Herself's Houseplants

Never murder a house plant again

Do you know the number one killer of house plants? Starvation. There’s just not enough sunlight coming through the windows in the winter to feed your plants.

Do you know the number two killer of house plants? Lack of humidity. The average home is 67% drier than the Sahara Desert in the winter and most house plants come from humid tropical climates.

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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.

You can place a drinking glass or glass jar in another container, clear or not and fill the space between them with cranberries, pretty stones or just about anything small to create a seasonal flower vase.

For the holidays, fill the space with cranberries and put water and red roses in the glass as an example.

I recently attended a talk on flower arranging and here are some things I learned that you might not know:

If you are using green florists foam in an arrangement you should soak it for 24 hours before using it.

Cut sunflowers should be given hot water ( about a hot shower temperature ) and lots of it, they are thirsty flowers.

Cut roses under warm water, and on a diagonal.

Cut tuberose needs sugar water for the flowers to open, use 2 to 3 cups of sugar water in vase.

Christmas trees should also be given hot water ( hot shower temperature ) it loosens up the sap and they will take up more water after the initial cut if it is hot. Your tree should soak up 5 to 8 gallons of water the first day and less thereafter.

Use the flower preservatives that come with your cut flowers as directed. And use an anti-desiccant on your cut flowers for longer life. Both can be obtained online or at your favorite florist.

Candles should be burned a bit before placing out. Never ever place unburned candles ( those with wicks still white ) in a display. Some consider it bad manners, candles should show you are ready for hospitality.

It doesn’t have to be an aquarium, any clear glass container that has a lid or a small opening will suffice.

1 ) Remove all the extra aquarium parts if you are using an aquarium, keep the light and cover but ditch the pump and anything else you can get out of your way.

2 ) Put the soil you’ll be using in the sink and wet it good. I use sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum moss for carnivorous plants and regular potting soil for most everything else.

3 ) Wring the soil out like you are squeezing a sponge. You want the soil to be wet enough to stick together like a meatball but you don’t want any extra water in there. This also makes it easier to get the soil in the terrarium with out getting it all over the sides of the terrarium.

4) I wipe down the sides of the terrarium now, it is much easier than it will be once the plants are inside. I also clean up and trim the plants now. It is much easier to clean them in the sink.

5) Using a spoon I dig little holes and plant my plants. Be very sure to firmly push the soil down around the plants. You don’t want air pockets around the roots.

6 ) Put the light and cover back on or find a sunny window for your terrarium.

You should see condensation form on the sides or top when the sun hits this terrarium. If not add a little water each day until you do. It’s awful hard to get the water back out so take your time.

If you use loose gravel or glass beads as a planting medium you might get algae. I find a little ‘Algae Fix’ added to the water takes care of that.