Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

•  Wild bird feeders will attract migrating birds so you can enjoy the pleasure of their company.

•  Wind chimes make wonderful gifts that fill the air with music whenever the wind blows.

•  Fragrant daphne is an early-blooming shrub that will delight you with its strongly scented blooms each spring.  Plant it in well-drained soil.

•  Stop peach leaf curl by spraying during the dry spells with copper-oil spray to help prevent this disfiguring disease from attacking your trees next spring.

•  Daffodils and tulips make fine stocking stuffers as do gardening gloves and pot stickers.

Houseplants for the Holidays

Houseplants brighten our environment, especially in the winter time. Many houseplants require minimal care and are able to put up with adverse conditions, like not being watered regularly, low-light conditions and not being fed on a regular schedule. Here are some of the  “toughies.”

The “Money Tree,” Pachira, looks a lot like the familiar Umbrella Tree, but is much easier to grow. With its braided trunk and broad leaves, it is very attractive and may eventually grow to be a small tree. It is durable and versatile and makes a lovely gift plant.

Chinese evergreen is a tropical foliage plant is valued for its lush green leaves that often have silver or cream variegations on them. It is one of the best for low light situations and will tolerate light or heavy watering.

There are many varieties of Dracaena, like the corn plant, with a yellow stripe down the center of each leaf, and Janet Craig, a compact plant with dark green leaves, that will adapt well to low light conditions and remain very attractive. Dracaena marginata has slender leaves and attractive trunks that make it a fine upright plant. 

Spathiphyllum is one of the few plants that will flower well indoors. It is known by several common names including white flag and peace lily. It has large dark green leaves on slender stems and its white flowers resemble calla lilies. A new variety, Domino, has dark green leaves splashed with white.

African Mask Alocasia gets its name from its resemblance to the hand carved ceremonial masks found in Africa, but it actually comes from the Philippines. It is a striking accent plant and an eye-catching addition to your collection.

Sansevieria, also known as mother-in-law’s tongue or snake plant, is a tall, slender plant with thick waxy leaves that likes to be pot-bound. It is excellent in the home as an air-cleaning plant and almost impossible to kill.

For a hanging plant it’s hard to beat the Pothos. Similar in appearance to the trailing philodendron, its leaves are brightly marked with yellow on top of an apple-green background. It grows to be a very long, trailing plant that can be trained around a macrame hanger or up the wall. It will take lower light conditions and just needs the soil evenly moist. It’s sister plant, called Marble Queen, has green leaves splashed with white. It is also very hardy. There is now a new compact variety as well.

Spider plant, or air plant, is extremely adaptable and will even grow in low light if necessary. The variegated leaves are attractive and the plantlets that emerge on long shoots from the mother plant can be cut off and rooted to make new plants. They are very good at cleaning the air.

If you have a difficult, low-light situation or you find houseplants hard to grow, try some of these beauties and enjoy their greenery around you.

• Replace codling moth pheromones now to make your apples as worm-free as possible. Replace the sticky papers at the same time.

• Set out starts of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and lettuce for a fall harvest. Spray weekly with BT to keep the cabbage worms at bay.

• Roses have more flowers all summer long than any other shrub. Plant them in a sunny location and feed monthly for continuous blooms.

• Cut back leggy annuals by half and feed to encourage a longer bloom season.

• Impatiens will give you instant color in shady areas and continue blooming right through the fall.

Summer Houseplant Care

Houseplants love summertime. During the summer months, the light is strong, the days are long, the air is warm and plants are eager to show new growth. But sometimes they need your help to do their best.

Summer is the best time to fertilize your houseplants. If you have never fertilized your houseplants, then summer is a great time to start. Look for a general, well-balanced fertilizer and follow the directions for mixing and frequency of application. Proper fertilization will help give your plants the nutrients they need for proper growth during the summertime.

Summer is a good time to go through your houseplant collection, and re-pot any houseplants which are root-bound. Choose a container that is only slightly larger than the one it is in and use a good quality potting soil. Firm the soil gently around the root ball, but do not press so hard that the soil becomes compacted.

Give shiny-leaved plants a good cleaning. If you can, take your plants outside in a shady place and hose them off. Then take a soft cloth and wipe down the leaves to leave them clean and shiny again. Take this time to trim off brown leaves and look for pests. Treat for insects as soon as you see them, as they multiply rapidly during the warm summer months.

Often during the summer, plants will dry out faster, and need to be watered more frequently than at other times of the year. Be sure to keep an eye on your plants’ watering needs (especially during very hot days), and be prepared to water more frequently if need be.

Summer is also a great time to propagate new houseplants. Cuttings taken during this time will root and become established quickly. Root them in water and as soon as they have sufficient roots, plant them into a container with good, fresh potting soil.

If you have a shaded porch or a safe place under a large tree, most houseplants will benefit from spending part of the summer outdoors. Remember that most houseplants are shade-loving, low-light plants, and they should not be placed in direct sunlight. Many houseplants can be revitalized by growing them outside during the summer. Plants with large leaves should be placed where they get good wind protection, since their leaves are easily torn.

Plants summering outdoors are exposed to summer heat, and brighter light, so they will dry out faster than if they were indoors. Be sure to keep plants properly watered while they are outdoors. Plants receive more light when they are outdoors which stimulates growth and sometimes stimulates plants to bloom. Houseplants should be brought back indoors by mid-September, before the weather turns cold.

Houseplants add so much to our indoor environment. Take this time to give yours a summer vacation, or to add to your collection with a new plant.

• Replace codling moth pheromones now to make your apples as worm-free as possible. Replace the sticky papers at the same time.

• Set out starts of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and lettuce for a fall harvest. Spray weekly with BT to keep the cabbage worms at bay.

• Roses have more flowers all summer long than any other shrub. Plant them in a sunny location and feed monthly for continuous blooms.

• Cut back leggy annuals by half and feed to encourage a longer bloom season.

• Impatiens will give you instant color in shady areas and continue blooming right through the fall.

Summer Houseplant Care

Houseplants love summertime. During the summer months, the light is strong, the days are long, the air is warm and plants are eager to show new growth. But sometimes they need your help to do their best.

Summer is the best time to fertilize your houseplants. If you have never fertilized your houseplants, then summer is a great time to start. Look for a general, well-balanced fertilizer and follow the directions for mixing and frequency of application. Proper fertilization will help give your plants the nutrients they need for proper growth during the summertime.

Summer is a good time to go through your houseplant collection, and re-pot any houseplants which are root-bound. Choose a container that is only slightly larger than the one it is in and use a good quality potting soil. Firm the soil gently around the root ball, but do not press so hard that the soil becomes compacted.

Give shiny-leaved plants a good cleaning. If you can, take your plants outside in a shady place and hose them off. Then take a soft cloth and wipe down the leaves to leave them clean and shiny again. Take this time to trim off brown leaves and look for pests. Treat for insects as soon as you see them, as they multiply rapidly during the warm summer months.

Often during the summer, plants will dry out faster, and need to be watered more frequently than at other times of the year. Be sure to keep an eye on your plants’ watering needs (especially during very hot days), and be prepared to water more frequently if need be.

Summer is also a great time to propagate new houseplants. Cuttings taken during this time will root and become established quickly. Root them in water and as soon as they have sufficient roots, plant them into a container with good, fresh potting soil.

If you have a shaded porch or a safe place under a large tree, most houseplants will benefit from spending part of the summer outdoors. Remember that most houseplants are shade-loving, low-light plants, and they should not be placed in direct sunlight. Many houseplants can be revitalized by growing them outside during the summer. Plants with large leaves should be placed where they get good wind protection, since their leaves are easily torn.

Plants summering outdoors are exposed to summer heat, and brighter light, so they will dry out faster than if they were indoors. Be sure to keep plants properly watered while they are outdoors. Plants receive more light when they are outdoors which stimulates growth and sometimes stimulates plants to bloom. Houseplants should be brought back indoors by mid-September, before the weather turns cold.

Houseplants add so much to our indoor environment. Take this time to give yours a summer vacation, or to add to your collection with a new plant.