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Looking after Flowering Houseplants |
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Flowering houseplants are very tempting especially in the winter, and many of us bought or were given plants for Christmas. Here are a few tips on looking after them. Azaleas can go out in the garden when the danger of frost is passed, so in the meantime you can keep your plant fairly moist and place in a cool spot with indirect light. A heated porch or sunroom is ideal. Then use as a potted plant on the deck or in with other tropical or semi-tropical plants to be brought back in the house next fall. They will usually bloom again using this method.
Poinsettia can be treated similarly although they are extremely tricky to get to flower again. They do make a lovely shrub for the summer in the garden.
Combination plantings of mumsettias etc., can be treated the same way also. Chrysanthemum can be planted after the danger of frost is over and will usually bloom again in the fall. The fancy florist chrysanthemum will not winter over, however, and would need to be brought in again the following fall if you wanted to keep it over.
Cyclamen plants can go slightly dormant, so lightly water to keep it a bit moist and place in a spot with indirect light and slightly cooler temperatures if possible after it has finisher flowering. Leave until spring and place in more light and a warmer location and start watering more thoroughly, while using a light fertilizer and they will usually flower again. The trick with Cyclamen is watering from the bottom as the root ball rots very easily when top watered.
Flowering bulbs are also very popular and you may want to keep the bulbs. If you have a variety that is tolerant to our temperature zoning, place the pot in a cool spot where it has little or no light, and let the foliage die back. Trim the foliage and leave in the pot, water is not necessary. The pot can be placed in a cool spot like a porch as long as the temperature does not go below freezing, and in the spring plant in your garden. Forcing them does cause a bit of confusion for the bulbs, but I have had good success doing this. Give them some bone meal to help feed the bulbs, and they can also be kept in the pot to be forced for next fall. I recommend replacing the soil if you do this.
Christmas cactus is likely the easiest of the flowering plants to deal with. Give them a rest period after flowering, place them somewhere they will get an adequate amount of light and water moderately every couple of weeks. Next fall place them in a sunny window in a room that doesn't get too much artificial light in the evening. The amount of daylight is what triggers them to bloom. Spare bedrooms often work well. When they start to produce flower buds cut back on the watering as over watering will cause them to drop their buds. Move the plant out into the main part of your home so you can enjoy your flowers. You can enjoy your Christmas cactus for many years using this method.
Lindi Karmason for Lake Country Greenhouses 2007-01 |
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