Herself's Houseplants

( or any other non-bulb plant )

The number one reason plants do not bloom indoors is they need more light. More light should always be the first thing you think of when ever a house plant has a problem.

So first try to find a sunnier location or put a fluorescent light over the plant several hours a day.

If the plant is still being difficult about blooming, try a balanced fertilizer, say 10-10-10 or so.

The second number is phosphorus and this is usually what is needed when a plant doesn’t bloom because of a nutritional problem. If you can find a fertilizer that has a higher middle number than the other two numbers try that. Because so much phosphorus is out in the environment and because of the harm it does most fertilizer companies don’t sell high phosphorus fertilizer any more.

If the plant stubbornly refuses to respond to light or fertilizer try giving it less water than it wants. You don’t want to dry it out, you just want to stress it a little. I find this almost always works if sun or fertilizer doesn’t.

If the plant still refuses, you must either learn to love it for its foliage or dump it and try a different plant.

I found an itty bitty lizard living in one of the orchids upstairs. He scurries off when he sees me but keeps moving back into the orchid.

I think I’ll leave him there, he doesn’t seem to be doing any harm and seems to be getting by just fine.

Another tip you have a free loader is waking up to find small amounts of soil scattered around your house plant. Clean up the soil in the morning and it re-appears in the evening. This is a sign you have a caterpillar or some earthworms working the plant soil. It’s great for the plant, but messy.