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Eight Best Flowering House Plants

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.

Citrus of all kinds do require plenty of light or they will get very leggy.  Take them outside in the summer, and clean them up before you bring them indoors in fall, (Click here to learn how to clean house plants in fall before bringing them indoors.) and they will thank you! (Click here to learn more about growing Citrus indoors here.)

Night Blooming Jasmine

Night blooming jasmine

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.

String of Pearls: Living Beads for Hanging Baskets

String of pearls is delicate yet tough, low maintenance and incredibly rewarding.

They are living jewelry no woman can resist, the most coveted house plant, string of pearls. This tender succulent is feminine looking, delicate yet tough, low maintenance and incredibly rewarding. There are two species that can transform traditional or modern spaces, indoors or out. Hang them like living necklaces to bring awe to your home.

Origins

String of pearls (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

The true string of pearls is a South African native from the maritime Cape of Good Hope, so it loves the humid coast. Dubbed Senecio rowleyanus, its leaves are like tiny grey-green peas on the finest dangling stems. Its cousin from drier inland is Senecio radicans, fondly called “string of bananas” due to its sickle-shaped leaves. These do better in hot inland climates. Both make great house plants.

In the wild, both senecios grow as ground covers that root as they spread, so they rarely look like the hanging beauties we buy from the garden center. Yet, when planted to dangle in hanging baskets or raised pots and placed in a bright room, specimens almost look like living sculptures.

In gardens where winters are mild, these senecios can be grown outside, usually in raised pots or baskets that ensure perfect drainage. Indoors they are equally desirous of porous soils and hanging pots that are shallow and wide. Wide pots allow the ground-hugging plants to generate a lot of surface roots to hold soil tightly against the weight of their hanging strands.

Potting

String of bananas (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

A key to success is rapid drainage in your container. The best hanging pots have many holes in the bottom to ensure plants remain dry at the root zone. When creating your hanging string-of-pearls sculpture, start with the right pot—perhaps a mid-century throwback with a macramé hanger. Once you’ve found it, buy your pearls or bananas and get ‘er done.

You’ll need super well-drained potting soil to keep your plants from becoming too wet. When transplanting to your beautiful hanging pot, Black Gold Cactus Mix offers the ideal porosity. This fast-draining potting soil will make it much harder to over water your string of pearls.

When you get ready to transplant these senecios, study the root ball that comes out of the nursery pot. Gently remove any potting soil that does not have roots on the lower half of the mass. This will allow you to better fit the root ball into your shallow pot.

Set the plant, then lightly backfill with Black Gold Cactus Mix that has not been pre-moistened. If it sifts out of the drain holes, line the bottom with salvaged window screen before planting. Finally, tap the pot to help the plant settle into the potting soil, and wait to water. Allow a day or two for any damaged succulent tissues to callus over before you introduce moisture. This is essential to avoiding potential rot at the soil line.

Watering

When you do water, plug the drain of your kitchen sink, add 2 inches of water, and put the whole pot in the sink.  Let it wick up water until you can see wet soil on top.  This means it’s time to drain the sink. Leave the pot to drain for a few hours before returning it to its hanger. This watering method keeps moisture away from rot-prone stems that are the Achilles heel

A happy string of pearls can reach great lengths. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

of these delicate succulents. As strands grow longer, be sure to lay them along the counter on the sink’s edge to keep them from getting wet.

A final key to success with all dangling succulents, particularly fine-stemmed ones like these, is avoiding the wind. Continual swaying wears down the stems along the pot edge, causing injury that limits moisture transfer to the stem tips where new growth occurs.

These senecios are easy to root, so if you find one that works well for you, propagate it.  Just take a runner and bend it up to the soil mass on top where it will root on contact quickly. Then sever it from the mother plant to start a whole new living sculpture of favorite pearls or bananas galore, without risk.

Repotting Houseplants

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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.

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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.
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.
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.

Soil Selection

Now, it is time to repot. I prefer to use Black Gold® Natural & Organic Potting Soil Plus Fertilizer for both indoor pots and outside containers. For my specialty plants, I switch to Black Gold® Cactus Mix, Black Gold® Orchid Mix, Black Gold® African Violet Potting Soil, or Black Gold® Moisture Supreme Container Mix for those plantings that need extra moisture all of the time.

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.
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.
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.

 

Bold Poinsettias for the Holidays

poinsettia
The ivory and ruby-rose flowers of the Ruby Frost poinsettia are elegant and unique.

Today’s poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) break the mold of the simple red or ivory potted holiday plant. Nowadays, they come in lots of bicolors as well as shades of pink, peach, yellow, and chartreuse. Many even have extra-large, double, or uniquely shaped blooms. These new poinsettias are a far cry from the leggy Mexican native shrubs that first became part of the American holiday tradition in the 18th Century. Continue reading “Bold Poinsettias for the Holidays”

Growing Orchids Indoors for Winter Color

Growing Orchids Indoors 01 - Photo by Rich Baer

In spite of the internet and its excess information, one of the last holdouts for actual paper catalogs must be the garden seed companies. When they start to arrive in my mailbox (a real, old fashioned mail box that gets paper letters and catalogs), I know that spring cannot be far away. Just looking at the front covers of these catalogs gets my mind thinking about what I am going to do this year in the garden!

But back to reality: this is January, winter is still here and since we do not have much color outdoors, it is nice to see something blooming in the house. Have you given any thought to growing orchids indoors for winter color in your home? We see blooming orchids at many grocery stores and they are often purchased for their flowers, which last for weeks, and then unfortunately the plant is discarded. Often orchids are overlooked as a permanent house plant, perhaps because of an undeserving reputation of being ‘fussy’ or hard to grow and that is not the case. Orchids do have some unique growing requirements, but certainly nothing that is difficult to learn.

Probably the most unique aspect of growing orchids indoors is that they grow best in an orchid bark rather than a traditional potting soil. Lucky for us Black Gold has the products needed to grow orchids in a home setting. Orchids need extremely fast drainage and often the plants are grown in an actual bark type medium. Black Gold has a quality bark/media mix called Black Gold Orchid Mix that is great for cultivating many orchids. The unique orchid mix is a blended combination of small bark, Canadian Sphagnum peat moss and perlite and/or pumice. There is a small amount of lime added and so this product is ready to use.

Growing Orchids Indoors 02 - Photo by Rich Baer

Many orchid growers like to use just bark as a potting medium and others like to use bark and blend it themselves with pumice or perlite and sometimes even adding small amounts of charcoal.  Charcoal is excellent for helping with aeration and charcoal has the ability to help remove excess moisture.

Black Gold Orchid Mix is good for semi-terrestrial orchids, such as Paphilopedium and Cymbidium, which tend to have thinner roots that need more water retention. Compare this to orchid bark, which is perfect for epiphytic orchid for types like Odontoglossum, Phalaenopsis, and Cattleya and other medium rooted varieties. A note here about orchid roots and that is many orchid plants have a tendency to send out roots above the soil or bark level in the pot and these roots will grow and often extend out over the side of the pot. These roots should NOT be cut off as they are helpful to the overall vigor of the plant.

Growing Orchids Indoors 03 - Photo by Rich Baer

Lisa Long of St. Helens, Oregon is an Oregon State University Master Gardener and has been growing orchids indoors and out for nearly 20 years. She grows orchids on her windowsill in trays of pebbles. A small amount of water is in each tray with the level of it being just below the bottom of the orchid pot. The water will supply much need humidity in a dry indoor environment. The windowsill offers the light conditions they need; bright light but indirect sunlight in the summer. Also, try to keep the plants away from an area with drafts whether it is a door, window or heating vent.

Lisa waters her plants weekly and uses a weak strength of a water soluble plant food. She suggests new orchid growers join a local orchid society if there is one in your area. You can learn many tips from those that have been growing orchids. Learn what species you have and follow a water and fertilization schedule depending on the particular requirements that species has.  Overwatering is the most common cause of orchid death. Lisa also reports that orchids, as well as many other house plants, will benefit from a weekly dusting. Lightly wipe the leaves with a damp paper towel. She also recommends re-potting them about once every year and add fresh bark or whatever potting medium you are using. When you re-pot one, select a pot that is just the next size larger.

Growing Orchids Indoors - 6 up - Photos by Lisa Long

With the vast number of varieties available, it is possible to have orchids in bloom at any month of the year. Do not be discouraged if the plant you bought from a local store does not repeat bloom for a year, or even two. This is not unusual and as long as the plant is healthy, it is just getting settled into its’ new environment.

So the next time you buy a blooming orchid, do not consider it a dispensable, one-time blooming plant to discard when the flower is gone. Instead, treat it with some tender care and you could have a plant that will continue to grow, thrive and bloom for many years.

Photos courtesy of Rich Baer and Lisa Long

Cleaning Your House Plants

House Plant Bath - Pam Beck
Spray your favorite houseplants off in the sink or shower to keep their leaves healthy and dust free.

The cold months are the perfect time to wash away dust and grime that may have accumulated on the leaves of your houseplants by giving them a gentle hosing with tepid water in your tub, shower, or kitchen sink. Washing them will clear the pores on their leaves (called “stomata”) that are responsible for gas exchange and photosynthesis. It will also keep your plants looking attractive. This refreshing bath is especially beneficial to smooth-leafed houseplants, but it is not recommended for succulents or hairy-leaved plants, such as African Violets. Succulents and African violets can be gently cleaned with a brush or a barely damp, gentle cloth to keep their leaves dust and dirt free.

Large-, waxy-leaved plants may develop calcium or other difficult-to-remove grime build up. These can be also be treated with a make-your-own leaf cleaner. Add a drop of dish detergent to a half-gallon of water and add this to your spray bottle. Spray and wipe the leaves off with a gentle, soft cloth and then rinse them with tepid water. A 10% solution of vinegar added to water can also be sprayed on leaves to help remove difficult build up.

After a good wash, your plants will look and perform better.

Amaryllis After Care

PS Amaryllis
If you have any gorgeous, red amaryllis left over from the holidays, treat it well and it will reward you with blooms again next year. After the current flower fades, cut the stem off at the base but leave any newly forming leaves to remain. The foliage carries on photosynthesis to store energy in the bulb before it goes dormant.

Move the potted bulb to new sunny location and keep it adequately watered until the leaves die back naturally. Then remove the bulb from its pot, clip off all residual roots and leaves, then store it in your refrigerator. Replant in new pots next fall with Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil.