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Tucsongardener.com |
House Plant
Magic
Trying to be a Wizard
I like house plants. They have a way of
making a home less sterile and more lived in. It's a way of moving nature from the
outside, in. And in my house if you removed all the plants, you'd swear we'd moved.
In fact some of my friends think I'm a house plant wizard of sorts. They walk into my
family room and see the wall of large plants against the sliding glass door and think,
"Wow! A jungle." They also think they're looking at the same plants every time
they visit. Generally, they are, but every once in a while I have a plant fatality and the
deceased ends up in the compost bin. I recently had to say my farewells to a schefflera
that had been around over 15 years. I'm guessing I got a little careless and over watered
the plant suffocating the roots or allowing root rot to get started. It happens.
No Empty Spaces for Long
When a plant dies, I quickly buy a new one to
replace the deceased or I rearrange plants in the house so no one will realized one's
missing. I actually have four or five plants along a wall near the front entrance that I
consider my reserves. And since I'm a fortunate gardener with a small greenhouse, I always
have one or two house capable plants growing out there. With two plant resources I have
house plants that can be moved to where they're needed in a time of crisis. On rare
occasion I've actually brought in potted bedding plants from outside to fill a void or add
some color when entertaining guests.
House plant growing is a bit like a magic show. Sometimes you need to
create an illusion to make the observer think the plants are always wonderfully green and
growing. Here's where the hand is quicker than the guests arriving. If I see yellow or
dead leaves on a plant, I make them disappear. If leaves turn yellow and fall off, the
vacuum sucks them up. Once in a while if the tips of leaves get salt burn or dried out I
might take some scissors and do a little cosmetic pruning . Usually I let the tips stay
brown because most people don't notice the slight imperfections. That's doubly true if
plants are grouped together. Any slight imperfections get lost in the mass of green leaves
and stems.
Plant Tricks
With winter's arrival and the use of the furnace the
house dries out. Moisture in the air is at a premium unless you happen to have a
humidifier in your home. I don't. The plants suffer. The best I can do is make sure the
soil doesn't dry out too much. I'm not a plant person that's willing to walk around with a
spray bottle of water to increase the humidity every few hours and I don't have reservoirs
or trays of water under my plants either. I've been known to hose down the larger plants
when I have them outside for the occasional drenching to leach the soil. Unfortunately,
that usually causes the larger leaves to get water spots from Tucson's hard water. I do
keep a container of wet ones or baby wipes that are premoistened to quickly clean or dust
off some of the larger leafed plants like fiddle leaf fig, dieffenbachia, and rubber
plants. Once or twice I've sprayed some of the commercially available leaf shine on one or
two plants to spiff up their appearance.
The big plants in the big pots are personal favorites. They seem to need less water and
can go the longest without much care. However, when they need to be moved outside for a
drenching or repotting you've got to be of sound body and mind. It's no easy task and I
use a four wheeled dolly to move them outside. Repotting can turn into a two gardener job
if the plants are very tall or long vines are growing up a support stake.
Large plants like these silhouetted
against a window can green up a room but they're not easy to transplant or move. |
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This bowl of cactus has seen more
new residents over the years than the Tucson gardener hates to admit to. When the cactus
die, they get replaced. |
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The smaller plants get carried to the sink and get a good soaking when
they need to be watered. They get repotted when the plant and the container seem out of
proportion or root bound.
There's a cactus dish garden sitting in the center or the living room table that's been
there for about seven years. It was a gift to my wife from one of her friends. It's her
gift but somehow it became my responsibility to keep the cactus and succulents alive. I've
never had too terrific a time growing cactus inside and the cactus dish garden has been a
challenge although it seldom needs water. As a plant wizard I'm very good. It took
months before my wife finally figured out one of the cacti had died. It had dried out from
the inside and all that remained was its prickly little shell. I figured what she didn't
know wouldn't hurt her and I wouldn't have to go buy a replacement until she
noticed. Finally she said, "That cactus doesn't look right." The illusion
was over and I had to go buy a new cactus. And it wasn't the first time. I've
replaced others to keep the dish garden looking healthy. I don't think anyone has ever
noticed the constant change in cactus. Or if they have, they've never said anything to the
wizard.
Becoming a Plant Wizard
Anyone can be a house plant wizard if they're
willing to perform a magic act with a little juggling thrown in. And please don't be one
of those plant lovers that hangs on to a sad looking plant thinking it will recover some
day. Unless it's an endangered species or something with great sentimental significance,
find another plant. Some plants will not do well in your house because of lighting, pet
attacks, loud music, bad potting soil or whatever. Accept the fact that the plant can't
adapt to the environment you're supplying. In that case it's time to move on and find a
house plant that will do well with what you offer.
Now if only I could figure out how to make all those annoying, buzz in my ear, fly up
my nose, soil gnats disappear. Then I would be a magician. (2000) |
