House & Greenhouse plants – Page 8

Children’s Bottle Gardens and Terrariums

October 27, 2014 hortoris

photo by medoriastar

Bottle Gardens for children can be entertaining and educational. Plants can be supplemented with small toys as any gardening is meant to be fun.

Containers and Bottles
At the larger end you may want a fish tank garden, which is easier to plant up and maintain. Cut a piece of glass to fit on the top.
An old sweet jar laid on it’s side or a goldfish bowl can be planted up
Clear glass is needed to get photosynthesis working.
The larger the bottle top the easier it will be to fill and maintain.

How to Plant up
Put in a 2″ layer of fine gravel to aid drainage
Cover with a layer of compost no more than 2-3 ”
Plant mini plants in the compost, taller growers at the back.
Cover again with a thin layer of gravel to hold soil in place.

Small Plants for a Children’s Bottle Garden

Select plants that are slow growing and dwarf in habit like:-

Polka dot plants Hypoestes phyllostachya

Friendship plant Pilea involucrata terxtured or lined varieties

Peperomias are compact with heart shaped leaves

African violets and the carpet plant Episcia both have good flowers

Cultivation of your Bottle Garden
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Scented Indoor Plants

October 21, 2014 hortoris

Do you remember scratch and sniff adverts during the 1980’s? Well, you can grow your own sniffs without needing to scratch them. Top of my pile is going to be scented Orchids but there are many other house plants with exotic scent.

Scented Houseplants

Orchid dendrobium is the second largest group of orchids after bullbophylium. Many species and hybrids are scented including kingianum, loddigesii, monoliforme and nobile. I find the white varieties are strongest in the scent stakes. Star Class is a variety being strongly marketed this year

Gardenia have glossy green leaves that set off the pearl coloured flowers of the seasonally named Snowball. The scent is nothing like a snowball unless it has been dunked in Channel No 5.

Third and last choice in white flowers (from pale pink buds) has to be the popular Jasmine. A twiner often grown in a loop or on a framework the scent is powerful even ‘heaven-scent’ according to RHS adverts.

Back to Orchids with Sharry Baby an Orchid Oncidium with a vanilla scent. (Vanilla is a spice made from Orchid seeds ). The flowers are small but there are going to be lots of them.

Keeping it simple you can’t go wrong with Hyacinths either forced for Christmas time flowering or natural for later scented blooms. Newer multiflowered varieties have masses of bloom but I found they were not as strongly scented as selected individual flowers.

Short in flowering time when indoors but strong on scent the Narcissus Pheasant Eye, Erlicheer, Cheerfulness or Paperwhite are hard to beat.

Gerbera us a Smile

October 6, 2014 hortoris

Gerberas often make us smile but this flower is trying to smile for us. Like my jokes it is nothing to laugh at.

A popular house plant the Gerbera has radiant, single or double flowers. They look like their relatives theÂ daisy family. Best known for the range of strong colours you often see one stem in a vase. The flowers last well as cut flowers and are a regular feature in florists arrangements. They also make a colour full display on this web page.

The ray floret petals are a pale salmon with a distinctive and typical centre.

A couple of doubles, a doppleganger of a Gerbera

All the central disc florets are open on this orange Gerbera

For some more pictures of Gerbera try

Cheap Garden Pot Mums

October 1, 2014 hortoris

I have grown a lot of Chrysanthemums in pots this year. Currently they are showing their true colours in an Autumn blaze of glory.

Tips for Cheap Chrysanthemums

I bought a cheap supermarket multi pack early in the year (6 for 99p). I nipped out the growing heads and in some cases the flowers that were already showing. I potted them up individually in the cold greenhouse, then put them individually in large outdoor pots at the end of June. They were of a variety prone to self branch so I only needed to stop them blooming too early by pinching out odd flowers. They are now 10 times the size the supermarket expected.

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Easy to Grow Aloe Vera Plants

August 29, 2014 hortoris

There are around 200 African and 300-400 other species in the genus of Aloe flowering succulent plants. The best known and easiest to grow is Aloe vera, or “true aloe”. In the UK it is not frost hardy and is most frequently grown indoors.

Easy Growing Tips

Aloe vera are succulent plants made up from 90% water and hold the water for long periods.
Aloe vera stores food, liquid and nutrients in its leaves to compensate for days when it does not have access to water.
The leaves are thick to protect Aloe vera from drying out.
Aloe vera plants have strong photosynthetic properties and will need more exposure to sunlight than regular plants.
In winter they do not need much water as they will grow much slower due to low light conditions.
Aloe grow small plantlets as offsets to increase your stock. Also a young spikey stem will root quite easily to grow more plants to pass on to others.

Aloe Vera Indoor Plants

There are several uses for the Aloe sap but do not crop a young plant too often.
Aloe variegata have a better leaf form with a triangular V section
Aloe brevifolia forms a large rosette of leaves in little colonies of small plants
Some aloe flower indoors but their shape and form is the main reason for their cultivation.
Over watering can cause the thin roots to rot.

Photo Credits

Aloe Vera by Powerhouse Museum CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
AloÃ« Vera by Rutger Middendorp CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This Aloe vera plant has been grow in a mixed medium of gell to make a welcome novelty gift.

Grow Mandevilla Jasmines

August 20, 2014 hortoris

There are over 100 species of Mandevilla but the best to grow are often sold under the name Dipladenia splendens. I rate these climbers from Central America as the type of plant you can expect to see in far greater numbers in the coming years.
Mandevilla generally have waxy, fragrant, showy, trumpet-shaped flowers during the growing season in early spring. They are fast growing woody vines that can reach heights of 10 feet so need support. Mandevilla growth is not frost proof and need winter protection although roots may survive.
The fragrant flowers of pink, red and white compensate for slightly sparse foliage.

Top Species to Grow

Mandevilla boliviensis from Bolivia and Equador flowers white
Mandevilla dodsoni Equador
Mandevilla equatorialis Equador
Mandevilla jamesonii Equador etc
Mandevilla sanderi, Brazilian jasmine vine Aphrodite shown above
Mandevilla scabra
Mandevilla splendens, Brazilian Dipladenia
Mandevilla suaveolens,
Mandevilla laxa, Argentina and Chilean jasmine white flowers

Cultivation
Does well in tubs, conservatories and hanging baskets. Keep above 50 degrees F
Repot as little as possible.
Requires a sunny position but tolerates partial shade.
Needs a well drained mulch or potting mix, with slow release fertiliser as it is a heavy feeder. Feed every two weeks with a fertilizer high in phosphor.
Keep moist but do not allow to stand in water.
Propagate from sturdy wood cuttings in spring.
Look out for cultivars Red Riding Hood, Alice du Pont (pink) and Yellow which has wide, bright yellow flowers. They are lower growing and shrubbier than the species and superb in hanging baskets.
Beware if you grow one as a houseplant as the sap or latex can be caustic and is reputed to remove warts (and all).

Alternative Names for Mandevilla

Synonym:Dipladenia suaveolens
Brazilian Jasmine
Scarlet Pimpernel or Red Riding Hood

With thanks to Marcia Stefani under creative commons license on Flickr

Zonal Geraniums need frost Protection

June 19, 2014 hortoris

Zonal geraniums are more accurately called ‘Pelargoniums’.

After a several good years I got careless this weekend and lost some good growth and suffered several set backs after an air frost. Similar even took place 6 years ago and that was at the start of June.

Remember if your pelargonium stems get frosted then the plant will die and not recover!

In the North of England there can be frosts late in May and early June. In Scotland and on high ground keep your thermometer handy whenever frost is threatened.

The zonal is named for the distinct bands of colour around the leaf. On this example 3 distinct shades are obvious even though it is a black and white image. These distinctive colours and patterns are quite sought after and some varieties are grown for the leaf shade alone.

If you are worried about frost geraniums make fine house plants. They can be kept in flower throughout the year and the flowers can be picked for a small vase. If you time it right when several ‘pips’ are showing full colour they can last over a couple of weeks as the other pips keep opening.

Try regular weekly feeding of high potash feed with an occasional nitrogen booster.

Flower Arranging Dahlias

May 4, 2014 hortoris

Not Dahlias again you may say but this is ‘The First Amongst Sequels’ or more photographs from my summer selection. Dahlias are a great cut flower for arranging and displaying and there is no better flower for continious cutting.

Dahlia Flower Arranging Tips

Pompom or decorative types are the best for flower arrangers as the large headed Dinner-plate types are so difficult to arrange.
Dahlias like a little sugar in the water and an aspirin discourages the formation of green algae
Put stems in a little boiling water and then give them a long drink.
Pick flowers when they have opened, tight buds will not give of their best.
One flower can be the focal point of an arrangement or table center-piece.
When planting select colours that you will want to pick for your house.
Pink flowered varieties such as Jerry Hoek or Delicious go well with mauve Asters and give a lift to a red arrangement.

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Snowdrops at the Harrogate Orchid Show

April 19, 2014 hortoris

At month I visited Bramhope and the local Harrogate Orchid show. I guess I could post quite a few pictures of Orchids but the grounds of the hotel were full of Snowdrops hence the photo above.

Wether it is growing naturally outdoors or displayed indoors the visual impact is one of the key areas where we seek perfection.The way an item is displayed or shown to others is one of gardening’s greatest skills.

So I have succumbed with these display shots

The host societies display in the main room.

The display case below had a deep recess but with a matt black backing it looked more like a picture frame. Also ideal for Auriculas I would imagine.

For me and many others visitors to the show it was the scented Orchids that seemed to attract the most attention. For me the star of the show was Dendrobium kingianum with a very strong hyacinth-type scent to the flowers. The flowers were less than an inch across and pure white with a hint of purple.
Dendrobium like plenty of bright filtered sunlight but not direct sunlight that may burn the leaves. They can be difficult to re-flower if they do not receive sufficient light.

As usual there was a good mix of suppliers and other interested parties. For a small show the number of exhibits seemed to fill every nook and crannies in the hotel. Next year look out for the dates or consider joining.

Flower Arranging – Corkscrew Hazel

April 5, 2014 hortoris

Growing Corkscrew Hazel for Flower Arrangements

Corylus avellana Contorta is also known as Harry Lauders Walking Sticks or Corkscrew Hazel
It is a slow growing deciduous shrub that can grow to 20′ wide and 25′ high when mature.
Corkscrew Hazel looks best in winter and from February-March there are pendant male catkins on the bare branches.
Propagation is best done by layering branches.
When in leaf the mid green leaves give an ugly deformed appearance.

Special Tips for Flower Arranging with Corkscrew Hazel

Use the twisted stems and bare twigs in winter arranging.
Twigs in bridal bouquets can add movement and interest.
Corkscrew Hazel are popular as a base for Ikebana
Catkins will gradually lengthen and become more yellow when kept in water for several weeks.
Twigs can be dried and used year after year. They can also be painted for Christmas.

A full array of books on Flower Arranging and related subjects is available from Amazon. You will find more advice and artistic inspiration amongst this selection.

Special Tips for Flower Arranging with Contorted Willow

I have included Contorted Willow with Corkscrew Hazel as the issues, effects, tips and methods are quite similar.
Twigs and stems can be dried and used several times or be sprinkled with glitter for Christmas.
The cut twigs will last several weeks and eventually the willow leaves will open on the stem.
Contorted Willow is available under several names including Salix matsudana Tortuosa (Salix babylonica tortuosa), Salix x erythroflexuosa or common names Dragons Claw and Tortured Willow.
Salix the Willow family are more vigourous than the Corylus Hazels

Credits
Ikebana by M. Martin Vicente CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ by Stadtkatze CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Spring by David Davies CC BY-SA 2.0
Contorted Willow by touring_fishman CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

To grow a generic mix of flowers for arrangements and bouquets check out Thompson & Morgan

Ikebana: The Art of Arranging Flowers by Shozo Sato and Kasen Yoshimura

Corkscrew Hazel and Contorted Willow are plants that both produce twigs that add movement and style when flower arranging. Mix with just one type of flower as less is generally more with Hazels and Willows.
Turn your arrangements into botanical works of art – here are some examples and clubs you could join.

Other plants discussed in this series
Dahlia
Euphorbia
Pittosporum
Alstroemeria
Fatsia Japonica
Phormium

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