Mother's Day Plant Sale -- Plant Care Guidelines
Plant care guidelines:
H=houseplant O=outdoor plant HO=can be grown inside or outside in garden or planter
General instructions: Nearly all potted plants will grow more vigorously and bloom more profusely if their roots are “tight” in the pot. This means that there are lots of healthy roots growing throughout the interior and around the outside of the rootball. Optimally, root systems should occupy three quarters of the volume of the pot. A moderately potbound or rootbound plant usually dries out within 2 to 7 days following a thorough watering and that is a good sign. If your plant can go two days or more without needing water, then your plant does not need to be repotted. Just because a plant “looks too big for its pot,” is NOT a good reason to repot.
Cut back on fertilizing for most plants when the plant is resting between bloom times.
Resume full fertilizing when the plant actively grows, usually in the spring. Spring is also a good time to cut plants back.
These are not perennials, so if you plant them in your garden, they won’t come back next year.
1. Dahlias, Mums, Geraniums, Ranunculus: S, HO. Keep soil moist but not wet. Feed weekly to keep them blooming.
2. Begonias: I to ST, HO. Keep soil moist but not wet. Feed every 2-3 weeks to keep them blooming.
3. Mini-roses: S, H. Prefers humid environment. (Try placing pot on tray of pebbles and keep pebbles wet.) Feed every 2 weeks in spring and summer, and keep soil moist while in bloom. After blooming in fall and winter, soil can dry almost completely out between watering, and fertilize once a month using ½-strength solution.
4. Cactus: S, H. Potting mix can dry out almost completely between watering, but they can take more water than most people realize. Feed 3 times a year (spring, summer, fall). If you pot them up, use 1 part potting mix (not actual soil) , 1 part washed sand, and 1 part course gravel, perlite, etc. (Cactus potting mix is readily available.)
5. Kalanchoe: S, H. S - I. You can let soil go dry between waterings. Fertilize very lightly when the plant starts to show new growth. Remove blossoms and stems after flowering. Reduce watering and end fertilizing starting Sept. 1, keep out of light or block light from 6 pm to 8 am, and keep cool (as close to 55 degrees F as possible) for 8-10 weeks. The plant should then rebloom in December. If you prefer it to rebloom in February, wait until November and follow the same steps.
6. African Violets: I, H. Soak soil but let it dry out between waterings. Try not to wet leaves. Prefers humid environment. (Try placing pot on tray of pebbles and keep pebbles wet.) These fussy plants don’t like their roots kept wet. They also do better if you remove dead flowers and leaves. (They’ll look better, too.) Use African violet fertilizer whenever you water and if you can make them happy, you’ll find that these plants will bloom 9 months of the year, and rest for 3 months. If you need to repot them, use African violet soil mix, which is readily available.
7. Tillandsia: I, S, ST. These are air plants. They are not grown in soil. They like a daily misting. If they dry out, soak completely for several hours or overnight with a mild fertilizer solution like ½ t. of fish emulsion Don’t leave in water more than 1 day or they will “drown.”
There are lots of good sites online for plant information.
Here’s one good one of many: http://www.horticulturalhelp.com/
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