Inspired by those of you who garden and/or have houseplants, I acquired some new plants. They face great peril and possible death in their journey with me. Get ready because this post will be a long one with lots of photos and some questions. I welcome your plant care advice.
The two rose bushes were here when I bought the house. I don't have to do anything to them. They bloom frequently.
A week ago I made additions to the backyard.
If I do something different with the lily, then will it be happier? Should it be in a bigger pot? Would it like another lily next door for company or is it fine having petunias as a neighbor?
I didn't photograph two other additions that are next to the roses. I planted something I can't remember the name of, and also have some flowers described as DROP & GROW. So I dropped and watered, but will they grow?
If the stuff I planted comes up, I'll let you know. I might take photos of the dropped flowers so you can tell me what to do to make them grow. They didn't want their picture taken a few days ago.
I don't know what else to add to the backyard. I'd like to have some raised beds à la Two Men And A Little Farm, but Lowe's doesn't seem to have pre-built raised beds and I am definitely not good at construction.
I also want to add some pretty flowers to the front of the house. What grows well in the shade? I have flower boxes under some of the windows, but don't know what to put in them. Maybe they should wait until I have new windows.
Next, I now have houseplants. They are all supposed to prefer indirect lighting.
We begin with the orchid.
A plastic clip holds the orchid to the stick to give it good posture, but should I remove the clip and the stick?
Would it prefer living in the front yard?
I'm not worried about it unless you tell me why I should be.
Finally, we have bamboo, which advertises itself as a good feng shui plant.
It came with pretty, decorative stones around it. Will I need to add more of those to a larger pot for its topmost pleasure? I can't imagine it would like plain gravel, but I don't want to pay for rocks, albeit attractive ones.
So many questions and concerns, yet I'm eager to bring more flowers into my life. I await your responses, Gentle Gardeners.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
Good luck with these plants. I fear that I am the wrong person to offer advice on such matters, but I am sure they will do well with you to care for them.
ReplyDeleteI have a hummingbird feeder and I looked up the directions for making their sugar water. I'll try to hang it in the backyard tomorrow and let you know if I have any results. Birds are few in the hood because of feral cats.
DeleteAlas, plants and gardening are not my strong points so I have no advice for you. Just appreciation for the photos of your beautiful plants!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debra. They're beautiful now, but will they be beautiful in a month? We'll see.
DeleteNo one ever heeds my plant advice. Plants I have need to be hardy and inclined toward neglect.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Maryland I had a lot of houseplants in big, self-watering pots. That was easy, but I haven't seen self-watering pots in a long time.
Deleteno advice, I'll just admire the pretty living things.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy their good looks.
DeleteLovely plants but i have the touch of death so shall refrain from advising.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! The touch of death!
DeleteI am not at all good with house plants. As Anne said, they need to be tough.
ReplyDeleteYour lily might like it in bigger pot. They are heavy feeders and would like some fertiliser if you want them to flower next year. The bamboo won't care about the colour of its gravel. Be warned though, many of them are invasive and will try and take over your garden and the world if you set it free. Keep it potted.
That's good advice about the bamboo. I don't want to release anything that will try to take over the world.
DeleteWell, I was going to say I had no advice, but so far you've been shit out of luck, so I'll tell you what I DO know.
ReplyDeleteDo not remove the clip and the stick from the orchid. It won't stand up on its own. I keep our orchids in good indirect sunlight all the time... indoors.
If the bamboo is grown in water, it just needs rocks or something else (redwood chips) for the roots. It doesn't need as big a container in that case, but it will need to be fed since it gets no other nutrients. If bamboo is root bound, it usually turns yellow. Also, even in soil they like to be fed.
Anthurium does well in small pots. If roots start to fill the surface or poke out the bottom, it's time for a bigger pot.
That's as much help as I can be. Keep in mind, however, I followed careful instructions for a collection of orchids I had in Santa Barbara, CA. I fed them one thing one part of the year, another thing another part of the year. They were in an excellent location. They were never too wet nor too dry. Only one bloomed a second time! (But the leaves were beautiful.)
The bamboo is in soil. What does bamboo like for supper?
DeleteI think bamboo likes high-nitrogen plant food... and water!
DeleteSorry I can't be much help either, my husband is the gardener in our house! Your orchids look happy, I wouldn't repot them, I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut will the orchid stay happy? That's my concern. I want a long relationship with all of my plants.
DeleteSo pretty. I love the red pot!
ReplyDeleteThe coordinating red pot looks good with the plant. It came that way, as did the orchid in the lavender pot. I think they were possible Easter gifts.
DeleteAll I can help you with are amaryllis and the ones I hang outdoors in summer, but can't remember the name this late at night.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember a lot of names any time of the day or night.
DeleteDo you think flowers know how awesome they are? Just sayin'
ReplyDeleteMine know because I tell them. All flowers should be complimented regularly.
DeleteHey there!!! So sweet of you to mention us. Raised beds can be some work to build plus they can be a bit pricey if you get something sort of pre-made. I'll see if I can come up with some ideas. As for the plants. Hmm. Orchid - definitely don't remove the clip, they will fall right over. I've had some orchids in years past but I had always read that they shouldn't be repotted. At least early on. I had some for a few years and they only bloomed (all of them) once and then a second one bloomed a couple years later. I kind of just let them go at some point. Anthurium - a classic indoor plant. They don't like to be too wet and they do like light. I'd keep it near a window but just don't let it dry out and don't let it stay too moist. They are tropicals so just imagine tropical weather, ha. Where it is will probably work great. The bamboo I've never grown but think they are pretty easy. That just require water and some gravel. I had a coworker who kept one on her desk in this tiny glass vase filled with aquarium rocks. That think grew for years. It never got huge but it did well.
ReplyDeleteSide note I think that stand with that window behind it is awesome. Have you thought of some herbs? If you like them of course. Basil would be super easy, so would some oregano. You can get some herbs for cheap at the garden centers like Home Depot. A bag of potting soil and some small clay pots, you could have fresh herbs on that stand. Just sayin'. If I come across more info I'll come back and share. You've got this, you can do it!!! :-)
Thanks! I appreciate your help and inspiration. I've discovered I like working in my yard and having plants in the house. I was wondering about herbs. I think that's my next step.
DeleteI wish I knew more so I could help you but I am pretty ignorant when it comes to outdoor and indoor plants to be honest. Anything that survives under my care...well, it has been by accident or good fortune--lol!
ReplyDeleteI've never been a gardener so anyone who asked for my advice wouldn't get any.
DeleteI can't be of much help. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteThat's okay. I love the photos from your Easter weekend.
DeleteHi Janie - I can admire ... but definitely not offer advice ... enjoy them all and good luck - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary! I'm definitely enjoying them.
DeleteAll I can do is send good luck wishes for your gardening efforts. Most of the time, plants run the other direction when they see me coming!
ReplyDeleteYou might not be a plant person, but your baking and cooking inspire me.
DeleteMe and gardening don't mix
ReplyDeletePutting plants in pots is okay for me, but if I got down on the ground to garden I'd never be able to get back up.
DeleteSo here's the thing about orchids -- they need good drainage. I can't tell what kind of pot or planter it's in, and whether or not it has a drainage hole, but make sure the plant never, ever sits in water. Orchids in the wild live on trees, and get doused regularly with rainwater, so try to imitate that at home -- a weekly dousing that drains entirely away within a few minutes. I wouldn't repot it, at least not yet. And yeah, as others have said, keep the stick for now.
ReplyDeleteThe anthurium should also have a drainage hole -- as should any plant, really. Sometimes plants are sold in pots that don't drain. I don't get that at all.
You mentioned indirect light -- it's hard to tell from the photo, but that window looks pretty dark. Is there a porch roof outside, by any chance? It seems to me that the plants may need more light than that -- a brighter window, but not direct sun -- but again, it's hard to tell from just a picture.
I'm not sure what to think about the lily. We have a lily that's on its second year in the same pot, but it hasn't bloomed so I'm not sure it's happy!
The petunias, of course, are annuals, so they'll be pretty this year but they'll die in the fall.
Hope this helps!
One more thing about the orchid -- although we water ours weekly, we don't have air conditioning or very robust heating, and both of those can dry out a plant. So yours may need more or less water depending. Just keep an eye on it, let it get dry but not too dry. If the leaves look wrinkly it needs more water.
DeleteThanks for the information, Steve. The orchid and anthurium pots do not have drainage holes, so that's interesting.
DeleteMy deck is not covered and the sun is very bright and hot there. Maybe the plants can visit the kitchen to enjoy more light there.
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