May Tips-Interior Gardening

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May Tips

INTERIOR GARDENING

Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture

 

When placing your indoor plants outdoors in your flower borders

during the summer, clay pots can be set directly in the ground so the

soil is 1 to 2 inches below the pot rim, allowing moisture to go

through the porous clay. If your plants are in plastic or glazed

containers, repot them in to clay containers or check frequently for

water because moisture will not move through the plastic.

 

Adding fertilizer to a dry root ball burns the roots, damaging or

killing the plant, so water dry houseplants before fertilizing and

NEVER fertilize wilted plants.

 

Maidenhair ferns need at least 50 percent humidity and grow well in a

terrarium. You also can group ferns around an aquarium to raise the

humidity around the plants.

 

Once established on a house plant, powdery mildew is very difficult

eradicate. If there are only a few spots (gray or white, fuzzy

looking), pick off and destroy the affected leaves. If the problem is

more serious, the best answer may be to get rid of the plant before

the fungus disease spreads to other plants. Powdery mildew is caused

by stale, moist air and too much water. Provide better ventilation or

use a small fan to circulate the air. Cut down on the watering.

 

For an unusual house plant, try water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes).

Float its perfect rosette of fuzzy, greenish-yellow leaves in a

container of water about 12 inches square and 5 to 9 inches deep.

Give it part sun and temperatures over 60 degrees F, and fertilize

with a high-phosphorous, water-soluble fertilizer at one-quarter

strength every three weeks in summer, every six weeks in winter.

Change the water every two to three months, and as new plants arise

from runners, remove the old ones to make room.

 

Divide indoor plants when new growth starts in spring. Root cuttings

during spring and summer when the plant is actively growing.

 

Vacation hint: Sink house plants, pots and all, in the soil in a

shady area of the garden. Mulch to reduce the need for frequent

watering.

 

House plants in containers without drainage holes are poor candidates

for outside. A rainstorm may drown and rot them. All plants perform

better in containers with drainage holes.

 

The mother fern (Asplenium bulbiferum), so-called because it produces

plantlets on its fronds, is exceptionally tolerant of dry air in the

home. It does well at 30 percent humidity. For homes with 50 percent

humidity, button ferns (Pellaea rotundifolia) are an excellent

choice.

 

Move your house plants outdoors when the night temperatures stay

above 50 degrees F. Avoid sunburning the foliage by moving the plants

gradually from the relative darkness of the house to their bright,

summer location. Start by putting them in a well-shaded location and

progressing to increasingly lighted areas.

 

If you plant your Easter lily outdoors, it may flower again in late

August.

 

 

Monthly Tips have been prepared since 1986 by various staff of the

Office of Consumer Horticulture including Ellen Bennett, Michell