Herself's Houseplants

Sphagnum moss can be found in the plant section of most stores. If you paid more than $3 a bag you got snookered.

I use it for my orchids. Since I started planting my orchids in moss instead of bark I have not lost a single plant. They will need watering a lot less frequently and I don’t have the mildew problems that I sometimes had with bark.

I use this for my carnivorous plants as well. The bog plants love to grow in the sphagnum moss.

And most importantly I use it for rescue plants. When I have a plant in trouble I plant in in wet sphagnum moss and use a clear plastic bag to create a greenhouse over the plant. That along with a bit of fertilizer with rooting hormones will bring back just about any plant from death’s door.

It’s been busy at work or you went on vacation and you come home to a bunch of dried up sorry looking plants. You forgot to water your plants.

How dead is your plant? Plants will come back from just about any state of death.

First take your plant to the sink or a bucket and submerge the pot in water. This may take a few minutes. If the soil is extremely dry it may try to float up and out of the pot so hang on to it and keep an eye on it. Once the plant is thoroughly soaked leave it soaking in water up to the rim of the pot for an hour or more.

Then drain the water from your plant. Let the water out of the sink and give your plant several minutes to drain thoroughly.

Now take some sharp, clean scissors and remove dead and severely damaged leaves.

Give your plant a half dose of its regular fertilizer.

Place it back in its usual home and wait. You’ll be amazed at how many plants will send up new leaves and rebound even though you thought they were dead.

If it is very dried out or a plant you attached to you can also try this:

Un-pot the plant and soak the roots in a bucket of water for about an hour.

Replant the plant in some sphagnum moss ( available at most nurseries ) Soak the moss and drain out the excess water.

Take a clear plastic bag and form a green house over the plant and pot. A few sticks will keep the plastic off the plant. Now put it in a sunny window. After a few weeks you should see new leaves coming. Remove the plastic tent when new leaves appear. After a few months of healthy growth re-pot the plant back in its regular potting medium.

See also:
Use sphagnum moss to make your plants easier to care for

. . . The selection of houseplants at garden shops, big-box stores and even grocery stores hasn’t merely grown, it has matured. Cool carnivorous plants are stocked side-by-side with gorgeous moth orchids; fancy-leaf begonias are nudging out dependable but demure scheffeleras.”Nobody ever needs to buy a pothos again,” says Ellen Zachos, owner of Acme Plant Stuff in New York and an expert on houseplants of all kinds. “There is so much out there that is more interesting and just as easy to grow.”

Try something new. . . [ read more Indoor garden grows more exotic]

Plant selections have gotten better. I’ve been finding carnivorous plants more regularly and the novelty plant section at Walmart has turned up some cool surprises ( dirt cheap ) as well.

What do you do when you have over watered your favorite plant?

The first thing to do is to get it out of the pot and re-pot it in fresh soil. It is not the damp soil that kills the plant but the bacteria that grows in the damp soil. So un-pot the plant, rinse off the roots in the sink and scrub out the pot if you are using the same pot. Dish soap and hot water work just fine.

There are several products you can buy in the nursery or online to treat bacterial problems with plants. If you have a plant you can not easily re-pot you might try one of those remedies first.

If you have a plant that gets over watered or is just prone to root rot try this:
Unpot the plant.  Take a small clay pot, about 1/3 the size of the main pot, and place it upside down in the larger pot.  This takes away the part of the soil that remains wet the longest.  Cover with a little dirt.  Place your plant over the upside down pot and guide the roots to the section between the two pots.  Finish filling with soil.  Just remember to keep a closer eye on the soil moisture now.

And remember when in doubt -> wait don’t water.