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Susan Walsh's BlogPosted by Susan Walsh Hello dear readers! I know it's been awhile-I had a death in my family and that took me away from writing for awhile. I'm back though, and there are two new articles for you. One is a guide to safely transitioning your plants to outdoor living for the summer, and one is a guide to figuring out why a plant died and how to prevent it from happening again. Check them out and leave a comment to let me know what you think! I was out in the garden today, planting begonias, impatiens, and geraniums, The best part about these plants, aside from their hardiness and beauty, is that once the growing season ends, they can be brought inside and put on a sunny windowsill! They will overwinter beautifully. Give it a try! Posted by Susan Walsh Hello everyone! Summer is here and it's about time! I am sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, unfortunately May was a horrible month for me. Both of my computers went down at the same time, my bathroom plumbling went, one of my cat was diagnosed with cancer, and I was feeling under the weather for awhile to boot. Ugh! I am glad the month is over-I just know June will be better! With summer in full swing your houseplants should be growing like crazy. Unfortunately this sometimes means pests are too, especially if you've put them outside. Check out our latest article for tips on how to fight them and keep your plants healthy! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi dear readers, Just a quick note to let you all know about a new feature. Now you can leave comments on the articles themselves. The discussion area has been closed and made read only so if you have any questions, please use this new feature. We love hearing from you! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! I am back after a sudden hard drive failure. Here's a tip..if your computer starts making odd squeaking or grinding noises, back up your data ASAP because the end is near for your hard drive! I hadn't done a back up for about a month so I lost some data, but not as much as I could have! On the bright side, the world is fresh and green again! I just love spring. I went to the local nursery and picked up some geraniums, violas and sweet potato vines, and now my windowsill garden is bright and happy. This time of year is a great time to find houseplants-most nurseries and garden centers will have a nice selection! Don't overlook plants you might not think of as houseplants-in addition to the ones mentioned above, coleus, impatiens, begonias and many herbs will do just fine inside! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! I hope you'll check out my latest article, which answers readers questions about prepping your plants for spring. Be sure and check out our newest feature too-you can now leave comments on our articles! We love hearing from our readers so be sure and leave a few! Posted by Susan Walsh Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying spring as much as I am. The weather had been just gorgeous and I've been taking advantage of it to get my outdoor gardening started. This is such a great tme of year. The day are getting longer and longer, the weather is warming, the stores are brimming with plants-what could be better? If you have an area of your home that gets less than optimum light, check out my latest article. You'll be sure to find a plant or two that would be perfect! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! We have a wonderful new category here at Houseplants-Urban Gardening! If you live in the city, you know what an important place houseplants have in the urban garden. Be sure to stop by and check out CW Laurence O'Sullivan's great article there, and while you're at it check out my latest article about the mighty Ficus! Happy Spring! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! Be sure to check out my article on getting your plants ready for spring and my newest one about great books for houseplant lovers. I don't know about you, but one of the things I love as much as houseplants is reading about them. You can never learn too much, and the more you know, the better off your plants will be. This will save you money too-the better able you are to care for your plants and treat problems as they occur, the less likely it is that you'll have to buy replacement plants-although lets face it, buying new plants is never a bad thing! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! How are your plants doing? Now that the days are growing longer and longer you should notice a growth spurt happening. My asparagus fern is shooting up a new stem everyday it seems, and my prayer plant is unfurling leaves like crazy. Now's the time to start fertilizing again! I've also noticed the stores filling with more and more houseplants. That's because the warmer temperatures make shipping them around the country a lot easier! This is just a great time of year to be a houseplant lover! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! Spring is finally showing itself. The clocks have been turned ahead and the days are growing longer. This is the time to start preparing your plants for the new growing season. Now that they will be getting more and more sunlight they will beginning putting out lots of new growth. Start feeding as soon as you see this and check to see if any will need repotting. For larger plants, scrape away the top inch or two of soil and replace it with fresh. It's still too soon to put your houseplants outside in most places, but you can start moving them closer to your windows as long as you know they like direct or bright light. Stay tuned for more info as Spring draws closer! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi dear readers! Happy St. Patrick's Day! When most people think about this holiday or about Ireland in general they think about shamrocks, also known as Oxalis. What most don't know is that they are an excellent houseplant. Check out my latest article for more! Wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day-remember, if you're going to be raising a cup o' cheer, be responsible and don't drive! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! Last week I wrote about an order I placed with an online nursery. Well I received my order and my reaction is mixed. First of all,whoever wrapped the plants did not do a good job. Tape was placed across the surface of the pots to keep the soil from spilling, which is good, but several of the plants had the tape wrapped around leaves and stems. Not so good. The Watermelon Peperomia, Swedish Ivy, Cupid Peperomia and Oxalis are fine and look great, but the Scented Geranium and Velvet Philo had green moss/mold covering the soil surface. This is NOT a good thing. If you see plants like this in the nursery, avoid them. It means they've been kept too moist. The geranium also arrived wilted and covered in yellow leaves. I watered it and removed the yellow leaves and it seems to have perked up, although it looks a bit bare. The philo also had yellowing leaves and signs of insect damage. The jury is still out on it. The moral of the story? It is defintely better to buy plants locally where you can look at them and the nursery before buying. However, buying via mail order or online is not a bad option as long as you do your homework. Do a google search on the company you're interested in buying from and look for any review or complaints. Garden Watchdog is another great resource for researching companies. Also read all the fine print on the website and make sure they have a good return policy. For more tips on buying houseplants check out my article on the subject. Happy shopping! Posted by Susan Walsh Hello dear readers! I went plant shopping the other day! There is an online nursery I've been wanting to try so I went for it and ordered 6 new plants! I got a Velvet Philo, a Watermelon Peperomia, a Rose Scented Geranium, an Oxalis, a Swedish Ivy and a varigated Peperomia. Can't wait ti they get here! I mean let's face it, you can never have too many houseplants! I'll be sure and tell you all about them. In the mean time, check out my latest article! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi dear readers! Well I am a Patriots fan, so you know I feel about the Super Bowl. Fortunatey my dear husband the Giants fan was gentleman enough not to gloat! Looking for a special gift for a special valentine? Check out our holiday gift guide, which is chock ful of gift ideas for any occasion, and while you're at it, check out our newest article and vote in our poll-and feel free to drop by our discussion area and let me know whats on your mind! Posted by Susan Walsh Hi everyone! Super Bowl Sunday is approaching! Whether you are a fan of the game or just the commercials, it makes a great excuse to get together with good friends and great munchies! I am a Patriots fan married to a Giants fan, so you know things will be interesting around here. :-) While you're waiting for the big day, check out our newest articles and our archives too. Spring will be here before we know it and that means a new growing season. You can already see it in stores, where there are displays filled with blossoming spring bulbs and lots of houseplants. I picked up an Asparagus Fern, a Coffee Plant, and a Jade at my local grocery store just the other day. Check yours out and see what surprises you may find! Posted by Susan Walsh Hello everyone! This is the time of year when much of the country is in a deep freeze. That means our heating systems are going full blast. While this makes it cozy for us, it can be hard on houseplants. The superheated air in our homes is usually dry air. This causes static electricity, chapped lips, and unhappy houseplants. To increase humidity, consider using a humidifer, or try a simpler solution such as regular misting, a humidity tray, or grouping plants together. Another thing to be aware of is the location of your plants. If they are near your radiator or heating vent, they could literally cook. This happend to me with gorgeous philodendron a few years back. My cat had knocked it off the table it was on and it landed on the radiator. Poor thing never had a chance by the time I noticed it! So take a moment to check out your plants and move any that are getting too much hot air-they will thank you! Posted by Susan Walsh Hello everyone! The holidays are long gone but winter is firmly in place. Check out our article on how houseplants can help you beat the winter doldrums, and our newest article, which will tell you everything you need to know about Palms, and be sure to scroll down and vote in our latest poll! 2008 is just beginning and there are lots more great houseplant articles on the way! Posted by Susan Walsh Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy new year. You may have noticed a few changes around here-we are now in the Plants and Animals section rather than the Home and Garden section. Rest assured nothing else has changed and you can still find the very best articles and info about houseplants here. I and our contributing writers look forward to 2008 and at making the Houseplant section the best on the net! Thanks for sticking with us! |
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