Houseplant

[houseplants]

Hi everybody,

I am new at this forum and also at growing houseplants
I recently bought quite a few plants, all from the local Jewel.
1) Medium sized croton- It looked very nice and healthy, but now it stopped adding any new leaves. Also I kept it in the same plastic container it came in, abt 12". Do I need to repot? I water when the top layer is dry, and it is under the skylight.
2)Dwarf schefflera- It is very bushy and large. It is also in the original plastic container. It is very dense and I cannot see the soil in the pot. It has been with me for a mth.
3)2 small pots of African violets- They are very cute, in 2" pots. How do I care for them?
4)Orchid, the moth type- In 4" pot, single stem
5)English ivy in 2" pot
6)Peace lily- this one gave me cople of flowers and now getting bigger by adding nice green shiny leaves. It is in 6" plastic pot with drainage. It looks like it is kind of overflowing from the pot, like drooping. It looks full and nice now but I was wonderinf if it needs to be divided or what.

All these plants as i said are in original pots. What is the general procedure when you buy plants from the store like I did? I want to keep them for many yrs.
Also i saw that they have Kalanchoe in today. I live in Chicago, do you recommend buying it? Does it survive winter indoors or it is a seasonal plant? like for holidays and then throw away?
I appreciate your advice.

[SilenceOfTheClams]

Houseplant...

I kill crotons so I can't help ya there... I believe they really need HIGH HUMIDITY... so perhaps park a spray bottle of water near by and spritz often?

On the African Violets... they're BOTTOM WATER plants and love FOOD.. so invest in a small bottle of African Violet food, mix as directed with water, pour into a bowl, and set the violet pot in weekly so it can wick up the solution. They do NOT like to have any water on the leaves but with regular "dips" in the food/water solution, they'll bloom profusely for you. I have mine in BRIGHT filtered light, actually south/west window with sheer curtains. (no need to repot I'd think unless it's absolutely CRAMMED in the pot it came in.)

Moth Orchid/ Phaleonopsis~~~ treat the same with as african violet but use Orchid Food... easy! If the bloom stem is done blooming, snip the stem off at/above the 3rd "node" (little scar thingy on the stem) above the soil surface. This will tell the orchid to make another bloom stem. Those orchids can actually go DRY between waterings, (setting the pot in the water/food solution) so you may only need to do that every 2-3 weeks. It's as important that the roots get AIR as it is water! Don't let water gather in the "cup" where the leaves meet in the middle of the plant or rot will set in. Lighting is the same or a bit less than the african violets require but unlike violets, Orchids LOVE to have their leaves misted and OFTEN! You'll rarely have to repot orchids unless the roots are crawling all over the place... :D

English Ivy... low light to medium light, keep soil relatively moist MOST of the time, it's okay if they dry out a LITTLE bit... plenty of air circulation for Ivy as they are sought after accomodations of spider mites.. and if there IS a spider mite within 4 city blocks, He'll move right in there with ya! You MAY want to pot up to a next size pot as new baby leaves will sprout up from the roots and fill in the pot. Feed as directions on "normal" plant food for year round growth.

Dwarf Sheffelera... love semi-bright filtered light... light moist soil... ocassional mistings from a spray bottle and require little if hardly any care. I'll drag mine into the kitchen and give the leaves a "shower" with the hose sprayer every couple o' months. (they LOVE that)

Peace Lily... like to be "fed" and keep the soil on the moist side. They'll show they're not at all happy the moment the soil becomes dry by dropping the leaves in a heartbeat. They are moderate/shade lovers and do well away from direct/bright light. Time to repot with the stems of the leaves fill the pot or you see roots popping out the drainage holes.

Kalanchoe??? They commit suicide at my house... so can't help ya there.

Rules of Green.....
1) NEVER place plants over/near heat ducts, TVs or any electrical applicances....
2) Place a protective dish under the plant to save both the plant and the furniture, carpet
3) Train you cats/dogs that these are NOT squeeze toys, pig ears or something to play Dodge'em with
4) TRY to keep any information tags that accompany a plant and use your browser to research the plants' characteristics. (this does NOT apply to those "generic" tags that only confirm you're spending money on a green thing... some kind of "foliage"
5) If you DO GET one with above mentioned tag and have no CLUE what it is.. take a photo and post here on the forums!! Ask for an ID... and we'll all fight over each other giving our opinions... then we'll wait for Mr Seedy, Gonzer, Boo and the other gurus to be the definitive "ID'er"
6) Any questions as to what kind of potting mix/medium for which plant.. post a query here!
7) Accept the fact..... PLANTS WILL AND DO COMMIT SUICIDE even with the best of care... (I think it's a seperation/anxiety issue but that's just MY opinion!)

got all that?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/okey.gif then!

[MrSeedy]

Even though I'm still tempted to buy another croton , because you almost can't beat them for the colorful foliage, I remember how hard they are to keep colorful , unless you have the brightest light possible. Even in a very bright apartment mine always had green leaves (the new ones added after they'd lived with me for a while), and moving to the full sun on a balcony for the summer burned those green leaves, since they weren't used to the full sun. Leaves that develope in the sun (new ones) may develope the color again, but remembering all the crotons I saw both in Mexico and Florida, I remember seeing them in mostly sunny locations, which is required for the color. Anyway on top of that they do need warm temperatures and high humidity in the winter months , when that can be hard to find indoors I'd not recommend them to most hobby gardeners, even experienced ones!! As for the Peace Lilies, I've heard from some folks that they prefer somewhat low light and do fine there , but I've never found that to be true for mine, which flowered better with bright indirect light, but no direct sun. They also like to dry slightly between waterings, but should not get too dry so that they wilt regularly. That will cause leaf loss, and they do like the humidity as well and warmth. African violets like some direct sun in early morning most of the year and may grow well in eastern exposures , but sometimes midsummer they burn a bit with too much morning sun. Constant feeding , bright light, and allowing them to dry slightly between watering should assure flowering except during long periods of cloudy days midwinter, when they just may not get enough light to flower. I'll not get into orchids, since they're not my area of expertise, and I've only been somewhat successful with one type of epidendrums, but haven't grown many others. Sceffleras are pretty tough and can get dry through the winter months when grown under cool conditions, and they can tollerate lower light, though I still prefer bright light for those . I've not grown many iveis over the years, but like any other plant, they like moist conditions somewhat good light, and good humidity , though they can take cooler temperatures. The ivies are considered low light plants and will tollerate it , but are stronger with bright indirect light and little direct sun. The Kalanchoes are extremely easy in a bright south window during the winter and with somewhat warm temperatures, but may be allowed to get drier , when their growth slows. Even though they're considered "succulents" they do enjoy a fair amount of water during active growth periods and under warm conditions. Regular feeding is most likely good for regular "repeat flowering" flowering of those. As for the replanting, its best to do a root inspection when buying new houseplants as they're often growing under some very "rootbound" conditions to reduce costs for the growers in repotting them to larger more expensive pots that also require much more soil (an added cost). If the roots are circling the outer part of the rootbal and looking quite congested and also thick on the bottom of the rootball, it's best to give the plant's roots more room and fresh soil by moving them to a pot one size larger for plants in small pots under six inches, and up to two inches larger for larger specimens from say 8in. diameter and up, (old experts always said just one pot size, but I've found this impractical and incovenient , since larger plants can fill the new space very quickly if they're growing quickly and then you're back to repotting again to a larger pot in just months). Best to watch your plant and to judge how fast it's growing to decide if it may need repotting again and when in doubt run another root check. I must say , these guides are based on thirty years experience and longer of growing many kinds of houseplants, but for second opinions on all it might be good to go to some web sites under the names of the plants you named. I think you'll find that many people differ somewhat on exact deffinitions of growing conditions and techniques, so even though they're talking about the same conditions they might be using different terms. For example; warm can mean anything from 50-70 F for some folks , but to me the upper range is 75-80 degrees and warmer at night than 50F. As for light , low light might mean the darkest corner of a room on an overcaast day, when you can't even read a newspaper at that location without turning a lamp on , but in general most plants don't like it that dark even if they're considered low light plants. As I said, those deffinitions are subjective! Following just a few simple rules , you may find that you can keep your plants growing for years, but they do require care, and you'll also find that you (if you're lucky) almost develope a keen sense of what they need over time, without bothering to even think about it.

[houseplants]

Wow!! Thanks for your detailed responses! I was tempted by another croton, this time smaller, very colorful and I am going to keep it in south window! Lets see ^_^ .
The bigger croton has some little fibers coming through the drainage holes. It is already in a very big pot. So if I just remove some roots and add fresh soil will that be ok? Same with the umbrella tree. When I water it comes right through the holes and I am not even putting a lot of water in the pot. I get a feeling that there is no soil left!
Peace lily also looks crammed but I am afraid to divide it as it is growing nicely! But also I don't want to divide in the middle of the winter!

Thanks again!

[MrSeedy]

I always prefer to repot in spring , since some plants are already slowing their natural gowth cycle this time of year. Sometimes over time, and as soon as the roots fill an entire pot , the soil seems to disappear, and then it's very necessary to repot, so those roots can get nourishment.

[toxinsmile]

[the soil seems to disappear] .... I never really thought about that before mr seedy, and you are right...where the heck does the soil go?? It isn't like the roots push it out of the pot, and it is like the roots eat it up....

[MrSeedy]

Even though those very organic soil mixes are the norm , since they hold moisture well, and provide quite a few natural nutrients, since they're organic , it means that they break down over time or are digested by natural soil bacteria , micro-ogranisms and even the roots to a degree, over time, so after a while they just disappear. Usually that's not a problem when plants are repotted frequently over time so the newer roots have new soil to grow into, but with rootbound plants , those roots quickly displace the potting medium , so to speak. I'm beginning to think it might be better to have a longer lasting 'strata" that's inorganic and not easily broken down over time, like sand or perlite, so when the organic part disappears, the roots still have something to hold on to. Overtime you might find that all those spaces where all the organic stuff was originally, have turned into lots of air spaces throughout the rootball, and air spaces are not good as they can't hold water or nutrients for the roots near them. That's why it's always advised when even repotting plants to make sure the soil is somewhat packed in so as to avoid those air spaces. I recenlty lost my old Fountain palm after 18 years , because all the organic mix around the roots had completely disappeared leaving mostly good sized air spaces all through the rootball, and it's near impossible without tearing the rootball completely apart to replace all that lost soil , so the roots are in contact with soil again. I'm sure there are other folks out there with very old plants , that may have encountered the same problem of the "Disappearing Soil", but I'm not sure how they've chosen to deal with it. It's near impossible to "work in" replacement soil around all those numerous roots without major damage to the rootball, and that's not a desirable solution in my book!! I must say though that some plants are very tough by nature and can tollerate major root damage and quickly spring back, from major damage and readjust.

[toxinsmile]

smarty pants! :unsure:

[houseplants]

I repotted my peacelily yesterday. It was growing nicely but I could not see any soil and my god the roots had taken the shape of the pot! I increased the size of the pot by just 1, did not touch the roots. I was afraid to touch them as the plant seems to do well and this is my first time with houseplants (any plants for that matter) :blink: I also replaced soil in croton and umbrella tree plants. I did not increase the pot size as I don't want them to grow much bigger. I did remove some root fibers in the process, so am crossing my fingers. Will see...

[houseplants]

I was tempted by another croton last wk, in a smaller pot.. It had 4 pairs of small leaflets on the two stems so I thought it is in active growth .. But today morning I saw that all the new leaves just fell off! :( It is in south window of my kitchen, actually both the crotons, kalanchoe and African violets are in the same area. It is a triangular area with south and east facing windows. However it has been cloudy for the first 2 days after I brought the plants home. I don't know whether it is impossible to keep crotons alive through the chicago winter without the help of a greenhouse.

[MrSeedy]

I have to say that crotons may be one of the fussiest of all tropicals in regards to tollerating any sudden changes in humidity, temperatures, and perhaps even light, and thats' not even mentioning the water requirements. It did always seem any time there was any kind of change from their normal situation, they'd tend to drop even the new leaves. I think they're fine where rain is constant, and sun, and temperatures and humidities just about yearound , but elsewhere they may prove much more difficult to keep looking their best. I hate to sound discouraging, but that's my memory of trying to keep them healthy and colorful from many years back. You may even find with plants that come mostly from the hot and wet tropics that even short cool spells in the winter outdoors in a place like Florida, which isn't cold by any means, might make them drop leaves, but I'd be interested in hearing from some of our Florida members , who have them growing outdoors yearound to say whether my imprssion is accurate or not.

[houseplants]

If both the crotons go bald through the winter :( , should I keep them in the hope to see new growth in the spring ar may be plant a stem cutting?

[Rich]

You've made a list there of houseplants that I have managed to kill except the african violets and the moth orchids.

No, I didn't kill them deliberately, they made the decision that death was better than living with me.

[MrSeedy]

I bought some bargain crotons many years ago that were bargains only because theiy were almost totally leafless, and that was because of spider mites, which can quickly make them shed most of their leaves. They were good sized plants in six in clay pots for $1 apiece, but I really should have skipped that bargain considering how difficult it is to rid the plants of those darn mites. Nevertheless, with some treatments for the mites the plants quickly did leaf out again, so as long as those branches aren't dried out or brown looking , they can leaf out again quite quickly , if they're given some care.