½-inch to an inch of space inside the container at the broadest point of the bulb. Add enough soil to cover and secure the bulb’s roots, then continue tucking soil up the side of the bulb stopping somewhere between the broadest diameter of the bulb to just below its neck.
A newly planted amaryllis bulb only needs bright light to begin sprouting, but it should be moved into full sunlight as it stretches in order to avoid becoming too leggy. And, water sparingly while the bulb is sprouting to prevent rotting the bulb.
If you choose an already budded amaryllis as a present, encourage its new owner to keep it out of direct sunlight in order to preserve the elegant bloom for a longer period of time. (Watch the video below to learn more about growing amaryllis.)
While you are picking up a choice holiday plant for family and friends, remember to be kind to yourself and be sure to take home one or two green presents for your own enjoyment.
We have a lot of orchids in our home that bloom throughout the year. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
While house plants are not generally something that we have many of in our house, we do have several, one of which is a very tough survivor. I enjoy seeing them in other homes that I visit and my wife will often bring home one that is temporary and often related to a particular season. The exception to this would be orchids, which we often have blooming throughout the year.
The puffy blooms of Dracaena fragrans are sweetly fragrant.
Corn Plant
When I mentioned ‘tough survivor’, I was referring to the corn plant (Dracaena fragrans), which my wife bought many years ago. It has not only survived but thrived in our house in spite of often being neglected. The corn plant gets its name from the fact that the leaves look similar to the corn that we grow as a food crop, and quite often plants will have a yellow stripe in the center of each leaf. The plant we have is situated by a window and gets filtered light but no direct sunlight. With their long leaves and erect stems, which can reach 6 ft in length, it can make quite a statement in a room.
While I knew corn plant was a Dracaena, I had never thought about the possibility that it might bloom until I received this letter from a listener to my radio program.
“Two years ago my husband purchased this corn plant for its foliage and neither of us had any idea that it bloomed. Last March we observed blossoms forming but the real surprise came a week later. At dusk we would begin to smell a wonderful almost hyacinth or heavy lilac-like fragrance creeping through the house that lasted most of the night. For well over 2 weeks we enjoyed the blooms and increasing fragrance with approaching night.”
Curious, I then looked up the name and discovered it was Dracaena fragrans, with ‘fragrans’ meaning fragrant. It was a very pleasant learning moment and reminded me that my own plant was in dire need of being replenished with new soil. I took it outdoors and lifted it out of the pot it had been in for many years and shook much of the old soil off. Then I repotted it in Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil, and my plant has since thanked me many times.
We take our staghorn fern house plant outdoors in the summer months.
Staghorn Fern
A group of plants that are sometimes seen in local garden centers are staghorn ferns, (Platycerium spp). These have always interested me, and in our Pacific Northwest climate they can be grown outside in the summer. Staghorn ferns are epiphytes, and in their native rain forest environment they grow attached to tree trunks, though they are not parasitic. We see them in garden centers attached and growing on boards and sometimes on pieces of bark from a tree. Growing outdoors, they need shade or filtered sunlight. Last year I was given one that was growing in a hanging basket, and I hung it from an iron hanger under the shade of fir trees. It thrived and, not wanting to lose it, I brought it indoors before cold weather arrived, and it has continued to thrive. It makes a very dramatic statement in the house.
White Jasmine
White jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) can be a risky plant to grow outdoors here in the winter, but it makes a wonderfully fragrant house plant. They are usually sold in bud and/or bloom, and the white flowers provide long-lasting color and fragrance that lasts for several weeks. They are often sold and marketed around holidays, such as the one in my house with red ribbon for Valentine’s Day.
Since all plants grow outdoors in some part of the world, we need to experiment with those that can adapt to being grown in the home. Conditions in a house vary widely and some plants may perform well in one room and not another. Many gardeners will grow winter-tender plants outdoors in the summer and then use them indoors for the winter. For those with small-space gardens, or those living in apartments or condominiums, a combination of house plants and outdoor potted plants can provide a sense of a garden throughout the year. Whether one gardens indoors or outdoors, or perhaps a combination of both, part of the fun of gardening is experimenting.
Jasmine flowers are wonderfully fragrant and popularly sold during winter holidays.
Before repotting, bathe smooth-leaved house plants in tepid water to help remove dirt or dust.
It is midwinter. You are occasionally stuck indoors, but your fingers are itching to play in the dirt. Why not channel that frustrated gardening energy into repotting some of your indoor house plants? As most houseplants appreciate being bumped up into a larger pot every couple of years, this activity could be beneficial for both you and your green cohabitants.
Notice the circling roots and air pockets in the old potting soil or this pot-bound house plant.
Check the Roots
First, check if the houseplant you have in mind for an overhaul is actually pot bound. The most obvious warning sign that it is time to repot is that your plant dries out quickly between watering, even in wintertime when house plants are generally resting. Then, ask yourself if water runs straight through the pot and out the bottom when you water it. Or, is there a noticeable gap between the inside rim of the pot and the soil?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, take your potted plant where you can work on it, and gently remove it from the container to examine its roots. Are the roots matted? Do roots circle around the outside edge of the potting medium? Are there visible air pockets in the potting medium? Are any roots growing through the drainage hole of your container? Again, if you found some of these markers, you know for certain that you need to repot this plant.
Water your plant in its original container, then allow it to rest for about an hour to reduce stress during transplanting. This waiting period is perfect for hunting for a larger container, thoroughly washing the container you are going to use, and cleaning up the plant.
Measure pots to make sure that you bump up only 1-2″ larger when you repot.
Cleaning New Transplants
When tidying a house plant, please don’t pull off old leaves and spent flowers as this may damage the plant. Instead, take a pair of scissors or sharp pruners to trim off any dead material. You can also trim off the dried brown tips of leaves if you think that this makes the plant look better.
Next, wash dust off smooth-leaved foliage houseplants. These plants can be taken into a sink or shower and rinsed directly with tepid water. Make sure that you also get the undersides of the leaves. If you need to clean your plant in place, just gently wipe each leaf from the trunk or leaf base toward the tip with a damp cloth. I still like to use the old-fashioned recipe of 1 part milk to 2 parts warm water to wash smooth foliage, and this treatment will leave a slight shine behind.
For fuzzy-leaved plants, like African Violets, clean them by misting their leaves with tepid water, then keep them out of any direct sunlight until after they are completely dry.
Friable, organic, soilless potting medium is perfect for house plants.
Check for Insects
Don’t forget to check your plant closely for overwintering insects. Spider mites are notorious for hiding on their almost transparent webs in the foliage of houseplants as these minuscule mites thrive in the low humidity of our nicely heated homes. If you spot an insect problem, treat it before you return the plant to its place.
Open any bag of Black Gold potting medium. You will immediately notice that the soilless potting medium is light and friable, and combines several key ingredients. The primary ingredient is Black Gold® Peat Moss, which is comprised of 100% Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. It is both sustainably harvested and OMRI Listed for organic gardening.
Perlite, which is a lightweight, expanded volcanic rock, is used to improve both drainage and aeration. The specialty mixes often contain vermiculite, a naturally occurring mineral that is highly absorbent, lightweight, and a common addition to soilless growing mixes as it has a high water-holding capacity and neutral pH to promote faster, healthier root growth.
The label lets you know the ingredients are good.
Black Gold also utilizes organic material close to the source, so you will note that its compost components change depending on what part of the country the product was manufactured. Can’t get more local than that!
Repotting
Tip your houseplant out of its original container, then using your fingers, tenderly tease circling roots loose and remove most of the old potting medium from the exposed root ball.
Place a small amount of your new potting medium in the bottom of the new, clean container. Do not place rocks, broken pieces of older pots, or Styrofoam pellets in the bottom of a pot, as this only reduces the amount of potting soil that your plant needs to remain healthy.
A very happily repotted rubber tree sitting next to my desk, again.
Place your plant into its new pot, and begin filling in around the sides with potting medium, making sure that you work the soil into all of the empty spaces and firm it around the edges. It may be tempting to top dress your container, but it is better to leave the original soil line of the plant exposed.
Water the newly transplanted houseplant, again, and fill in any depressions you may see with more potting medium. Allow the plant to rest and drain before placing it back where it is usually situated.
There. You just spent some quality gardening time nurturing your indoor plants. This may help tide you over until you can go back outside.
Some customers buy house plants for the flowers and others buy them for the foliage. Of course, it is a bonus if you can have both flowers and attractive foliage. Also, many flowering house plants bloom in winter when color is most desired.
