Houseplants Struggling?  Take Them Outside in the Summer. 

Houseplants Struggling?  Take Them Outside in the Summer. 

It seems like every time I pick up a home and garden type magazine, the cover photo is dotted with flowering orchids and indoor foliage plants that are inevitably in pristine condition.  However, years of experience troubleshooting issues with both my own interior plants and those for clients tell a different story.  All too often, indoor potted plants languish for years, barely alive, until they finally succumb.  I’ve taken several to the plant graveyard just past the edge of the back yard because of this exact scenario.  In recent times though, I’ve figured out a way to mostly avoid pitiful looking indoor plants – take them outside in the warm months!

To appreciate the perks of getting your indoor plants outdoors, it’s helpful to first think about why most interior situations aren’t very conducive to plant growth.  There are three primary reasons houseplants fail:  not enough light, improper watering, and low humidity.  Most plant species grown for interiorscapes hail from the tropics where they grow in the understory of large trees, receive bright, filtered sunlight, and experience abundant moisture and humidity.  These conditions are VERY hard to mimic in the typical American house unless you huddle all your plants near windows, take steps to increase humidity (which doesn’t play super well with furniture and other household items), and really tune in your watering.  Taking indoor plants outside to play in the Panhandle summers just really makes the whole situation much easier!

A Jade Plant that had languished indoors during the winter beginning to perk up outside! Photo courtesy of Daniel Leonard.

Now that you’ve made the decision to move your indoor plants out, figuring out where to site them is the next step.  I’ve found that, with few exceptions, houseplants prefer to be in a bright area but away from direct sunlight – under mature trees, on a covered porch, anywhere that doesn’t get direct sunlight will do!  It is also a great idea to place plants near a watering source.  If a hose doesn’t easily reach the spot or it’s inconvenient to tote a watering can to them, your plants won’t get watered regularly and will suffer.  You’ll be surprised how much water plants use when they’re in conditions conducive to growth so be sure to check pots every couple of days to prevent droughty conditions!   Once in these new and improved growing conditions, your houseplants will also respond very well to a little extra fertilizer.  A good general prescription is a topdressing of a slow-release fertilizer using the recommended label rate as soon as you bring them outside and following that up once each month with a supplemental liquid fertilizer. 

Keeping houseplants happy in the Florida summer is easy and begins with getting them outside.  Find a spot with bright, indirect light, keep them watered well, add a little fertilizer, and watch them grow like they never have before!  For more information on growing houseplants or any other horticultural or agricultural topic, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension office.  Happy gardening!

Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE Program Summary: Houseplants

Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE Program Summary: Houseplants

Houseplants can soften up the interior of your home and help clean the air.  They can also supplement your holiday decorations and help create stunning focal points.  To help determine what plants do best under certain conditions and to give pointers on plant care, this month’s Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! was all about houseplants.

spides plant

A spider plant on a coffee table. Photo Credit: University of Florida/IFAS

Environmental Conditions for Houseplants

Unless you live in a glass house, you’ll probably want to choose houseplants that do well in low light conditions.  A guide for what light level different houseplants prefer can be found on the Gardening Solutions Light for Houseplants page.  This page also provides useful tips on supplemental lighting.

Some houseplants are better at cleaning the air than others.  A list of houseplants that do a good job improving indoor air quality can be found on the Gardening Solutions Houseplants That Clean the Air page.

The best way to determine if your houseplants need water is your own green thumb or whatever finger you choose to stick in the potting mix, but for some interesting information on outdoor soil moisture meters check out this informative publication on soil moisture sensors.

Houseplants need a good quality, well-drained potting mix to thrive.  Tips on selecting a potting mix can be found on the Gardening Solutions Container Media page.

Houseplant Pests

One of the best ways to rid houseplants of insect pests is to set the plants outside for a few days and let the pests move on.  For some information on pest control products in and around the home check out the publication Natural Products for Managing Landscape and Garden Pests in Florida.

Fungus gnats are mainly a nuisance, but some species can feed on living plant tissue.  Darkwinged fungus gnats are known to feed on ferns, orchids, and geraniums.

Houseplant Propagation

One way to increase your houseplant population and save a few dollars is to propagate your own plants.  The University of Florida/IFAS created the Plant Propagation Glossary to help with any propagation questions you may have.

Air layering is a propagation technique that not only allows the prospective plant to thrive from the nutrients of the mother plant, but it also saves space.

moth orchid

A moth orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) outdoors. Photo Credit: University of Florida/IFAS

Specific Species Info

Orchids in the genus Phalaenopsis are easier to care for than other genera of orchids.  The American Orchid Society provides some great tips on caring for orchids indoors.  Some people choose to water their orchids with ice cubes.  The Ohio State University has a publication that provides some more insight on watering Phalaenopsis orchids with ice cubes.

A lot of cacti do well indoors.  A popular cactus during the holiday season is Christmas cactus.  Christmas cactus have interesting foliage, but their blooms are what people want to see.  Some tips on getting your Christmas cactus to bloom on time and general care information can be found in this Christmas Cactus Preparation fact sheet.

Have you ever wanted to grow fruit trees indoors or do you want some tips on bringing containerized fruit trees indoors for the winter?  The Growing Fruit Crops in Containers publication provides some good tips on growing fruit trees indoors.

Unless you have a house with a lot of windows or a sunroom, plumeria don’t make the best houseplants.  They need at least six hours of sunlight per day and need to be at least three years old to bloom.  If you are interested in propagating plumeria, then check out this publication on propagating plumeria from cuttings.

Vacation Care for Plants

Vacation Care for Plants

Summertime is vacation time for people, not plants! While getting ready for that long awaited trip, it’s easy to forget about your lawn, landscape, vegetable garden and house plants. A little time spent preparing your leafy friends for your absence could save you needless worry and hours of extra work when you get back.

a landscape

Prepare your landscape for your absence.
Photo by Mary Derrick, UF IFAS

A vacation may be relaxing and rejuvenating for you and your family, but it can be hazardous, even deadly, for your plants. Unless you make adequate preparations before leaving, you could return to vegetable disaster.

One of the first things you might do before leaving home is ask a neighbor to check your plants periodically while you’re gone. All plants need some care. During an extended vacation container grown plants require special attention and different species have different needs. Be sure you give your friend specific instructions for the care of each type.

If you can’t find someone to personally look after your plants while you’re away, there’s plenty you can do prior to departure to make sure you don’t come home to a limp landscape and sickly house plants. Outdoor container plants should be placed in a shady area to conserve moisture. Under a tree or on the north side of a building are good locations. A thick layer of mulch will help conserve moisture for landscape plantings. Mow your lawn just before leaving, cutting the grass a little closer than usual. An unkept lawn can encourage disease, and it’s a tell-tale sign that no one’s home.

Give lawn and landscape plants a heavy watering – especially recently planted beds, which will need extra moisture. Also, thoroughly spray or dust your plants to protect them from insects and diseases while you’re away. If you have flowering annuals, cut the blossoms before departing. If you don’t, they’ll soon stop blooming. Harvest all ripe or nearly ripe fruits and vegetables. Like flowers, they will continue to produce only if they’re picked frequently. Otherwise, they’ll go to seed.

Do a thorough job of weeding. If weeds are allowed to go to seed while you’re away, you can expect to encounter much more difficult problems later in the season – even next year – when the seeds sprout. Weeding eliminates a major source of competition for your landscape plants’ food and water which may be in short supply during your absence.

Plants kept indoors require special consideration. Before leaving home, place your house plants in a room which receives indirect sunlight. Direct exposure to the sun will dry the soil too quickly. Of course, you don’t want to put your plants in a room that’s too dark, either. Too little light will almost always result in leaf drop. And, just before you depart, be sure to water your house plants thoroughly. This is especially vital, because – unlike lawn grass and landscape ornamentals – house plants cannot benefit from any rain that may fall while you’re gone.

You’ll enjoy your vacation more by making sure your plants are well prepared for your absence.
Success with Houseplants: Watering Correctly

Success with Houseplants: Watering Correctly

flowering houseplants

Flowering Houseplants. UF IFAS photo by Mary Derrick.

Plants add color, interesting textures and, of course, beauty to our indoor living environments. The air is freshened with the oxygen they provide.

Keep them healthy by watering correctly. Plants have differing water requirements so take a moment to look up some good research-based information on your particular plants and find out what kind of watering regime is best for them. For most houseplants, it’s time to water when the top inch or so of soil is dry to the touch. Some do best when they dry considerably before watering, like succulents, while others, like cineraria, like to stay evenly moist. It may help to group your plants by their water requirements so you can better remember and manage their watering needs.

When it is time to water, make sure to water thoroughly so that excess water drains from the pot. There are several really good reasons to follow that practice. First, a thorough watering allows all the soil and roots to be moistened and you avoid having dry spots in the soil. Also, when the excess water drains, it takes with it the excess salts from fertilizers. When excess salts build up over time, the roots can be damaged and the plant can eventually die. One of the first plant symptoms is brown, dead tips of the leaves. A definitive sign of excess salt is a white mineral build up around the inside edges of the pot or on the surface of the soil. If you already have a salt build-up, you can water heavily a few times to help leach the salts or re-pot your plant with some fresh potting soil.

One last tip – once you water your plants, don’t let the pots and the roots sit in water. Dump out any standing water.

For more information, please see:

Solutions for Your Life: Houseplants

Gardening Solutions: Salt Build-up in Houseplants

Virginia Extension: Indoor Plant Culture

 

 

Holiday Cactus

Christmas Cactus

Photo credit: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS

 

If you are looking for an easy to grow, colorful indoor flowering plant, look no further than Holiday Cactus. The two main types are Thanksgiving Cactus and Christmas Cactus which have similar care requirements but as the name indicates, bloom at different times.

When purchasing a new plant, don’t assume that it is “Thanksgiving” or “Christmas” based on when it was blooming at the store, growers know how to manipulate plants for flowering based on market demand. Instead look at the leaf shape and anther colors for positive identification. Thanksgiving cacti have pointed teeth on leaf margins and yellow anthers in the flowers. Christmas cacti have flattened leaves with rounded teeth on the margins and purple anthers.

The best spot for your Holiday cactus is a bright location away from any drafts or heating and cooling vents. Keep soil slightly moist, but take care not to over water. They can tolerate some drying out, but too much can cause flower buds to drop. In Northwest Florida’s mild climate you may keep your Holiday Cactus outside most of the year, but protect it from full sun during the summer months and bring it indoors if temperatures are forecast to fall below 50° F.

Fertilize Holiday cacti with a general purpose houseplant fertilizer from April until August following label directions. To make your plants fuller, prune or pinch in June and this will encourage more branching. Holiday cacti are easy to propagate. Take those pieces you pinched off and place in a lightweight potting soil or vermiculite and they will grow roots and you will have new plants to share.

So, how do you control flowering time? Holiday cacti form flower buds based on two environmental factors, photoperiod (length of daylight) and temperature. They are considered “short day” plants which mean that they bloom when light is reduced to 8-10 hours a day, but this description can be a little misleading. The true influencing factor is not the number of daylight hours, but rather the number of hours in uninterrupted darkness. One way to initiate flower bud development is to place the plant in a dark closet from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. for 20-25 days straight. This treatment will stimulate flower bud development. Another factor that influences flower bud initiation (even without light control) is the temperature at night. The ideal night temperature for flower bud formation is between 55 and 68° F. Temperatures above 68° and below 50° F can prevent flower bud development.

To learn more about caring for your Holiday Cactus visit the following link Thanksgiving & Christmas Cacti Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC1554.