Plant News-January 2022

This past month has been a blast diving back into my mini-world of plants. I decided to give attention and care to some who have been neglected for a while. Some were overgrown & needed a trim, some were dying of thirst and in need of new soil, & some just outgrew their pots and needed a new home. Needless to say, I have a ton of baby propagations now and a handful of pots to clean.

Repot Normally, you should wait until spring unless they are new to your home and are still in the nursery pot. I allowed them to acclimate to our home environment for about 2 months. Every plant listed was in the nursery pot apart from the fern, spider plants, and Fitonia which were all dying.

• Lemon tree

• Lime tree

• Norfolk Pine

• Ficus Elastica

• Money Tree

• Spider Plants

• Silver Lace Fern ( I down potted because there was root rot. I also put it in a terrarium to create a humid environment & rehabilitate it.)

• Fitonia (I placed this in a better well draining pot and placed a gallon plastic bag over to help create a humid environment.)

Cleaned & Treated When I clean & treat my plants I typically just wipe down their leaves with a diluted solution of warm water & Neem Oil. This removes any dust or debris from the leaves and the oil prevents pests.

• Hoya Krimson Princess ( I found mealy bugs and treated them with alcohol & Neem Oil)

• Hoya Kromson Queen (I noticed the terra-cotta pot was growing mold that I originally thought was patina. I kept the plant in the pot and used a sponge to scrub the outside of the pot with hot water & dawn dish soap. I then wiped it down with neem oil.) NOTE: Patina is just a mineral build-up from using tap water. It is white and often causes the pots to look aged or distressed. It is normal and most people enjoy the patina look. Mold is white, green, or black and is visibly raised and fluffy. Mold growing on your terra-cotta pot is just a sign that your soil has organic material.

• Calethea

• Monstera Deliciosa

Chopped & Propped I wanted to start making plant babies now so that they will be ready for soil by spring. My preferred method of propagation is by water for two reasons: 1) I have had the most success 2) I enjoy watching the progress. I am attempting a new method. It's called a propagation box & it basically creates a mini greenhouse climate. I am using small plastic containers with lids. I place a thin layer of perlite, add some water, place the cuttings on top and cover with a lid. Now I just have a wait a few weeks. I have noticed some small roots on the SOH. I will be documenting the process on my Instagram so be sure to follow me there @always_willow.

• Scindapsus Pictus Argyraeus (I had an extremely long vine with lots of roots in a vessel for over a year. After a few months, it is unlikely the plant will do well in soil. Instead of just tossing it out, I decided to cut at each leaf with a node and place them in a prop box for a few weeks to see if they will root. If I am successful I will have a brand new full plant.)

• Ice Plant (Most of these are in vessels but I did throw one in the prop box)

• String of Hearts (I have a few strands in a vessel and I also have a bunch of leaves with nodes in the prop box)

• Snake plant (In vessel)

• Tradescantia Pallida (In vessel)

• Neon Pothos (In Vessel)

• Fitonia (In vessel & in prop box)

• Angel Wing Begonia (In vessel)

RIP I hate to say this but these three plants were big beauties over the summer, but I had to say goodbye. I have been trying so hard to keep them happy these past few months but it was a losing battle. The Kalanchoes and Jades spent the summer outside and flourished. I had hoped I could keep them going until spring at least but we broke out with a few pests and I just couldn't spend my energy on helping them recover. Plus, I was slightly paranoid these pests would jump to my other plants. I honestly don't know what happened with my Syngonium. Two weeks ago it was fine and then I found it infested with mealy bugs. I also found some mealybugs on my Hoya Krimson Princess which was neighboring the Syngonium. Ultimately, leading me to decide to just cut my losses before anything else spreads.

• Syngonium

• Kalanchoe

• Jade

Well, that is all that happened in my plant world during the month of January. I’m excited to see what February holds for us! I’m thinking home decor updates. If you enjoyed this update, let me know in the comments.

All the best, always,

Erikka