A Green Thumb . . .
Here is today's look at the Amaryllis. Of course you can see that one big blossom stalk, but I put arrows where two of the other three are so you can keep an eye on them. There's another on the other side of where the center red arrow is.
Michelle at Boulderneigh commented that she'd never seen a better looking Amaryllis and that I must have a green hand. I do. At least a green thumb ;-) I've always had one for indoor plants, and back before asthma when I could still garden outdoors, I did pretty well outside, too. My mom was really the outdoor gardener, though - she won village awards for her gardens - and she passed that love along to pretty much the entire family. One of my closest cousins manages a garden center at a big box store, and another and her husband are both Master Gardeners.
My forte, however, has always been indoor/house plants. Certainly there are some that I've not had success with (orchids (interestingly enough!) come to mind).
When my cousin (garden center) was over this week, she really stared at the main plant corner:
What you see here, L-R, is a sickly Mother-in-Law's Tongue (sansevieria), a Jade Plant (crassula ovata), a Boston Fern (nephrolepis exaltata), a very dry Peace Lily (spathyphyllum), the Amaryllis, a ragged Wandering Jew (zebrina pendula), and a Spider Plant (clorophytum comosum).
My cousin was specifically looking at the Boston Fern. Every year for my birthday she gets me a Boston Fern from where she works. She said, "Is that the fern I got you for your birthday last year?" It is. She was stunned. I mean, she knows I have a green thumb, but Boston Ferns have a reputation as being difficult to grow - and in this case, I sort of agree - they can be very finicky. I've always had the touch with them. Truthfully, most summers, I move the fern outside and let it grow on the deck until the cold weather croaks it. But I didn't last summer, so, of course, it's been happy as a clam in the sunroom. She really couldn't believe that it still looks so great.
The Mother-in-Law's Tongue was my mom's - it's used to be much larger, but it's not been happy here. At the moment, I think the yellow/pale green color is because it hasn't been repotted in probably four years and it's not getting enough nitrogen - whatever fertilizer was in the MiracleGro mix is long depleted.
The Jade Plant is doing remarkably well. :-D
The Peace Lily - it tells you when it needs a drink, and other than needing a drink this morning (which it got) this one is also is in need of grooming and repotting. It has not bloomed for some time. This plant was from my former African violet club members - they sent it for my mother's wake. That was 12 years ago and it's still hanging in.
The Wandering Jew - ragged indeed! This one will get a hair cut - cut off and all the tips restarted. It will be growing like mad in no time at all. I usually try to get away with two years for a full basket before I completely restart, but this one has gone at least three . . .
The Spider Plant - it's time to get it out of that self-watering pot. This plant is what's left of my mom's spider plant. It's a bit more delicate than other spider plants I've seen.
The Peace Lily and the Mother-in-Law's tongue probably would both benefit from a location with less light, but that's the Northeast corner - one of the lowest light areas in the sunroom.
As with the violets, you can see that I'm woefully behind in taking good care of the plants. Since my other cousin didn't call for me to come and drive him to his eye appointment this morning, my day is now free until he comes over late this afternoon for some help with a job search he's undertaking.
I've got a couple of errands to run - maybe today is finally the day to get this stuff taken care of. I'll need to make a stop at the big box store to pick up some cactus soil - it works well for succulents like the Jade, the Mother-in-Law's Tongue, and the Christmas Cacti that live on the other side of the sunroom.
We'll see how it goes - wish me luck :-)
Michelle at Boulderneigh commented that she'd never seen a better looking Amaryllis and that I must have a green hand. I do. At least a green thumb ;-) I've always had one for indoor plants, and back before asthma when I could still garden outdoors, I did pretty well outside, too. My mom was really the outdoor gardener, though - she won village awards for her gardens - and she passed that love along to pretty much the entire family. One of my closest cousins manages a garden center at a big box store, and another and her husband are both Master Gardeners.
My forte, however, has always been indoor/house plants. Certainly there are some that I've not had success with (orchids (interestingly enough!) come to mind).
When my cousin (garden center) was over this week, she really stared at the main plant corner:
My cousin was specifically looking at the Boston Fern. Every year for my birthday she gets me a Boston Fern from where she works. She said, "Is that the fern I got you for your birthday last year?" It is. She was stunned. I mean, she knows I have a green thumb, but Boston Ferns have a reputation as being difficult to grow - and in this case, I sort of agree - they can be very finicky. I've always had the touch with them. Truthfully, most summers, I move the fern outside and let it grow on the deck until the cold weather croaks it. But I didn't last summer, so, of course, it's been happy as a clam in the sunroom. She really couldn't believe that it still looks so great.
The Mother-in-Law's Tongue was my mom's - it's used to be much larger, but it's not been happy here. At the moment, I think the yellow/pale green color is because it hasn't been repotted in probably four years and it's not getting enough nitrogen - whatever fertilizer was in the MiracleGro mix is long depleted.
The Jade Plant is doing remarkably well. :-D
The Peace Lily - it tells you when it needs a drink, and other than needing a drink this morning (which it got) this one is also is in need of grooming and repotting. It has not bloomed for some time. This plant was from my former African violet club members - they sent it for my mother's wake. That was 12 years ago and it's still hanging in.
The Wandering Jew - ragged indeed! This one will get a hair cut - cut off and all the tips restarted. It will be growing like mad in no time at all. I usually try to get away with two years for a full basket before I completely restart, but this one has gone at least three . . .
The Spider Plant - it's time to get it out of that self-watering pot. This plant is what's left of my mom's spider plant. It's a bit more delicate than other spider plants I've seen.
The Peace Lily and the Mother-in-Law's tongue probably would both benefit from a location with less light, but that's the Northeast corner - one of the lowest light areas in the sunroom.
As with the violets, you can see that I'm woefully behind in taking good care of the plants. Since my other cousin didn't call for me to come and drive him to his eye appointment this morning, my day is now free until he comes over late this afternoon for some help with a job search he's undertaking.
I've got a couple of errands to run - maybe today is finally the day to get this stuff taken care of. I'll need to make a stop at the big box store to pick up some cactus soil - it works well for succulents like the Jade, the Mother-in-Law's Tongue, and the Christmas Cacti that live on the other side of the sunroom.
We'll see how it goes - wish me luck :-)
Comments
I have to agree, in the photo they all look healthy and happy.
Happy growing!!
Janice H.