[Tuesday - Flowers and Flowering Plants] Two for Tuesday – Spring!!!

Spring in Albuquerque!

Oh adorable crocus! I rent my house, so I have no idea who planted Crocuses before I moved in, but I love that person!

When I was a kid growing up in Indiana, my Dad told me that he planted Crocuses to bloom specifically on my birthday, March 1st. I would check all throughout February, and the flower bed would be covered with snow. Even the day before my birthday, I could see nothing. But then, flowers would appear on March 1st. I thought Dad was a magician who cast a spell over nature for me and me alone.

Here in Albuquerque, this little fella bloomed on February 6th. I don’t appreciate it any less – it’s still a magical herald of spring.

Dad’s gone now, but I bet he’d be happy to know I was still watching out for the Crocuses each spring. Thanks, Dad, for instilling a lifelong love of nature!

To those of you in snow-laden parts of the world, I don’t post this to make you jealous. I post it to show you that spring is on the way. You may have to wait a little longer than me, but I promise, I’ll send you spring just as soon as I’m done with it!

[Tuesday - Yummy Treats] Valentine’s Day Cookies

Despite what the diamond companies will have you believe, Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be for lovers. You can use the holiday to show anyone you care about them – co-workers, girlfriends, Moms, neighbors. And you don’t have to spend a lot of money.

Everyone appreciates something homemade, especially if it’s in the form of delicious cookies. So today I’m going to take a departure from houseplants and instead share one of my favorite cookie recipes – chocolate ginger snaps.

How to Make Chocolate Ginger Snaps

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

1/2 cup of butter (one stick)

1 square (1 ounce) melted unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease cookie sheet.

2. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in melted chocolate and beat well.

3. Add sugars, molasses and egg. Beat several more minutes. Stir in vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger and salt. Stir into first mixture. Mix thoroughly but briefly – do not beat.

5. Lightly flour your hands and form 1-inch balls. Place them 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is what they look like using the traditional recipe. To add a Valentine’s Day touch, instead of forming 1-inch balls, I rolled out the dough and used heart-shaped cookie cutters.

Who wouldn’t love these sweet cookies? They’re ginger snaps with chocolate! Let me know if you try the recipe.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some cookies to eat for breakfast. Hey, I never said I was actually going to give them away! I’ll return tomorrow, until then, happy indoor gardening and cookie baking everyone!

[Monday - Liza's Plants] How to Create a Plant Gift Basket

Have you ever seen or gotten a plant gift basket from a florist? In my small plant-care business, Good to Grow, I see them in offices all the time. They’re a sweet idea, but usually poorly executed. Florists don’t do a good enough job of making sure the baskets are waterproof, and they often neglect to give care instructions. To be fair, their forte is flowers, not plants.

Gift baskets full of plants are supposed to be temporary. You put a few different plants in one container, but eventually, the recipient is supposed to separate the plants and put them in their own containers. Most people who receive the gift baskets don’t realize this, so the plants stay cramped and unhappy for years to come.

So when I decided to build a plant basket for my friend Libby’s birthday present, I wanted to do it the right way. I also wanted it to be more high-end than a typical florist basket. And I would not make the mistake of neglecting to show her how to care for her new houseplants.

Plants make great gifts, so if you want to build a basket for someone you love, I’ll show you how.

How to Create a Plant Gift Basket

The first step is to pick pretty plants. They also have to be compatible. I have two Dracaenas (one deremensis warneckii, one reflexa Song of India), a Fern (Pteris cretica) and a crazy Corkscrew Rush (Juncus effusus ‘Spiralis’). The Dracaenas and the Fern require the same water and light needs, and offer wonderful color and height variances. The Corkscrew Rush requires more water, but the texture fit so well that I decided to include it.

The next step was finding the right container. Now, containers are always going to be more expensive than the plants. If you decide to build your own gift basket, you’ll have to decide what container works based on your budget, and the gift recipient’s tastes.

My friend Libby just moved into a new house, so I wanted to build this gift for her but I haven’t been to the new house. I knew she likes a modern look, and because I couldn’t find anything unique in the stores around Albuquerque, I ordered this container from NewProContainers, a wholesale supplier based out of the Midwest. The manufacturer is Lechuza. I chose the pearl white because I didn’t want it to clash with her decor.

This container is sleek and lovely. The company not only understands aesthetics, but they know plants, so for a little extra, I bought a growers container that sits inside the decorative container. That means no water leaking, and reduced chance of root rot.

There’s no way to entirely eliminate the chance of root rot from over-watering, but you can make it easier for the new plant owner by placing something at the bottom of the container. Your Grandma might’ve used pieces of terra cotta, but I like styrofoam because it’s lighter. The decorative container is a lightweight plastic, so I didn’t want to make it any heavier. If Libby gives the plants too much water, the styrofoam creates a space between the water and the roots, thereby reducing the risk of root rot.

I filled the pot about halfway with soil. You don’t want to put too much soil in at the beginning, because you’ll be adding more as you go along.

The next step was to remove the plants from their grower pots and clean up the roots.

It’s ok to trim the roots to make a smaller ball. Don’t worry, they’ll grow back. Think of it as a haircut.

I started with the Song of India because it had the biggest roots and was the tallest plant. I put it in the container and added lots more soil, pressing it down firmly as I went along.

This Warneckii has small roots, so it went into the pot after its taller cousin and the added soil.

A cautionary note here – if you have allergies, you should use gloves whenever you handle plants. I knew that I wasn’t going to have any problems with these plants, so I didn’t bother. But I did wash my hands a million times and avoided touching my face. If you don’t know whether or not you are allergic, err on the side of caution and wear gloves – you don’t want to irritate your skin or eyes.

This Corkscrew Rush also has smaller roots than the Song of India, so it went it next. I bought this at Jericho Nursery (2nd and Alameda). One of the employees said it was considered a noxious weed in some parts of the country, like Louisiana where it’s taking over swamps. That gave me pause when deciding whether to buy it, but I couldn’t resist. It has adorable corkscrew foliage that makes the whole container interesting and fun.

I added the Fern last (it had the smallest roots), and really like how all the plants look together. The fern will eventually trail down the container, while the other plants will grow taller and stronger.

The gift has height, color and texture. And it’s in a beautiful container. I hope she likes it!

I love how cheerful it looks!

It’s intended to be a floor container. I’m going to tell Libby to find a nice bright spot for it in the new house, and I’ll give her instructions on how and when to water.

One Gift for You, One Gift for Me

One nice thing about making a gift for someone is that you can make one for yourself at the same time. Or maybe that’s just me being selfish! Hahaha!

I sorta fell in love with this adorable Fern, so I split it in half. I planted half in Libby’s gift, and then went looking for a container for the other half so I could keep it for me.

Cute, eh? This is a candle holder I found at a thrift store.

But would it work? Hmmm…

Not so much. First, it obscures the cute colors of the container. Also, I know it’s going trail down so I really needed a taller container. But I liked playing with the idea.

In the end, I married it to a plant I already had, which I think is a Peperomia. I love how they look together.

And here it is in its new home, nestled between Rosa the jade and Easter the Christmas cactus.

I hope this helps if you want to make a plant gift for someone you love. Happy Birthday Libby! I hope this is your best year ever! And thanks, I love my new Fern!

I’ll be back tomorrow. Until then, happy indoor gardening everyone!

[Friday - Ask the Experts] The Best, Smartest, Funniest and Only Plant Blog Panel of Experts on the Web

Hello everyone and welcome back to our very special Friday edition of Ask the Experts!

Our Ask the Experts panel may not be the only panel of experts on the web, but it’s the only one with these fabulous high-end graphics and a silliness guarantee (we’ll make you smile, or give you your money back).

My name is Liza and I’m the moderator of this panel and the author of this blog. Thank you for being here. Every Friday, I gather my top-notch panel of experts and ask them a plant-related question. Then I cross my fingers and hope they can answer it. See, they’re all knowledgeable folks, just not necessarily about plants. That’s what makes it so fun! I ask the question, but never know just how they might answer.

Friday is also the day when I present a plant puzzler for all you goofy plant caretakers out there in internet land. Last week, I asked you what was wrong with this Aglaonema:

In a little while, I’ll reveal the answer and present a new puzzler for you.

But first, let’s meet the panel of experts!

That’s Tina, EZ, Dottie and Lewis. Don’t they look smashing in their sunflower heads? If you would like to know more about them, please click here.

I love these guys. Week after week, they indulge me by submitting their answer to my question, and they each come through in their own individual way. Without their help, the Friday edition of Good to Grow would just be a whole lot of me talking and talking – and let’s face it, no one wants that!

If you have a plant question, please leave it in the comments section or email it to me. In the meantime, I’ll keep making up questions for our experts.

Let’s get right to this week’s question, shall we? (I see nodding heads.)

Ok, this week’s question is:

Q. I miss the sun. Is there a fragrant plant that can cheer me up?

Up first is expert Tina. Tina, what do you think?

A. It’s been a tough week, my brain is fried and I’m tired. But I found this article that seems appropriate:

By Dennis Hinkamp. Most homes have at least one house plant. Possibly the most popular is the low-maintenance cactus. House plants serve to soften the hard interior and create interest by inviting nature into the home. Other benefits from house plants include higher humidity, added color and healthier air.

Aromatic plants bring into a room or house an often overlooked benefit. Not all house plants are fragrant, but some have a pleasant scent and thrive indoors. The long winter months, when only the smell of cooking fills the indoor air, is a good time to introduce some new fragrances that can help bring a glimpse of spring into the home, says Jerry Goodspeed, Utah State University Extension horticulturist.

“Fragrant plants can help mask cooking and other odors, eliminating the need for air fresheners,” Goodspeed says. “It’s preferable to have a nice plant emitting a fragrant aroma than have the smell of burnt toast masked with the smell of ‘tree in a can.’”

He says scented geraniums are probably the most popular fragrant house plant. They do not thrive indoors, but will stay healthy if placed in a well lit location, plus there is a wide assortment of aromas. Among the most popular are lemon, almond, pine trees, peppermint, orange, pineapple and even chocolate.

However, one of the drawbacks with some scented geraniums is their scent is weak, Goodspeed explains. Some require that you rub the leaves to get a strong whiff of their fragrance. This would be fine, but most plants can only stand so much rubbing before they die.

“It’s the foliage of scented geraniums that carries the pleasant aroma,” he says. “These geraniums need to dry out between watering, and be fertilized only about once a month during the winter. In the summer they can be moved outdoors and allowed to bloom.”

Goodspeed says another blooming aromatic house plant is the gardenia. Lack of light is the biggest problem with getting a gardenia to grow and bloom indoors. They require a sun room, and do best in indirect light. In the winter they need to stay cool at night (55 to 60 degrees), and can be a high maintenance plant.

He suggests other flowering plants that may be easier to grow in the house: pink jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum), string of beads (Senecio rowleyanus), wax flower (Stephanotis floribunda), and wax plant (Hoya). These plant all require some special care and bloom better in indirect light in a sun room or other well-lit location. They all should be allowed to slow down and rest during the winter, by reducing the fertilization and keeping them somewhat cooler.

Goodspeed says the Hoya, string of beads and wax flower are all vining plants and can be trained up a wire or trellis, or planted in a hanging basket. The flowers have a sweet fragrance that can be smelled throughout a small greenhouse or large room.

“The common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) can be planted in a pot and forced to bloom indoors during the winter months,” he says. “It also has a very sweet aroma that can fill a room. After they have bloomed and the foliage has died back, they can be planted outdoors and enjoyed for many springs to come. Buy new bulbs each year for forcing indoors.”

Ok Tina, that was super informative, thanks so much! As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Hyacinth bulbs – I have some blooming in my house right now, which just makes February better.

Ok EZ Ed Johnson, the question goes to you next.

Q. I miss the sun. Is there a fragrant plant that can cheer me up?

A. Maybe some kind of plant that grows quickly, like a Chia Pet. Just watching something grow in the middle of winter has got to help.

You’re right about that – every little bit helps to get us through the gloomy winter. A splash of green or a divine scent can chase the winter blues away.

Say, EZ, you work in the sports department of our local newspaper. Do you think you could use your contacts to get University of New Mexico’s head basketball coach Steve Alford to be a guest expert one day on Ask the Experts? He’s from Indiana, I’m from Indiana. I would be soooo hospitable and make it really easy for him. I could even let him make up his own question if he wanted. And I would serve him snacks if he wanted, like cheese or maybe some pepperoni. What do you think?

A. He might, but I don’t think yelling at plants will have the same effect on them as it does on basketball players and referees.

Fair enough. I know the houseplants under my care would wilt if a college basketball coach screamed at them the way he screams at his players. Plants are sensitive and not tough-skinned like college kids. Still, it’s a nice dream to think of Steve Alford being a guest expert – I would ask him to wear his little short shorts that players used to wear back in the day. So cute! A gal can dream.

Ok, Dottie, my lovely little sunflower, here’s the question to you.

Q. I miss the sun. Is there a fragrant plant that can cheer me up?

A. “GOT NO SUNSHINE?”  Turn on the Sun Lamp and think warm thoughts!! What is warm, fuzzy,has a defining FRAGRANCE that brings back SUNNY childhood memories???

ANSWER:  THE “CIRCUS” !!!!

You can create your own colorful and entertaining ‘THREE RING PLANT CIRCUS”, That will warm the cockles of your heart and bring the sun back into your life.

Commence the show by bringing out the fabulous Ring Master:

“BUFFALO BILL” (rose) wielding his “SPANISH BAYONET”, astride his equally infamous “ELEPHANT” (ears),( Colocasia Esculenta.)

RING ONE:  Features the infamous DOG(wood), GIANT, (Cornus Controvrsa and his “Shady tricks”).

RING TWO:  The mysterious, AMARANTHUS,”MAGIC FOUNTAIN” starring:  “THE FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL”, (Sukaciacina race mosa)

RING THREE: The spellbinding, exciting, dangerous and exotic Dandy”LIONS” and “TIGER” lilies!

SIDE-SHOWS features:

“DOWNY RATTLESNAKE”(plantain)

(Goodyeara pubescens)

VIPER’S BUGLOS (echium vulgar)

“THE GREEN DRAGON”

(Arisaema draconitum)

The Voracious:  “VENUS FLYTRAP/MEADOW CLAMS”

(dionaea muscipula)

“BABOON” antics, (babina flowers)

Last but not least: “FORTUNE TELLER, ROSE”

(Rosa ‘JACheir’)

FLYING OVERHEAD ON THE HIGH WIRE:

“WINGED ELM” (ulmus-alata) with partner:

“WINGED EUONYMUS” (enonymus alatus)

Also starring:  “DYNASTIC CAREFREE WONDER ROSE”

with her partner:  “FIRST FLIGHT ROSE” (Rosa ‘PER’flight)

Adding to the color and delight is the renowned CIRCUS BAND

featuring the following prominent players:

“ALL THAT JAZZ, ROSE”

“ANGEL’S TRUMPET”,

“CORAL BELLS”,Heuchera sanguinea

“BLUE BELLS”

“GOLDEN TRUMPET” Allamanda cathartica

For those desirous of a more cultured offering;

a brief appearance will be made by the:

“DOUCE SYMPHONIC ROSE”

(Rosa ‘melbarke’)

Libations and Tidbits to tittle your tongue and warm your cockels, available at the

“CUP AND SAUCER” VINE

(cobaena scandens)

Menu Features:  “TABLETOP SCOTCH” (elm)

(ulmus galbra ‘horizontalis’)

“GINGER SNAP ROSE”

(Rosa ‘AROsnap’)

“GOURMET POPCORN” ROSE

(Rosa ‘WEOpop’)

All of the above and much more, graciously served by lovely:

“DAIRY MAID, ROSE”

and “DAISY AND ASTER”

Concluding the phenomenal “CIRCUS ” performances, enjoy the electrifying and dramatic display by the:

“FIRECRACKER” VINE

(Mina lobata: ipomoea lobata)

Hahahahahaha! Holy cow! A circus indoors in February – that’s simply fabulous!

Ok, next up is our expert Lewis Casey. Lewis, here’s the question to you!

Q. I miss the sun. Is there a fragrant plant that can cheer me up?

A. Ah the sun, for many, the sun seems to be a distant memory in this cold winter as you stare out your window at snow covered grounds, for us who live in the Land of Enchantment we are blessed with a abundance of life giving sunshine. We have cold and we have snow but we also have glorious sunshine.

For those of much snow and little sun there are many plants that have been graced by the sun that hold fragrances that reminds us of the goodness of the earth. If you can gather a few branches from a pine tree, almost any will do. Take a few of the needle and rub them together releasing the odor of the forest in spring, find a rosemary or sage hardy herbs and do the same. They have a great scent and add a great taste to potatoes, stew or even green split pea soup, mmmmm. Take a orange, lemon or lime make a zest (scrape the peel) breath deep the aroma throw the zest into your oatmeal. Boil a few cinnamon (canela) sticks not teabags sticks, makes a dark reddish brown tea which fills your kitchen with a rich deep earthy smell that you will never get from a teabag. Pour yourself a large glass, add honey and enjoy a flavor of the earth. Another fragrant plant I have been told about is this great green plant that spelled something like this m#*+@=na – people say it does wonders for changing your attitude and bringing good cheer.

Be safe, Be careful, Lewis.

Hahahahahaha! Is that a marijuana reference Lewis? This is a family website – just say no kids! We love plants on this site, but certain plants are not allowed.

Ok, everyone, if you’re still reading, thanks so much. That concludes our Friday edition of Ask the Experts. I hope you enjoyed our silly experts. If you didn’t, let me know and I’ll refund your hard-earned bucks.

Name that Plant Problem!

Last week, I asked you what was wrong with this Aglaonema:

I said there were several correct answers. Sadly, there were no correct guesses from our readers. So no glory for anyone this week – wanh, wanh, waaaaanh.

So what’s the answer? Maybe this photo will help:

First, the employees at this television station started using the plant for a doorstop. That’s just wrong – plants are not meant to be doorstops, or they would be called doorstops not plants. So every week, I move it to a safer place, only to come in the next week and find it back where it was.

The harsh marks on the edges of the leaves are bruises, from people walking by and brushing up against the plant. Ouch! Yes, plants bruise, people, and the bruises are not good. This particular plant also shows signs of being thirsty – see the yellowing leaf to the bottom right? That means the plant got thirsty. My bad! It’s fine now, and yes, it’s still being used as a doorstop (grrrr!).

Plant Stumper!

Ok all my sugar snap peas out there in internet land. What’s wrong with this plant?

This is a Palm tree with some issues. Here’s a closer look at those damaged fronds:

Think you know what’s wrong with this plant? Leave your best guess in the comments section. Remember, there are no prizes for guessing correctly, but there is glory and my gratitude for playing.

That does it for this special Friday edition of Good to Grow. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I’ll be back on Monday. Until then, happy indoor gardening everyone!

[Thursday - Plants 101] How to Repot a Boston Fern

Meet Virginia, a Boston Fern who’s been living in the plant hospital.

She’s a pretty girl, but she hasn’t really been very happy since she arrived. I don’t blame her – her previous caretaker moved away, so she was given to me. She probably misses her family! And she’s probably wondering why she didn’t get to move, too.

I decided to give her some TLC. She had lots of dead leaves and fronds, so I started by cleaning her up. Once a leaf or frond begins to die or has died, it’s important to remove it for two reasons: one, aesthetics, and two, so you can spot new problems as they arise.

One thing that is important to remember with all plants, when you are handling them – wear gloves and long sleeves. Boston Ferns are pretty benign, but you don’t want to take chances. Leaves and stems can irritate the skin and eyes.

A Boston Fern is Nephrolepis, and has been a popular houseplant since Victorian times. Like most ferns, they appreciate moisture and gentle care.

In the photo above, you can see that Virginia developed bulbous roots. That’s to store extra water in times of drought. Plants are smart! They compensate for us (sometimes) lousy caregivers!

The best way to repot a Boston Fern is gently. Their fronds bruise easily, so you want to take care not to thrash them about. For Virginia, I separated out all the dead stems from the live ones, then put the live ones back into her same pot but with new soil.

Despite being fairly unhappy in the plant hospital, Virginia was growing. See her little baby fronds about to unfurl? So adorable!

Unfurling fronds have always struck me as cheerful. Like they are saying, “Hello world, here I aaaaaaammmmmmm!”

Virginia’s going to be just fine. She’ll live in the plant hospital for a while longer, then I’ll see if I can find her a permanent home.

She looks a lot better, eh?

How to Care for a Boston Fern

Water: Ferns need moisture to thrive. They appreciate moist soil and misting as often as you can stand it. Do not let the soil become soggy – that will lead to root rot. Evenly moist is optimal.

Light: Ferns like good, bright light. If you can give them an east- or north-facing window, they will love it. They are not sun hogs, so they don’t need a south-facing window. They are not shade lovers – they will be unhappy if you have them in a dark corner somewhere.

Air Humidity: Think of a Fern as a tropical plant – they like wet air all the time. That makes them a completely unreasonable houseplant for someone who lives in the southwest like me, but it doesn’t mean they won’t survive, they just require lots of extra care. Mist, mist, mist – I don’t think there is any way you can mist them too often.

Propagation: Most plant websites and books say that to propagate a Fern, you just divide the plant into pieces. That’s fine, but I wanted to know if you could root the fronds.

Does anyone know if this will work? I couldn’t find any information about it online, so I decided to experiment. I’ll be keeping an eye on these little fronds – maybe it would cheer Virginia up to see her babies grow.

That’s it for our Thursday edition of Good to Grow. We’ll be back tomorrow with an all new Ask the Experts, the best, smartest, funniest and only plant blog panel of experts on the web. Hope you can join us! Until then, happy indoor gardening everyone!

[Wednesday - The Plant Lady Chronicles] Breaking News: Plant Suicide at the Television Station

What’s the best way to remove a dead thorny Euphorbia? Verrrrrryyyyy carrrrrefullllly.

This is an atrium at a local television station. I asked one of the employees how long ago the atrium was planted, and she said it was there when she started working there 12 years ago. I’ve been caring for the cacti and succulents for the last few years.

I’m not quite sure why this Euphorbia died, especially when all the other plants are growing like crazy. I’m going to call it plant suicide to absolve myself of responsibility.

I can tell you that it’s been dying for awhile now. I waited for it to get crunchy because I knew that it would be a lot easier to remove than a mushy, fluid-filled bundle of thorns. Euphorbias have a noxious sap inside, and I wanted as much of that to dry as possible.

The most important of all these tools are my firefighter gloves – they are the best thing ever for plant people. I can grab anything with those things on – they are so thick, they just laugh at thorns.

Ordinary kitchen tongs also are great for anything thorn-laden.

It came out in one big chunk. In fact, throwing it away was harder than removing it.

Looks like a great opportunity to plant something new! Let me know if you have any suggestions.

[Tuesday - Flowers and Flowering Plants] I Should Probably Change that Title

Oh, the best laid plans. I was going to, I meant to, I would’ve.

I actually had two different posts laid out for today. One was to show you this fabulous gift that I’m building for my friend who has a MAJOR birthday coming up, but the parts have not yet arrived. Bummer. I was hoping to complete that task yesterday.

The other was a departure from plant posts – I was going to share an awesome cookie recipe, chocolate ginger snaps. Doesn’t everyone love ginger?

I have made these cookies lots of times in the past, but this time I wanted them shaped like hearts. I gathered all the ingredients, and made the cookies, using cookie cutters for the shape I was after.

Yeah, they didn’t taste very good either. They were too thick, so I only made one batch. I had planned to package them decoratively for gifts, but yeah, that didn’t happen.

I will try again, and I will definitely share the recipe if anyone is interested. Ginger snaps with chocolate, I don’t know how anyone can resist!

Anyway, so neither of those posts are going to work, which is fine because neither of them are about Tuesday’s topic anyway.

So instead I’ll share a flower:

And take a page from Noel over at A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii, who used his blog yesterday to give shout outs to his favs (I was one, blush!). I love his site, too!

Like him, I can’t get enough of this whole blog world. There are so many interesting people writing about all sorts of things.

There’s my sister Molly, over at Charlotte’s Fancy, sharing a world of adorable hand-made cards and gifts, along with crafts and other fun things. She’s helped me this blog and I could not be more grateful!

And most of you know I’m over the moon for mr_subjunctive at Plants Are the Strangest People. He’s very funny, and he’s creating a database of plant information that’s unmatched on the web.

And James, at James and the Giant Corn, is the bomb – he’s a scientist who has a love affair with plants of all types. He’s busy teaching these days, no doubt making complicated science issues easy to understand.

I’m new to the world of garden websites at Blotanical.com, and my, there sure are a lot of great sites there.

One of my favorites is Noelle over at Ramblings from a Desert Garden. She’s a landscaper in Arizona, and quite the photographer. Plus, she’s very sweet about making comments regularly. And she doesn’t ramble, despite the name of the blog.

I also really like Tatyana over at MySecretGarden. Really pretty garden photographs.

And Jen over at Muddy Boot Dreams, Debbie at Garden Thyme with the Creative Gardener NellJean over at Secrets of a Seed Scatterer, the ladies over at Garden Rant (I love how they are convinced gardening matters – it does!), and Catherine at A Gardener in Progress (I love her countdown to spring).

There are too many to mention. If you have any gardening or houseplant questions, the answers are out there. In spades!

I’ll be back tomorrow, until then, happy indoor gardening everyone!

[Monday - Liza's Plants] Getting a Jump on Spring Cleaning and Planting

Oh glorious, underrated February. Some people dismiss you because you’re shorter than the other months. Or, because for some parts of the world, you bring the harshest days of winter.

But there will be no February hating here. That’s because in Albuquerque, February is spring. Crocuses bloom, Morning Glories and Delphiniums begin to sprout, Daffodils and Tulips send up shoots. Buds begin to form on all the fruit trees in town. Cheeks and forearms become sun-kissed.

Yes, February is a wonderful month if you live in the southwest. Even if you live somewhere where February is drab and dreary, you can still use the month to your advantage.

Why Wait? Spring Clean Now!

I don’t like to wait for spring to do major cleaning. That’s because when the warm weather actually hits, I want to take walks and ride my bike and explore. I try to get my work done when the weather is cold, so I can play when it warms.

When I first started this blog back in the fall, I showed you my plant hospital, which is the spare bedroom in my house. In my small business, Good to Grow, I care for plants in offices around the city. If a plant doesn’t look good in an office, I’ll yank it and bring it back here for TLC. People also give me sick plants all the time, for me to revive.

It was pretty crowded, so over the winter I made it my mission to move a lot of those little fellas out of the hospital and into permanent spots in offices around the city.

It wasn’t until this weekend that I gave the whole hospital, including the plants still here, a thorough cleaning. Now it looks like this:

This is a plant blog, why am I writing about cleaning? Because it’s important. Everyone should have a clean slate going into a new season. So if you live somewhere where February is brutal, use it to your advantage and clear out the clutter.

Cleaning is transformative. Healing even.

It has so many similarities to working in a garden. As a gardener, you know, you see those few weeds and you know you should pull them right away or they will turn into ten thousand weeds. If you do pull them, it frees up your time to tend to the flowers or the vegetables. If you don’t, well, you’ll be doing a lot of weeding.

Cleaning’s like that. If you can get it done and out of the way, it frees up your time to do things you actually enjoy.

For me, that includes starting new plants:

I like experiments. I looked around online and had trouble finding anyone who could tell me if you can root fern cuttings (a Boston fern and Asparagus) in water, so I decided to give it a shot. I also have one of Danny the Dieffenbachia leaves in water, just to see what happens.

Spring Cleaning Leads to Spring Planting

While I was cleaning, I found a lot of seeds that I’d stashed in the closet. Cosmos, Delphinium, Morning Glories, Bachelor’s Buttons, Spanish Broom, Mexican Primrose. I also had lots of Tulip and Hyacinth bulbs that I had gotten on sale a few weeks ago. They put me in the planting mood! And happily, since the house was clean, I could spend time daydreaming about how I want my yard to look come spring, and planting containers.

If you’re stuck in the cold and snow, it may seem crazy to think of planting flowers. And yes, it did snow a few days ago. But February changes everything. The sun gets hot here in February.

I decided to spruce up the area by my back door. In a few weeks, I hope to see the rewards from what I planted.

I had some big containers and not a lot of potting soil. [Sidebar: If you've been following this blog, you read my rant against potting soils that you buy at places like Home Depot because they are all infected with gnats. In that rant, I declare victory because I found out a small nursery in town, Jericho Nursery, carries a potting soil that is gnat-free, FoxFarm. What I didn't know at the time was that a single bag would cost me twenty one bucks - for potting soil! Outrageous! Yet I bought a bag because I had to know if it was worth it. I was not going to use one pinch of it on outdoor containers.]

So I used an old gardener’s trick.

Some people put rocks at the bottom of their planters – it’s so the plant roots don’t get a chance to sit in water. But why rocks? They’re heavy if you have to move the planter. I like using old growers pots, or styrofoam.

I planted Tulips and Hyacinths, along with all sorts of seeds that I found in the closet. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they’ll grow.

I had to add some bling – shiny things make the wait worthwhile.

It takes some imagination to picture what this will look like in the weeks to come, but that’s life, eh?

Spring’s almost here. Tell me, what are you planting now in hopes of reaping later?

[Friday - Ask the Experts] The Best, Smartest, Funniest and Only Plant Blog Panel of Experts on the Web

Hello everyone, and welcome to Good to Grow’s special Friday edition of Ask the Experts coming to you from Albuquerque, New Mexico! Thanks for being here.

Today’s Friday January 29th – boy, this year sure is flying by, isn’t it? We love Fridays around here, because that’s the day we like to persuade you to stop working for a little bit (hah – as if you were working to begin with) and to join us for a little fun.

Friday is the day when we roll out our esteemed panel of experts and ask them a plant-related question. Then we cross our fingers and hope they can answer it!

Hi! My name is Liza and I’m the moderator for the panel and author of this blog. I can vouch for the coolness of all the members of the panel, however, I can’t say the same for their plant knowledge. I can practically guarantee you’ll have a good time tuning in though.

On Fridays, we also feature a plant puzzler. This week, we’ll have an answer to last week’s Name that Plant Problem!, (too bad no one got it right) in which I asked you what was wrong with this tree.

Lots of good guesses, and correct observations, but unfortunately, no one answered it correctly. That’s because it was a trick question – hahahahaha! Haven’t you come to expect that from me yet? I’ll reveal the answer below. I’ll also present another puzzler for you after the panel of experts.

Did you know that this is a full moon weekend? I sure hope nothing spooky happens around here!

Ready to meet the panel? Ok!

That’s Tina Quintana, EZ Ed Johnson, Dottie Correll, and Lewis Casey. Aren’t they adorable with their sunflower heads? I’m pretty sure this is the only plant blog panel of experts on the web. Even if there is another one, I’m sure they don’t have our high-end graphics.

If you’d like to know more about any of the members of our panel, please click here.

Each week, I ask the panel a plant-related question that’s submitted by our readers. Sadly, this blog doesn’t have very many readers. And the ones who do read are so smart they don’t have any questions. Of course, they can’t answer the puzzlers correctly, so maybe I’m misreading them. Burn!

I’m kidding, I’m kidding – all of you guys are adorable. Thanks again for being here. Please don’t stop reading. Am. Begging.

Ok, let’s get down to business. This week’s question comes from me, and it is:

Q. It’s January, should I be watering my yard?

Expert Tina is first on our panel. Tina and I both have small plant care businesses here in Albuquerque and have been friends for years. You ready to go, girl? She’s nodding. Ok, you’re up:

A. Well, it depends on how much moisture your area has received by Mother Nature. If it has been raining and or snowing, no. If it has been a dry winter, you should water your yard and lawns at least once a month to maintain moisture levels. Watering during January can also help protect the roots of the plants. Just don’t water in freezing temps – you don’t want your pipes to freeze!!!!!

That sounds totally accurate, Tina. Good job!

Here in Albuquerque, we’ve made out like bandits with snow in the last couple weeks. Yesterday, it snowed all day. Spring starts early here, in mid-February, so this January moisture has perfect timing.

Up next is EZ Ed Johnson, my friend from the sports department of the local paper. Here’s the question to you, my friend.

Q. It’s January, should I be watering my yard?

EZ, what do you think?

A. I know the NFL waters its lawn through the Super Bowl, which these days runs into February.

Aw, that’s really cute of you EZ, to tell the whole world you’re sure my Indianapolis Colts are going to win the Super Bowl next week. I think so, too!

Say EZ, do you think you could use your contacts at the sports department to invite legendary sports announcer and all-around huge personality Dick Vitale to be a guest expert one day on Ask the Experts? I think he’d really enjoy it, and I could ask him about basketball instead of plants.

A. Yeah, Vitale would show up anywhere, anytime. But nobody else would get in a word in. He probably types in ALL CAPS with lots of !!!!!! so that would get annoying.

Hahahahahahaha! Fair enough, we’ll leave Dicky V out of our Friday fun. His loss.

Ok, normally our next expert Dottie, who’s 83 years old and should be declared a National Treasure would be up, but she’s unavailable this week.

She still looks adorable with her sunflower head, doesn’t she? Hope to see you next week, Dottie.

Sssssshhhhhh, everyone! Did you hear that? OH NO, it sounds like, it sounds like, a WEREWOLF!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Just kidding! It was only Michael J. Fox. Just kidding again!

That joke would’ve worked a lot better if I had graphics of my panelists screaming terrified instead of smiling like happy babies. Note to self, fix that.

Ok, up next is the venerable Lewis Casey. He’s the Director of Safety for the NM Department of Health, as well as a long-time volunteer for the Red Cross. Lewis, here’s the question to you:

Q. It’s January, should I be watering my yard?

A. Save your water, we have had several good days of moisture, maybe not great but for here, enough. If you got to have green grass then you are in the wrong place, native plants – tree, shrubs – grasses are fine on what moisture we have receive here in New Mexico. It is those bone dry winters like we had a few years back that test the life of our earth bound friends. Stay the course, spring will be here soon. Please donate to the Haiti Relief Fund through your favorite charity and give thanks for your blessings. Lewis

That sounds like another win for Lewis. Nice work!

Ok, that does it for Friday’s Ask the Experts. I’d like to thank all of our experts for being here, and I’d like to thank any readers who are still here despite the silliness.

Name That Plant Problem!

Last week, I asked what was wrong with this Ficus tree:

Ugh – what a mess! Look at all those yellow leaves!

Several readers made great observations – it’s dusty, it’s pruned awkwardly, it looks thirsty. But no one put it all together. That’s because you’d have no way of knowing the back story.

Which is, one of the employees at the tv station where this tree is located, brought it in from home about two months ago. I thought she was going to take care of it because she didn’t ask me to, but she didn’t, and I started noticing lots of yellow leaves. So I watered it but made the mistake of not cleaning off the yellow leaves. Later the same day, she noticed the yellow leaves so she watered the tree, too, not feeling the soil first to see if I’d already done it. So it had too little, then way too much water in a short amount of time.

So you couldn’t have known any of that, but you should’ve been able to discern the different colors on the leaves. Some were all yellow (indicating thirst) and some were yellow and green (indicating too much water). You would’ve known that if you’d read my post about Samantha the Ficus tree.

I cleaned up the tree, so here’s what it looks like now:

It still needs to be dusted more, and pruned better, but the poor thing has been through enough for now.

A few readers guessed that it was near a vent or that it had inadequate light. It actually isn’t near a vent, but it may have gotten drafty when it was moved to the tv station. And the whole place has lots of windows, so while it doesn’t get direct sunlight, it has plenty of indirect light so that wasn’t the issue either.

Overwatering and underwatering can kill a houseplant or tree quickly. In future posts, I’ll give you concrete tips on how to make sure you’re giving your plants the right amount of water.

Are you ready for a new puzzler? Ok then!

Name that Plant Problem!

This is an Aglaonema, can you tell what’s wrong with it?

There are several correct answers, so leave your best guess in the comments section. There are no prizes for guessing correctly, but there is glory and my gratitude for playing. I’ll reveal the answers next Friday.

That does it for this Friday edition on Good to Grow. Thanks again everyone for being here. I’ll return Monday, until then, happy indoor gardening everyone!

[Wednesday - The Plant Lady Chronicles] How to Clean and Shine Houseplant Leaves

During my route of taking care of plants at offices and homes around Albuquerque, people ask me all sorts of things about plants.

One question I get frequently is about how to shine houseplant leaves. People want to know if it’s ok to use leaf shine products, which usually come in a spray.

“Noooooooooooo!” I scream as I hear the question. No, not really, but in my head I’m asking why, why would anyone use that crap, why? There are so many other ways, healthier ways to shine leaves.

To Use a Leaf Shine Product or Not to Use a Leaf Shine Product?

There is a ton of conflicting information out there about whether or not leaf shine products are good for your plants. Some people say they clog the pores of the leaves. Other people say it doesn’t hurt them at all. Still others are so entranced by the shine that they don’t care if it’s good or bad for the plant.

Here’s my take. Will using a leaf shine product kill a plant? No, absolutely not. You may not even lose any leaves. But my question is, why bother? I think that oily shine looks unnatural which defeats the purpose of having a bit of nature in the house. Plus, there are other ways to clean and shine leaves. I’ll show you how in a minute, first, here’s what really bugs me about leaf shine products:

This is an Anthurium that was delivered to one of my client’s offices as a thank you for who knows what. See how shiny those top leaves are? Well, look at a lower leaf:

Spotty and gross. That’s what leaf shine products eventually do to plants. Normally, I wouldn’t care because it’s not one of the plants they pay me to maintenance. But this is a really small office and the girls there haven’t been caring for it, so I just took over the care. I like Anthuriums and would like to see this one bloom again – it’s got bubble-gum colored blossoms.

This is after I used a damp cloth with a little dish soap. Those spots are never coming off that leaf. It’s ruined! So I cut it off.

How to Clean and Shine Leaves

Cleaning dust and grime off leaves is important to the overall health of any houseplant. So what else should you use instead of leaf shine products to get a healthy glow to your plants?

Lots of people recommend a mixture of a little milk and water. Milk? Are you kidding me? I’ve also heard banana peels work, a little potato or even mayonnaise.

ALL OF THESE ARE RIDICULOUS!

I don’t care if Grandma swears by it – don’t ever use food or food products to clean leaves, it’s stupid and unnecessary. There’s no point to it, and it seems certain to me that the milk or fruit would attract pests. Even if it doesn’t attract pests, it’s completely unnecessary.

See how dusty these leaves are? This is a Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis). There’s no need to pull out milk and cotton balls or Q-tips.

A dry cloth (and a gentle touch – you don’t want to hurt the leaves) is all you need.

See? Shiny leaves just moments later.

Now, that was gentle dust – a feather duster would’ve worked just fine, too. For plants in kitchens or places where they get a coat of grime underneath the dust, a dry cloth won’t work. But a wet one with a little bit of dish soap works great. For plants with lots of small leaves (therefore very labor intensive to dust), use the shower or bathtub, with lukewarm water.

Maybe you’ve had great experiences with leaf shine products or mayo to shine the leaves of your plants. If so, I’d be interested to know. Or if you have a different remedy than a dry cloth, feather duster, or soap and water, I’d be interested to know that, too.

Leave your comments if you wish. Until next time, happy indoor gardening everyone!