Tropical House Plants

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I have noticed that, for me at least, when something goes wrong, that’s not the end of it. Something else will go wrong before the first thing is finished. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me the other day here in the Virgin Islands.

The first bad thing was Hurricane Omar. By Wednesday, the forecasts were predicting a direct hit sometime that night or early the next morning. So I began the process of preparing for the worst. Years ago, Hurricane Hugo (left) taught me that it’s much better to “waste time” getting prepared than to gamble on a miss.

When I had finished clearing everything possible off my front porch, it struck me that this was a good opportunity for another blog post. I could show pictures of my house plants before and after the hurricane. I had just purchased a new digital camera, so I learned how to use it, and practiced by shooting pictures of how I had tried to protect my plants from the expected high winds.

Next, I went to my computer to transfer the pictures, and begin writing the “before Omar” post. That’s when the second bad thing happened: my computer crashed! Undaunted, I turned on my backup computer, only to discover the third bad thing: my backup software wouldn’t work on that system. That’s why I’m a bit late in posting this, as I just got through hacking my way into the hard disk from the crashed computer, and I finally have access to the website.

Before

The first picture shows many of the smaller plants huddled together on my computer worktable. Some of them are already looking a little droopy, as they have never been indoors before. But I have turned on my ceiling fan to give them a little breeze, and I explained to them that this was only temporary, and that they would soon be back outside. I am particularly concerned about the coleus in the back, as it probably has some pretty bad memories of its life before I rescued it from the Home Depot last month.

Here are some of the larger plants. I couldn’t fit all my plants indoors, so I have placed most of them up against the inner porch wall. If the winds don’t get too strong, they won’t blow around as much. Maybe they’ll lose a few branches, but at least they’ll survive. In the background behind the (purposely) overturned chair is my largest houseplant — a coconut palm, still in its youth. My two bougainvillas are up against the back wall. They were already living here, as I am trying to get them to bloom, so they need to stay dry for a while.

At the time of this picture, it had rained a bit, but you can see that the porch floor is only wet near the railing, so it hasn’t yet begun to blow. The storm doors on the left will be barricaded shut before dark. I didn’t want to cut out all the light indoors until the last minute. The power is still on at this point, but you never know when it will get shut off. Actually, it stayed on until about 8 PM.

After

This view of the eastern sky at about 6:15 Thursday morning looks pretty ominous, doesn’t it — it also looks like it was taken with B/W film. But neither is true … you can’t tell from the photo, but those clouds are moving from west to east. That means that the hurricane has already passed to our north, so I can begin restoring the plants to their former location.

The silver lining is that Omar was a real “wuss” — at least here in St. Thomas. I slept right through the storm. The winds were never strong enough to wake me up, and the plants survived without any broken limbs. By morning it was dead calm, at least at my elevation of 1200 feet above sea level, and the sun broke out about 8:00. The curfew imposed by the governor was lifted at 11:00, and our power came back on before noon.

This is how the west side of my porch is supposed to look. The coconut palm and the bougainvillas didn’t need to be moved, the chairs are back, and the immature plants are back on the railing. It’s early, so the porch is still soaking wet from the rain, which was enough to fill our cistern with good free water.

And if you look closely through the gap in the trees, you might be able to see my neighbors to the west. They still hadn’t opened their hurricane shutters, which surround their porch, so its hard to tell that there’s a house there … it looks solid-white.

The entrance to the porch looks normal again, with the large plants sitting on the floor where they belong, and the smaller ones on the railing. The sun has broken through the remaining clouds, and the porch floor is beginning to dry out.

In the foreground are two of my favorites, which will be featured in future posts. On the railing is my original spider plant, which has, at last count, 18 daughters sprouting off the main plant, some with flowers. And the large fern on the floor, which I don’t even know the name of, was a “volunteer” that I found in the yard next to the house.

So all of the problems have been resolved, and everything is now back to normal.

Technorati Tags: bringing houseplants indoors for the hurricane, tropical house plants, tropical houseplants

Too little water … too much water … either one can cause a plant to die. This article will help you decide exactly how much water to use, and what to do if you get it wrong.

What Determines the Amount of Water a Plant Needs?

There’s no general rule that works for every plant. It depends on:

1. The plant’s environment: Higher temperatures, lots of light, and breezes or drafts will dry out a plant faster. Plants in small pots will need more water, and those in unglazed clay pots also, since the porous sides allow moisture to pass through. The type of potting soil is also a factor — more about this in another installment.
2. The type of plant: Plants such as cactus that are native to a dry climate may not need much watering at all. Other plants with large, soft leaves need more water, as do plants that are blooming. I water my new cuttings daily, to stimulate root development.

Do all these factors mean that I just have to guess? … Not at all. Just use the “Feel the Soil Rule”. When the soil in the pot is dry to a depth of an inch or so, that’s the time to get out the watering can.

How to Water

Always give your plants a good soaking. It’s much better for them than small amounts applied more frequently. Every month or so, I like to just put the whole pot in a large bucket for a few minutes to make sure that all the soil is getting dampened.

Symptoms of Impending Disaster

How do you know if you’re doing it properly? It’s pretty easy to tell when a plant needs more water. Its leaves will begin to droop. Too much water is a more common mistake. It causes black spots, mold, or a “mushy” feeling in the stems.

How to Save the Day

If your plant is parched, just soak it for a while in a bucket. Mushy plants are more difficult to fix. Remove them from their pot and examine the roots. If they’re mushy too, it’s probably best to throw out the plant. Otherwise, replace most of the soil, and just keep it drier from now on.

Some Other Problems

• Root-bound plants will need more water than usual. It’s best to repot them.
• Ceramic pots with no drainage — just be conservative, and watch for symptoms of over-watering.
• After repotting a plant, the new soil will stay moist much longer, since there are no roots in it to take up moisture, so you need to water it less often.

Once you get to know your plants, it’s much easier. You’ll develop a pattern, and you’ll learn to recognize possible problems before they get too serious.

Related Links

• Indoor Gardening - The Essentials Of Quenching The Thirst Of Your Plants! - Watering systems for indoor gardens control the quantity of water provided to indoor plants and the frequency with which it is supplied. A number of watering systems for indoor gardens are available to suit the needs of various kinds of plants. You should also deliberate over such factors as the humidity and temperature of the plant location and the kind of container the plant is placed in. …

• Watering in the Zone - Week 3 - To illustrate how little water houseplants use in low light interiors, I’m tracking this Dracaena Janet Craig ‘Compacta’. It was a new 4″ plant potted into a 2-liter recycled pop bottle planter about 2 weeks ago. No additional water has been added to the plant since then. …

You Don’t Have a Green Thumb?
Learn from Our Years of Experience
How to Grow Plants in Your Own Home
ContainerGardeningExpert.com

Technorati Tags: house plant care, how to water, indoor gardening, tropical house plant care, tropical house plants, tropical houseplants

Now that you have brought many of your outdoor tropical plants indoors for the winter, it’s time to go over some of the things you need to know about how to care for them indoors. This article begins a series on Tropical House Plant Care.

You don’t have to be an expert to grow beautiful plants indoors. Most varieties require a minimum of care, and will provide you with all of their benefits in return.

There are three basic areas that you need to consider for a plant’s envirnoment: nourishment, their container, and their location.

1. Nourishment: a) What type of plant fertilizer should you use, and how often should you apply it? b) How often should you water, how much water should you use, and what’s the best way to do it?
2. Container: The size of the pot should be appropriate to the size of the plant, and it should have sufficient drainage. The potting soil used can make it easier to protect against mold and disease.
3. Location: Where you place your plants will require consideration for the amount of light they receive, the temperature to which they are exposed, and the humidity of the air that they breathe.

Caring for your tropical houseplants simply involves providing them with an environment that simulates as closely as possible the conditions that they would experience in the wild. Once you establish a routine, they require very little of your time, and will provide you with beauty, as well as cleaner and fresher air for you home.

Related Links

• Turn Your Room Into Green Paradise With Indoor Gardening!. Do you want to surround yourself with greenery throughout the year? Then you must definitely venture into indoor gardening. …

• House Plant Basics - As houseplants are living in an unnatural environment we need to give them extra care to get the best results. They will require all the elements of outdoor plants in their need for good nutrients, water, ventilation, light and a suitable climate. …

The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual
Essential Gardening Know-How for Keeping
(Not Killing) More Than 160 Indoor Plants.
www.amazon.com

Technorati Tags: house plant care, indoor gardening, tropical house plant care, tropical house plants, tropical houseplants

Related Links

• Top 10 Houseplants for Cleaner Air. Houseplants are our often-overlooked helpers in ridding the air of pollutants and toxins, counteracting outgassing and contributing to balanced internal humidity. …

• Indoor Plants as Air Purifiers. I see a lot of people asking … about which plants are good at removing chemicals from the air, and where one might find these plants. …

How to Grow Fresh Air
Combat Sick Building Syndrome
Cleanse Your Home of Common Pollutants
www.amazon.com

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