Quick Tip 10-focus on indoor houseplant care

 

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Winter can be a downer time of year for those of us that love to garden, but it doesn't have to be!  There are many "gardener" things you can do during the cold months of the year.  I'm going to share an idea each week for the rest of the winter on gardening activities that help satisfy the itch and prepare us better for the upcoming spring season.  Here we go with Winter Quick Tip 10-focus on indoor houseplant care. 

 

You don't have to wait for winter to be over before you can start sowing seeds outdoors.  

Winter can be a time of seeing if you can optimize the health and growth of your indoor green friends.  You can research the best time and frequency of watering, pruning, repotting, dividing.

I hadn't pruned my pothos in years when I did last winter.  I cut back each of the stems and then cut those into 12" or so lengths and placed them in water.  Be sure to put the stem that is closest to the dirt in the water; there is an "up" and "down" to the starts.  Once they were growing roots, I put them in quart pots.  Surprisingly, it took 6 months for them to start growing leaves!  If it's your first time in pruning and getting starts from the pruned material, it's a good idea to research how to prune, when to prune and how to get starts from the pruning as well as when to expect new growth.

Right now, I have pothos and spider plant babies rooting in water.  I'll put them in pots in the next few days as they have nice roots established.

I need to divide and repot my aloe plant.  It has tons of babies growing all over itself.  I will research the best way to do that so I have the best starts. 

This year, I have been trying to fertilize better.  I started fertilizing again when the days started to get longer and growth starts back up.  For my houseplants, I am using fish fertilizer every other time I water and alternating with Superthrive, a vitamin and kelp solution.

I've been removing the dead leaves and stems on a regular basis so they stay looking healthy.

I tried a couple of indoor edibles, a pretty variegated pepper plant and Tumbling Tom tomatoes.  My Jigsaw pepper plant got an infestation of whitefly when I sat it outside in the fall that I missed.  When I brought it indoors, the infestation spread to my tomato plants before I realized I had an issue.  I sprayed with neem oil a few times but that didn't seem to eliminate the issue.  Last week, I sprinkled the plants with diatomaceous earth powder and that seems to have done the trick.  If I put the plants outdoors, I'll be sure to wash off the de as it kills all insects and I don't want to injure the pollinators!

Indoor and outdoor gardening is always an adventure and learning experience.