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Pruning a Ficus Benjamina
Posted On 2010-03-17 , 3:01 AM
We will need to prune our Ficus Benjamina periodically to keep it healthy, full and attractive.
We may need to prune to...
1.-remove dead branches. Dead branches are not only unsightly, but will interfere with new growth.
2.-reduce the size of the houseplant. The ficus benjamina or weeping fig, can grow rather large in both height and spread. If left unchecked it can demand more and more space until it needs more space than we are willing to give it.
3.-get rid of weaker growth to produce a stronger plant. The weeping fig produces many thin branches that bend under the weight of the leaves. This is an attractive feature of the houseplant. Pruning will be needed however to encourage stonger growth to produce a shaplier plant as it matures.
4.- create a bushier, more shapely plant. Pruning will encourage the branches to divide producing a thicker, fuller houseplant.
5.- make room for new growth.
We should remove dead growth any time it appears. Cut away all of the dead material.
Pruning for other reasons should be carried out in the spring when the new growth begins to appear.
We should always use sharp tools to make the cuts as the will cause less damage to the branches. The cuts will heal faster and allow less time for disease to attack the open wound.
Cuts should be made just above a node on a branch, as that is where the new growth will begin.
Ficus benjamina can withstand removing up to 1/3 of the plant if needed. This is referred to as a hard pruning.
The new growth will fill in the areas where branches have been cut away making a fuller bush.
The ficus benjamina shown in the images had not been pruned in 2 or 3 years. It was pruned to remove some dead branches and weaker growth and to reduce its spread. It was claiming more of my living room than I was prepared to give it.
Regular pruning of your ficus benjamina will control its size and shape and improve its appearance.
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House Plant Care as Days Lengthen
Posted On 2010-01-31 , 3:43 PM
Preparing Your Houseplant for Renewal
As days lengthen, your houseplants receive more light. This increase in light will cause your house plants to break out of their winter dormancy and produce a new spurt of growth.
The increase in the amount of light your houseplant receives is due to two main factors:
1. The days become longer so your houseplant receives this light for more hours each day.
2. As the sun rises higher in the sky, the sunlight received becomes brighter. This increase in light intensity provides the houseplant with more light needed for growth.
At this time of the year, many houseplants begin a phase of growth and renewal. Growth will not only add to the plant's size, but will replace fallen leaves and other areas on the houseplant where dead growth has been pruned away.
To help our houseplant to renew itself, there are a few things we can do.
1. You should examine your houseplant and prune away any dead growth. This will provide room for the new growth to fill.
2. You should do any pruning needed to control the size of the houseplant or to reshape the plant to keep it attractive.
3. You should look at your houseplants to see if they have outgrown their old home and need to be repotted. Remember that some plants, like the spider plant, like to be pot bound. Also a houseplant that is moved to a larger pot will usually grow larger so it may need a larger area in which to grow. It's old location may no longer be suitable.
4. Your houseplants can also use a good cleaning at this time of year. Cleaning the dust from the leaves will not only make them look more attractive, but will also let more of the light to reach the leaves. More light means more growth and more renewal.
As the days lengthen and the light becomes brighter, your houseplants will need more of the raw materials it uses for growth. You will find that your houseplants will need more water than they did during the short winter days. Watch your plants and give them the extra water needed, but take care not to overwater.
This increase in the rate of growth also means a need for more nutrients. At this time of year you start to fertilize your houseplants to feed this renewal of growth. Take care not to overfertilize, a little goes a long way.
As the days lengthen we get to witness first hand, in our houseplants, nature renewing itself.
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Reblooming a Poinsettia
Posted On 2009-10-01 , 1:29 PM
 It is still not too late to get last years poinsettia to rebloom.
To have a poinsettia plant that is full and attractive, you needed to cut the poinsettia back to about 3 to 4 inches in mid to late April. This will get rid of all the old growth and give a base for new growth to start. It will also keep the poinsettia from getting too large.
Then after the new growth has established, you pich back the poinsettia plant in early July. This will cause each of the new stems to branch out creating a fuller bush.
Now starting in late September, you need to give the poinsettia plant 12 to 14 hours of continuous darkness each day for 8 to 10 weeks to get the poinsettia to produce the colorful brachts in time for a December display.
You can do this by many methods, but it is important that the process is not broken. It must be done each day for the period. The darkness must be total. Room lighting for regular living will be enough to affect the process. Even the light from a street light outside can affect the production of the colorful brachts.
Some people will place the poinsettia in a darkened room at night. The curtains should be drawn and the room should not be visited during the 12 to 14 hour period. Even the turning on of the room light for a short period will affect the poinsettia.
Instead of using a room, you may use a closet for the dark period. Again the closet should be kept completely dark and the light should be blocked from getting in through the cracks around the door.
Another way is to enclose the poinsettia in a dark garbage bag for the 12 to 14 hours of darkness. The bag must be very dark and thick so as not to let in the light through the bag. Manufacturers of garbage bags are getting very good at making strong bags with thin sides and coloring them green. This allows too much light to pass through, so choose a heavy black bag. When using this method you also want to support the bag so that it does not touch the poinsettia leaves. Also during the daylight hours, lower the bag completely so that the poinsettia can breathe.
During this 8 to 10 weeks, the poinsettia needs to be returned to the bright light during the daytime. The poinsettia plant is still growing, producing the brachts or colorful leaves that we want.
Reblooming last years poinsettia requires some patience, but you can produce a beautiful houseplant to add to your winter decorations.
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Houseplant Leaves Getting Brown Tips or Edges
Posted On 2009-09-07 , 11:37 AM
Are your houseplants getting brown tips or edges? There are three main causes.
1. Low Humidity- If the humidity in your room is low and the houseplant requires a higher humidity, the tips and edges of the leaves may dry and turn brown. To keep this from happening, we need to raise the humidity around the plant.
We can group plants together in an area. All plants give off moisture, some more than others. If we group plants together, we create a micro environment in that area which has a higher humidity than the rest of the room.
A second way to raise the humidity is to place the houseplants on pebble trays. A tray with pebbles or gravel is placed under a plant. Water is added to the tray until it is just below the top of the pebbles. The water will evaporate around the houseplant raising the humidity. Be sure the plant pot is clearly above the water. If the plant pot is allowed to sit in the water, we can encounter another problem called root rot.
Misting is another way to raise the humidity temporarily, but for long term effects several mistings a day would be required.
2. Floride or boron found in normal tap water may build up in the leaves causing the tips to turn brown. Many houseplants, including peace lilies, are susceptible to this. Allowing tap water to stand in an open container for a day will allow some of these gasses to evaporate, but this may not be enough. It is best to use rain water or distilled water to water your houseplants.
3. A build up of soluble salts from fertilizer will also cause leaf tips to turn brown. If you see a white substance on the top of the soil in your plant pot, a build up of fertilizer salts is the likely culprit. To clean out the excess salts, take the plant to a sink ot bathtub (or outside) and pour enough water with no fertilizer into the plant pot so that at least half of it runs through the plant and out the bottom of the pot. Wait about 5 minutes and pour that same amount through again. This time it will all run through. Repeat once more. This will wash the excess salts out of the soil. Don't fertilize the plant again for 2 to 4 weeks. When you resume fertilizing, reduce the strenght of the fertilizer solution being used. At nurseries, they always pour enough water throught the plant at each watering to leach out the excess salts. This is not always practical in our home setting.
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Spruce Up Your Houseplants In The Spring
Posted On 2009-03-30 , 12:43 AM
As the daylight lengthens, many of our houseplants put on a spurt of new growth. Now is a great time to give them some extra attention to help keep them healthy and attractive.
1. We should give them a good cleaning by wiping down the leaves with a damp cloth or spraying them under the shower. This will remove the dust and open the pores on the leaves so that the process of transpiration is improved. Transpiration is the process where the plant absorbs gasses from the air and gives off oxygen to the air. Clean leaves are also better able to absorb the light to promote healthy growth. Plants with fuzzy or furry leaves should be dusted with a soft brush or duster as the water will damage the leaves.
2. Now is an excellent time to check whether our houseplants have outgrown their pots and need to be repotted. Most houseplants will repot better during a time of active growth. Spring is such a time. Do your indoor houseplants need repotting?
3. Many plants can be pruned back if they have grown too large or uneven growth has made them unshapely. The best time for pruning foliage plants is in the spring when the new growth has started. THis will cause new growth to start below the branches pruned, producing a bushier plant.
For flowering plants we need to know about the flowering characteristics of the plant. Many flowering houseplants produce flowers on the new growth and pruning will produce multiple new shoots that will bud and produce flowers. Some flowering plants will flower on growth that is one year old already and pruning old growth can reduce the buds produced.
4. Our houseplants will also benefit from an application of fertilizer when the new growth starts. This will give the plant the nutrients it needs for healthy growth. Fertilizing should continue through the growing season as appropriate for each houseplant variety.
A little attention at this time of year will do much to improve the health and appearance of your indoor houseplant.
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