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Showing posts from September, 2013

Re-Blooming Your Poinsettia-It's Almost Christmas!

Start Poinsettia Around the End of September... Re-Blooming Your Poinsettia - When the holidays are over and your Poinsettia starts to decline, it is best to add it to the compost pile. If you can't bring yourself to toss it or you just enjoy a challenge, you might want to try re-blooming Euphorbia for the next holiday season. Cut stems back to just above a leaf node, about 3 to 4 inches high. Place the plant out of the sun and allow potting soil to dry between watering. When new growth starts to appear, you can begin monthly feeding. As a note, never feed or fertilize a potted plant when the soil is dry, always water first, then feed. Beginning around the end of September you will need to carefully control the light your Poinsettia receives. The plant will need to be kept in total darkness for 14 hours every night , continuing daily (or nightly) for 8 weeks. You can cover with black plastic and place in a dark area, returning it to its normal location during the day. After

My Indoor Plant Has Yellow Leaves... What is the Problem?

Question: My indoor plant has yellow leaves, what is the problem? Answer:  People have often asked me that question as I was working through an account taking care of the interior plants in their office. Sounds like a simple question, right? It's not and there is not a simple answer...in fact, there are many things that can cause yellow leaves on your indoor tropical plants. I will give the short list here on what I have found to be the most common cause of yellow leaves on interior plants and I have seen lots of yellow leaves in the twenty plus years I have been on the job, taking care of interior and exterior plants. First let me say that if you just find a yellow leaf or two every once in awhile, don't worry about it. These should be the oldest leaves and it is normal for a leaf to eventually find its way to plant heaven, just like everything else, plants and their leaves age! Reason Number 1 - If you seldom take care of your plants, leaving them to their own de

Potting Up Your Houseplants

Question:  An email sent by a PlantAndFlowerInfo.com  reader asked about re-potting an indoor plant properly Answer: Regarding your comment/question on "how to repot to a new pot and how to trim without causing problems to the plant". Since I don't have any information on the plant type, size etc. I can give you only general information on this. First only repot if your plant really needs to be repotted. That is the roots have filled the grow pot and the plant no longer holds enough water for it to make it through at least a week before needing to be watered again. If these things are true then you should be able to repot your plant into a new grow pot of a size no larger than 2-4 inches in diameter than the pot your plant is now in. Only pot into pots that have drainage holes in the bottom and do not size up more than a few inches. Remove the plant from the existing grow pot. This is easiest to do if the soil has been allowed to dry out most of the way.