If your friends and family know you ’re a plant person , chances are houseplant giving are coming your way this vacation time of year . Now your job is to keep them alive and thriving so you may enjoy them through the winter and beyond . Here are five tips for houseplant wellness .
chuck the foil . Poinsettiasand other houseplants often come with ornamental foil wrapped around the pot . If you leave it on , urine pools in the foil and you may end up with a soggy plant , rotted ascendent or drips on the carpeting when the foil spring a leak . Instead , remove the foil and set the plant in its plastic pot in a cosmetic container . If you do n’t have the ripe size decorative container , cut small slits in the enhancer and place the plant in the sink when you water it .
make out the plant ’s tutelage motive . Poinsettiaslike collateral light and regular watering , and most only last six to eight weeks indoors . Christmas and Thanksgiving cactineed gravid drain and can last for days . Bulbs likeamaryllisand narcissus have everything they need to grow in the bulb . They need only twinkle and water . Whatever the plant you ’re given , read the shred or other information to make indisputable it will last .
Go easy on the H2O.The top reason houseplants die is overwatering . love how much water your houseplant gift needs and do n’t overdo it . When lachrymation , do the touch test . Stick your finger’s breadth in the soil up to your first knuckle and if it is damp at all , do n’t piddle .
Give it a comfy home . Like human race , plants do n’t wish environments that are too dry , too gloomy or too draughty . While this varies from plant to plant , a smear near a south or E - facing window and away from heat vents or draughty doors will make most works comfortable . If your house is very dry , consider placing plant on top of rocks in a shallow tray sate with H2O . Misting day by day is another option to up the humidness .
Do a pest assay . My experience is that houseplant gifts incline to get pest free . But you never know , so check under the leave of absence and around the stems for signs of pests , such as powdery blotches , honeydew ( sticky insect body waste ) or chocolate-brown scaly structures . Among the mostcommon houseplant pestsare scale , mealy germ , aphids and fungus gnat . If you see something fishy , isolate the new industrial plant away from other plants for a duo of weeks to check that all is well .
Here ’s wishing you a happy holiday season and many exciting and healthy houseplant gift .
Learn more inNorthern Gardener®magazine…
Four seasonal yield full of growing tips and featured garden — written and edited by local northerly horticulture pros just for you .
