Practice your fine motor and dining skills on your new sprouts. Transplanting sprouts using chopsticks is an easy, clean, and fun way to transplant your seedlings into a larger-sized pot. Simply fill your container with Black Gold Seedling Mix. Poke a planting hole into the loose soil with the chopsticks. Lift the seedling, and then gently place it into the waiting hole. Smooth the soil, water it well, and you are done.
Whether you are starting your seeds directly in Black Gold Seedling Mix or testing your seed’s viability by sprouting them between wet paper towels, repurposed fast-food salad containers are an economical and environmentally sustainable way to sprout veggies indoors this Spring. Look for clam shell containers with small vented holes in the top, or punch ventilation holes in the tops and bottoms for best results.
If you are excited by the prospect of growing a unique vine indoors, there is none more interesting than the climbing Rex Begonia Vine, Cissus discolor. The leaves of this quick-growing vine are deep green, decorated uniformly with silvery brushstrokes, and when flipped, the leaves reveal surprising burgundy-red backsides matching its stems and tendrils.
For the best results, give Rex Begonia Vine adequate support, allow it to dry slightly between waterings, and place it near your brightest windows. The best mix for this plant is Black Gold African Violet Mix.
Eye-catching Crotons easily chase away wintertime blues because the warm colors of their variegated leaves intensifies in cooler temperatures and bright sunlight. During winter months keep Crotons out of drafts and fluctuating temperatures to avoid leaf drop, hold back on fertilizer until spring, and remember to only use tepid water. You can begin moving your Crotons outdoors for vacation once nighttime temperatures remain around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Crotons grow best in fertile, organic-rich soil. I recommend Black Gold® Waterhold Cocoblend Potting Soil.
Sansevieria (aka Snake Plants or Mother-in-law’s tongue) are architecturally dramatic houseplants. Native from environs as extreme as the nutrient-competitive jungle floor to arid deserts, this plant definitely doesn’t need pampering.
Sansevieria thrive indoors in bright to low light, with minimal watering, so be sure to grow them in a porous potting soil, such as Black Gold Cactus Mix.
Camellias are indispensable broadleaf evergreens in Southeastern landscapes. Varying in height from 3-foot rounded dwarfs to towering pyramidal trees, their irresistible wintertime blooms are a pleasure to enjoy in situ or indoors in arrangements. A traditional method of displaying cut Camellia flowers is to float the blooms in shallow bowls. Simply remember to refresh the water regularly and keep your arrangement out of direct sunlight in order to keep them fresh and lovely. And don’t forget to feed your beauties regularly with a fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants.
