The Easiest Plants to Grow!

Let's be realistic.  Some of us just don't understand plants.  We love how they make our home look more "homey", but we have killed more plants than we would ever admit.  If you are one of those people here is a short list of plants that are easy to grow and the directions on how to make them flourish.

First is the Pothos.

I love this plant for beginners.   It comes in different sizes with a leaf that is 3 inches wide to 3 feet wide.  The can be solid green, golden marble green and white marble green.

I love this plant because it is so easy to start and grow.  A small cutting from a health plant can be put in the water and grow into an enormous house plant.  This is one of the few plants I know that can live its whole life in water as long as it gets fertilizer. 

To begin, be sure that to have two or more nodes (places that leaves have been removed) to put in the water.  Only one or two leaves need to be left on the cutting.  As the new roots begin to develop be sure to add a liquid fertilizer in the water.  You can transfer the new plant as soon as it has a good set of roots or leave in water for a different look.  Leaving the pothos in water will entail watching for root rot which can be avoided be draining half the water and adding new water once a month.  Trim any soft roots away.  To develop a full lush plant, trim the end of the stem as it grows.  This will create branching and make the plant to develop new shoots from just above the root ball.

I have never had a pothos come down with a disease or be susceptible to bug infestation.

The Second is the Spider Plant

Correctly named Chlorophystum comosum, the spider plant has made my list of easy plants because of the fact that it does not need to be repotted.  In fact,  the wonderful babies on the end of long stems can only form if the plant is potbound.  To start a new plant you can place another pot next to the "mother" plant and just set the baby on top of the dirt of the new pot.  you can also wait for the baby to develop its own roots and plant directly into the pot without the stem.

The spider plant comes in a varigated leaf like the one listed and in solid green.  A number of years ago the solid green was the easier plant to find but because the varigated is so popular it has outshown the green making the most available.

Part of the care of this plant is to remove dead leaves as they will harbor insects that are hard to get rid of it established.  Watch for Scale, which is its deadly enemy.  Scale is a bug that has a hard shell and attaches itself to the leaf and eats.

Both of these plants will do well in natural light, but will also do well as a desk plant under florecent lighting.

Please email me or contact me if you have any questions. 
Thanks,
k.k.jones

 

My New Oncidium Orchid

My New Orchid

I was wandering through a craft fair yesterday and came across this beauty.  She is of the species call Oncidiums  For those of you who would like her proper name, she is A. Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'.  This is important information if you are interested in buying this particular plant or if you plan get into orchid growing as a serious hobby.

Otherwise, just enjoy the flower.

As my experience yesterday shows, orchids are becoming easier and easier to find for the common indoor gardener.  You can find them almost everywhere, home improvement stores, grocery stores and even craft fairs.  So, I though you could use a little information to help you through. 

The orchid family is known to be one of the largest families in the plant world with over 5,000 names species.  They grow all over the world in all different terrains.   The ones that we are most familiar with are more semi-tropical and tropical.  Many are not grown in soil as they do not like wet feet.  This can make orchids a little difficult for the busy gardener because they still need water and their planting medium does not hold a lot. In other words, you will be watering smaller amounts more often.  One way of keeping them moist is to put them on (not in) a dish filled with stones and water.  This will increase the humidity of the orchid plants' environment.  I learned a neat trick when I bought an orchid from a big box store a couple years ago.  One or two ice cubes placed in the pot will release water slowly, allowing the orchid to drink what it wants and the medium will absorb moisture for later use.  This is a great time saver if you only have one or two orchids. It need only be done once or twice a week depending how dry your house is. 

Though you may not recognize my particular orchid, you have seen one of her sisters many times. Shades of yellow and gold are the most common colors of Oncidiums. Sometimes called "dancing dolls",  they look a lot like little girls dancing in the wind and showing off their long full dresses. 

Oncidium orchids adapt well to indoor living, doing well in an environment of cool to intermediate temperatures. They are not much different than you in their temperature needs.  Some will prefer a little warmer daytime temperatures but you can give it to them by placing them near a sunny window (which will also give them their lighting needs).  Be careful if you place them in a southern window that they do not get too much sun.  Just keep them back from the window about a foot.

For ideal temperature need: here are the recommendations of OrchidWeb.com .

Ideal night temperatures (fall, winter, and spring months) are 60°-64° Fahrenheit. Ideal daytime temperatures are 70°-85°F. Summer temperatures are generally a few degrees warmer.

Be sure to give them plenty of water while they are actively growing but cut back when they go into a dormant period.  Some people recommend a period of two to six weeks with no water during dormancy and directly after flowering.  I recommend a mild fertilizer mixture every time you water to be sure your plant is getting enough nutrients.

As for bloom periods: You can expect to see your Oncidium blossom twice a year.  This would be in the spring and the fall.  The blooms develops as a long spike called a spray.  New blooms grow from the top and sprays of some hybrids can grow up to four or six feet.  What I like best about orchids is that their blossoms last so long. One bloom can last for weeks. 

In closing, I would like to say that orchids are not hard to grow and as you probably know any plant  needs special care to get a blossom.  I hope that this blog will help you get started.  If you have any comments or questions, please add to this blog or email me at joneskathee@gmail.com .

Happy Gardening,
kk jones

Holiday Cactus

 

The Holiday Cactus - Schlumbergera

It's time to talk about the much loved Christmas Cactus.

First, the answer to the old question, "is there a difference between a Christmas Cactus and a Thanksgiving Cactus?"  Yes there is.  There are actually six species in the genus family of Schlumbergera.  The three most common are S. truncata, S. russelliana and a cross between the two S. buckleyi. Different places I have looked show different common names for the family.  I have included a good description of the plants that I found on Wikipedia to help you decide which plant you have.  This can be important because growers can force blooms out of season.  In other words, make a Christmas Cactus bloom at Thanksgiving and vise-versa.  All three will bloom in the fall between September and December.  Of course there is also the possibility that you have an odd plant that blooms whenever it wants.  My mother has one from my paternal grandmother that blooms every year for my father's birthday in March.

There is another plant called an Easter Cactus, that looks a lot like this family of plants.  It is related but it will not be discussed here and now.  I only mentioned it because one or two of you may ask.  If you want to know more about the Easter Cactus, e-mail me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog.

Now, before you buy a Holiday Cactus you should know a few things.  First, this plant does not like to be moved.  So when you bring it home from the store, it will drop a number of flowers.  Find it a home in the house and it will create new blooms as long as you don't move it again.  Though it likes bright sun, to get it to bloom (or continue to bloom), the Holiday Cactus will want long nights and cool days.  A sunny window area to the east or west of your house will do well. 

Fertilizing is important before and during flowering as flowers take a lot of energy to create.  Holiday Cactus will like the same food that you would give a tomato.  Water the pot heavily and then let it dry out between watering.  Next year, cut back on the watering in the month of August to help the plant set its blooms. 

I hope that answers all your questions on this wonderful plant.  If you have any more, please forward them to me at joneskathee@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog.

Sincerely,

k.k.jones

 

Reprint from Wikipedia

The Truncata Group contains all cultivars with features derived mainly from the species S. truncata: stem segments with pointed teeth; flowers held more or less horizontally, usually above the horizontal, whose upper side is differently shaped from the lower side (zygomorphic); and pollen which is yellow. They generally flower earlier than members of the Buckleyi Group and although common names are not applied consistently may be distinguished as Thanksgiving Cactus, Crab Cactus or Claw Cactus.

The Buckleyi Group contains all cultivars with at least some features clearly showing inheritance from S. russelliana: stem segments with rounded, more symmetrical teeth; more or less symmetrical (regular) flowers which hang down, below the horizontal; and pollen which is pink. They generally flower later than members of the Truncata Group and are more likely to be called Christmas Cactus.

joneskathee@gmail.com