Menu Home Clipart Gallery Gardening Resources Gardening Books Houseplants Garden Notes African Violet - Light Air Layering Amaryllis Bulbs Azaleas Bromeliads Calceolaria Christmas Trees Cineraria Cyclamen Easter Cactus Easter Lilies Ferns Gardenia Geraniums Houseplant Insects Houseplants - Nonpoisonous Houseplant Information Humidity Kalanchoe Mealy Bugs Misting Pantry Plant Food Poinsettia Spider Mites Sections Garden Notes Garden Design Annuals and Perennials Flowers Fruits Houseplants Glossary of Terms Lawns and Groundcovers Pests Soils and Fertilizers Trees and Shrubs Vegetables

Houseplant Information

House plants often suffer from accumulation of dust during winter. This is difficult or tedious to remove by hand washing-when such method is feasible. The easiest way to get rid of it and also red  spider (which thrives in dry air) is to spray the plants  forcibly with clear water. This is usually impossible  in the house. The best way to do it is to take the plants  out of doors on mild, sunny, breezy days between  eleven and two o'clock and spray them, especially on  the under sides of the leaves. The force must be  gauged to the nature of the plants themselves. For instance, palms and rubber plants will stand far more  than will begonias and fuchsias. After the plants have  ceased to drip take them back to the house. 

Evergreens in outdoor window boxes, urns, tubs, etc., suffer much less during winter from freezing than through lack of water. To bring them through  the cold months successfully drench the soil every time it thaws. Both trees and soil may freeze without damage - if always wet. In spring transplant the specimens to open ground where they may remain permanently and start the boxes for the following winter  with a new set of evergreens in fresh soil after the  summer plants have failed-in September or early  October. 

Plants to be removed to the house from the garden in late summer or early fall may be potted then but kept plunged rim deep outdoors until frost threatens. Tender ones must be taken into the house sooner  than hardy ones. The latter are benefited by being  left out rather late. 

Plant lice on house plants may be controlled by spraying with a solution of two teaspoonfuls of nicotine sulphate and two tablespoonfuls of soap flakes in  a gallon of water. 

Potting plants is often done incorrectly by amateurs with the result that the plants are often more or less disappointing. When the soil is not packed firmly  enough around the roots too much air enters, the water  quickly evaporates and the plants suffer from thirst,  fail to develop properly and die. 

Copyright Information: Gardening Short Cuts

Non-Poisonous Houseplants
Houseplant Insects