Indoor gardens - Fall 2015

Hi everyone! Hope you all have had a wonderful summer! As it comes to an end, maybe you are thinking of bringing some of your plants indoors for the winter months... or if you are like me, you grow indoors all year long!

I wanted to start the new thread as a way of introducing my very own first hybrid Streptocarpus... '3S-Fireflies At Dusk'. I have always loved fantasy flowers (that speckled and splashed look) so when I took up hybridizing, that was my first goal.

The alpha name I will be using for my hybrids (3S) stands for Three Sisters, and is in honor of my own three teenage daughters.

Thanks for looking, and please feel free to share your own indoor gardening photos and stories here. I rarely have the opportunity to get on Dave's Garden much anymore, but I wanted to share this with you all!

Karen

What a beautiful purple color!

VA Wild Rose---

I do not do any hybridizing or such--but i am happy that we can have a Thread
where we can discuss indoor gardening and Houseplants.

So much time is spent on outdoor gardening--but NOT on Houseplants.
I look forward to any discussion or questions on this topic.

Gita

Oh, that was the main reason for the thread Gita! I was simply starting the thread by sharing my new strep. I want people to use this thread for THEIR indoor gardening adventures. 😊
Since I live in an apartment, I have very little opportunity to outdoor garden, aside from some containers on our balcony.

Please everyone! Share ALL of your house plants here!

Karen

Hi Karen, Nice for you to start us a new thread. In a few weeks we will be finished with out outdoor gardening and looking more inward. WOW what a beautiful strep.

Karen, what a beautiful strep. I always think of you and your gorgeous collection whenever I see streps. How exciting to be hybridizing your own!

Hi Karen. Congrats on the beautiful hybrid! Steps are wonderful.
We. visited Patuxent Nursery in Bowie today and a 2 dollar bougainvillea followed me home. I count on Holly to tell me what to do with it for winter. They said sunny window.

Getting to crunch time when we decide who comes in for winter and where they will live.

Yes! Mentally I am saying---"make room for plants to come on---clear off all surfaces
that hold plants---Treat all plants with Systemic before you bring them in!!!

Somehow--I cannot yet think of all this! But--I also don't want to freak out if we have
forecasts of early freeze.

Kind of REALLY hate this time of year. Gita

Hey Sally, Nothing prettier than a Bougie blooming when their is snow on the ground. As sunny of a window as you can find and watch out for Spider mite.

thanks Holly, I'll try. From what I read, the other choice is let it go dormant.

I am the same way Gita! For me, it ends up being on the "do or die" night when everything gets pulled in.... that night when the weatherman says frost is imminent. I have already started the systemically though, since I treat once a week for 3-4 weeks before they come in.

Karen

I have never tried that, but I have had mine go pretty dry for longer than I should and although they dropped the leaves they did come back. I would give it some water from time to time not completely dry. We let our in the GH for the summer, just never bothered to carry it out and it was blooming like crazy when we had our picnic. Really made the GH look good.

Wow Karen, just discovering this thread. Love your names and the meanings behind them. Are your daughters really all teens now!!!

I think you've got a winner there!

OK, fess up...how easy or difficult or long to bring forth 'Fireflies'?

LOL Sally, bougainvilla really does want to be a vine kinda the sun loving version of pothos encircling the old laundrymat I used to use. Wonder if people in hot climates think it 'invasive'?

I have begun the bringing in of most of my plants. My HB's are all in already.
Today--I started bringing in my larger Holiday Cactus.
The smaller ones can wait their turn...:o) These really can take a true cold snap
without any problems. Mine have been outside all summer---as always!

Today, as i was hauling in the bigger pots, I already saw some tiny bloom buds
developing at the ends of the stems. Don't want to wait till the last minute--
as I have so many to find an appropriate home for inside.
The smaller ones will go on a big, black rack by my kitchen door. IKEA--$50..

My other plants, I have an overabundance of, are Spider Plants...TOO MANY--
but the babies root so quickly--and so well----I can't refuse.

OK! You all--Don, t "FALL" behind!!! Gita

Baby bloom-buds on my Holiday cactus.

Finally got a single bloom on my tibouchina, which I planted in April. What a diva.

Well worth the wait. Beautiful.
Ric started to load up the GH today. I posted this in another thread but I should put it here as well. This Bougie has spent the summer in the GH and it sure is putting on a show.
There are at least 3 orchids getting ready to bloom. Will be moving them up from the GH so we can enjoy the blooms.

Oops.
Also one of the Begonias is blooming what a lovely bloom it has.

Another orchidophile! Was going have user name "Or Kid" but seemed too twee.

LOL I like that.

haha Or Kid- pretty flower!
wow what nice Bougie and Bego flowers.
I got a two dollar Bougainvillea, it has now bloomed, a pale pink, hoping it's a bit more bright in season.
Recently found I rotted all the bottom roots on my Oncidium. Now I have about five pseudobulbs climbing a bundle of sticks, nice roots all over that, and nothing to 'plant' in a pot underneath.

I am pretty sure this weekend will be the "do or die" time to bring all the plants in for me our area. My Mom says she will have hard freeze Saturday night, and we are expecting heavy frost. I sprayed everything one last time on Monday, and will be dragging them in Friday or Saturday. I always wait till the last minute!

Judy... 'Fireflies' should hopefully be available in limited numbers next Spring. I have put leaves down for myself, to start getting some babies to observe. I have already used pollen from it in a few or crosses! Thanks for your comments! :)

Karen

And yes, Judy... and for others that remember my girls... they ARE teenagers now! My oldest turns 18 tomorrow! They are 15, 16, and now 18... sophomore, junior, and senior in high school!

Wild Rose---

Yes! It sure will be the "do or die" time here too. I am half way done--will spend
today setting up racks and tables to bring in the rest of the plants--
today--or tomorrow..

BUT!!!! today--my #1 priority is to take cuttings of all my asst. Coleus.
Don't want to lose these beauties....

BEAUTIFUL family--Rose!!
Such nice=looking girls....

Oh how could we forget your beautiful girls, what beautiful young ladies they have become.
Ric has half the GH filled according to weather predictions we should have till Friday night to get it all in. There are still quite a few to get in but the biggest ones are inside.

Great photo of your girls. Time sure does fly. They look so grown up!

Oh, my Karen, they're so grown, and so beautiful!

I brought one of the Orchids up to the house today. It has nine flower stems on it. Man it is going to be filled with blooms. It is Red Fantasy a Sherri Baby hybrid so it will fill the house with scent, too.

Beautiful young women!!!!!

amazing, Ric, please post a picture when you can. I need understanding of Oncidiums. What potting medium do you use please?

Mostly they are planted in bark, they like moisture but don't like to have their roots wet, so well draining is good. When we kept them up in the house all the time I would have trays of stone with water in them and sat the pots on top of the stone. It provided extra moisture without getting the roots wet. When watering we would give them a really good soaking and then let them drain, the bark wouldn't hold the water but it would stay wet for awhile till it dried out. We haven't divided or up potted them in quite a long time and they don't seem to mind the tight quarters. I think when they are done blooming Ric is going to divide them so you would be very welcome to some of the extras.

thanks for the advice! a starter of that would be very welcome!

So here is the Red Fantasy first bloom it is pretty dark but I like it.

Sally--

HD has a couple different orchid "soils". As Ric said--it is mostly
chunks of bark and lg. pieces of Perlite...and such.

You will find this wherever the houseplant soils (in the small bags) are.

Gita

http://www.homedepot.com/s/Orchid%2520Soil?NCNI-5

Another one that is getting ready to bloom is Heaven Scent Redolence, it has 7 flower spikes.
Also I found my Golden flower jewel orchid is going to bloom as well. Very excited about this, it was one of the plants we picked up in Fl. in May. So this will be the first bloom. It is a ground Orchid with velvet leaves such a pretty thing. This one has been up here in the house with several begonias we picked up at the same time.

So I guess we are all snuggled in with our pots right about now. If not, better hurry. Calling for mid 30s here in Delmarva this weekend. You all have such green thumbs with such beautiful blooms. I have a friend I. Hagerstown who always seems to have orchid blooms and claims she doesn't do much to get them. I only ever tried one time and it didn't take long to figure it was not gonna like it around here.

The weekend looks yucky, the day may have come all my plants need to come in for good.
8^(

Finally got around to taking a few pics of those two orchids man are they just loaded with blooms.

Wow, they're some pretty orchids.

My Christmas (thanksgiving?) cactus is full of buds. And my jade is blooming for the first time ever!