Hints and Tips

A bunch of helpful hints and tips.

1)Roses like your used coffee and tea grounds. Make sure the tea bags are'nt flavored though. They also like banana peels. Just mix them into the soil at planting time or cut them up and scrape off the top layer of soil and recover.

2)Just because it's a tropical plant does'nt mean it like full sun. Most tropical house plants you buy grow on the rainforest floor. They don't recieve much direct sun because the canopy of the trees growing above them filter it out. They probably would prefer a really bright location with little direct sun.

3)It ok to reuse pots but you should clean and sanitize the pot before you put a new plant in it. This is simple to do. Wash all the dirt off the sides of the pot. soak you pot in a Mixture of 9 parts water to 1 parts bleach. Make sure the pots are submerged under the liquid. Let them soad for several hours. If it's a plastic pot just rinse it off after it has soaked. If it's a clay pot you will have to let it soak in plain water for a couple more hours to clean the bleach out. I usually let the clay ones sit in the hot sun for awhile after they have soaked for the second time. I feel it bakes the bleach out. I don't know if it does but I like to think it does.

4)A good way to get rid of pests on your plants is to mix a couple drops of dish soap and warm water together and spray you plant real good. Spray all over the pests. It won't harm your plant. It's a cheap way to get rid of pests. If that does'nt work you'll have to go to your local garden center and ask them for an insectidcide.

5)When repotting a plant make sure the pot to pick for it is'nt too big. You should only have about an inch of space between the plant and the sides of the new pot. If the plant does'nt have a lot of root growth on it than it's probably best not to go bigger just yet.

6)When you dead head your roses or cut off dead cames put elmers glue on the cut to seal it so pests can't infest you rose and kill it.

7)Be sure to clean your pruners between each cut and deffinatley between each plant to sanitize them and keep from infecting your plants.

8)Most tropical plants like high humidity so to help raise the humidity around the plant mist around the plant. Don't mist the plant it's self but the area around it. Misting the plant it's self will just make the leaves wet. It won't raise the humidity.

9) African violets don't like to be watered from the top. Watering from the top can be a bad move. Water on the leaves can cause spots and the leaves to rot. Let the plant soak up water from the bottom.

-Ducky Layne-

I'll add more as I find them out. :D

Croton

Common Name:
Croton

Light:
Bright Light

Water:
Keep moist

Origins:
Southeastern Asia








Crotons are very bight colored leaves of orange, yellow, and red. They add alot of color and brightness to your interior. If they get too tall just trim it and it will grow new shoots from the sides of the stem. They like bright light. Eastern or Western is probably best. don't let them get too dry. They like to be kept moist. If the leaves start to droop down than you probably need to water it. They like higher humidity so mist a couple times a week. You can propagate in water or moist soil with root hormone. They require a little more care but are worth it.

-Ducky Layne-

Snake Plant

Common name:
Snake Plant
Mother in-laws Tongue

Light:
Bright Indirect Light

Water:
Low to Moderate

Origins:
Africa











My snake plant getting ready to bloom. Sorry the picture is so blurry. I'll add another pic as soon as the buds open.




Snake plants are a really neat easy to care for plant. They are a good starter plant because they require little care. They have long blade like laves shooting out of the dirt in a rosette that spread by runners under the ground. They will fill a pot pretty fast and don't need to be repotted very often. If the pots not falling over from being top heavy than don't worry about repotting just top dress it if it needs it. They like bright light but don't need direct sun. They seem to grow better if they don't get a lot of direct sun. Mine has always liked an eastern exposure but any window except a northern one would probably work. If kept in a southern window you should probably filter the southern winter sun. Water good than let dry out before watering again. they are easy to propagate also. Just take one of the rosettes with some roots and pot in another pot. You will probably have to prop the new plant up with something so it does'nt fall over. You can also cut up a leaf and root the pieces of leaves as well.

-Ducky Layne-

Goldfish Plant

Common name:
Goldfish Plant

Light:
Bright light

Water:
Keep moist

Origins:
Costa Rica












The Goldfish plant is a cute little plant with little plump dark green waxy leaves. It does best in a hanging pot where it can vine. Keep the vines cut back to 18 inches and it will become more bushy and think. It has little orange flowers that look like goldfish(hence the name). They are a harder to find plant but if you do come across one don't hesitate to get because there's no telling when you'll see another one. They like to be kept moist but not soggy. Let dry a little between waterings. They like high humidity so mist daily. Make sure to pot them in free draining soil so they don't sit in too much water. They like bright light and can be put in any window with good light. Not too much direct sun or they will burn. If you keep it in a south window make sure the light is filtered so the southern sun during the winter won't burn it. This plant does take a little more care than most. They root easily in moist soil or water.

-Ducky Layne-

Coffee and Tea as fertilizer

Some might think it's crazy to put used coffee or tea on your plants. Both houseplants and your outside plants. Acid loving plants love coffee and tea though. I've searched and compiled a list of plants you can use you left over grounds of left over coffee or tea. Make sure that it's cooled off first though before you use it on your plants.

Abutilon
Acorus
Aechmea
African Violet
Aglaonema
Aloe Vera
Amarylis
Anthurium
Aphelandra
Araucaria
Asparagus Fern
Aspidistra
Azalea
Baby's Breath
Baby's Tears
Begonia
Bird of Paradise
Bishop's Cap
Black-eyed Susan
Blood Leaf
Bottlebrush
Bougainvillea
Boxwood
Bromeliads
Butterfly Flower
Cacti
Calcaolaria
Caladium
Calla Lily
Camelia
Campanula
Capsicum
Cardinal Flower
Castor Oil Plant
Century Plant
Chinese Evergreen
Chinese Primrose
Christmas Cactus
Cineraria
Clerodendrum
Clivia
Cockscomb
Coffee Plant
Coleus
Columnea
Coral Berry
Crassula
Creeping Fig
Croton
Crown of Thorns
Cuphea
Cyclamen
Cyperus
Dieffenbachia
Dipladenia
Dizgotheca
Dracaena
Easter Lily
Elephant's Ear
Episcia
Euonymous
Ferns:
Bird's Nest
Boston
Button
Christmas
Cloak
Feather
Hart's Tongue
Holly
Maidenhair
Rabbits Foot
Spleenwort
Fig
Fittonia
Freesia
Gardenia
Genista
Geranium
Gloxinia
Grape Ivy
Grape Hyacinth
Grevillea
Gynura
Hedera
Heliotropium
Hens and Chickens
Herringbone Plant
Hibiscus Plant
Hoya
Impatiens
Ivy Tree
Jacaranda
Japanese Sedge
Jasminum
Jerusalem Cherry
Jessamone
Kalanchoe
Kangaroo Thorn
Kangaroo Vine
Lantana
Laurus (Bay Tree)
Lemon Plant
Maranta
Mimosa
Mind Your Own Bus.
Monstera
Myrtle
Never Never Plant
Nicodemia
Norfolk Island Pine
Oleander
Oplismenus
Orchid
Oxalis
Palms
Pandanus
Peacock Plant
Pellionia
Peperomia
Philodendron
Pilea
Plumbago
Podacarpus
Pointsettia
Polyscias
Pothos
Prayer Plant
Punica
Sanserieria
Saxifraga
Scindapsus
Shrimp Plant
Spanish Bayonet
Spider Plant
Succulents
Synogonium
Tolmiea
Tradescantia
Umbrella Tree
Venus Flytrap
Weeping Fig
Yucca
Zebrina

This is all I have so far. I'll add to it as I find more out. Any plant that likes acidic soil will like it. Any questions just ask.

-Ducky Layne-

Janet Craig dracaena

Common Name:
Janet Craig Dracaena

Light:
Low to bright

Water:
Keep moist

Origins:
Africa and Asia






Janet Craig dracaena has dark green compact leaf growth. The leaves are long and wide also. They grow in a rosette and can get tall. They usually lose their bottom leaves and bare stems like Madagascar Dragon tree (also in the dracaena family). They branch out and will shoot new out from the soil. They like low to bright light. Bright light is better but th ey can stand low light conditions. Too much sun will burn the leaves. keep them kind of moist so they don't lose too many bottom leaves but don't keep them soggy. Let the top inch dry out.

-Ducky Layne-

Pothos propagation

Pothos ( also known as devils ivy) are one of the easiest plants to propagate. Take a pair of shears or scissors and take the vine and cut off 6 inch pieces off the end. Remove the lower leaves so when you put the vines into the glass or jar of water there will be no leaves under the water. Leaves under the water can rot and make the vine sick while it's in the water. Be sure to not let the water dry up and after a couple weeks a nice root system will develop. After good roots develop either plant in a pot with soil or you can even grow them in water. You can end up with several plants fast because they grow rather fast.















-Ducky Layne-