Outdoor Plant Indoors
Storing soil, sand and peat for the winter – Before frost gets into the ground, dig a bushel or two of soil for use during the winter. And don’t forget to have on hand a bushel of sand and another of peat or humus.
Planting roses – Fall planting of roses is a risky business in parts of the Middle West north of the latitude of Springfield, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio. South of this line planting has more chance of success; but the sooner it’s done, the better.
Providing surface drainage for the Power beds – Now, while the ground is still workable, is the time to provide surface drainage for the perennial and bulb beds. Dig shallow trenches along the beds to carry away surface water.
Protecting plants in the coldframe – For pansies, forget-me-nots, English daisies and other plants now is a critical time for wintering in the coldframe. Do not put the sash on the frame until average temperatures stay below freezing. And cover the glass so that temperatures don’t rise excessively in the frame.
Planting peonies – Although it is late, peonies can still be planted during the first two weeks of the month.
Forcing bulbs for Christmas bloom – As soon as possible bulbs for Christmas flowering should be planted. The one exception is paper-white narcissus, which should be started about eight weeks before it is to flower.
Top-dressing lilies-of-the-valley – All too often lilies-of-the-valley are left to run wild. Top-dress the planting now with old manure, leafmold or well-rotted compost.
Sowing rye in the vegetable garden – As each row in the vegetable garden is harvested, sow seed of winter rye. It will grow in near-freezing weather and will take up plant food in the soil that would otherwise be lost through leaching. In the spring the rye can be turned under.
Spraying house plants – Before bringing in house plants like rhoeo plant from the garden, spray them with a good all-purpose insecticide to kill aphids, mealy bugs arid other pests.
Storing four-o’clocks – Old-fashioned four-o’clocks can be stored for the winter. The lifted roots are handled as dahlias are. After being reset in spring, the plants will grow larger and flower earlier than those grown the same season from seed.
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How To Purchase Lovely Indoor Plants
Someone can learn a great deal about flowers by looking through an indoor planting catalog, regarding the needs of various plants, how often they sprout flowers and what type of food is needed. When one is considering improving their interior it is wise to consult with a plant catalog for ideas about blooming flowers and various greenery needed to create an indoor floral garden.
When thinking about purchasing plants or cuttings from a catalog, one should take into consideration the reputation of the company prior to ordering. While flowers look beautiful and perfect in pictures, how it grows is predetermined way before it is purchased through a plant catalog. With many people wanting to go-green and being environmentally friendly, many growers are now offering non-chemical based fertilizers and foods for plants. Some make dishonest claims when stating that no toxins are used in the process.
Plants Provide a Healthy Environment
For the person who owns pets, a plant catalog can provide helpful tips about the kinds of plants that may be unsafe to small animals. The catalog should also outline if a particular plant species is an plant attractant to flying pests or other bugs. When choosing an indoor or plants, thinking of something other than the color is important. The health of the plant and how it may change your home environment, should also be taken into consideration.
One aspect about indoor plants care often being looked over is the size the plant will be when it reaches full maturity. Beginning with a smaller plant in a two quart pot, make seem like the best option. However, if the plant becomes root bound, the next logical step is to replant it into a larger container. Flowers from a house plant catalog will have helpful information about the size, so that the small window box may require a larger pot as well as take up more floor room soon.
An added advantage of using a plant catalog is because it gives pictures of different plants being used in various ways in the same location. An example of this would be, placing a smaller pot of spikes or wild grass behind or next to a larger pot containing daisies, can create the illusion of what one can do with a simple house plant. Be open and receptive to ideas, this will make use of plants much more promising, even if these plants are purchased from a local greenhouse. A catalog can offer a wide variety of information useful in keeping plants healthy and thriving
Maintaining The Health Of Your House Plants
Lighting
Indoor house plants prefer an environment where they can get sunlight in a doorway, archway or other location. Direct sunshine for a portion of the day will happily tolerated by plants as long as it is not direct sunlight for long periods of time. Morning or filtered sunshine is ideal and bright light coming through colored or frosted glass panes makes a pretty background for a group of potted palms and can be highly beneficial to their growth. Such glass as this however, can transmit heat and this makes the plant need more frequent watering and attention to humidity needs to be added if needed. Solar films can be applied to windows to reduce heat and glare can be very important to house plants.
Humidity Needs
An indoor environment generally has low humidity and will fluctuate with considerable changes in the outdoor environment, heating and cooling. Plants do not tend to do well with low humidity though there is a wide range of responses within any given group of plants. Some species will not be tolerable of low and varying humidity and will lose their luster and seem dull and can become the victim of a pest attack such as by spider mites or mealy bugs.
The solution to low humidity is to change the environment around the plant and this does not mean you need to increase watering though the plants should not be allowed to dry out either. Many indoor palms have been killed by over watering because its leaves seem to advertise dryness. However, in fact, this dryness is a result of low humidity and cannot be fixed by increasing the amount of water a plant gets. You need to increase the humidity level around the leaves, and this will most likely be a viable solution. This can be done by putting groups of plants together so they can benefit each other. For this reason, a number of plants in each separate pot is way more successful than simply having one. Standing the pot up in a large pan of water or scoria is another useful technique for increasing humidity levels and you can also mist the leaves as well.
Temperatures
Many plants are tropical in nature and therefore do not like low temps, though some indoor species grow quite well in temperate areas. Tropical plants experiencing active growth may experience or damage from temps around 14 C. However, if they are dormant, or growing slow, they can stand lower temps. The period of time the plant is exposed to low temps also has a considerable influence. Low temps are not an issue in tropical climates, however in highland districts and temperate zones, the winter temps inside can drop to a level low enough to damage.
Homes with internal heating can avoid the issues of cold damaging indoor plants, but the resulting dry environment can also cause a lot of water loss. Indoor plants grow more slowly in the winter, not only because of lower temps but also because of a reduced light intensity and shorter daytime hours.
Watering Requirements
Though watering house plants is simple common sense, for many reasons it can create more problems and frustrations than any other dimension of plant care. Healthy plants need to be watered regularly and depending upon the prevailing temps and humidity, these two factors will determine with what frequency. In the summertime, plants can be watered daily if needed, however in the winter time their needs change. The same requirements for an indoor plant applies to plants that grow quickly, they need to be water more frequently then their slower growing counterparts or perhaps not at all, plants need more water in the summer and less in the winter. Plants in bright lighting conditions need to be watered more often because they dry out faster then a plant in a dimmer position.
Other things that need to be thought about, such as the size of the pot, what type of soil mix is being used and how full the pot is of roots and the prevailing temperature and humidity conditions. The potting mix must be allowed to drain properly, but also be able to retain enough water for the plant to be able to grow. Heavier soils can become soggy when watered and are not of any use to plants, as they only lead to root rot and growth retardation or possibly death.
Plants that are kept in drier conditions will lose the shine on their leaves and generally appear unhealthy and possibly droop. Plants that are overly wet suffer damage to the tips of leaves which will turn brown and die. If the plant suffers root damage such as from rotting of root tips, the waterlogged plant will droop and wilt because the bad roots will not be able to extract any water from the soil. Wilting in plants is not a predominant as in other types of plants.
The best watering regime will keep the potting mix in sufficient moisture and keep adequate oxygen and water which will be available for the roots to be able to grow. Regular topping off of the plant will be satisfactory but sometimes the potting mix will need to be soaked until there is water flowing out of the drainage holes. This is to ensure a complete watering of the roots and it also removes salts which may have built up from the breakdown of any fertilizers used. This process should be done outdoors on in the sink or bathtub.
In many groups of indoor plants, some of them are going to require more watering than others. It is tempting to water all the plants at one time, however this should not be done and the individual needs of each plant need to be taken into consideration. If all the plants are watered at the same time, more vigorously growing plants can dry out and the less vigorous ones will be overloaded with water.
Resting & Recuperation
Indoor house plants, just like any plant inside, will appreciate an occasional refreshing up sometimes. This may consist of hosing down the plant to wash the dust from the leaves and to refresh the plant in general. This act is very important because it removes pest build up and discourages mites, which prefer a dry environment. It is also good practice to put plants outdoors on a rainy day, but not to leave them outside in direct sunlight. Sudden over exposure can result in plants being burned up, because they are not used to it.
To help your indoor palms get a rest, move them into a shady position in the garden or bush house can be very beneficial. They are well watered, repotted and fertilized if needed and generally allowed to just recuperate and achieve new growth. Once done the plants can be moved back inside and with careful planning, you can do a series of plants in this type of cycle. Those indoors will reach their peak and maintain that state. Your plants should be moved outside for a rest period every 2-3 weeks after an initial two month period indoors.
Fertilizer Needs
Indoor palm trees benefit greatly from having fertilizer applied, but this should only be applied during the warmer months of the year when the plant it actively growing. Fertilizers that are applied during the winter time when growing is slower, to plants that may be starving or sick, will provide no added benefit and may result in the plant being burned up. Fertilizers are best when applied in smaller doses and at regular times, and the soil should be watered completely and regularly after it is applied. Quick-release fertilizer should never be added to plants that are newly potted or to those who have damaged root systems, weak or newer roots are extremely easy to burns.
There is a wide array of products that can be used for indoor fertilizer, and most will work with plants. The best fertilizers are usually mixed with the potting soil to increase initial growth and this can be supplemented with side dressings if growth needs a quick boost. Complete mixes are usually used in the potting mix and these can either be a quick or slow releasing type. Organic manure and fertilizers can be extremely helpful, but some such as blood and bone are not the best idea because they produce a bad odor and draw animals to the garden.
You can do supplementary fertilization of plants using a slow-release product, plant pills or a liquid preparation. Liquid mixes are extremely beneficial and are safer except when the plant has been over watered. A cheap and useful nitrogenous solution can be mixed by adding 1 ” tsp. of urea or ammonium nitrate to a can of water. Commercial preparations have the amounts on the back of the packet and these instructions should be followed to the letter. Some nutrients can be applied through the leaves directly and this process is known as foliar feeding. This method is less satisfactory than the ones mention previously, and it is also more expensive than other root mixtures.
Pests
It is also important to mention that potted plants may have more of a susceptibility to pests than other plants that are garden grown. The three most common pests that can attack potted plants are; mealy bugs, spider mites and scale insects. Spider mites love dry conditions and are a prime pest of indoor plants. Their damage can be reduced by frequent misting or hosing with water. Mealy bugs and scale insects can be present on any tupe of palm, however they may become very severe to those plants that are compromised or neglected. Healthy plants are better able to resist pests than a weak one.
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