Herself's Houseplants

Sago palms make excellent house plants. Who can’t help but love a plant that survived the dinosaurs and continues to thrive today? It is not really a palm but is a cycad. And it is extremely easy to grow indoors or out.

The two pictures above are of two sagos planted outdoors 10 years ago, one in full sun, one in shade. While both survived the one in the sun is quite a bit larger. Sagos are slow growing plants so if you want your sago to grow fast put in a very sunny window. If you don’t mind it just hanging out, it is great for a less sunny location. Because they are such slow growers they are good plants for dish gardens.

Water it when it is dry, it’ll forgive you if you occasionally forget to water it, not if you over water it.

Fertilize regularly to speed up growing, a couple of times a year otherwise.

If your sago has several layers of leaves then removing the bottom third will force it to put out new flushes at the top. This plant tries very hard to keep leaves and roots balanced. So removing leaves gives it a strong desire to make more. Also re-pot it up if you gain more leaves to give the roots room to expand. Normally it will put out one new set ( flush ) of leaves per year.

Watch for scale, it seems to like these plants.

It minds neither cold nor heat, temperature is not a concern for this plant.

Yellow edges all down the row of leaves is a sign of salt damage. Let the water run through the pot and out the bottom each watering. It may also mean you need to repot in fresh soil.

Both the seeds and the leaves of sago are quite toxic.  Be cautious when handling them.

( wild orchids we spotted along a trail in Oahu, Hawaii )

On the mainland you can go to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park: Open daily, 8 a.m. until sundown. Free admission. The park is about a two-hour drive west of Miami and is located just west of Copeland on State Route 29.

Swamp walks: Offered on the first, second and third Saturdays of the month from November through April, depending on water levels. Adults, $40; children under 12, $15. Groups are usually limited to 12 persons. Tours meet in front of the park office at 9:45 a.m. Details at (239) 695-2860.

Tips: Swamp walks last about four hours. Wear sturdy walking shoes and long pants, and prepare to walk through knee-high water or deeper. Though the walks are held in Florida’s cooler dry season, prepare for sun, humid conditions and insect bites. Carry bottled water and snacks and any valuables, including cameras, in plastic bags to protect them if they’re dropped into the water. ” [ read more CNN - Florida swamp walks reveal wild orchids ]

Remember: “Leave only footprints, take only photos”

Yes you can grow hibiscus as a house plant.  You need a very bright window and high humidity.

There are tropical and cold hardy hibiscus, check the plant label.  If the plant tag is not helpful remember that tropical hibiscus tend to have darker, glossier leaves than do hardy ones.  Tropical flowers tend to be larger than 3″ hardy flowers 2″ or less.

If you do not keep your home very humid, place your hibiscus near a fountain or in a bathroom where frequent showers are taken or in your kitchen.  To do well hibiscus plants need humidity.

Put it in any sunny window where a cactus will do well.

Water to keep soil moist but not wet.  When the top is dry water.  Hibiscus wilt when dry.  Fertilize frequently.  A half dose of fertilizer twice a month is sufficient.

Most do not mind occasional exposure to cold from a door or drafty window. But they will do better if you keep them warm.

This is a really cool idea. Yagil was looking for a way to grow food on the space station and came up with the perfect balcony garden.

. . .

Yagil’s technique relied on floral bricks made from phenolic foam, that familiar green and spongy material which, placed at the bottom of a vase, is used for holding the stems of cut flowers.

Yagil, who worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, believed that his floral brick growing technique could be used in a space station, where room for growing plants is limited. Each of Yagil’s plants requires only 1 square foot of growing space.

Yagil’s method results in incredibly rapid growth. A 4-inch tomato seedling, for example, can grow into a 4-foot tall, fruit-laden specimen in only 60 days.

To grow any plant according to this technique, you will need to take a 3-by-4-by-9-inch floral brick. Remove a plug from one of its short ends that is equal in size to the root ball of the seedling you wish to plant. A seedling that has produced two to four leaves – available at the nursery in six- or eight-packs – is perfect.

Wrap the brick, except for the bottom end, in black plastic and secure it with strapping tape. Stand the brick up in a 1-gallon (6-inch diameter) plastic container – the kind you get when you buy a 1-gallon plant at the nursery – with holes in the bottom. Keep the brick stable by running pieces of strapping tape up one side of the container, across the brick, and down the other side.

Place a deep, water-retaining dish under the container. Keep the brick wet by filling the dish. The dish is filled as soon as the water in it evaporates, as often as once a day in summer. Liquid fertilizer is added to the water every third time the dish is filled.

. . . [ read more What to plant on a balcony ]

I wonder if you couldn’t just stand the brick up in a water dish and put some rocks around it to keep it stable? Or place the brick in a pretty flower pot and toss some gravel at the bottom to hold it in place and upright?  Totally cool and a great way to have a garden in a very small space.