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Indoor Houseplants All Year Round
Posted On 2008-10-29 , 10:54 PM
At this time of year many are thinking of bringing plants back into their homes that they had moved outside for the summer.
I personally don't move houseplants outside for the summer for several reasons.
1. Houseplants, when moved outdoors, will need to adapt to new growing conditions for the summer. Then, when they are returned to the indoors in the fall, they will need to re adapt to the indoor growing conditions. While many houseplants will adapt easily, others will not. these plants will have to be moved to a location with less light before their final move indoors. This will enable them to adjust gradually to the light level they will be in during the winter.
2. Houseplants that have spent the summer outdoors may have collected some insect pests to bring inside with them. They will need to be thoroughly examined , cleaned and isolated from the other indoor houseplants until we are certain that all insect pests are gone.
3. When the houseplants are brought back indoors, we need to find a place to put them- a place that is suitable for the houseplant. This location will need to have sufficient light, proper temperature, free of hot and cold drafts, and sufficient room for the plant to grow ( and they will have grown during the summer). During the summer we may have acquired new plants, redecorated our home or made other changes that make the old location unavailable.
4. Lastly is the question of timing. We need to wait long enough in the spring so that night time temperatures do not drop below what the houseplant will tolerate. In the fall we must return them indoors before the first "killing" temperatures occur. For many indoor houseplants it does not even need to go down to freezing to be deadly to the plant. Also we have all heard the term "unseasonable temperatures". A sudden cold snap in the spring or late summer can shorten the safe window by months. Unusual cold spells can leave you scrambling to protect your houseplants outdoors.
I have chosen to enjoy the beauty and feeling of my houseplants indoors all year long. For my yard, I choose a selection of other plants suited to growing outdoors.
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A Florists Cyclamen That Just Won't Quit
Posted On 2008-10-26 , 2:34 PM
I was given a cyclamen persicum about 19 months ago as a gift. The flowers had faded but the leaves were still lush and green. I continued to give it water.
About 2 months later, more flowers began to appear, beautiful, large red flowers. Since then it has flowered continuously for 17 months.
This past spring most of the leaves yellowed and died- but the cyclamen kept producing more and more blooms.
In the spring the florist's cyclamen usually stops producing flowers and the leaves yellow and die as it goes into a dormant state. The food stored in the tuber is used to restart the growth in September. I really have no explanation why my cyclamen persicum refuses to go to sleep.
For most of this time it has been located about 2 feet from a northwest facing window, getting bright indirect light.
I have paid no special attention to temperature, and during the heat of the summer the temperature often rose to over 90 oF.
I am fortunate here in that the humidity is usually about 50% and I saw no indication that this was a problem.
The treatment this florist's cyclamen received would best be described as benign neglect, being given only the basic necessities of light and water.
Was this plant responding to the appreciation it received from me and others who admired the continuing display? Fortunately it wasn't able to read any of the articles and websites written on how to care for a cyclamen persicum!
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| October 2008 | Page 1 Of 1 | |
