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Plants need love too! Here's how...
Air Plants AKA Tillandsia
The term “Air Plant” is actually a bit misleading. Members of the Tillandsia genus are so called not because they can thrive on air alone, but because they require no soil at all to grow. In fact, assuming that Tillandsia only need air to survive is one of the most common mistakes we see in air plant care.
In their natural habitat -- the forests, mountains, and deserts of South and Central America -- air plants are epiphytic (growing on other plants without harming them), and emerge from the crooks and branches of trees, rocks, cacti, and shrubs.
Light
How Much Light Does an Air Plant Need?
In order to thrive, air plants need bright, indirect light. Rooms with South- or East-facing windows make good candidates, because these spaces will be brightly illuminated with sun for most of the day. Rooms with North-facing windows work well, too, as long as the plant is placed close to the window, and the window isn’t blocked by trees or a neighboring apartment complex. Western light tends to come late in the day, and can be very hot and intense. Careful—you don’t want to fry your air plant!
As a general rule of thumb, the higher the humidity in your space, the more light is tolerated by the air plant. This means that if you’re putting your air plant where it will receive loads of light, you should plan to mist it more often - twice a week or even daily. A sunny bathroom or active kitchen makes a happy home for an air plant, because the humidity from your shower or boiling water will take care of most plant misting for you.
Air Plants and Artificial Light
Many people ask us if they can place their air plant in an office or basement room where it won’t get any natural light. The answer is yes, but there are a few specific rules to follow to ensure your plant’s success.
Full-spectrum (fluorescent) light is a must. Regular incandescent bulbs don’t emit the quality of light these plants need to photosynthesize. Your Tillandsia should be placed no further than 3 feet from the light source. Also if you’re going to use fluorescent light, the plants will need, at minimum, 12 hours per day.
If you live in a basement or want to have an air plant in your office, we recommend buying a special bulb for your plant (such as a Gro-Lux, Repta-Sun or Vita-Lite) and setting it on a 12-hour timer, so your plant gets all the light it needs to survive.
Water
How to Water an Air Plant
Watering an air plant is the trickiest piece of the air plant care puzzle. Some people swear by misting, others by soaking, and still others use a combination of both misting and soaking in their air plant care regimen.
In our experience, watering air plants is tricky because the needs of the plant vary dramatically with the space in which it is placed. Also, some species require specific care. The first step to watering your air plant is to evaluate your space. How much light is your plant receiving? What is the temperature in your home at this particular time of year? Is the space very dry (is your plant near a heater or fireplace?) Or is it very humid?
After you answer these questions, you can adapt the air plant watering regimen to suit your particular needs. Here’s what we recommend as a starting point:
- Every one to two weeks, soak your air plant in room temperature tap water (or rain/pond water if you can find it) for 5-10 minutes.
- After soaking gently shake excess water from your plant. Turn it upside down and place it on a towel in a bright space. This is very important! Air plants will quickly rot if they are allowed to stand in excess water.
- From the time soaking ends, the plant should be able to dry fully within 3 hours. If your plant stays wet longer than this, it may rot. Try placing it in a brighter place with good air circulation to facilitate faster drying.
- Once a week (separate from watering), mist your plant thoroughly, so that the entire surface of the plant is moistened (but not so much that there is water dripping down into the plant).
- The hotter and dryer the air (summer, early fall), the more you need to water. The cooler and more humid the air (winter and spring) the less water your air plant will need. But remember that heaters and fireplaces dry the air, so just pay attention to your plant.
- Do all watering in the morning. Evening soaking or misting disrupts the plants ability to respire overnight, and extends drying time.
Is My Air Plant Getting Enough Water?
Signs of under-watering your air plant include the leaf tips turning brown or crispy. The natural concave shape of air plant leaves tends to become more exaggerated when under-watered.
Unfortunately, if your air plant has been over-watered, it’s often too late to save it. If the base of the plant turns brown or black, and leaves are falling out or off from the center, your plant has likely succumbed to rot.
Air plants are pretty easygoing when it comes to their temperature. They do best between 50-90 degrees F. Ideally, overnight temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler than daytime temperature.
Incorporating orchid or special Air Plant Fertilizer into your watering regimen once or twice a month is a great way to keep your air plant happy. Just add a pinch to your water and proceed as usual. Fertilizing your air plant encourages it to blossom and reproduce.
Here are some fabulous references and sites we love are:
Plants need love too... Here's how
Pilea Peperomioides Plant...aka Chinese Money Plant or Friendship Plant
Your Pilea plant is at home everywhere in the house or office.
Pilea is very easy to propagate and is so fun!
Some pointers:
- Re-pot your Pilea, or just change the soil, every two years for optimal health.
- When re-potting your Pilea, use any
all-purpose or tropical soil mixture
with good drainage. - Do not be surprised if the soil beneath your Pilea is covered in roots; they are voracious growers. Those little sprouts that continuously pop up come from these roots.
- No direct sunlight; your Pilea
prefers medium light. - The low or moderate light of a North
or East window will work best. Use sheers or blinds if facing south or west windows. - Your Pilea can be brought outside
to the patio in the summer but
keep it in a shaded area. - Rotate your plant occasionally
if it receives light from only one side
so that it keeps a nice even shape.
When the top inch of the soil is dry
Leave good drainage at the bottom
Mist the leaves twice a week
Watering Temperature:
60-80 °F (15-26 °C)
Avoid large fluctuations
Do not keep below 55 °F (13 °C)
Avoid exposure to over 100 °F (35 °C)
Here is a awesome reference for more about pilea plants...
https://www.pilea.com/
Plants need love too...
Staghorn Fern
Staghorn Fern Care
Staghorn ferns make for tons of eye-catching visual interest, not only because of the beauty of the ferns themselves but also due to the unusual way they're typically grown. Because staghorn ferns are often mounted on wood planks and hung on the wall, they make for a great way to add a bit of green decor to your room or gallery wall scene.
The best part: For something so stunning, they're not terribly difficult to cultivate, either. The key to helping your staghorn fern thrive is to mimic its natural, sub-tropical conditions as best as you can. Dapples of sunlight (they're used to growing on the bark of trees beneath a canopy of leaves) and lots of moisture will be two essential ingredients to a happy, healthy staghorn fern.
Light
Staghorn ferns prefer to be kept in a location that boasts consistent, shaded light. That being said, they can handle more sunlight if given enough water, warmth, and humidity. Just be cautious about allowing any direct rays to hit the fragile fronds, as they can burn easily.
Soil and Mounting
Though young ferns may be started in a moist traditional potting mixture, staghorn ferns should be mounted once they progress towards maturity. Staghorn ferns are epiphytes, growing on the sides of trees or other plants in the wild, and will therefore thrive in similar conditions in your home. To mount, you'll need a starting lump of peat, compost, moss, or other organic matter to act as the base, but beyond that should not need additional soil.
Mounting is done by securing the fern with its bottom embedded in a lump of peat, compost, moss, or another organic material to a wooden board or bark slab, using fishing line or wire. The mounted fern can then be hung from the wall. As new fronds grow, they will gradually hide the fastening material as they grow to cover the old fronds. Over time, the mass can grow large and heavy, and may require remounting on a larger slab.1
Water
Proper watering is an essential component of a staghorn fern's success. They'll need frequent watering, but the base should be allowed to dry out in between—about once a week in warmer climates or during the summer months, and once every two to three weeks in cooler months. For easy watering, remove your fern and its mounting from the wall (or wherever it's hung) and soak in a sink filled with water for 10 to 20 minutes, or until the roots are fully saturated. Allow to drip dry before rehanging.
If you notice the fronds have begun to brown or blacken towards the base, it's likely your plant is being overwatered. Likewise, if the tips of the fronds begin to brown or wilt, it probably needs to be watered more frequently.
Temperature and Humidity
If there's one thing to remember, it's that staghorn ferns love humidity. Though more mature staghorn can survive briefly freezing temperatures, they thrive in warm, humid conditions. Care should be taken to maintain those conditions (at least above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and below 100 degrees Fahrenheit), especially when they're young.
To increase the humidity around your plant, try placing it in one of the more naturally humid areas of your home, such as the bathroom or kitchen. If that doesn't work, increase the humidity around the plant by using a small-scale humidifier or spritzing the plant periodically.
Fertilizer
To promote increased growth in your staghorn fern, you can feed it monthly with a well-balanced, water-soluble fertilizer—this is best done during the spring and summer, when the fern experiences active growth. Fertilizing frequency can slow to every other month during the fall and winter.
Types of Staghorn Fern
Including Platycerium bifurcatum, there are about 18 other ferns in the Platycerium genus, several of which are also known as staghorn ferns. The other species, however, tend to be more difficult to grow and are usually cultivated only by serious enthusiasts or collectors. Some better-known other species include:
- P. veitchii: This is a smaller, slower-growing fern with blue-green fronds. It is more sun tolerant, and casual growers can sometimes succeed with this plant. It is sometimes sold as silver staghorn fern.
- P. hillii: This is another smaller species, with very broad bright green fronds 2 to 3 feet long,
- P. andinum: This native of the Amazon has 5-foot-long fronds that are much narrower than other species.
For more, here is a site we love:
https://www.livelyroot.com/blogs/plant-care/how-to-grow-and-care-for-your-staghorn-fern
Mother of Thousands Aka Alligater Plant
Mother of A Thousand Care
Because this is a succulent species that is very drought tolerant, there is no need to water it religiously. In fact, I find the plant often does better when subjected to slight neglect.
First, be sure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot to allow excess irrigation water to freely escape. I like to grow mother of thousands in a terracotta pot because it is porous and looks great, but plastic or ceramic pots work fine, too. If the roots receive too much moisture too frequently, the plant will suffer. Learning how to water a mother of thousands plant is one of the keys to keeping the plant happy. Here’s what I suggest:
- During the spring, summer, and fall, water every 14 to 21 days.
- In the winter months, when the plant is not actively growing, water every 21 to 28 days.
- If the plant is growing in a pot outdoors during the hot summer months, water every 5 to 7 days.
For more information go to: Because this is a succulent species that is very drought tolerant, there is no need to water it religiously. In fact, I find the plant often does better when subjected to slight neglect.
First, be sure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot to allow excess irrigation water to freely escape. I like to grow mother of thousands in a terracotta pot because it is porous and looks great, but plastic or ceramic pots work fine, too. If the roots receive too much moisture too frequently, the plant will suffer. Learning how to water a mother of thousands plant is one of the keys to keeping the plant happy. Here’s what I suggest:
- During the spring, summer, and fall, water every 14 to 21 days.
- In the winter months, when the plant is not actively growing, water every 21 to 28 days.
- If the plant is growing in a pot outdoors during the hot summer months, water every 5 to 7 days
For more information, go to this wesite: https://savvygardening.com/mother-of-thousands-plant/
Plants need love too...
Juniper Bonsai
Light
Place your bonsai in a location that receives morning sun, or somewhere that receives 4-6 hours of direct sun throughout the day.
Watering
Once your plant is receiving the light it needs, then you can focus on the watering! Although Junipers are rather low maintenance when it comes to their watering needs, it is still important that their watering is adjusted throughout the year and that they receive the appropriate amount. They do not mind drying out slightly between waterings, especially during the cooler, darker days of the winter months, and often prefer soil that leans tends towards dryness. Water your plant when the top half of the soil is dry, which may not take too long to occur since most bonsais are often planted in shallow pots. The great thing about Junipers is that they can go an extra day or two if you forget to water, but avoid exposing them to prolonged dry spells.
More information