Archive for the ‘Repotting plants’ Category

Are You Growing A Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus?

If your “Christmas cactus” is blooming on Thanksgiving Day, it is likely not a true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) which flowers a month or more later. Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata) is frequently sold as “Christmas cactus”. Holiday shoppers often decorate with what’s in the store after Thanksgiving and the plants are frequently mislabeled. Christmas […]

Awaken Overwintering Tropical Plants

If you live in USDA zones 6 and 7, early March is usually the proper time to re-awaken containers of tender tropicals stored in your garage or moved in to join your house plants last fall. Likely, they’ve already begun to sprout.  Specifically, angel trumpets (Brugmansia spp.), elephant ears (Colocasia spp. and Alocasia spp.), cannas […]

Start Up A Sleeping Amaryllis

Back in the fall, your amaryllis bulb was pushed into dormancy by withholding all watering. In the weeks that followed, the foliage turned yellow and withered. You cleaned off the dried leaves and stored the potted bulb at 34 to 42 °F for the winter, not allowing it to freeze. After a minimum of eight weeks, […]

Re-Potting Indoor Plants

  The golden rule for house plant care is to repot them once a year. Times of seasonal change signal the best opportunity for repotting most house plants. September starts a slowdown and March (late February) a re-awakening period for your house plants. Most, but not all plants, should be re-potted in one of these periods.   Purchase a […]