Houseplants

» AsbestosMango - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by SueNY:

Oh, Sweet Mother of Mercy, was this plant rootbound. I was afraid of stressing the plant, but I'm actually soaking the rootball even as I type. I've been advised against separating the plants, but one of them looks to have been so crowded out that I'm afraid it won't make it if I don't separate it. No heater in the neighborhood- I live in Vegas, we don't start with the heat till about November.

It wasn't completely dried out when I bought it, though. I lost another bud, and it (or should I say they- four plants in the pot) are still dropping leaves.

Wish me luck, and hope the new hole in your head heals well. Wisdom teeth can be a (proper term for female dog, considered derogatory for a human female).

Well, I'm off to buy another 4" pot.

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» AsbestosMango - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by AsbestosMango:

Well, everybody's in their new pots.

I hope these things aren't going dormant on me already. They still have a lot of unopened buds on them, and I was hoping they would open for me. Also, a couple of them have new leaf growth on them- miraculously, considering all they've been through.

Separating them was easier than I expected. The roots were a tangled mass, but with soaking and gentle "shampooing" I managed to tease the roots apart without damaging them.

I've seen articles that say some varieties of mini-rose will blossom all winter. I really don't know what variety this one is (these four are, actually). The flowers are a sort of purplish pink, and the buds seem to come one at the end of the stalk, with more a bit further down, sort of forming a crown or circle around the first one. Hope that helps with variety ID.

The smallest (and sickliest) one I put in a 3" pot. It lost its last two buds this morning. I'm hoping I can nurse it back to health. If I can, well, I've got green-thumbed neighbors on either side of me who might enjoy a mini-rose. I'm running out of places to put my plants. I now have a mini-rose bush on each side of my little shrine by the window, I moved my aloe-vera and my lucky bamboo to my icon corner, and a fern (no idea what species, I bought it at Evil Soulless Mart, the sticker just said "hanging fern" in the alcove where my birds' cages are. It's going to be fun trying to keep that alive this winter when the heat goes on and the air gets dry. I'm thinking I'll have to do a lot of aggressive misting.

I'm giving away one mini-rose bush to a lady who works at Rite-Aid.

One more thing- when they're done blooming, should I prune? If so, how much? I want a short and bushy effect, assuming they can be persuaded to bloom next year. Here in Vegas, I see roses blooming year round, my neighbor has put in rose bushes and they're beautiful.

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» Susan Walsh - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by AsbestosMango:

Hello!
It sounds like you are on the right track. Being rootbound chokes the plant. Now that they are in fresh new soil and the roots have a chance to spread out and breathe, you should see improvement. You'll want to prune in either early spring or late fall. Doing so in the middle of their growing season will just force the plant to turn its attention to making new leaves and canes instead of flowers. :-)

Thanks for your good wishes regarding my tooth. You are absolutely correct and I'm glad it's over with now..lol

» AsbestosMango - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by SueNY:

Wah!!!

My mini roses have, sadly, gone the way of all flesh. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I did go ahead and prune the parts that appeared to be unhealthy- figured I could wait until next spring or summer for them to blossom, and I would be happy with new leaves and canes until then. I guess they were so unhealthy to begin with that the shock of repotting did them in. Poor babies.

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» AsbestosMango - Plant ID help

So, I gave up on my mini-roses, and comforted myself after their demise by buying some plants at the dollar store. I picked up what I thought was a mother-in-law's tongue, but turned out not to be. It isn't really varigated, but I thought maybe they don't start getting the variegation until they're larger.

What the plant looks like is a cross between a mother-in-law tongue and an aloe vera. The leaves are long, fleshy and pointed at the tip- fatter than a mother-in-law tongue but not as fat as an aloe vera. The edges are smooth and pale yellow. It seems to be making babies like an aloe vera, and its growth pattern looks like an aloe vera except with an inclination to be a bit taller.

I'm very concerned because I have pet birds and I want to make sure that if they get into my plants, the plants won't send them to sleep with their fathers. If it's something that would be toxic, I will either plant it outside or give it up for adoption.

Please help. I'm kind of new to the houseplant scene, and feeling a bit lost.

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» AsbestosMango - Plant ID help

In response to Plant ID help posted by AsbestosMango:

Oops, meant to start a new thread for that post. I've been searching all over the web, can't find pictures of the exact plant, but I'm thinking it's some kind of agave. The yellow on the edges isn't very wide- just the very edges are tinged yellow. It's a very pretty plant. Any info on whether agaves are bird safe?

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» Susan Walsh - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by AsbestosMango:

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear that, but you're right, they were probably unhealthy to begin with. Most stores really don't care for their plants properly as they have no incentive-they return the dead and unsold ones and get their money back. Very sad.

» AsbestosMango - Propagation questions

OK, first off, I have a couple of Mother-in-Law tonge leaf cuttings in a five inch pot o'soil that my neighbor gave me last September. They haven't shrivelled up and died, so I'm guessing there are roots under the soil. There seems to be no new leaf growth. Is this a normal "winter thing"? Can I hope to see new plant growth (in other words, new leaves or "pups") coming up now that the days are getting longer and spring is coming?

Also, I topped one of my spoonleaf peperomias last week, and stuck the large leaves into some nice potting soil. I figure roots will be happening in the next couple of weeks. How long until new plant parts start coming up through the soil. Also, with the parent plant start to come in bushy, or will it just go vertical, as the plant seemed to have been doing? How long until I see new growth?

I'm thinking about topping my other peperomia- both plants have a "top-heavy" look, which is why I topped the first one- the upper leaves are growing much larger than the lower ones. I want to try rooting the upper stem by putting it in water until the roots start to grow, then put it in soil so I have a complete plant. Will this work, or was the website that said this is doable all wet?

-- posted by AsbestosMango

» jennywren70 - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by SueNY:

Hi Susan, I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight as well on my miniature rosebush. I also live in a low light apt. and was keeping it watered 2x/wk and using 3 miracle grow plant food spikes - it was looking full and bushy. Unfortunately, I went on a trip for 5 days and although I drenched it before I left, it had small webs between some of the leaves which had totally dried out. I watered it again. Now a few days later my leaves had all dried and I removed them and I saw the small webs again. Are they a sign of a fungus/bug and can I do anything? Is it normal for the leaves to dry out now - is winter a dormant period for indoor minis like outdoor roses? Thank you for your help, Jenn

-- posted by jennywren70

» Susan Walsh - indoor growing

In response to indoor growing posted by jennywren70:

Hi Jenny,
Yes winter is a dormant time for roses. However, the webs you saw are a sign of spider mites, which are a tiny insect barely visible with the naked eye. Check out this article for more info:

http://houseplants.suite101.com/article....

Good luck!