December What's Bloomin'

It's December and winter has officially started here... so, needless to say, all of my blooms this month are inside. Well, I guess that all of the blooms from now until April will be inside... that's Minnesota!

Here are my blooms for December, there were some great ones...

Aloe Bakeri

Purple Queen

Thanksgiving Cactus

Angel Wing Begonia

...and in case you missed it, the big news this month is that my plumeria bloomed. Check out my Plumeria Blooming Update blog post to see the progression pictures as the blooms opened.

Plumeria

 I participated in the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, check it out to see December blooms from around the world.

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write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. 
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Plant Profile - Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchid

Now that my plumeria has bloomed, I am determined to get other plants around my house to bloom this winter. Next up is my Phalaenopsis orchid.

Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchid

I was going to wait to write this post until after I successfully got it to bloom, but I really enjoyed writing the posts about my plumeria blooms in progress so I decided to try that again with my orchid.

Orchid waiting to bloom

My orchid is healthy and consistently has new growth, so now is a good time to try for blooms.

I've read that the prime blooming time for the Phalaenopsis orchids is December through May. I'm excited!

Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, is supposed to be one of the easiest orchids to care for and get to bloom.

Well, I've had this one for 2 years now and still no blooms (I've never seen what the flower looks like)... I guess I need to work harder at it.

To be honest, I haven't put much work into getting it to bloom in the past.

I have done some research to see what I need to do to get it bloom. Here are some pointers I've found...

• I've read on several websites that generally speaking, it's best to feed orchids "weekly and weakly." I bought a fertilizer specially made for orchids and I am following the directions on the package. Several websites recommend using a 20-20-20 fertilizer and diluting it. 

• Fertilize every other time you water during the growing season, or every time you water with a weak fertilizer. Don't fertilize when flowering. 

• The Phalaenopsis orchid likes bright, indirect light (never full sun). A filtered south facing window (which is where I have mine) or direct light from a west or east facing window are best.

• Orchids like humidity, but don't like soggy feet. Allow the medium to dry out between waterings, but not to the point where the plant starts to shrivel. Water thoroughly until the water comes out the bottom of the pot. Allow the water to drain fully, never allow the pot to sit in water! 

• Do not use regular potting soil for orchids. Orchids are epiphytes, which means they get their nutrients from air and moisture. They grow on the bark of trees in their natural habitat, so a potting medium made from bark (specifically made for orchids) would be the best.

• The trick to getting Phalaenopsis orchids to bloom is cooler evening temperatures. It would be best to have it at least 10 degrees F cooler at night than during the day (but not below 55 degrees F) for at least a week. This is easy for those of us who live in cold climates.

I will follow all of these steps and see if I can be successful.

New shoots, could they be flower spikes?

I've noticed some new shoots coming out this week, maybe I'll get lucky and those will be flower spikes this time and not just new roots.


If anyone out there has other tips or advice for me, please share!

I am determined to see what the blooms on this orchid look like. Wish me luck!




I used this post to enter an epiphytes giveaway contest on The Rainforest Garden's blog, check it out!
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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Be Aware of Your Gardens During Snow Removal

Winters are long here in Minnesota. Most of us forget about the gardens as soon as we're done with our fall chores, and don't think about them again until spring (except for day dreaming). Who can blame us. When we have the daunting task of clearing several inches of snow in the middle of the freezing cold winter (every other day), the last thing on our minds are the plants hidden under all that snow.

5 foot tall snow bank

But it's important to think about your gardens as you do snow removal. 

Why, you ask?

Well, just take a minute to think about all of the salt and chemicals that are dumped onto our roads during the winter. No matter what we do, these will end up on our driveways and walkways...and ultimately in our yards. 

Garden plants, including trees and shrubs, can be very sensitive to the salt and chemicals that are dumped on them over the winter. These chemicals and salt are leached into the soil when the snow melts in the spring and can cause serious damage to plants, it can even be fatal.

You will want to be especially careful if you have a pond near an area where you do snow removal. It's ecosystem will be much less tolerant than your garden plants. Even small amounts of these chemicals and salt can kill your fish and your plants that are hibernating in there.

Dirty salty snow chunks

So be aware of your gardens when you do snow removal! 

Throw the dirty, salty snow chunks onto the grass and not on top of your garden plants. 

When you're using a snow blower, pay attention to where it's pointing. Try not to hit any trees, bushes or garden areas with dirty snow.

Also try to limit the use of deicers on your property unless they are absolutely necessary. When you do sprinkle a deicer onto your driveway or walkways, make sure you don't accidentally sprinkle it into a garden area or pond. Then, the next time you shovel the treated area, toss that snow into the grass.

You probably won't be able to avoid getting salt and chemicals on your gardens all together, but it's good to think about what you can do to minimize the amount of exposure your plants get. Your plants will thank you for thinking of them.

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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Houseplant pests series part 4: Aphids

I am officially half way through my blog series on common houseplant pests. In my first three houseplant pest posts (soil gnats, spider mites, and mealybugs), I wrote about pests that I've had a lot of experience dealing with. In this post, I will talk about aphids. 

I have to admit, I am fairly new to dealing with aphids. Last winter was the first time I've had to deal with them in the house (thank goodness). Over the past year, I have done a lot of  researching on the best ways to fight these pests and experimenting with several ways to get rid of them. 

Aphids on succulent

Aphids come in many varieties and can be just about any color. They are small and fat and juicy. Aphids can also have wings, but winged aphids are less common.

The ones that I had were lime green and blended in nicely with the color of the plants they resided on. 

Like most indoor plant pests, aphids feed on the plant by sucking the sap from the leaves. They like to cluster and feed on the new growth and flower buds of a plant, which causes stunted growth and deformed leaves/flowers. Thankfully, aphids don't cause catastrophic damage to a plant and infestations aren't usually fatal.

Aphids multiply quickly, the life cycle of an aphid is about 1 week. You may notice a bunch of tiny white flecks on the leaves and around the base of the plant several days before seeing the adults. I have read that these are the eggs. Every time I've seen white flecks on a plant - sure enough a few days later, adults would appear.

Where do aphids come from? If you have aphids on your indoor plants, they probably came in from outside on the leaves of a plant.

Aphids can become immune to pesticides so it's best to use natural methods to kill these pests. The good news is that they are easy to kill and control with soap and water. 

If you discover aphids on a plant, the best thing to do is first spray the infested leaves with a strong stream of water to rinse off all of the aphids that you see. You can do this task in the sink, or in the shower for larger plants. Then you can wash the leaves with a weak solution of soapy water. 

If the plant is too large to move, mix a small amount of dishsoap in a spray bottle full of water and use this to wash the leaves (I use 1 tsp of Ivory dish soap per 1 liter of water). Before spraying or washing the plant with soapy water, be sure to test it on one leaf to make sure it won't damage the plant.
 
Here are a few other tips to help in the fight against aphids...

• Aphids can spread quickly from plant to plant, so make sure to check and treat plants around the infested plant. 
• The aphid eggs are light and easily move around to other plants through the air.
• Remember that aphids can have wings, so they can fly to other plants. It's best to isolate a plant as soon as you discover aphids and closely monitor other plants near the infested plant.
• You could also use rubbing alcohol to kill aphids by using a cotton swab to dab the rubbing alcohol directly on the pest, or spray a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water directly on the pests. 
• As with mealybugs, if you have ants, they may be causing the problem! Ants will bring aphids to a plant so that they can feed off of the honeydew which is produced when a aphids feeds on the plant. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s a fact. So make sure that you watch out for ants.
• For other tips on general indoor plant pest control, see my Pesty Pests blog post.

Just like with any houseplant pest problem, persistence is key to winning the battle. This summer I released 1500 ladybugs in my yard. This helped with pests in the garden, and I'm hoping it will also reduce the number of pests that might have come in with the plants this fall. Knock on wood, but so far it's been successful. We'll see how the rest of the winter goes.

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Winter Gardens after the Blizzard

Bird house by deck

Last weekend, we had a blizzard here in MN. The snow is so deep that I haven't been able to get out to the backyard this week.

My husband had to climb out the window in order to get into the backyard to shovel a path so we could open the back door.

Now that I have access to the backyard again, I got out there today to take some pictures of the gardens.

Vegetable garden

This is a picture of the vegetable garden. Notice the compost bin in the way back, I compost throughout the winter.

This picture also gives you a good feel for how deep the snow is. The wire fencing around the garden in 3 feet high and it barely sticks out above the snow. 

 

Large perennial garden

This picture shows the bench and arbor in the large perennial garden.

The bench is mostly covered by snow. The large plant on the right is a hydrangea.

Pergola, pond and vegetable garden

Here is a picture of the pergola and pond, the vegetable garden is on the right.

Air hole in back pond

The pond is completely covered by snow, except for the hole where the heater is.







We generally don't get this much snow during the entire winter, let alone this early in the season. Hopefully we're done for a while, I'm already tired of winter and it hasn't even officially started yet!



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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Plumeria Blooming Update

In this blog post, I am doing a followup to a post I wrote last month -  Is My Plumeria Confused, Or is it Just Me?

I thought it would be fun to track the progress as my plumeria blooms. I've been taking pictures every few days as the blooms have progressed. It's been over a month now and finally the first plumeria bloom has opened (wow, does it usually take that long?).

You may remember from my previous post that there are two branches on the plant that have flower buds. The pictures below are of the blooms on only one of the branches. (The buds on the other branch haven't opened yet)

There have been two blooms that have opened so far, and both have fallen off right away. I'm guessing that's because the plant isn't getting enough light. Regardless, I am thrilled that my plumeria has finally bloomed!! Here are the progress pictures, enjoy!...

November 9th

November 18th

November 24th

November 30th

December 5th

December 8th

 

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If you have any questions about gardening, or ideas for a topic you'd like me to write a blog post about; please feel free to add a comment on any of my posts. You can also post something on my Facebook page.
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Houseplants Don't Like Drafts

A few years ago, the leaves on one of my houseplants were browning and the plant looked like it was slowly dying. This is one of my easiest to care for, hardiest houseplants so this behavior was very curious.

For several weeks, I could not figure out what was wrong with this plant. At first I thought I must have overwatered it, but the soil wasn't soaking wet, it was actually on the dry side.

Then I thought maybe it had spider mites or some other pest infestation, so I inspected it for pests but found nothing. In fact, I couldn't find anything to indicate what was wrong with this plant.

So I started the observation process that I do when a plant is sick. I watch it and check it every few days for signs of pest infestation or other issues that might be causing the problem. I was also very careful to be sure I didn't over or underwater the plant during this time.

Then one day during the observation period it hit me, this plant was right next to the patio door... and it was January. We open the door quite often during the winter to let our cats out into the screened in porch. Sometimes we will even leave the door open a crack on warmer winter days to allow our cats to have free access to the porch. The problem with the plant was that it did not like the cold draft.

I'd never had this problem with a plant before, so I never thought about the proximity to the door when I put the plant in that location.

I never thought about the freezing blast of air that would hit this plant every time we opened the door during the winter. No wonder it was upset with me, I would be upset too!!

Houseplants are very sensitive to cold drafts, especially when the air is freezing. It only takes a second for plant leaves to freeze when they are exposed to the cold, so my poor plant was slowing freezing to death! Once I discovered the problem, I moved the plant to a new location where it thrives today.

If you live in a cold climate, think about where your plants are located in your house. Make sure you don't put any live plants close enough to the door where they will get a cold blast every time you open it. Also take into consideration the heat sources in your house. Be sure to keep live plants away from fireplaces, radiators and heat vents too. Blasts of extreme heat can kill the plant just like the extreme cold. The dry air that comes out of heat vents can dry out the soil of a plant quickly as well.

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Propagation Box - Easy and Cheap

I've mentioned my propagation boxes in a few of my previous posts, so I thought I would write a post about it. You may be wondering what a propagation box is. A propagation box, or propagation chamber, is something that can be used for rooting plant cuttings. It works like a mini greenhouse that will protect plant cuttings and give them enough moisture so they can survive and sprout roots.

Propagation Box

Some plants are easy to propagate by simply putting the stems in water, but other plants will rot if you try rooting them in water, they need a more controlled environment to root.

There are many different types and styles of propagation boxes, some are very fancy (and expensive) and others are not so fancy, but cheap (or free!). I made my own propagation boxes with materials that I got for free, and they work great.

It's very easy to make your own propagation box using an inexpensive clear plastic storage bin with a lid. All you have to do is add a 3-4 inch layer of rooting medium on the bottom of the box and you have everything you need to start using it. For the medium, I use a mixture of 1/2 peat and 1/2 perlite.

Rooting medium in propagation box

Whenever I trim a plant or a piece breaks off, I'll put the cutting into one of my propagation boxes. I check the boxes every few weeks to see if there are any new roots, and check the moisture level of the medium.

Rooted cuttings in propagation box

Propagation station

There are many different types of plants that are easy to root using a propagation box.

I use it for everything except for plants that are easy to root in water, and succulents (the boxes tend to be too humid for succulents).

I mainly use mine for propagating houseplants, but it could be used for perennials too.

Here are some tips for success with a propagation box...

• Dip the stem of the cutting in rooting hormone before sticking it into the rooting mixture.

• Keep the rooting medium moist, but not saturated and don't allow it to dry out completely.

• If you added too much water, you can leave the lid off the box for a day or two to allow the excess water to evaporate.

• Keep the box out of directly sunlight. An area near a sunny window is the perfect spot inside the house; outside the house, it should be kept in the shade.  

• Use bottom heat to help facilitate the rooting process. In the winter, I place my propagation boxes near a heat vent.

• If the storage bin is air tight, add a few ventilation holes in the lid.

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