Houseplants and Winter Humidity

This was written on March31 as the snow was falling and a thick blanket already covers the deck. I won’t be planting outside any time soon, so let’s talk about indoor plants.

I’ve been around plants all my life but never really learned their proper care. I’d keep them watered until they died. Many times, they’d go from looking good to not-so-good to just hanging on to dead. I certainly never thought about humidity except for summer. However, the other side to humidity is air that is too dry, especially in the winter when the furnace or a wood stove is running. It makes sense when you consider most plants are grown in greenhouses where there is a lot of humidity. What a shock it must be for the plant when you get it home and the air is dry; and when the plants begin to dry out, it’s easy to over water. 

You don’t need to measure your home humidity levels. The plants will tell you when they are not happy. They will begin to wilt, leaves will get brown edges, buds won’t develop, fall from the plant before opening or shrivel soon after opening. My plants are in colorful pots with a hole in the bottom with a small lip creating a place to hold a little water. Still, they dry out quickly and I can’t tell if I’ve given them enough. 

Research showed me many tips to keep indoor plants healthy:

Place them in groups – they help each other by creating pockets of humidity, plus they look good together.

I used gem stones and minerals collected over the years
for my pebble trays.

Use water-filled pebble trays – this can be a fun design feature to create if you have the room. I use a pretty tray (purple, of course). I’ve been collecting stones for years from gem stones to interesting ones found in the yard or out walking. Put enough water in the tray to almost cover the stones, then set the pots on top so the roots don’t get waterlogged. The evaporating water provides moisture for the plants.

If you don’t have room or if you don’t want to put water in the tray, place a dish or cup of water near the plants. I keep pretty glasses near the plants where a tray won’t fit, and because I didn’t want to put water in the pebble tray, I put a glass of water in the middle surrounded by the stones and plants.

Misting plants is also very popular – however, it’s a more temporary measure as the water dries up quickly. Just remember not to mist plants with hairy leaves like African violets.

A humidifier also works.

The other side of low humidity is high humidity on plants kept in places like a kitchen, bathroom or laundry room. Again, let the plant tell you what it needs. You may just need to move it into another room if it’s not looking healthy.

Something else to remember about houseplant care is that dust forms on the leaves. The plants’ leaves draw in light which is crucial for its survival. Dust blocks the pores needed for that light. It’s important to either gently wash them with room temperature water or use a soft brush (like an artist’s brush) on plants with hairy leaves. (The hairy leaves of my African violet are a magnet for cat fur.)

Primrose (perennial/annual)

My education in gardening continues. I’m always surprised at the information I find. There’s a fine line between purchasing plants, throwing them in the ground and hoping for a beautiful flower garden, and actually learning to take good care of them.

I'm doing more exploring on the ins and outs of spring flowers purchased at the end of the winter season. These are force-bloomed to bring a spot of color during the dreary season. Some people use them for a one-time blossoming while others hold onto them to plant outside when weather permits. Most of mine are past their indoor-winter bloom time. There's still another month or so before it’ll be safe to do outdoor gardening. So how do I keep my new babies safe until then?

I purchased one small primrose plant on Feb. 10. I know these plants have been around for a long time but, for some reason, I’ve never had any. This is a cute little plant with a spherical umbel (a blossom that grows on a short flower stalk). The flowers can be in a variety of colors and most have a bright yellow center. It’s one of the first flowers to bloom after winter and many varieties can grow in containers. They grow best in zones 5-9 and prefer cooler temperatures. The flowers and leaves are edible, tasting like a bitter lettuce. The leaves can also be used for tea.

The few blossoms remaining when I made my purchase soon faded. I cut the stem back as directed. Soon, however, the leaves died off and I cut it back to about an inch above the crown. A friend told me this is normal and it will come back next year. I hope so as I feel bad when plants die on me. It’s hard to trust this process of winter dormancy – when to stop watering and put the plant in a dark place for six to eight weeks or so.

When safe planting time arrives, primrose can be moved outdoors. (They can also be transplanted while in bloom). Primrose like to be in a cool, partly shady area in the garden or on a balcony with light morning sun (avoid afternoon sun). Place them 4-6 inches deep with the crown even with the soil. The soil should be well-draining and slightly acidic. Position multiple plants six inches apart.

Keep the soil moist but don’t over water. Prune dead leaves and blossoms; fertilize once a month while blooming – do not fertilize during winter dormancy. If needed propagate after blooming (late spring) by division.

A little extra care is needed to grow primrose indoors. Daytime temperatures must remain below 80 degrees with filtered sun and moist soil. Nighttime temps should be 50-60 degrees. It’s also a good idea to place the pot on a pebble tray because in the winter with the furnace running, the air will dry out quickly and affect the health of indoor plants. 

However, after they finish blooming in the house, it’s best to plant them outside for the summer. They can stay in their pots and come back in the house in the fall.

Hyacinths

My education in gardening is never-ending. I am amazed how much there is to it. When I was young, my mother used to have beautiful flower gardens but I realize now that she was lucky … and had a green thumb. I know she didn’t have any of this professional gardening knowledge. I guess, maybe, she learned by trial and error and sharing info between neighbors or she was very intuitive about flowers.

Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth so this is good timing to mention them. I bought two potted plants last month (two different shades of purple) and will plant them when the ground is ready. I had grape hyacinths in Bradford. Every year they would spread farther across the lawn and I want their early-season blooms here.

My research taught me that grape hyacinths and the hyacinths I recently purchased are not the same. The common grape hyacinth (muscari) flowers are blue-ish, tight, urn-shaped and resemble bunches of grapes. The hyacinths I now have are in the Asparagaceae family. The blossoms come in a variety of colors and are bell-shaped resembling little starfishes.

Hyacinths bulbs, light purple or cream in color, are covered with dry, papery, skin-like layers and are usually planted in the fall for spring blooming. The bulbs are poisonous, containing oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild skin irritation. I’ll have to wear protective gloves when transplanting them outside. 

This is the third hyacinth purchase. The first two were purple.

A compact spike of flowers grows six to 12 inches from the bulbs with long, narrow leaves folded lengthwise. I found the highly fragrant blossoms a little too potent inside but outside they will be wonderful. Once the blossoms fade, cut the entire spike off. Do not cut back the leaves; let them die back naturally. The bulbs store energy received from the leaves to prepare them for blooming next spring. 

My plants, which were blooming when I bought them, means there are going into their dormant time. Here is another learning experience: Just like outdoor plants and nature winters, indoor plants also need their dormant time. And to keep indoor plants healthy and vibrant, there are times to allow them to die back (they’re not dead) and go into sleep mode. Some do well in a dark closet, a basement or covered with a paper bag for a few weeks. Then they can be brought out, watered and fertilized and they’re ready for another round of blooming.

I’m still getting my head around that. Logically, it makes sense but to hold onto a plant that looks dead …

My hyacinths, though, will go into the ground with compost, good soil, and a layer of mulch sometime in May. There I will let nature take its course. I’ll leave the leaves intact until they totally die off. Yes, they will not look very good during this period but annuals or other perennials can be planted around them to keep the garden space looking nice. 

Late Winter-Garden Blahs

How bright and happy is a host of daffodils

Last month I bought crocus, tulips, and more hyacinths to go with the other hyacinths and daffodils. They were in bloom and brought color and brightness to the house. Now all the blossoms are spent and these spring-blooming bulbs and tubers are slipping into their dormant period.

After buying two purple hyacinths, I bought a pink one.

Normally these plants are bought as bulbs and planted in the fall for blooming in the spring. Nurseries will plant some in pots and force them to bloom early in greenhouses to sell during the dreary winter months. The plants I purchased were past their prime and on sale (can’t turn down a bargain!) and now I’m worried about getting them through the next month or so until I can plant them outside. 

Tulip in bloom

I’m struggling with the indoor gardening aspect of this. The air is very dry and I need to water often. I’ve read a number of websites and there’s just enough differences to cause doubt as to the best for the plants in my house and conditions. 

I read that it’s important with these plants to cut off the stem and spent blossoms, but allow the leaves to remain until they turn yellow and brown. The green leaves will gather nutrients needed to store in the bulbs for next year’s blooms. Some sites say to stop watering and let them go dormant for a few weeks to a couple of months. Some say to water once a month. And, even though these bulbs are normally planted in the fall, I will plant them as soon as I see similar plants popping up in the garden.

Pele hasn’t bothered the plants much lately. I put most in the studio and close the door at night because she wouldn’t leave them alone when I first brought them home. I started leaving the geranium out. I’ll occasionally find a bite in a leaf, but other than that, the plant is growing beautifully and now has some buds. I started leaving the tulips out, then the mini roses and hyacinth. 

The crocus begins blooming

I’d put the crocus pot on the window sill during the day and she didn’t touch it, however, not that it’s stopped blooming and the leaves are turning brown, I took it out of the bright light. Now Pele won’t leave it alone. She doesn’t actually eat the leaves, she just bites them off. What a silly kitty. 

Pele won't leave the crocus alone. The daffodil, tulip, and crocus
are done blooming and going into their dormant stage. I want to
get them planted in the garden as soon as I can.

Oh, just let me get my plant babies through April and the beginning of May. I read one website that said when these types of bulbs start poking up in the outside gardens, it’s OK to plant others. 

Yesterday in my walk-about-the-yard, I noticed daylily shoots just barely poking up along the slab of the southwest side of the house. However, there is still a foot of snow three feet wide from that point to the front edge of the garden. I’ll see how these next couple of days of 60-70 degree temperatures do the snow. Still, it will be too early to plant.

Violas - A Late Winter Surprise

One of my favorite things to do in March is to wander the yard checking out places where the snow melts away to see what is happening on the ground. The above average warm temperatures the end beginning of the month gave me an early opportunity.  I was surprised to find one flower and one teeny bud at the edge of the front garden on one of my daily forays. 

This had to have blossomed while still under the snow, so it's
looking a bit beat up. Still, to see the color was exciting.

To see the new-growth green and the flower was exciting, especially as it meant the blooming started while the plant was still buried. It wasn’t a perfect blossom. It looked a little worse from the wear of being under the snow but still, a blossom in early March?

You know spring has arrived when you start seeing violas and violets in nurseries, in the yard and alongside roads. Violas and violets are in the violaceae family and can be annuals or perennials. There are over 525 species. Flower colors range from shades of purple to blue, cream, white and yellow and some are bi-colored. (The large-flowered cultivars developed from violas and used annually for gardens are pansies.) 

Violas and were the first perennials I purchased last spring and I planted them in flower boxes on the back railing. I was attracted to them because they can be planted earlier than many other plants. Young plants are edible and high in oxidants. 

I periodically moved the flower boxes throughout the summer depending on the sun. They like spring and early summer sun but as the season heats up, they struggle. If viola get too much sun, they will get tall and “leggy” and produce less blossoms. It’s all about finding the right levels of sun and shade. They also need to be deadheaded regularly to keep them vibrant and blossoming.

I planted them in the ground at the end of the season when they were looking poor. I would love to see them spread and they may do so out of the boxes. Some people consider violas and violets weeds but I’ve always loved the bits of brightness throughout the lawn. They also look great as borders in the flower garden, and who knows, I may get more for the flower boxes again this year.

As I write this the Saturday before a big storm, I know I can’t get too excited. Winter has not let go yet. Still, writing and thinking about pretty spring flowers brings cheerful thoughts of the warmer weather to come.

Confused About Cyclamen

I purchased this indoor plant last month year they were on sale. This means it is kind of mid- to off-season or getting close. There were two blossoms and once they faded, I cut back the stem as close as I could to the bottom. Now the plant seems to struggle as the leaves are starting to wilt. I looked up cyclamen to see how to take better care of it.

Cyclamen I've had in past homes never seemed to live long, but then, I never made an attempt to find out its proper care. This time I want to be better with my plants because they bring joy to a home.

My little cyclamen seems to struggle. 

Cyclamen are originally from the Mediterranean and can be fussy about temperature and water. They are not bulbs but tubers, a short vertical stem from which roots grow anywhere along the tuber. Leaves and flowers grow from points on the top and will bloom in winter and go dormant in the spring. The size of the tubers, and colors and shapes of the flowers and leaves, vary depending on species.

The information I gathered from three or four websites turned out to be more time consuming than usual. I ran into some issues in the attempt at one cohesive write-up because there are contradictions as to when the plant goes dormant and how long to let it be in that state. Most sites said to not let the leaves or stems get wet while watering while a couple other sites said to periodically spray water on the leaves. There are also differences in when and how long to fertilize. Some even say to throw the plant out once it stops blooming.

Maybe this means that people who fall in love with the exquisite flowers have to learn for themselves how to best care for their plant. 

Below is what I have gathered to be basic care. Feel free to contact me with stories of your cyclamen.

Cyclamen basic care:

Cyclamen should be in pots with holes in the bottom which means the pot needs to have a bottom watering section or set in a bowl or dish. Water when the plant is dry to the touch and water from the bottom. The roots will gather up the water keeping the leaves and stems dry. 

Fertilize once every other week in the fall/early winter until blooms appear, then every three to four weeks while blooming with a houseplant fertilizer. Clip the stems of faded blossoms close to the top of the crown to keep the plant flowering.

The cyclamen goes dormant in the spring and the leaves fall off and the plant looks dead. Stop watering and fertilizing once the leaves start dying and allow it to go to sleep. Remove any dead foliage and put the plant in a cool, somewhat dark place for a couple months. 

Bring it out of storage in the fall. Remove the tuber and wash it off. Check for damage, soft spots, or discoloration, and if it seems crowded in the pot, replant it in a bigger pot to half the tuber’s length in fresh potting soil and completely soak. Set the pot in a cool, indirectly lit area. 

Once leaves start to grow, resume normal care throughout the late fall and winter.

Perhaps it's all about learning how the plants react in their environment. Maybe it will just take a season or so for it to acclimate to this house.

Learning about Amaryllis

If I can’t garden outside, I may as well learn to have flowers inside.

Here is an update about the two waxed amaryllis I purchased in February at Agway in Hillsborough. I never did get to see it in bloom. I was a little shocked when I went online to read about this plant. The marketing scheme, very popular in Europe, is to make the amaryllis sound like the perfect gift for the holidays – no watering and easy care. However, no watering and easy care means the plant won’t live past a couple of blooms because they cut off the roots and encase it in wax holding just enough nutrients to have it bloom a couple of times. Then the plant is thrown away. 

I researched how I can salvage the two plants I purchased. (If I’d known about this ahead of time, I wouldn’t have spent the money. If I wanted throw-away flowers, I’d buy cut bouquets.) One person told me to pull all the wax off, plant it in good potting soil and hope the it will live. Someone else told me she pulled off all the wax and a layer of the onion-like skin and set the bulb in water hoping the roots will grow. Then she will plant it in potting soil. Yet another person said putting the bulb in water will cause the bulb to rot.

You can see how the bottom of the bulb was cut flat by the grower,
but here, after I scraped off all the wax and soaked the bottom in
water, there are roots sticking out.

But what are the alternatives? This beautiful plant might as well be dead as it is, so I’m trying the water method and after soaking the bottom all day and overnight, I turned the bulbs over this morning to see roots starting to poke down. Yes! I am so excited!

One bulb with its little roots poking out was planted in a pot with good potting soil. The other bulb I left in the water for two more days. Eventually, there was a hint of root sticking out of the side of the bottom. I planted it. Both plants are still looking good a couple weeks later with the leaves green and vibrant.

I learned a lot in the research. For instance, the bigger the bulb, the bigger the blossom and the more times it will bloom. The flowering period is usually winter and spring. Leaves will still grow and be vibrant into summer as the plant will continue to gather nutrients. Stop watering and feeding in mid-August. Cut the leaves back to two inches from the bulb after the leaves turn yellow and remove it from the soil. Clean it and store it in a cool 40-50 degree, dark place for a minimum of six weeks. (Do not store near apples. Apples will cause amaryllis to go sterile.) After six weeks, replant the bulb in fresh potting soil, begin regular watering and get ready for another winter of pretty blossoms.