Herself's Houseplants

I’ve been lusting after a small indoor water garden ever since I saw them at a flower show a couple of years back. I have to say growing aquarium plants has been the most challenging for me of all the plants.

This water garden is about 3 weeks old, I’ll post more photos as it matures.

Large glass containers are much easier to find now and much cheaper than they used to be. This one holds about a gallon and a half of water.

The plants you see are from the pet store aquarium dept., nothing special. I also bought a package of bulbs. I added them last week, they should begin to sprout any day now. Small pet stores usually carry a much more interesting selection of plants than do the larger chain stores. The dollar weed that is such a nightmare in your garden also works well in aquariums.

First you need a really clean glass container. I put glass beads at the bottom, what ever stones look best will work. You only need them to weigh down the plants. The stones are about an inch deep. I then added the plants. Add the plants before the water or you’ll be fighting to get them to stay put.

I use filtered tap water. Bottled water turns into an algae nightmare quickly. My water is very hard, the plants don’t seem to mind. Nor does the betta fish.

The fish is just there because I like to watch him. Goldfish eat plants, betta do not.

I placed a fluorescent light onto of the water garden. The plants grew just fine with out it, the fish seems to prefer the light. I found just an hour of dappled sun light is all the plants need to grow. Too much sun grows algae instead of plants.

I add StressZyme and StressCoat 1/2 ml per water change for the fish. and Flourish fertilizer, 1/2 ml per water change for the plants. Any of the liquid fertilizers will do just fine. Avoid the solid fertilizers they turn the water to mud.

The success lies not in any of above mentioned things but in frequent water changes. The more water I change the better the plants do. I drain about half the water and replace with filtered tap water every day while I have my morning coffee.

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are the three main plant nutrients plants need to survive. When you buy a fertilizer they are listed by weight on the label ( Nitrogen/Phosphorus/Potassium )

Normally houseplants get good soil and repotted frequently so it is not necessary to fertilize them much, if at all. But watch for these symptoms and give your plant more nutrients if you see them.

Yellowish green leaves, oldest leaves turn first and tips and edges of leaves yellow working back toward plant. Growth is slow. Often veins remain green. This means you need more nitrogen or iron or both.

Leaves die back, older leaves and stems may turn purple, plant is slow reaching full size, plant may be stunted. These are symptoms of low phosphorus.

Leaves distort and curl under, older leaves get brown edges and drop. There is poor root growth. These are signs of low potassium in plants.

Small, narrow leaves with assorted black spots in yellow areas can indicate a zinc deficiency. Plant may also be stunted.

Overly bushy plants with crinkled and deformed leaves often want more boron, but don’t over apply.

Upward rolled young leaves want more copper or suphur. New leaves are often light green with no color variation. New leaves may be small and yellow.

In general cupping of leaves, yellowing, browning, and stunted grow indicate the plant needs a bit of fertilizer. While your house plants should need little to no fertilizer, they do need some, especially if you see any of the above traits in your plants. Pick up your favorite brand at the local store and follow the directions on the label.

114 photos of mineral deficiencies in plants for visual diagnosis

Coffee is high in nitrogen(~2%) which makes it a good fertilizer for plants indoors and out. Used coffee grounds from your coffee pot filter also contain potassium ( >1%), phosphorous (~.3%) and other trace elements.

You can mix some grounds into the dirt when you repot your house plants. Or you can sprinkle some used grounds on the top of the soil of your house plants. Use them sparingly. The nitrogen is released quickly, not over time, and you do not wish to give your house plants fertilizer burn.

Plants that prefer acidic environments especially like to have some coffee grounds added. Also foliage plants ( non-flowering) do very well with coffee grounds.

It is better to let them dry out before adding them to your plants. If they are put on too thick while wet they can mold.

More information:
Coffee grounds for compost and fertilizer
You can make your own fertilizers

You often see ‘fertilize weakly, weekly’. This is way too much fertilizer for house plants.

Fertilize your house plants when you repot them.

Fertilize your house plants once in the spring.

Fertilize them once if they are recuperating from a problem.

If the house plants are potted in dirt a bit of worm castings mixed in the soil is about the best fertilizer you can give a plant.

Most of the soil you buy for your plants already contains enough fertilizer to keep them going until the next repotting.

More information:
Are your plants getting all their nutrients?
Wired Magazine, Full of piss and vinegar ( just kidding — there’s no vinegar ).

Useful things: ( sources for worm castings )Gardens Alive!