Arrowhead plant

The Arrowhead plant is a common houseplant that likes bright light, but no direct sunlight.  It prefers south facing windows but will do fine in a west exposure or even an east exposure, if it is placed close to the east facing light source.  The scientific name of the houseplant Arrowhead is Syngonium podophyllum.  This is different than the Arrowhead plant which is often found growing wild along waterways and streams in most of the United States. That plant is Sagittaria latifolia. 

Syngonium podophyllum does well in containers.  It is a room brightening plant with its highly variegated light green and white leaves.  The young leaves are more heart shaped, but as they mature they become the classic arrowhead shape.  Arrowhead has a sprawling habit and can be trained onto a trellis as a climbing plant, or pruned hard to keep it as a bushy, short stemmed specimen plant. 

Most sources will tell you to prune your Arrowhead in the early summer for best results.  I prune mine whenever it starts to look like the growth is getting out of control.  It has not suffered any harm from those untimely prunings.  The pruning cuttings can easily be propagated in water.  Simply make a straight, sharp cut on the ends of the stems and place them in a glass of fresh water that covers at least 6 inches of the stem.  A quart sized canning jar works well for rooting.  Replace the water with fresh water at least once a week and carefully transplant to a loose potting mix when you see good sturdy roots, usually within two to three months.

The Arrowhead should be kept in moist potting soil that is allowed to dry slightly between watering.  It is a moisture loving plant and will complain if allowed to get too dry.  As with most plants, it rests during late fall and winter and requires less watering during that time.  It does not tolerate temperatures less than 50 degrees. 

Since about the only thing I do in the house during the summer months is sleep, I move my Arrowhead outside with all my other houseplants.  Otherwise it would be severely neglected.  Arrowhead will only tolerate sheltered, shady outdoor locations and only after nighttime temps aren't dropping below 50 degrees.  It requires watering nearly daily when outdoors. 

I have found the perfect place for mine - it sets right at water's edge at the Woodland Fairy Garden's pool.  I just set the bottom of the planter right in the shallowest water of the pool's edge so it can draw moisture up through the drainage holes and it is perfectly happy there.  The fairies love to sit in the mist under its canopy. 



Wiese Acres Woodland Fairy Garden Pool



When is a Variety a Culitvar?

We've all heard the terms "variety" and "cultivar" when referring to plants.  We've also all seen descriptive names applied to plants, such as Blue Mouse Ears hosta or Tomato Soup echinacea.  Variety and cultivar are often used interchangeably, which for the most part doesn't make any difference.  But, sometimes it does.

A "variety" is a plant that occurs in nature - the wild coneflowers that grow on the prairies of North Dakota,  for example.  A "cultivar" is a plant that has been reproduced through some type of human intervention.  The word culitvar itself comes from the combination of the words culitvated and variety.  The human intervention might not amount to much - it might be just the process of collecting the seeds and growing them in a controlled environment to enable mass production.  Often, though, the reproduction is done "vegetatively", through stem cuttings, like I did with my jade plant last weekend.  Therein lies the reason it might be helpful to know if what you have is a "variety" or a "cultivar".

A variety will almost always reproduce from seed and it will come true to the parent plant, meaning the plant you start from seed will be identical to the plant from which you collected the seed.  A culitvar, on the other hand, is only guaranteed to retain the characteristics of its parent plant for its generation.

Phlox paniulcata 'Bright Eyes'

 So, if you collect seed from your beautiful 'Bright Eyes' phlox so that you can start dozens more plants just like the one you already have, you might be disappointed when, instead of having the striking light pink surrounding the hot pink eye, you have a plain old pink flower.  That doesn't mean it won't still be beautiful - it just means it will be different.  If you divide the root ball of your 'Bright Eyes' and start new plants that way, you are vegetatively propagating and your new plants will be identical to your parent plant.

Most of the plants we see today are culitvars.  When you see names like 'Bright Eyes', or 'Music Box' shrub rose, or 'Early Girl' tomatoes, you are seeing the name of the cultivar.  If you were to see the full name of 'Bright Eyes', you would first see Phlox (genus) paniculata (species) 'Bright Eyes' (culitvar).  The culitvar generally is an English name that is either the name of a person or in some way describes the plant.  Written correctly, it is capitalized and placed in single quotes. 



var. Echinacea angustifolium

A variety name is often a latin name and the plant is likely more widely known by a common name, e.g. the native prairie plant known commonly as  purple coneflower would be a variety named Echinacea angustifolia.  If you were buying this it may have the abbreviation var. before the name.


Now flowers are beautiful, whether they are varieties or cultivars and vegetables produce regardless of what you call them.  But if you are a seed saver, it is good for you to know which seeds will give you the exact same plant as you had before and which might produce something either just a little or a lot different.



Wiese Acres Music Garden

What's in a Name?

 Virtually every plant has at least two names:  the common name that we usually refer to it by, and its scientific name.  There are no rules about how common names are used but each scientific name can belong to only one plant.  So, it's a good idea to know at least a little bit about scientific names or you could get yourself into trouble. 


Baptisia australis

One good example is a plant we commonly call "False Indigo" here in North Dakota.  When I go to a garden center looking for "False Indigo", I am thinking of a gorgeous herbaceous perennial member of the pea family that blooms with beautiful bright blue flowers in early spring, appropriately known as Baptisia australis. 






Amorpha fruticosa

What I might accidentally take home, though, is another "False Indigo" that will turn out to be a scraggly, semi-invasive, blah looking shrub, more appropriately known as Amorpha fruticosa.  Both Baptisia australis and Amorpha fruticosa are members of the pea family, so their immature foliage is very similar.  Without checking scientific names of the two, you might take that Amorpha fruticosa home and not even know that's what you have until you discover this somewhat unsightly shrub attempting to take over your world.

Common names are made up by anyone who wants to call a plant something.  For example, years ago I planted an herb called valerian (Valeriana officinalis), also commonly called All-Heal plant, for its supposed medicinal qualities.  The first year, I fondly called this plant "my valerian".  The second year, I simply called it "valerian", and not quite as fondly.  Over time, that plant has become commonly known in my garden as "That Dang Plant" as in "What's That Dang Plant doing here?".    That is my "common" name for that plant, and it is not traceable to anyone but me.  Eventually, those with whom I unknowingly shared my valerian in the first years of its existence may also come to call it "That Dang Plant".  But, no one will be able to trace from where that name originated.

Scientific names, on the other hand, must comply with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) and there is very specific documentation that is maintained to assure the plants are always identified correctly.    The scientific name is always a two-part name.  The first word, e.g. Baptisia, designates the genus, or a major sub part of a plant family.  Australis is the species name, which distinguishes this plant from all others, even in the same genus.  In "official" literature, both the genus name and the species name are italicized and the genus name is always capitalized and the species name is not. 

Every plant is also classified into a plant "family", which, in the case of Baptisia australis and Amorpha fruticosa, is the Fabaceae, or legume, family.  Most of the time, the "family" name is not used as part of the plant's name.  If you see any word ending in "aceae", you'll know that is the name of the "family" to which the plant belongs.  Then there are "orders' and "classes" and "divisions", all the way up to the "Plant Kingdom".  But, unless you are a serious botanist or horticulturalist, having a basic understanding of family, genus, and species is sufficient.

So, to put it in terms of the number of plants you might find in each grouping, the "family" will be the largest.  There are virtually hundreds of plants in any given family and they all share common characteristics, even though the plants may appear very different.  Then, within the family, you will have the large sub-group "genus", which is a grouping of plants that are in the same family but share even more common characteristics than others in the family.  These plants will often look similar enough that we can readily recognize that they are like other plants we've seen.  The final classification is the species, and there is only one plant that is known by the species name.  Again using my Baptisia as an example, I know when I see Baptisia australis, that my plant will have indigo blue flowers.  That is the only plant that can be called Baptisia australis.  If I want the same plant with yellow flowers, I will look for Baptisia tinctoria, or for white flowers, I will look for Baptisia alba.

And, if I am careful to look for the correct genus and species name, I won't come home with a homely shrub when I really wanted a beautiful perennial.

More about jade plants

Not only are jade plants easy to propagate, they are one of the easiest house plants to grow.  They absolutely love the warm, dry conditions most of us have in our homes.  They like bright light, but they aren't going to complain as long as they receive at least 4 hours of direct sun or bright light from a south or west facing window each day.  They are rarely struck by diseases or insect infestations.  They are very long-lived, grow well in containers, and seldom need re-potting.

They are, in my opinion, the perfect houseplant!

Jade plants are succulents in a genus called Crassula.  Crassula ovata is the one most commonly seen in florist shops and garden centers.  It has a stout brown trunk with broad, glossy, green succulent leaves.  It produces small star-shaped white flowers. 

Another of my favorite cultivars is the Red Jade Tree,  Crassula ovata 'California Red Tip'.  This plant has smaller trunks and leaves, and the leaves have a purple-red edge to them.  When I move my Red Tip outside onto our west-facing deck for the summer, the sun exposure turns the leaf edges a beautiful burgundy red color and deepens the green of the center of the leaf for a very strking combination.

A cultivar that is becoming more commonly seen is Tricolor jade, Crassula ovata 'Tricolor'.  Tricolor has cream and pink stripes on glossy green, pointed leaves.  This will bloom with pink and white flowers when it is a mature plant, but the leaves are so striking themselves that you will likely forgive it readily if it never blooms for you. 

Regardless of the cultivar, jade plants are another species that thrive on benign neglect.  In addition to at least four hours of bright sun daily, they also do their best with daytime temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees and nighttime temps between 50 and 55 degrees, but again, they won't complain too much if it isn't that cool at night.  They don't like to be exposed to drafts, especially cold air, and while they like to be very close to the light source, their foliage should not be allowed to touch the windowpanes, especially in very hot or very cold weather.  The soil should be kept evenly moist in the spring and summer while the plant is actively growing and in the late fall and winter when the plant is resting, the soil should be allowed to dry between waterings.  Jade plants need very little fertilzing; a balanced houseplant fertilizer every three to four months is plenty. 

Jade plants do their best when they are root bound in very small containers.  Planting a jade plant in too large a container will cause the trunks to become "wimpy".  A wimpy trunk will not be able to support the weight of the large, succulent leaves and it will collapse.  Since there is a lot of top growth in that small pot, jade plants do not do well in lightweight, plastic or resin containers.  Choose the heavist pot you can find for the amount of soil your jade plant needs so that the weight of the pot keeps the plant from tipping over.  Broad based planters are also desirable.  Jade plants are often used for bonsai plantings because they do so well in small containers with minimal soil.

If your jade plant does require repotting, do so only right when new growth begins in the spring and do not give it any fertilizer for at least the first four months after repotting.  This will give your jade plant the best chance to re-establish a strong root structure to hold the top heavy plant in place.  You may need to provide staking for your plant for a time after re-potting, but the staking should be removed as soon as possible to encourage strong root growth.  Try not to move your newly repotted jade plant any more than is absolutely necessary, to keep from disturbing the new root growth.

Most of the problems gardeners have with jade plants comes from treating them too well.  Root rot is the most common affliction of jade plants and is a direct result of over-watering or planting in a soil mix that doesn't drain quickly enough.  Plants that are kept too moist are also more inviting to insects, especially mealybugs and spider mites.

Mealybugs are those little white "cotton balls" that appear on your plants. Spider mites will cause the leaves to look dusty or speckled. Both are easily wiped off with a cloth saturated in 70% rubbing alcohol.  Now, strange as it may seem, the alcohol is the thing to use rather than insecticidal soap.  Insecticidal soap is more likely to damage the leaves of your jade plant than rubbing alcohol. 

I have had my jade trees for years and have never had an insect problem, so I think it is safe to say that these are rare problems.  I move the jade trees outside in the summer and give them a good shower with the garden hose before I bring them back in for the winter.  That alone has kept them insect free.

If you are looking for a beautiful, easy care, long-lived houseplant, jade trees are a very good choice.

Another way to sterilize potting soil and propagating jade plant

After spending the last few days with boxes of tissues, bottles of decongestants, cough syrup, and not much ambition, today I finally mustered the energy to check on the plants.  I have one young kitty who is just a bit too inquisitive for his own good.  He's broken several things by attempting to quickly jump away, in hopes that he can convince me he's innocent of any wrong-doing.  Today, it was the tip of one segment of my jade plant (Crassula ovata).   Now, I have a difficult time throwing away any plant or piece of plant that might have a chance to grow.  And jade plants are notoriously easy to start from slips or cuttings, or even just a piece of leaf. 

So, it was time to do some planting.  I didn't have any sterilized potting soil and I really didn't want to take the time to sterilize a batch in the oven.  A horticulturist friend told me he's had very good luck sterilizing his potting soil in the microwave.  I decided to give it a try.  I placed the potting soil in a plastic bag, left the bag unsealed, and put it in the microwave.  I used about four quarts of soil and microwaved it for three minutes, stirred, then microwaved another three minutes.  When I first put the bag in the microwave, I had a vision of what had happened when I'd attempted to warm a flannel blanket in the microwave back in my nursing days (suffice it to say the "what were you thinking" question from the fire deparment was a bit difficult to answer).  But, the soil was nuked with no untoward incidents.  The bag was quite warm when I removed it from the microwave, so next time I'll be sure to have a towel or hot pad handy to protect my hands.  It worked great and instead of having to work on sterilizing for 30 to 45 minutes in the oven, I was done in 6 minutes.  Oh, and for anyone who doesn't like the "earthy" smell from sterilizing in the oven, there was no smell associated with the microwaving.  I''ll defnitely use this method again for small amounts of soil.

I allowed the soil to cool, moistened it slightly, and then prepared the "cutting" from my jade plant for planting.

If you are taking a fresh cut, it is important to let the cut end dry and form a callous before putting the cutting in soil.  Obviously, Lynx, the brat cat, had been exploring around my plant before today, because the broken end was already healed, so I could plant right away.  I dipped the end in a little rooting hormone.  This is not mandatory, but it does help with the starting of roots and also helps preventing rotting of the cutting.  My jade plant, as succulents often do, had already developed external "roots" along the lower edges of the stem so I simply set those roots on the potting soil, covered it lightly with more soil, and put it in a cloche, or place pot and all inside a partially sealed plastic bag, to help the moisture stay more consistent and to keep it in a warmer environment until I see signs of new growth.  I'll keep it out of direct sunlight until new growth starts, then gradually introduce it to more direct sun.  

You can also start a new jade plant from a single leaf.  To do this, snip a nice, healthy leaf from the parent plant.  Dip just the cut tip of the leaf in rooting hormone, then lay the leaf in a pot, with the cut end on top of the soil and the upper portion of the leaf resting against the side of the pot, off the soil surface.  Lightly cover just the cut tip with soil and water only from the bottom to avoid disturbing that light layer of soil.  Then treat it as you did the planted cutting.  It takes longer to see new growth using this method, but it is still very easy to do.

Since my cutting already had a pretty good start of external roots, I'm confident I'll have a new jade plant to share with someone before too very long.

Holiday Cactus, part 2

Regardless of which type holiday cactus you bring home, it is native to the tropical jungles of South America.   While they are true cacti, these are  "jungle cacti" and they require very different treatment than the cacti species from arid or desert regions.  Still, they are very easy to care for and don’t require a lot of effort to bloom for you year after year.  They are long-lived plants, and are often handed down from generation to generation. 

All of the jungle cacti species thrive on "benign neglect".  They want a little bit of watering, an occasional feeding, and a temperature range between 40 and 100 degrees fahrenheit.  That's not hard for most of us to do.  They also like humidity between about 50 to 60%, which may require placing them in a room with some extra humidification or using a pebble tray like we talked about with orchids.

Once your cactus finishes blooming, it needs a rest period for a couple months.  During this time, your cactus is going to appreciate a slightly cooler environment, out of direct sunlight and water only when the soil is dry several inches below the surface.  Don't give the plant any fertilizer during this time.  I will tell you, though, that the only things I have found my cacti to be really particular about during this time are the watering and fertilizing.  I'm essentially a lazy gardener, so I leave my plants in the same brightly lit location as they were in before blooming and they do just fine.  

During this time of rest, you can also re-pot your holiday cacti, if they need it.  They love to be root bound and will bloom much more profusely when they are, so they rarely need to be re-potted.  I only re-pot mine when they have been in the same pot long enough for the soil to be "worn out", usually several years. 

When you start to see evidence of new growth (lighter, tender tips at the ends of the stem segments), you can begin watering more frequently.  You can also prune the plant during this time, if you want to keep its growth in check.  Just snip the stem segments you wish to prune away at any joint along the segment.  These prunings can be easily rooted for more plants, if you wish. 

April through September is the plant’s growing season. Feed the cacti about twice a month with a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 or 20-20-20.  Water only when the top inch of soil feels dry and with only enough water to moisten the root ball – don't soak the plant, and don’t leave water in the drainage tray. 

Holiday cacti benefit from a summer outdoors in a sheltered, partial sun location.  I move mine out as soon as night time temperatures are consistently above 40 degrees and leave them out there until fall brings night time temps down below that again.  Do not expose your holiday cacti to freezing conditions, though.  They are tropical plants and will be damaged by temperatures below 40 degrees and killed by temperatures at or below freezing. The advantage of moving my plants outside is that they are naturally exposed to the changing temperature and light cycles they require to bloom.  I simply bring them inside in the fall to a brightly lit location, free of drafts and with cool night time temps and wait for the buds to appear.

If you aren't able to move your cacti outside for the warmer months, you may need to put in a little more effort to get them to bloom.  September through October is the most critical time for ensuring your holiday cactus will bloom. Beginning in September, you'll need to put your holiday cactus in a cool room with indirect bright light for 10-12 hours and total darkness for 12-14 hours. “Total darkness” means no light whatsoever, natural or artificial light. You can easily achieve this by putting your plants in an unused bedroom or other room where you are not going in and out turning lights on and off.  You can also move your plant to a dark closet, or carefully cover it with light blocking  fabric for the required 12 to 14 hours each day.  Your plant will need these conditions for 6-8 weeks to ensure flower bud formation. Stop fertilizing, and reduce watering to keep the soil just barely moist (once every couple of weeks) during this time.

When your plant is full of flower buds, you can stop the light-dark routine and bring your plant out to be enjoyed. Be aware that moving your plant at this stage will result in the dropping of some of the buds - they resent being disturbed from their accustomed location.  This is another advantage of placing your cactus outside and allowing the process to occur naturally - you bring it inside and set it where you want it to be before the buds begin to set and then don't need to move it until the following spring. 

Once the buds are set, resume moderate watering. The cooler the location, the longer the blooms will last!  Keep the plant in a location with bright, indirect light that is free from drafts.  Don't place your holiday cactus near a heat register, exterior door, or drafty window, and keep it out of direct sunlight.   Easter cacti are more susceptible to bud and even stem segment drop from moving or exposure to drafts, so it is essential to keep those in a protected location.

In exchange for that little bit of water, an occasional feeding, and the right amount of heat and light, your holiday cacti will reward you with stunning displays for many, many years.

Holiday Cactus

Holiday Cactus

Plants of the Schlumbergera genus are often called Christmas cactus, supposedly because they have a tendency to bloom at Christmas time.  Many of mine apparently don’t understand how to read the calendar and are generally finished blooming by Christmas. 

Or, maybe it isn’t the plants that don’t understand.   There are different species of the Schlumbergera cacti group and they are all genetically predisposed to bloom at different times, although all generally within the September to March time frame. 

One commonly seen type is the “Truncata” group.  These are the plants with stem segments with “teeth”.  The stem segment is smooth on top but has a pronounced jagged edge.  The flowers are held more upright on the stem and the pollen of these flowers is yellow.  These are the earliest blooming of the Schlumbergera genus and are appropriately called “Thanksgiving Cactus”.  This plant has an upright growth habit rather than sprawling.   This is also the plant that is commonly marketed as “Christmas Cactus” because of its earlier bloom time.  Most of us plan our Christmas decorating well in advance of the holiday itself, and we are much more drawn to plants in full bloom.  So, along about Thanksgiving time, we see the gorgeous, fully blooming “Christmas” cactus start to arrive in the stores.  The problem is, they are often all done blooming by the time Christmas actually arrives and you have a nice, green plant but no flowers to make your home festive.

Another common type is the Buckleyi group which has rounded, symmetrical stem segments with less pronounced teeth.  This plant has a sprawling habit with pendulous stems that hang down over the edges of the planter.  The flowers will appear about 4 to 6 weeks after its earlier blooming cousin and will hang down from the stem segment.  The pollen of this type is pink.  This would be the true “Christmas” cactus type.

There is yet another holiday plant called Easter cactus or spring-blooming cactus, scientific name Rhipsalidopsis.  It is a different genus than its earlier blooming counterparts, but essentially grows the same way.  The Easter cactus has very smooth, rounded stem segments and tiny bristles at the end of each stem segment.  And, of course, true to its name, it blooms in spring, generally around late March or early April - Easter time.  The flower of the Easter cactus is more star shaped and grows upright from the stem segment.

The Schlumbergera, in proper conditions, will bloom twice a year, once in the fall and then again in early spring, which only adds to the confusion over whether the plant is a Thanksgiving , Christmas or Easter cactus.     Some people have given up trying to figure out which is which and just call them all “Holiday” cactus.  That works, since they all require the same basic care.  But, if you care about when your plant blooms, it is nice to know how to recognize which plant is likely to bloom for which holiday. 

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to keep your holiday cactus happy and healthy.

Dusting Day

I realized as I looked at my plants this morning that dusting day needs to happen soon.  Houseplants are just like any other flat surface in your house - they collect dust, greasy residue from cooking, and other pieces of debris.  Not only is "dirt" on your houseplants unsightly, it also isn't good for your plants. 

Plants need clean leaves to breathe, eat and absorb sunlight.  Plants take carbon dioxide from the air in through the pores in their leaves and, working with the sunlight they absorb, complete the process of "photosynthesis".  Photsynthesis is how the plant produces its food and then expires oxygen into the air for us to breathe.  Trying to complete this process through dust and greasy residue on leaves is sort of like us trying to sip mashed potatoes through a straw - it just doesn't work very well.

There are several ways to accomplish cleaning your houseplants.  You can give them a "sponge bath", using a soft sponge, like the type used for baby bathing, and wipe each leaf, upper and lower surfaces, individually.  You can also use a soft cloth, like old t-shirts, to do this wiping.  The key is a soft, non-abrasive cloth or sponge.  This works well for large, smooth leaves, but for those tiny leaved plants, it's a long, tedious process that requires far more patience than I possess.

So, I opt for giving my plants a shower or tub bath rather than a sponge bath.  Large plants are lifted into the bathtub and placed under the shower streaming with room-temperature water.  I still have to wipe some on the underside of the leaves, and other places where the shower spray can't reach.  If you have a flexible shower head, you can place the pot on a stool that gets them high enough to reach everything with the shower head and save yourself having to wipe the undersides and hard to reach spots.  

Any plants which will fit in my laundry room sink are placed there, where I can use the sprayer hose to spray the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves.  I try very hard to fit most everything there.  When I have to use the tub and shower, I usually end up wetter than the plants.  I can control this a little more in the laundry room.

Regardless of whether you use a sink or bathtub, the water should never be warmer than room temperature, and the planter must always be left to drain well after this process.    You also need to shake or wipe off any standing water, and let the plant dry well in a spot out of direct sunlight.  Keeping them out of direct sunlight until after the plants are dry will ensure that they don't get sunburned through the water droplets.

African violets and other fuzzy leaved plants also need to be cleaned.  I know we are used to hearing that we should never get water on the leaves of African violets.  That's true to a certain extent, but the little hairs on the violet leaves collect more dust and debris even than a smooth leaved plant.  So, what to do to clean them? 

Well, I just stick mine in the laundry room sink and spray away.  The "after-care" is what needs to be a little different.  After spraying, I give the plants a gentle shake to get the majority of the excess water off the leaves, then use a soft terrycloth towel to completely dry each leaf.  I need to make sure there are no water droplets pooling in the crown of the plant, as well.  Then, I take a hair dryer on the cool  setting and blow air across the plants for a few minutes.  I usually leave my violets set in a dark corner where there is no chance they will be exposed to sun for the next 24 hours or so.

Houseplants benefit from a good cleaning every couple months or so, but please don't use the commerically available "leaf-shine" products on your plants.  These are oil based products that clog the pores of the plants and will eventually make them sickly.  Likewise, shampoos and most other "human" soaps and detergents are not good for plants.  I do sometimes use a a small amount of liquid, non-detergent type soap for plants that have greasy residue, particularly those I keep in the kitchen.  Ivory is a good soap for this purpose.  I've also heard some people advise using milk to clean your plants.  In addition to the thought of souring milk hanging around on the leaves of your plants being kind of icky, the fats in milk can clog the pores. 

You'll keep your plants happiest with a shower of just plain, room temperature water every couple months.  This serves the additional purpose of saturating your potting soil well and when you allow that water to drain away, it's taking some of those built-up fertilizer salts down the drain with it.  so, clean away.

Desert Rose

We are back in the deep freeze again.  Sunday the temperature was in the upper 40's.  Snow melt water was running everywhere and we had "avalanches" coming off the steel roof all day long.  This morning, the actual temperature is minus 7 degrees and with wind chill, it feels like nearly 30 below.  Brrrr.  Still no outdoor gardening around here.

Another plant that spends time outdoors as long as temperatures don't drop below 50 degrees and the rest of the time in the four season patio is my Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) plant.  It is a deciduous plant that hangs on to its leaves until December, then finally yields to the short number of daylight hours and loses most, if not all, of its leaves until spring.  Even without leaves, Desert Rose is an interesting plant, with its swollen, elephant foot like stems.  In the spring, it will develop clusters of narrow, oval, bright green leaves and finally burst into a mass of bright red flowers that nearly cover the plant. 

Desert Rose is a succulent and needs to be watered moderately.  In the winter, when the plant is nearly dormant, I water once a month or less.  If the stems begin to look shriveled or feel softer, it is time to water.  In the summer, it needs to be watered to maintain a consistent soil moisture, but never any standing water.  This is a plant that if you are going to err in the way you water, it better be on the side of not watering.  Too much water will cause the roots and the bulbous stems to rot. 

Desert Rose prefers a well-drained, sandy and slightly acidic potting mix.  If the potting mix contains peat, it probably is going to have that slightly acidic formulation, so this isn't something I really worry about.  Fertilizing with a 10-10-10 fertilizer is generally sufficient, but when I want to foster more blossoms, I give it some high phosphate fertilizer, such as a 10-50-10 mix. 

It requires full sun, so indoors it is right next to the west windows.  As the weather begins to warm, I gradually acclimate it to the outdoors by first moving it outside to a shaded, sheltered area and increasing its exposure to the sun each day until I finally get it into a full sun location.  This is also a time when I prune off any leggy, scraggly stems.  This pruning fosters development of more buds.  Then I can sit back and watch the glorious bloom show.

Plumeria

Another of the cuttings in the care package I received from Louisiana was a plumeria.  When I received the cutting, it was about 12 inches long and looked like a piece of green wood.  It came with instructions to let it dry for about two weeks before dipping the base in rooting compound and planting in well-drained soil.  I watered it sparingly and waited for it to grow.  And waited.  And waited.  Yes, it took a very long time to show any signs of life, but the cutting remained green and healthy looking, so I knew it was ok.

Now, my plumeria is about 4 feet tall.  In the summer, it has a nice, rounded canopy of glossy, large green leaves.  While night time temps are no lower than 50 degrees, my plumeria lives outdoors in a sheltered, sunny location.  In colder weather, it lives in the four season patio.  This plumeria is a deciduous variety, so by mid-December, it looks like a green log with maybe one or two leaves left at the very top.  Those leaves eventually drop off and the plumeria looks like it has died.  During that time, the plumeria wants no fertilizer and wants its soil kept on the dry side.  Keeping the soil too moist during this dormant period will result in root rot and death of the tree.

In a couple months, I'll see new leaves begin to emerge, and if I'm lucky, maybe a bloom or two.  When new growth begins in the spring, I'll begin watering it to keep the soil just barely, but evenly, moist and fertilizing it with a high phosphate fertilizer, a 10-50-10 formulation.  The plumeria requires heavy feeding to produce blooms, so it needs to be fertilized every two weeks during the growing season.  I'll also move it into a full sun location and when it's warm enough outdoors, I'll gradually acclimate it to a full sun location out in the yard.

Last spring was the first time my plumeria bloomed.  It produced one beautiful, heavenly scented light pink flower.  That means I will have one more branch on my tree this year.  Plumerias only produce a branch when they bloom.  I am anxiously awaiting the time when my many-branched plumeria is covered with enough beautiful and fragrant blossoms to create my own fresh Hawaiian lei.

Night blooming cereus

A few years ago the heater in our four season patio failed.   Of course, heaters only seem to fail on the coldest nights of the year, so by the time we checked on the patio in the morning, the 30 below zero outside temp had brought the temperature inside the patio to well below freezing.  My peace lily survived the deep freeze, but most everything else was non-revivable. 

That day, I posted a note about the loss of all my beloved plants on a national gardening forum.  A week and a half later, I received a package from a lady in Lousiana whom I have never met.  She felt so bad for me with the loss of all my plants, that she'd cut slips from some of hers and overnight mailed them to me.  You've gotta love the generosity of gardeners, don't you?

 One of those slips was a night blooming cereus.  Night blooming cereus is a form of spineless cactus whose bright green glossy leaves grow in a sprawling fashion.  They produce large, white, very fragrant blossoms that begin to open around sunset, reach their full glory around midnight, and collapse and fall by dawn.  The plant generally does not begin to bloom until it is about 5 years old and initially only produces a few blooms.  As the plant becomes more mature, it will set buds along the entire length of the long, wavy leaves and bloom from midsummer through late fall. 

My new plant is just getting to blooming age, so I am hoping for at least a couple blossoms late this summer.  One of the challenges of growing night-blooming cereus in North Dakota is that it needs complete darkness during the time it is setting buds and blooming.  It sets buds in mid-summer, a time when we have very few hours of complete darkness here.  In the past, I've found that sets the bloom time back some, to later in summer and fall, when the nights have started getting longer again.

Night blooming cereus likes bright sun and tolerates very hot temperatures.  I move it outside in the summer and back into the patio right next to a west window when the nights start getting down into the 40's. 

Care needs to be taken when moving the plant.  They have a shallow root system and, with their long heavy succulent type leaves, they are very top heavy.  They should be planted in a heavy pot to add some weight to the bottom.  A porous pot is best, since these plants do not tolerate any water standing around their roots.

They should be planted in a rapidly draining sandy soil and watered only when the soil has dried completely.  Night blooming cereus are not hungry plants and require feeding with a standard houseplant fertilizer only about once a year, in the spring.  They grow quickly and may need to be pruned occasionally to keep them in check.  They can also be grown on a trellis, but this tends to make the roots less stable and the plant more top-heavy over time. 

Night blooming cereus are very easy to grow.  It takes a lot of patience to wait for a night-blooming cereus to bloom, but look at this picture of one of the blossoms - worth waiting for, don't you think?

I'm looking forward to mine!

Orchids, Final Installment

It happened again!  I had to walk through that garden center.  Orchids were 75% off in an after Valentine's clearance.  They were a little stressed, but some of them still looked good enough to come home.  So, I bought one in the other color that had caught my eye the first time through.  One of its flower stalks should bloom for a while yet, I hope.  Then I will try to get both my orchids to rebloom.

This process starts by fertilizing as we talked about yesterday.  Then I'll move it to a new environment where the night time temperatures are slightly cooler than where it likes to be after buds are set.  Nighttime temps lowered to 55 to 65 degrees for about a month will stimulate the orchid to set buds.  Water and feed the orchid as normal during this time.

Once a new flower spike is visible, the orchid should be returned to its normal location.  A flower spike is a root that begins to grow upward and develops a small, flattened growth on the end that looks like a mitten.  The flower spike will need to be supported as it grows.  This requires a small dowel and tiny clips to hold the stem along the length of the dowel.  They make special orchid clips for this, or you can use the tiny claw type hair clips.

Once the buds have appeared on the flower stalk, avoid turning the plant.  The buds will follow the light and turning it will result in flowers that are twisted on the flower stalk.  My phaelanopsis orchids will put out one, maybe two, flower stalks per year and are not particular about what time of year it happens.  It simply responds readily to changes in temperature when it has rested enough since the previous bloom. 

If you have difficulty getting a rebloom, try dropping the temperature more, but not below 55 degrees.  Insufficient light will also keep an orchid from setting a new flower stalk.  All in all, the phaelanopsis orchids are known as the easiest to grow and the easiest to encourage reblooming, so I am hopeful. 

Orchids, part 2

I've learned how to water my orchid and the growing conditions it likes, so I'm hoping it will continue to bloom for a good long time.  An orchid blossom can last for anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks, so they are a great plant for long term beauty.  But, what should I do after the last orchid blossom falls?

As long as the flower stem is green, it should be left alone, at least for awhile, as it may develop new buds along the ends of that same stem.  If it's been several weeks and there is still no sign of buds but the stem remains green, you can trim the stem back to a node.  A node is that little swollen area that occurs periodically along the stem.  Cutting back to just above a node may stimulate bud production.

If the stem turns brown or dry, it should be cut back to one inch from the base of the plant.  A dry or brown stem will not produce new flowers and leaving it on the orchid is unsightly, and may keep the plant from putting energy into new growth.

Orchids do require fertilizing to do their best.  After flowering, orchids should be fertilized with a half strength 20-20-20 fertilizer at least once or twice per month.  The fertilizer should be mixed in water and poured into the pot until the fertilizer solution runs from the drainage holes in the pot.  You'll need to skip the ice cubes on the weeks you fertilize and just use the fertilizer solution instead.  The pot should be placed in a sink or other location where the excess fertlizer solution can drain freely away from the roots, as you don't want any standing fertilizer water in the drainage tray.

Tomorrow we'll talk about getting an orchid to re-bloom.

Orchids

We had Spring for a few days with warm temps, sunshine and snow melt running in the streets.  Today it's back to Winter with some sub-zero temps predicted for next week.  The good news is that it just can't last very long anymore!

Earlier in the week, I told you about the orchid I bought on my way through the garden center.  I’m not an expert on orchids, so I did a little research.  Since yesterday was Valentine’s day and the one day of the year that more orchids are given as gifts than probably any other day of the year, I thought some of you might have received an orchid from your sweetheart and be interested in what I found.

There are hundreds of different kinds of orchids.  My orchid is a phaelanopsis, or moth, orchid.  This is the most common type of orchid, the one you usually find in grocery stores or big box garden centers.   Mine is one that is marketed under the trade name “Just Add Ice”. 

“Just Add Ice” is supposed to tell people like me, who know nothing about orchids, that this is a very easy orchid to grow.  I simply add three ice cubes to the pot once a week and it’s good.  I can even sign up for an email reminder from their website for that once a week ice cube treatment.

While orchids don’t like to be dry, they also don’t like to be overwatered.  Over-watering is a frequent cause of death for orchids.  That led me to wonder just how big those three ice cubes should be.  Well, the three cubes, when melted, should yield about ¼ cup of water.  So, that led me to wonder why not just give them ¼ cup of water once per week?  According to the Just Add Ice website:  “When placed on top of the media, the ice cubes will slowly release over time with no worries of over-watering. With the slow drip process, the water melts into the bark soil and seeps into the roots. The roots slowly soak up the water as it drips down, which prevents water from sitting at the bottom of your pot.”  You do still need to check for water standing in the bottom of the pot after the ice cubes are fully melted.  Orchids will not tolerate their roots setting in water. 

They also won’t tolerate being dry.  If you can see the orchid’s roots, and they are a nice bright green color, they are adequately watered.  If the roots are more a white or gray color, the orchid is too dry and requires water.  My “Just Add Ice” orchid is conveniently potted in a clear pot which sets inside the decorative container so it’s easy for me to check and see if it needs water.  If you can’t see your orchid’s roots but notice that the leaves seem a limp and droopy, they are telling you they need more water.

My orchid wants bright, indirect light and no direct sunlight.  The orchid leaves are very vulnerable to sunburn.  Direct sun will also cause the blossoms to drop, which is something I definitely don’t want to happen any sooner than absolutely necessary.

It also wants temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees during the day and between 60 and 70 degrees at night.  That fits right in with where we keep our home’s temperature, so my orchid should be happy, as it would be in most homes. 

Orchids are tropical plants, though, so humidity might be an issue, especially in North Dakota in the winter time.  Orchids thrive in humidity between 55 to 75%.  That’s a difficult level to maintain in a house that needs to be heated enough to be comfortable in very cold outdoor temperatures.  We have a whole house humidification system on our heating unit but we don’t keep the humidity at 55% because we don’t want moisture condensation on the windows.  So, what to do with my orchid?  The bathrooms or kitchens generally have a slightly higher humidity level than other rooms.  All of those rooms in our house are located on the west side of the house so I will need to find a way to keep my orchid far enough from the window to be out of direct sunlight but close enough to have bright light to keep them blooming and thriving.  If I can’t find that, I can add humidity to another room in the house with a small humidifier or by taking a pan with rocks nearly submerged in water and setting my orchid planter in the pan, keeping the planter from actually touching the water.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to keep that orchid blooming and what to do when it is finally finished.

Happy Valentine’s Day!   My amaryllis are doing their jobs and blooming their hearts out for the occasion.   So are my African violets.

We are going to talk today about a not so beautiful thing, though.

You’ve selected the perfect potting soil, brought it home and now you are ready to plant.  Maybe.

Have you ever been sitting in your recliner, reveling in the nice, healthy plants that surround you and all of a sudden there is this little black speck zipping around your nose, your ears, your eyes?  I know you know what I mean because anyone who has ever had houseplants has had a fungus gnat buzz their face.

I have found that more and more often, shortly after I’ve brought a new bag of potting mix home and transplanted some of my plants, I’ll end up with an infestation of those pesky little buggers.  Fungus gnat larvae get into the soil and feast on algae, fungi, and organic matter in the potting mix.  The adult gnats do not eat on the plant or bite humans or animals.  They exist solely to lay more eggs so that more fungus gnats can buzz around your nose. 

The eggs require moisture to hatch so one of the ways to control them is to allow the potting mix to dry completely before using it.  But, then we talked yesterday about what happens when peat moss dries out completely.  So, it ends up being which will be the lesser of two evils for you – dry peat moss or fungus gnats?  (Here’s a hint – simply drying out isn’t guaranteed to kill all the fungus gnat larvae).

So, what’s a gardener to do?  You can sterilize your potting mix.  If you make your own, you need to do this anyway, and while it’s a little messy, it doesn’t take much effort to do it with store-bought mixes.  Sterilizing can be done outside in a full sun area.  You spread your mixture evenly over a tarp or other porous material, let it set in the sun for four weeks, turn it over and let it set another four weeks before use. 

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan most of my transplanting eight weeks in advance.  Furthermore, I don’t do it only in the summer when the sun is actually hot enough to kill any bacteria or larvae.  So, I use my oven for small batches.  I spread the potting soil on an old cookie sheet or cake pan and bake it at 200 degrees for 30 minutes; stir it; then return it to the oven for another 30 minutes.  Let cool and plant. 

This will give you a nice, earthy aroma in your house.  So, if “nice, earthy” equates to “stinky” for you, you’ll want to do it on a day when you can open the windows and run your exhaust fan.  Personally, I love the smell in Spring when the soil is coming back to life after a long, dormant Winter and the baking potting soil reminds me of that. 

I don't recommend that you use your oven to sterilize potting soil that contains fertilizer or moisture control crystals.

If you’ve already planted your containers when the fungus gnats emerge, they are harder to control.  You can try letting your container get a little bit on the dry side, consistently.  You can try spreading a thin layer of pure sand over the top surface of the potting mix in your container so that at least the surface dries more quickly.  You can try houseplant insecticides.  And you can swat at fungus gnats buzzing your face.

Yesterday we talked about the containers.  Today we’re going to talk about the potting “soil” I’ll use when I repot my new babies.    It would be so easy if we just went to the store, picked up the one variety of potting mix they have, came home, transplanted our plants and they all lived happily ever after. 

But, it’s not quite that simple.   There are different choices of potting mixes and they really do serve different purposes.  African violet soil mix really is different from Cacti and Succulent mix.  And both of those are different still from an all-purpose mix. 

That said, potting mixes all should be designed to do three things:

1.       Hold moisture and nutrients around your plant’s roots;

2.       Provide enough air (yes, air) for growing roots to be able to breathe;

3.       Support the plant and anchor the roots.

Most potting mixes contain three main ingredients:  peat moss; ground bark and / or sawdust; perlite or vermiculite.  Some of them include some topsoil and others have slow – release fertilizers or moisture retention crystals added to them.   Cacti and succulent mixes should preferably contain sand and only small or no amounts of peat moss.

The peat moss helps the mix retain moisture, unless it is allowed to dry out completely.  Then, any water you add will simply stand on top of the soil or run down around the sides where the mix is shrunken away from the side of the pot.  As the water collects in the bottom of the container, the entire mass of potting mix / peat moss will begin to float.  You can deal with this by gently pushing the floating mass back into the water and holding it there until water moistens the peat moss, making it less buoyant again.  You can also place the entire container in a bucket of water, weight it down with small stones or pottery shards, and let it soak until the potting soil is re-hydrated, then remove the pot from the bucket and let it drain well.

Small quantities of ground bark and sawdust are added to potting mixes to improve drainage.  In larger quantities or with large pieces, it will reduce the moisture retaining capabilities of your potting mix, making it harder for your plants to thrive.    A “professional” potting mix usually is much finer and better blended than some of the home garden type mixes, but even the most expensive potting mixes sometimes have what seems to be the entire log lurking in them.  It’s best to pick these out and throw them away before you put the mix in your containers.

Perlite and vermiculite are minerals that are added to improve drainage and lighten the soil.  These are the little white or gray puff balls that you find in the mixture.  Vermiculite is mica particles and perlite’s base is volcanic glass.  Both are super-heated until they expand and pop like popcorn.  Vermiculite is better at retaining moisture than perlite but some gardeners are reluctant to use it, as mica is often found close to asbestos deposits and the vermiculite may contain small amounts of asbestos.

So, how do you know what’s in your ready-to-use soil mix?  Look for a list of contents on the bag to find peat moss or sphagnum peat moss, pine bark or other type of bark, and perlite or vermiculite as the primary ingredients.  If the bag doesn’t tell you, do the “feel and look” test.  Lift the bag and squeeze the mix inside.  If the bag is lightweight and the consistency is spongy or springy, that’s a good sign.  If the bag is very heavy or if when you squeeze the contents into a ball, it stays that way, it’s a bag to avoid.  Feel for the large pieces of bark or other clumps.

The best way to check your soil is to open the bag and inspect it.  Most retailers will not thank you for doing this, though.  But, if you do have a chance, sift through the mix and look for those “logs”.  Look also for the vermiculite or perlite balls and see if they are still intact or if they have been crushed.  If they are crushed, that is evidence of soil compaction and the soil has already lost some of its moisture retention and aeration capability.  If you pick up a handful of mix and squeeze it, when you open your hand, the ball of soil should crumble easily.  If it forms a ball that holds together, that won’t work well in containers.

Tomorrow we'll talk about one more thing you should do before you put that potting mix in your container.