Category: Houseplants

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How to Deal with a Sick Mother-In-Law Plant

 

TheGardenLady received this question from Dawn:

Someone gave me a mother inlaw plant and said it lives outside and that I couldnt kill it, but it looks like its dying now…will it die in the winter and rebloom in the summer?

Plants that will grow outdoors all year long come from a place that has a similar climate to the one that you live in.  Sansevieria comes from Tropical Africa.

Zone 6, where I live, is too cold for the Sansevieria trifasciata (Latin name) or mother-in-law’s tongue plant (one of the common names for this plant) to leave outdoors in the late fall, winter and spring.  As tough as the plant is, it cannot tolerate very cold or freezing weather and in colder zones is used primarily as an indoor plant.

Since you do not tell me what temperature zone or area of the country/world you live in, I cannot tell you if the plant can be outdoors over winter in your area. Do you live in a tropical zone?

Besides not being able to live outdoors in cold weather where it will die, Sanseviera cannot tolerate overwatering or it will get root rot and also die. See TheGardenLady.org column Mother-in -Law Plant here.

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Growing Plants in Containers

 

TheGardenLady received this question from Yoonsin Park:

I live in a condo with a small patio.  Due to that I can only have container plants.  I don’t want to get larger & larger containers as the plant grows.  I just want to get one container and the plant to retain itself in it.  What is the best way to do that?

Container growing is one of the hottest methods of having an outdoor garden. There are a profusion of books on the subject.  Amazon.com lists 1514 books on container growing. One authority on the subject is Sydney Eddison whom TheGardenLady had the good fortune to hear lecture and see the slide show of her container garden.  Read this article by Eddison.

This summer at the Perennial Plant Conference at Swarthmore College I had the pleasure of hearing, seeing her slide show and meeting, briefly, Rita Randolph of Randolph’s Greenhouses in Jackson, Tennessee. Rita’s canvases are her containers which she sells; some you can  see on her website.

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What Flowering Plant is Good to Grow in a Dorm Room?

                                                                  

TheGardenLady received this question from Scott –

I want to grow some plants in my dorm this coming fall.  I have a spider plant currently in a small pot. I’m looking for something unique that hopefully flowers and smells.  My room will be facing due east.  It will get direct sunlight when the sun is about 30 degrees from the horizon to straight up.  Hopefully I’ll get a planter box for my window sill.  I’m a semi-experienced gardener and feel confident about keeping things alive.

Your confidence and experience will do you well in your growing plants in your dorm room. Eastern exposure is good for many indoor plants, even some flowering plants.
 
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Tip: A Great Nursery to Buy Perennial Plants and Herbs

TheGardenLady has been answering questions for months. The strange thing is that TheGardenLady has never received any comments. For example, a comment may have been: “HELP! I find your column interesting reading because you recommend great plants that I would like to grow, but I can’t find them in the stores near me or they are too expensive. What should I do? ”

Well, TheGardenLady would like to address her own “comment” by telling her readers where to buy perennial plants and to pay cheap prices for these plants. The nursery is called Russell Gardens Wholesale Perennials and Herbs at P.O. Box 702 Richboro, PA 18954 – Phone # is 215 322 4799 and Fax # is 215 322 9884 The nursery is located at 600 New Road in Churchville, PA 18966. They are open Mon-Fri from 8am to noon and reopen from 1pm to 5pm. Saturday they are open 8am to noon. Closed Sundays and holidays.

Continue reading “Tip: A Great Nursery to Buy Perennial Plants and Herbs”

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Mother-in-Law Plant

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this question from Beverly.

I have a mother-in-law plant that has funny looking flowers that came up. It is sweet smelling. But it attracts wasps!! i have never heard or seen one bloom. Can you tell me where I can see a picture of the flower ?

Congratulations on your Sansevieria’s (mother-in-law’s tongue plant’s) blooming. You are treating your plant well to have it bloom.  A website that shows the flower is this.

The flower has so much nectar and sweetness, I would imagine that it would attract bees or wasps. I kept my plant indoors when it was in bloom so that my house benefited from the fragrance and no insect came near the flower.

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Caring for Marigolds

                                                                          

TheGardenLady received this question from Sammy.

I am trying to grow marigolds on my balcony. They were already partially grown when I got them and were already flowering now they are starting to get lots of  flowers and the leaves are starting to fall off. I need some advice on pruning  them. Is there anything else I need to do to care for them? Also I kept one of the  dead flowers that fell off because I was told they hold the seeds of the plant that I can then replant.  Is there anything special I need to do before I plant  them.

Some people think that the marigold is the easiest flower to raise.  See here.   However, that being said, they do need lots of sunshine – the more the better. Marigolds like continuously warm or hot weather – not cold and hot weather – after all most of the marigolds we have in the US come from Mexico. They like to be watered but don’t like to be over watered – water twice a week in dry times. Too much rain can be bad for them so be sure the pots have good drainage. And though marigolds generally don’t seem to have many problems, they can have problems.  See here.  Your leaves falling off may be a sign that something is wrong.

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Hostas

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this question from Kevin:

I have a very small front area,very small,2’x25′ with very little sun.  I was thinking about some kind of ornamental grass for height and some other colorful flowers. Any ideas?

For a shaded, narrow, long garden, foliage interest might be what you are looking for. Hostas are definitely a plus for any shade garden.  Hostas have many leaf sizes. They are designated as tiny, dwarf, small, medium, large and giant. The leaves have a broad range of different green  colors-some of the leaves are yellowish and blueish as well as dark or light green or white with green, etc.- to make an interesting cool color palette. Many hostas send up flowers that are butterfly attractants and are fragrant. The hostas used to be considered in the lily family because of the flowers.  Check out the Hosta Library site for all the different hostas.  Or look at another Hosta website.

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Plants in Crystal Pots

I received the following question from Sol:

How can I conserve mini plants in crystal pots?

Your question is not quite clear. Do you wish to plant miniature plants in crystal pots that have no drainage holes? What plants do you want to plant- miniature African violets, cacti, alpines?

Remember plants do best when you can put them into an environment that is closest to their indigenous environment. Most plants do not like to sit in water. They want the water to drain through the soil. So it is best to keep the plants in pots with drainage holes.

The Garden Lady’s suggestion would be to fill the crystal pot with glass beads, marbles or pretty pebbles. Then sink a miniature plant, in its own pot, in the center of the crystal pot. That way the pot that the plant is in will be hidden by the surrounding glass beads or whatever you chose to use, but the plant will appear to be planted in the crystal pot. Then when you water the plant, the water can seep through its own pot and settle in the bottom of the crystal pot. If the mini plant you are referring to likes humidity this water in the bottom of the crystal pot will keep the humidity level up.

Remember that as you water and feed any plant, excess minerals will leach out. These minerals can cause a hard film to form on the surface of the pot. Do you want this to happen to your good crystal? By leaving the plant in its own pot, you can easily remove it from the crystal pot and clean the crystal before the pot gets this build up of minerals.

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Plants that even children can take care of

I received a great question from Matt about plants that children can care for.  He wrote,

My kids (7 & 10) are showing a natural interest in raising their own plant or tree (similar to their interest in having an ant farm or collecting caterpillars) and I was hoping you could tell me of some plants that are fairly
robust and generally easy to care for – in other words, plants that would be ideal for a child to care for .

What an exciting question! The fact that the children are expressing the interest in growing plants tells me that raising plants will be a really meaningful project for them and could become a lifetime interest. Raising plants is a very popular hobby for people of all ages- starting  from early childhood.

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Taking care of plants when you are away for the holidays

I was asked the following plant-related question by someone named Sarah:

I saw a suggestion to bury used tea bags in your houseplant soil to retain water in winter.  Any other hints to help keep plants moist when we’re away for the holidays?

I had never heard of burying used tea bags in your houseplant soil to retain water in the winter.  However, it makes sense. Tea leaves help to make good compost and good composted soil is water retentive.  But it would seem to me that it might look unsightly to have your tea bag string hanging out of your flower pot or it might take up precious soil space with the entire tea bag.  Don’t ever throw out your tea leaves. Always save tea leaves because they are wonderful to add to your compost pile and tea leaves will  compost nicely in your potted plants. You can add the entire bag because it is all biodegradeable.  You can pour the cold leftover tea in your potted plants rather than down the drain. (If you use sugar in your tea, I wouldn’t add it to your indoor potted plants in seasons when ants are around.)   
 

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