House Plant Care - Questions and Answers

House Plants - You Have Questions, I Have Answers, But...

Rhapis Excelsa Palm on My Model Home Account

Hi Plant People, hope you all had a nice October. Hard to believe it is already November 2016.

Just realized that since I started working as an interior landscape technician in 1986 and it is now 2016, I have been taking care of, installing, warehousing, replacing, selling or unloading indoor tropical plants and flowers for just about 30 years.

Most of that was direct, day to day care of different types of tropical plants in many different locations, from the west coast to the east coast.

There has been a break here or there for a year or two but for most of the past 30 years I have been involved in all aspects of the interior landscape industry. That's a lot of plants!

On my website, I offer simple, straight forward advice on caring for your indoor plants. As you can tell from the first few paragraphs, I have had lots of experience to work from.

I do offer to answer questions for readers and they sometimes ask things I could not possibly give a definitive answer to because, with indoor plants, you need to be the person standing right there in front of that plant, taking care of it every week, to be able to figure out what is causing any problems it may be having. That is why I ask people to read the pages about lighting, watering and root health before they send a question. Those things are really all you need to know if you started out with a healthy disease and insect free house plant.

HOUSE PLANTS CARE QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS? You can send an indoor plant question but before you do, please read this information on watering your indoor houseplants, how to help keep your house plant's root system healthy and lighting for your houseplants. These are most important for your house plant's health and this is some of the information I will refer you to when you send an email.

So, please read those pages, and if you still have a question, I will try to answer but please remember, I work during the day taking care of plants so sometimes it takes a little while for me to get out the answers to your emails. So please be as patient as you can and thanks for visiting my website, I do appreciate it and I hope it is helpful to some of you...

Laura The Plant Lady

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Decorating With Bougainvillea Flowers

There was a time when I hated bougainvillea to an extent that I didn't even want to look at it but lately my likes and dislikes have changed drastically. And now my love for bougainvillea is growing by leaps and bounds. Now whenever I see bougainvillea around I feel drawn toward the beauty of it. The striking bright colours of its bloom never fail to attract my attention. 

Let me share an incident with you all, as you all have been so loyal that I can now share my secrets with you :)
On my way to drop my son to his school I spotted a very beautiful flame red bougainvillea in full bloom alongside the railway track. And would you believe I have been eyeing this beauty for past few months but didn't have the courage to pluck such lovely blooms. Moreover, every time I planned to pluck the flowers my mind reminded me of one of the quotes that my mother sends us every morning sometimes to boost our morale and sometimes to instill good values in us.

The quote goes like this:

What is the difference between

'I like you' and 'I love you'. 

Beautifully answered by Buddha:

"When you like a flower, you pluck it but when you love a flower, you water it daily"

One who understands this understands life!! 

Now tell me who on the earth will go against such a beautiful quote and pluck the flower.

But pardon me, I have done this not because I like bougainvillea but because I love it. The place where it was growing is not good, lots of filth around and heavy vehicles parked there crush and smash most of its branches. So one day I mustered courage and cut some branches to grow it in my balcony garden. 

Now that's a better idea, isn't it? I not only got beautiful bougainvillea flowers to style my coffee table but also an older branch to grow one more bougainvillea plant. 

Styling coffee table with flowers isn't a big deal. You need to be little innovative and can turn any mundane object into a vase, place some coffee table books and some more tiny plants or succulents in some unusual planter like conch/shell and your coffee table styling is done. 

Check out some unusual vase ideas here.

Complement the colour of flowers by tossing a cushion in same shade for a pulled together or cohesive look. 

You can't learn home decorating by reading books or taking classes instead trial and error method is what works best here. Slowly you will learn the tricks of the trade. 

Keep rotating stuff to freshen up the look and feel of the place. 

Hope you enjoyed the blog. Signing off now with a quick message that 3D readers are making most of the opportunity I had given them in my previous post and buying Candeberg LED tealights with a special discount offer (exclusively for 3D readers). Offer is valid till 29th Feb. Hurry up and click here to know more about it. 

Coming up next is a DIY project of the month. Stay tuned!!

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House Plant Care - How to Have Great Looking Plants

Watering for Healthy Plants

Watering Rules, House Plant Care

Working in the interior landscape business for more than 20 years has gotten me lots of questions about how to care for indoor potted plants.

Customers ask about their own plants at home...why does my plant have yellow leaves... what causes brown leaf tips...how come the new growth on my plant is dying...I water my plant everyday but it still isn't doing well...how much should I water my house plant?

It can be hard to diagnose every indoor plant problem when you do not have access to the plant itself. So I generally find myself asking them questions about how they care for their plants. Most often, the problems are solved by changing watering habits. 

In almost every instance, changing the way they look at watering their indoor plants gives them positve results with their houseplants.

I care for indoor plants as my job and I know that there are not many plants that I care for that always use the same amount of water or need watering on a rigid schedule. Many different things influence a plants water use.

Customers turn off the lights, leave the lights on, turn off the air conditioning, turn up the heat, close the blinds, open the blinds. All of these things, and many other things, influence the way you need to water an indoor plant.

There are many things to consider when you are watering your house plants. Read more about watering properly for good results with your indoor house plants... 

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Plants, Flowers, Orchids, Mushrooms and Travel

Do you love to ?#?travel? and also love ?#?plants?? Love to visit the local ?#?botanical? gardens when you visit someplace new? If you happen to be in the vicinity of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, you might want to set aside a few hours to visit ?#?LongwoodGardens?. 
The grounds of Longwood Gardens encompasses over 1,000 acres of woodlands, meadows, gardens and fountains. Spring and summer are great seasons to visit as many plants and flowers will be in glorious bloom!

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

The largest conservatory in the U.S. is located at Longwood Gardens with 4.5 acres of wonderful plant life to enjoy. And please don't miss the Orchid Room in the conservatory, a grand collection of more than 9,000 plants. Sounds like a wonderful trip!
And if you visit in September, plan to take in the 30th Annual Mushroom Festival on September 12 and 13, 2015. Known as the mushroom capital of the world, this area produces about one million pounds of mushrooms per week! Wow, that's alot of mushrooms...

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Peace and the World

To attain peace and harmony, you need only accept them into your heart...
Such a simple concept, it is hard to understand why there is so much unrest in the world today.

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Pretty Poinsettia Plants

Poinsettia Plant

Every Christmas season for twenty or more years, I have had hundreds of these lovely "flowers" in my care.They are delicate and fragile and you must use care when handling them. Place them out of high traffic areas and away from places where they might get a cold draft. If you are moving them during cold weather be sure to enclosed them in a loose fitting sleeve or plastic bag. Just be careful not to break them. They are quite fragile and easy to damage.

When shopping for your Poinsettia, be sure the bracts are well colored up. For maximum use of your flowering Christmas Poinsettia, the flower, small and yellow in the center of the bracts, should be....read more about Poinsettias

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Plants at New Orleans Botanical Garden

Welcome to the New Orleans Botanical Garden. From the 1930s to today, we're proud to offer the city of New Orleans carefully cultivated gardens. Open year round, twelve acres of gardens and art await you. Whether you are a local or a tourist, make sure to take a leisurely stroll through our many gardens. We know you'll see something new each visit and always leave with a smile.

After you visit the New Orleans Botanical Garden, come see us over at
www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com to learn more about your favorite house plants...

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California Orchids

Beautiful Orchids

Do you love orchids? I know that I do. Although many of them need a special environment that not everyone can provide, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the unique beauty of these wonderful plants.

We most often use Phalaenopsis orchids in our interior landscapes and that is the type I usually keep at home but there are thousands of types of orchids. Wouldn't it be fantastic to see many of these all in one place?

If you live in the Santa Barbara, California area or plan a visit or trip to the area, you might want to consider stopping in at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. Check them out and be amazed at the scope of orchids they have on display and for sale.

As an additional bonus, there is an annual orchid show in Santa Barbara. The 70th Annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show will take place March 13-15, 2015. There will be an art show and sale, information on flower arrangement and exotic displays and, of course, orchids to see and orchids for sale! What a great way to spend a weekend and there are so many other things to do in the area.

Although I was born and raised in California, I only recently learned about the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. I currently live out of the state but am planning to attend the orchid show in March of 2015. Mark it on your calendar. Maybe I will see you there!

If you need some information or help with your indoor plant care, you can visit us at PlantAndFlowerInfo.com. Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend.

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Orchids Plants and Pictures

Paphiopedilum Orchid

There are many great places on the internet to find pictures, images and photographs. I was looking through some websites last night trying to find some orchid pictures when I came across a fantastic site. I have never seen so many great orchid pictures all in one place.

The photographer is named as QT Luong. It also says that many pictures are from "our home-grown orchid collection". 

Take a look, it is quite unbelievable. The website is terragalleria.com and the images are available through license. 

All of those flower and orchid lovers out there, take a look, if you haven't seen this work before. I am amazed at that extent of these photographs. 

If you purchased a houseplant (or an orchid) from your local nursery or retailer and you need some assistance with its care, come visit PlantAndFlowerInfo.com. After you take a look at QT Luong's great images!

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Tower Hill Botanical Gardens

Field of Daffodils

Where can you see 25000 flowers in bloom all at the same time? Visit the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in late April or early May and you can enjoy the spectacular Field of Daffodils. The Field of Daffodils is just one of 16 unique areas at Tower Hill devoted to flora and fauna.
The garden also boasts an apple orchard, vegetable garden and wildlife garden. If you are in the area during the colder months, Tower Hill also has an area with plants that are at their best during the winter season.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden is located in Boylston, Massachusetts. A small town with a population of about 5000, Boylston is approximately 45 miles from Boston. If you are in the area, you should try to stop in and see the gardens.
After a long day touring the historic area and visiting Tower Hill Botanic Gardens you may arrive home and find your own plants need some help. If so, come and visit us at PlantAndFlowerInfo.com.

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PlantAndFlowerInfo.com Contest

Hi Plant People,

The PlantAndFlowerInfo.com sweepstakes/contest ended on July 31, 2014. Thanks to all of you that entered the contest to win a beautiful, new interior houseplant and container. The winners have been drawn and notified. They include two runner-up winners who will receive a botanical themed decorative art print for their home.
I am so happy to be able to send a few of our readers these great prizes. Winners will be announced as soon as their eligibility has been verified.
Thanks again to everyone! Visit the website if you need some assistance with your indoor houseplants!

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Trillium Flowers - A Rare Breed But Not a Housplant

Grandfather Mountain NC

These are a couple of photographs I took of Trillium flowers. The first one to the right was growing on the East coast, near Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. From what I have read, this particular Trillium is fairly rare and Grandfather Mountain is one of the few places that it grows. That may or may not be so. Any information about Trilliums?
The next photo of what I assume is a Trillium was taken in the forests of Oregon. I happened upon it as I was taking a little hike with the dogs and spotted it on the side of the trail. There were only a few but they are kind of pretty.

Oregon forest

I just thought I would post these, even though my website is about the care of indoor houseplants. Any one out there an expert on Trilliums or have any information to offer about them?
Houseplant care and information available here. If you need some advice, I would be happy to help out. Hope everyone's new year is going great.

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Houseplants and Flowers For Christmas

Best Wishes To All - Christmas Plants

First of all, just want to wish everyone, around the world, a happy holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy 2014...

Just wanted to remind any of you that know folks with a Plant Passion, that indoor plants and flowering houseplants make great gifts for Christmas. They are also gifts that last (unlike that Fruitcake) and NO extra pounds (unlike those chocolates)!!!

So, if you need a gift for the Plant Person in your life, I have compiled some of my favorites from an affiliate and put them together on my website. These are gifts that can be delivered for you and any person that you know who enjoys indoor plants would love one of these!

And I receive a small commission to help keep my site running and me eating!

Anyway, Check out these great gifts for the Plant Lover in your life...

Thanks and have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year! And don't eat too much!

Laura 

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Peace Lily, an Easy Flowering Indoor Plant

Spathiphyllum Plant

Peace Lily A Great Flowering Houseplant

One of the most common houseplants, other than Pothos, is the Spathiphyllum. Also known as Peace Lily or White Flag, these plants are often given as gift plants. While it does not offer a lot in the way of color because the flower is white, it is still one of the few houseplants that will tolerate average indoor conditions and still produce flowers throughout the year. Bring home a Mum or Begonia and chances are, unless you have a sun room, skylight or atrium, the flowers won't last more than a week or two and still look good.

Peace Lily will flower for a good part of the year and when it is not in bloom you will have a lovely foliage plant to enhance your home.

If you have ever owned one of these plants, you know that if you let it dry completely, it will lay down on the floor in a full faint! While they do not need to be kept constantly wet, Spathiphyllums also do not like to be treated as a cactus, either! Read more about Peace Lily and their care...

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Orchid and Houseplant Photo Submissions Wanted

Orchids, US Botanical Gardens

Elegant and beautiful flowering #plants, #Orchids are a great way to add a touch of color and class to any interior design. #Phalaenopsis Orchids are readily available in almost any store that sells indoor plants. One of the easier to care for Orchids, Phalaenopsis , or Moth Orchids, are tolerant of most indoor environments as long as they have good lighting and temperatures. Read more about Orchids care...
When I visit a botanical garden or greenhouse, I love to take photographs, especially of flowers. I have recently posted a pictures of Orchids page to my website along with other houseplant and flower pictures. I would love to have pictures that others have taken to add to the gallery. If any readers have some favorite Orchid pictures or even houseplant pictures that they would allow me to post to my plant pictures page, I would love to have them.

 If you have any photos you would like to submit, you can email information and upload photos by visiting my website www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com and going to the contact page. Please note that pictures must be under a certain size or they will not upload. Information about your plants type, variety, etc. will help in adding a page and picture description.  And your name, website link information if you would like that to be included. As an alternative, you can visit the Facebook Page for PlantAndFlowerInfo and post pictures with information about the plants or flowers and your own website information, if you have a plant and flower related site. I hope to see some great Orchid and houseplant photographs...Thanks

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Blooming Bromeliads

Aechmea bromeliad

Question from Carol: 

Is there a way to get the Aechmea Fasciata to come into flower, I have had mine from a pup and now perhaps 3 to 4 years old, it has 4 pups on it well grown but has not flowered yet, I wonder if to treat it like cacti and with hold watering from September to march to force it to flower?
Answer:
What I can tell you is that if your Aechmea Bromeliad is in your home, in average indoor conditions, you will have a hard time getting it to #flower. They really need to be in a greenhouse type of environment. I have done this before and it only worked when I raised my plant in my greenhouse. I did not withhold water and am not sure that would work. Try putting it in a greenhouse type of situation. Very bright indirect lighting, high humidity. Ethylene gas can help induce flowering and is produced by ripening apples.

Perhaps you can create a greenhouse atmosphere using a large clear plastic bag and close it around your Bromeliad. Place a cut apple inside with the plant. Let me know if you get your plant to perform! Thanks for visiting PlantAndFlowerInfo.com....

Read more about Aechmea bromeliads and their care...

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