Thoughts, issues, and successes of Indoor Gardeners.

I was wondering how everyone’s house plants are doing? Right now as a whole my plants look great. But there are always the ups and downs. I didn't get to properly de-bug my plants before I brought them in but did get a chance a week or two ago to move most of them outside and clean and spray them. Then yesterday I noticed the spider mites and aphids. I was a bit surprised at how fast and how many there where after the good cleaning and spraying I gave them. My Brazilian plume flower which bloomed for me last summer is really growing and looking good even though it still has scale. I was thinking of starting this thread off with “Spider mites, Aphids and Scale Oh My” but it isn’t really just about pests. More about the ups and downs, the joy and disappointment, the experiences and memories of Indoor gardening. I would enjoy reading about some of your experiences so please post some of your stories and thoughts here.

I took 2 rather long trips in Sept and Oct and a few of my plants are still recuperating but most of them are back on track and looking pretty good. I have found that my plants always suffer when I travel.
My large Bougainvillea dropped most of its leaves due to lack of water, but although not back to it’s original it is on the right track and leafing out very nicely again.
I have a Rex Begonia the leaves look like red velvet. I picked it up at my hobby greenhouse Assoc. meeting. For just a few $ you buy raffle tickets, the plants on the raffle table have been donated from other members and the proceeds go to the Assoc. I’m not even sure I like this plant but keep thinking that when it is looking good with more than one leaf it will be a beauty. It was pretty sad when I brought it home but it was starting to come around putting out new leaves and picking up a bit, then the two new leaves that had started were broke off. I tucked them both into some potting soil put that into a zip lock bag and went away for about 3 weeks when I came home I found that they had rooted and there are a few very small new leaves. The original plant was looking pretty rough again no new growth, the only leaf almost dried up. Must have caught it just in time as it has just started to put out a little bit of new growth, too.

You might try using a systemic for your plume flower to get rid of the scale, one approved for indoor use. Scale is really persistent. Also, Neem oil. I bet your croton is going to get scale soon, especially the soft-bodied ones that look like cotton. I can never grow them successfully as houseplants. I noticed that your clivia is already blooming!

Ah yes my clivia is one of my raffle table plants that I brought home from a HGA meeting this past summer. I was very pleased to see it bloom. I understand that they thrive on neglect it was one of the plants that wasn't stressed at all while I was away. LOL
The croton is one of the plants I brought home from Fl. last month, thanks for the warning I'll be sure to keep an eye on it. This is my first croton. I haven't quite been able to get rid of the scale on the Plume Flower, it came with the plant but luckily it hasn't spread to any of the other plants so far. I saw what looks like a very good recipe using neem oil that I want to try but I have several bottles of insecticide that I wanted to use up first. Not that they have done much but for some reason I can't seem to throw them out half full. I just finished one a couple of weeks ago and the other this morning. I 'm going to check one of the local nurseries first but there is a Neem Co-op going on right now.
Here is a picture of my Prince of Orange blooming.

I am a rather negligent house plant owner. I tend to give them less attention in the spring and concentrate on the outside, as a result I have a few plants that need to be potted on (thanks to the advice on this forum I found that out). This is where I really have a problem with some plants. They grow too well and get too big for the space or have to be repotted in large unwieldy pots. Anyone else have this problem?
If they were outside I would divide and/or prune. Inside I'm not sure sometimes.

One truly easy plant I have is a lovely begonia that has produced beautiful leaves since last March. Hopefully I won't have to repot until the spring. I've just been watering no fertilizer so far. I guess if I repot in the spring I won't need much fertilizer then?

That really is a beautiful Begonia. I too am a rather negligent Gardener. In my house only the strongest survive. I rarely ever prune or divide as a result I have some pretty large plants.
Last May we traveled for 3 weeks my adult son stayed here to care for the animals, plants and whatever. Did did a really good job with all the plants especially since I had trays and trays of plants for the yard inside at the time, so it wasn't just the house plants. I tried to get as many in the ground before we left but it was a bit early for our area so many of them were still inside or in the process of hardening off.
I one mistake he made was to water my terrarium, every time he watered the house plants. The violets were swimming when we came home. LOL
We drained it as best we could without actually taking the plants out. We poured off as much of the excess as we could and then used sponges to soak the water up out of the dirt and a few wicking cotton strings. Let it sit all summer long without the top off. I can't believe that they didn't rot, but instead are blooming beautifully.

Hi HollyAnn
I have brought quite a few in this year, and doing pretty well. This after the reality check of last year, bringing some things in like coleus that promptly went south. Yep I have an aphid-ey plant I thought I cleaned, and spider mites are so sneaky. I 'll have to get on them this week. Today if possible!!! good excuse to delay housecleaning.
I'm most proud of this, my first Plumeria, which is now about twice this size, and living very happily on my table by the west-facing picture window.

Hey Sally, I was tempted by the Plumeria's but decided to wait awhile before I get one. I think they get pretty big?

Your point is???
Just kidding-- I imagine so, judging from the leaves on this one. Last winter it was a barely rooted stick- the most wonderful barely rooted stick I ever saw of course. It started leafing out this spring, and each leaf got bigger and bigger- they're now about ten-12 inches long. So imagine the size plant it'll take for these stems to be topped with flower clusters. I only have one stem on mine.
Chantell has plumies. I think it can go dormant or be forced to, for winter, but mine has stayed happy and so have I.

Sally I have a Banana Tree so I guess that "size doesn't matter". LOL
I remember there was a co-op of some kind for plumies and I so wanted to get some but I really can only accommodate so many large plants right now, and I think I have already gone over my limit. We don't have a basement so dormant plants must be of a size that they can be taken somewhere else for winter storage. Besides who wants to hide their plants in a basement all winter long, if they don't have to?
My Jasmine is flowering that hasn't happened for quite a while. When we first moved it outside last spring it started to flower and I got all excited and then it stopped with only a few blooms. Now it has started again, there are quite a few blooms with more coming on. I really should feed my houseplants more often.

Holly,

Is that a regular African Violet in your terrarium? I have the worst luck growing them, but didn't know they would work in a terrarium setting. If that is the case, I could get excited. :0)

I grew up in York, PA. Actually married a guy from Dover. Didn't work out though. :0))


Thanks,
Juanita

I'm not really sure what type of AV I have in there. I started out with 2 very small (maybe mini's) Then I was given 2 starters one was marked Teddy Bear can't remember what the other was marked. The leaves on one of the plants is longer and thinner than the other and there are a couple of smaller plants in there so they are probably the mini's. They are seem to be doing pretty good and I have seen AV grown in terrariums before. Have you tried Violet pots? I did very well with those, it's a 2 part ceramic pot you plant the top and put your water in the bottom. The bottom ceramic pot is completely glazed to hold water. The top ceramic pot is only glazed on the top half the bottom is left unglazed and absorbs water to feed the AV roots. They are almost fool proof to use and would be my first choice.

Just realized my water-rooted cuttings of ornamental sweet potato were overrun with mites. I stripped the leaves off and put them in a bright light to see if they'll regrow. I'm trying to keep a black Elephant ear going- it keeps making baby leaves but also has mites. That I have treated with systemic in the soil and put inside a produce bag. to seal up the bugs and humidify. "Somebody" was sent to look for Safer spray at Lowes but couldn't find any.

I too am still having bug issues, but with everything going on here I still haven't gotten the neem oil. I keep fighting little skirmishes but never win the war. LOL Although everyone that comes over tells me how nice my plants all look. If only they really knew what was hiding in there....

No pest problems here, yet (knock wood). I've had the plants inside since whatever hurricane that was blew up the coast in September. I've probably got about 50 in here right now. My husband built me a huge, three-shelved plant shelf for one of our west facing sliding glass doors. It's gigantic-- and there's still room for more plants on it, but I'm trying to restrain myself!

My house is pretty damp, even with the forced air heat. I think that helps keep the miteys at bay. Plus, I've given up entirely on trying to grow some of the plants that always give me trouble-- particularly arabian jasmine and tropical hibiscus. I swear, arabian jasmine will attract every spider mite in a 100 mile radius. It's a shame, because I think the fragrance is divine and in a south window it will bloom off and on all winter. But, I just don't think it's even worth it to try anymore.

My biggest trouble right now is with some Thai caladiums that I'm trying to winter over indoors. They're very droopy and unhappy. I'm thinking about setting them on a heat mat for a while to see if they perk up.

Here is one of my all time favorite house plants in bloom-- Passiflora citrina. It blooms all winter long and grows like crazy in a western exposure.

That is a very pretty plant. Love the bright sunshine color bet it really perks up a winter day.
I've never tried to keep caladiums going over the winter but I read somewhere that they need a down time. In areas where they grow all year long I think they go dormant and then come back. Could that be the problem with your Thai's?

It could be, HollyAnn. There was an article here on DG this summer about them that said that some varieties might be more inclined toward year-round growth than regular caladiums, but it doesn't seem the case with this variety (Lord Spell). I have another variety (Prince Garnet) that is much smaller but is actually doing quite well inside. Trial and error, I guess!

I'm letting my five Thai caladiums stay in the large pot I planted them together in last May, gradually just drying out and (hopefully) going dormant. My thinking was that they were rather little this spring and summer so, although they grow slowly, by leaving them in the pot and just not watering them, they might overwinter more safely. I plan to start watering them in February or whenever they show signs of new growth. Who knows? The few leaves they did have were impressive. How well and large did yours grow this year, Kubileya?

Hoosier, sorry I didn't see this earlier! My Thai caladiums seemed to struggle a bit this past summer. They were slow to start and never did get very big. The Prince Garnet in particular stayed tiny-- I think the biggest leaf was maybe 3 inches long. I did end up letting mine dry out and go dormant in their pots. I'm going to try to get them an earlier start this year inside on a heat mat. Hopefully that way I'll get some good growth this summer.

Is anyone growing epis? I have a NOID epiphyllum hybrid that's spending its third winter indoors with me and I just can't seem to get it to bloom. I'm not even sure what color it is supposed to be! It's big and healthy, but just never blooms. I know I must be doing something wrong.

In good news, I haven't managed to kill a single plant yet this winter (knock wood)!