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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Indoor Plants and Gnats! So Annoying...

How to Combat Those Little Flying Bugs - GNATS!

Although fungus gnats can be a problem with indoor plants at anytime of year, they can be a bigger problem during the warmer months as they are also outside in greater numbers and, no doubt, plotting an invasion of your home...  :)

Not a Fungus Gnat-Just One of My Plants

Here is a little information about fungus gnats:

• Fungus gnats are small flies, about 1/8" long, black or dark colored. Adult females may lay up to a few hundred eggs in a 7-10 day period. And they will lay them in the moist topsoil of your indoor plants, if they get a chance.
• Fungus gnat eggs hatch in about six days, producing small, white maggots.
• Larvae will grow to about 1/4" in two weeks and then form pupae.
• Then adults will emerge from plant media in a week or less. And the cycle begins again!

While adult fungus gnats do not damage your indoor plants, they can be very annoying. You may see numbers of them about your plants, if they are disturbed. They also seem to be attracted to lights, computer monitors, etc.

The larvae feed on organic material, including your houseplant's roots and can cause damage to your houseplant's health. This damage can allow disease to enter plant tissue.

Your plant may or may not show signs of decline. It is possible to have leaf loss, stunted growth and yellowing of foliage.

Properly watering your indoor potted plants (not keeping plant media constantly soggy) can help ease the problem to some extent. Using sub-irrigation containers for your plants is also a good way to keep these little pests from becoming a problem.

If you are having a problem with gnats in your indoor plants, one of the things you can do is remove the top inch or so of soil from your plants and replace with fresh, sterile soil. Gnats reproduce mainly in the topsoil of your plants so removing this and replacing with sterile potting soil should remove a large part of the problem.

It is best to use sterile soil for your indoor potted plants. Here are some ideas for sterilizing your own potting soil:

• Place slightly moist potting mix in an oven proof tray. Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes in a 200 degree oven. Turn on the fan! Remove and allow to cool before using.
• During the hot summer months, you can sterilize using the energy from the sun. Dampen soil and place in black plastic pot. Cover any drainage holes with plastic first. Set in the sun and cover with a sheet of clear plastic.This will adequately heat the soil and it should be ready to use in about a week. Saves electricity too!

One other helpful, non-chemical way to fight fungus gnats that are already present is to use sticky trap cards. These attract the fungus gnats, they get stuck and can not get away. Basically just fly paper in card form. I use these in my interior landscape accounts by placing them just inside the grow pot, usually stuck to the side. This catches the fungus gnats and keeps them from bothering anyone and from reproducing.

Hope this helps you with any problem you may have with these little, flying creatures.

Come visit my website for more information on care for your indoor plants

Happy growing everyone!

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Giving (and Receiving) Plants for the Holiday Season

Christmas Cactus Plant

Christmas Cactus - Zygocactus truncatus

The Christmas Cactus is a beautiful, flowering type of forest cactus. In their natural environment, a forest cactus will attach itself to trees in wooded areas and jungles. So it is not too surprising that they are so different looking from their typically spine-covered desert cousins.

The Christmas Cactus is one of many popular plants to give or receive during the winter holiday season. If you know someone who loves plants, you might like to give them a beautiful Christmas Cactus for the holidays.

This beautiful plant is usually in full bloom when received as a gift. Zygocactus truncatus or Schlumbergera truncata are botanical names for the Christmas Cactus. It is called Christmas Cactus because it blooms between late November and mid-January.

When in full bloom, this is one beautiful plant. Flowers may be white, red, pink or purple.

This plant (similar to its close relative the Easter Cactus) has branching, arched stems made of leaf-like, flat segments. Each segment is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. The segments of the Christmas Cactus have a distinct, toothed edge, while the Easter Cactus has more of a scalloped edge. And, of course, the Easter Cactus blooms in April or May.

Although we don't typically use this plant as an interior landscape plant, we do often give them as gift plants to our wonderful, interior landscape customers during the holiday season.

If you receive one of these flowering, forest cacti as a gift, you may have a hard time inducing it to flower again. If you want your Christmas Cactus to flower again in the following year, you will have to follow a few rules. Provide a dry and cool resting period, do not move once buds appear and allow to harden outdoors during the summer. You will need to keep your plant in good light, also.

Here is the Christmas Cactus Schedule:

• Mid November - mid January, Flowering Period. Water normally, minimum temperature of 55 degrees F.
• Late January - March, Resting Period. Water infrequently, keep in cool temperatures, 55 degrees F.
• April - May. Maintain regular watering schedule. Water thoroughly when potting media begins to dry out.
• June - mid September, Hardening-Off Period. Place outdoors in a shady spot, protect from slugs, snails, earwigs, etc.
• Mid-September - mid-November, Pre-Flowering Period. Move to a well lit location where you can keep it thru the flowering period. Keep potting media on the dry side and temperatures to the cool side until flower buds form. Then increase water and temperatures.

Now you are back to the first step, mid-November through mid-January, continue to water normally and maintain at a minimum temperature of 55 degrees F. Then start it all over again!!

Have a happy holiday season and give beautiful flowering plants to the plant lovers in your life. Thanks for reading this and I hope you have beautiful blooms on your Christmas Cactus next holiday season!

If you need any help with your indoor house plants, whether it is an indoor plant identification or house plant care assistance, come visit at PlantAndFlowerInfo.com ...Happy Holidays!

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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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One Very Popular Houseplant-Dracaena marginata

Dracaena marginata plant

Dracaena Marginata Plant Care

The marginata plant is one of the most popular houseplants. It is one of my favorites and I get so many emails asking questions about Dracaena marginata that I have to think it is one of everyones favorite indoor potted plants.

One of the care questions that I get most often about this beautiful, indoor plant is about pruning. Is it alright to cut it back if it is too tall? Where should I cut the stem?

The answer to the question is yes, you can cut back the stems or canes of dracaena marginata. You should cut the stem just above the height that you want new growth to start. It is best to do this in the spring time when most plants do much of their growing.

If you look closely at the stem you will see rings that encircle the stem. This is where the leaf nodes are and where your dracaena marginata will push out some new growth. You will most likely get a few new "heads" starting before you know it.

It is best to do this before your plant gets so tall that it needs support to stay upright. Also, it may be a shock to you when you see your plant cut back so far. It also encourages healthy new growth and keeps your plant fuller and healthier looking. 

Read more about dracaena marginata plant care and about other indoor 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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Cute, unique decorative planters...

Saw these cute and quite interesting planters while browsing around the internet. While they may not be ideal for all indoor plants, as there are some that really don't do well when they get water in the leaves, they certainly are more fun than just pouring some water into the soil.

Maybe use them on your deck, in the sunroom or on the patio??

What do you think of these planters? Would you use them? What would you plant in them?

See more about these unique, decorative planters...

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Pruning Mystery Plant - Dracaena Warneckii

Warneckii

A recent letter from a PlantAndFlowerInfo.com visitor:

"Hello. When I purchased this plant it was distressed and about 1 foot tall. It is now 7'2" tall. Is it a type of Dracaena? It's in an 18" pot. It does not have a woody looking stem. The leaves are 20" long, and are dark green down the center, with a small white stripe on each side of the dark green, and then a lighter colored green on the outside of the leaf. I would like to know the name of the plant. Can I cut it shorter? Can I plant the piece I cut off? Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Attached are 2 pictures - one is a full view and the other is a close-up of a leaf.Thank you very much. Hortie"

Close up of Dracanea Warneckii leaf

At first, I had not received the attached pictures and replied that it sounded like a Dracaena Warneckii. Eventually the pictures confirmed that it is a Dracaena Warneckii. 

Yes, you can cut or prune the stalks back to whatever height you would like. The plant will put out some new "heads" below the cut. The cut piece can be rooted in moist sand. You can cut into many pieces if you like and plant when the roots are a few inches long.
Dracaena Warneckii is a great indoor potted plant and requires little care. They really add a touch of color to any room. One of my favorite Dracaenas.
Read more about Dracaena Warneckii...

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Use Plants in Your Work/Office Space

Use beautiful greenery in your office space

Adding plants to your office is something that every employee (and business owner and employer) should want to do. The benefits, both physical and psychological are evidenced in numerous scientific studies. The cost savings are also significant enough for any cost conscious business owner to sit up and take notice.

Many people working in an office environment surround themselves with reminders of home. That often includes house plants. Whether you bring your own and care for them yourself or engage the services of a local interior landscape company, every office should include beautiful potted plants. Improve your environment and help clean the air, add indoor tropical plants to your work space!

Click through for more about why plants are good to have in the office. Then come visit us at www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com to read about lots of different plants that you can put in your work place.

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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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Denver Botanic Garden

With a working farm, childrens garden, Orchid and bromeliad displays and great nature trails for walking, you might want to plan a visit to Denver Botanic Gardens in Littleton, Colorado. And everyone loves a Corn Maze and Pumpkin Festival, part of the gardens fall fun.
When you arrive home and find your indoor plants need some attention, come and visit www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com. But first Enjoy Denver Botanic Gardens!

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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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Get Rid of Those Plant Pests!

Mealy Bug Insects (Missouri Botanical Garden)

House Plant and Pesky Insects!

The very best way to be sure you don't have insect problems on your indoor plants is to check for bugs before you buy. Always try to buy your houseplants when they have just arrived at the local retail store from the growers.

The folks that produce your plants at the nursery follow a regimen of treatment to make sure they do not have insects damage their plants. However, once they arrive at the local store, the probability that they are going to end up with some kind of insect problem tends to increase.

I usually walk through the indoor plant section of the local home improvement stores (I won't name any names) whenever I am there to purchase something else. I can't tell you the number of times that I find insect problems starting up on the house plants.

My recommendations for keeping pests from being a problem indoors is to always check plants before you buy or bring home. Once you get them home, isolate from other plants for a week or so, keeping an eye out for any pest problem. Many insects are almost unnoticable at first, so look very closely. Under the leaves, in the leaf axil, even on the soil surface.

Wash them down every few days with a shower of water, making sure to hit the undersides of the leaves. You can add a few drops of mild soap to the water if you use a spray bottle. Mild dish detergent works or you can pick up some Peppermint Castile soap and enjoy the nice smell. You can use Peppermint Castile Soap for just about anything else around the house including bathing your pets! 

A small amount of rubbing alcohol added to the water can also be effective but it doesn't smell as nice! (Not for your pets)

You don't usually do not need any harsh chemicals. Bugs don't like water or soap. I use a mixture of water, a few drops of liquid soap and a few drops of olive oil or vegetable oil while I am caring for customers plants and for my own plants. Works just great!

For your outdoor plants, a daily shower of water from the hose will be quite effective in sending most insects into the neighbors yard to eat their plants! If that doesn't work for you, here is an idea for a do-it-yourself organic insect spray from Jami in Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Homemade stuff is always fun!

If you need some advice or help with your houseplants, PlantAndFlowerInfo.com is always here.

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Caring For Houseplants

Beautiful Orchid

A basic common sense approach to plant care and trusting yourself to make the right decisions will give you the best results with all of your plants. Working in the interior landscape business for over twenty years, I learned that the most important part of plant care is not so much the type of plant you have but the light your plants receive and the watering of your plants in relation to the lighting.
A litte trial and error is really all you need to find out what your houseplant needs from you to grow and thrive.
Read more about learning to care for your indoor plants...

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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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Free Houseplant

Win a Houseplant or Botanical Art

Enter Contest

Enter the PlantAndFlowerInfo.com contest to win a beautiful new houseplant and decorative container delivered to your home. We are having a contest in the month of July 2014 and will be giving away a new houseplant and two other prizes. No purchase is needed, just answer a few multiple choice houseplant related questions. Odds of winning depend on valid entries.

Here is the link to the contest entry page. You can enter once a day through July 2014. Have a great weekend! 

Thanks and please share this with family and friends who might like to enter and win a gorgeous, new houseplant!

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The Bellagio Hotel Conservatory and Gardens, Las Vegas

The #Bellagio Hotel in #Las #Vegas is famous for its fountains, but did you know they also have a conservatory and #botanical #gardens? There are many great sights to see in Las Vegas, so if you're visiting in Las Vegas, Nevada soon, consider putting the inside of The Bellagio on your "places to see" list. http://www.bellagio.com/attractions/botanical-garden.aspx

Then, once you get home, head on over to www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com to pick out houseplants for your own indoor gardens.

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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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