Horticultural

I'm in love with a roving sailor: Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Maroon Beauty'

Saxifragas were one of those things that I used to get excited about when perusing my copy of DG Hessayon’s The Houseplant Expert as a kid.*

I’d never thought of them for outdoors, aside from my much-loved (and neglected) Saxifraga x urbium 'Variegata', but when I spotted Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Maroon Beauty’ at the Wrest Park garden show earlier in the year I had one of those “it will be mine!” moments that will be familiar to any plant enthusiast.

It’s a low-ground ground cover plant with fleshy, hairy leaves that likes shady conditions, and the fleshy leaves compare favourably to other foliage plants, heucheras say, for interest. My only concern is hardiness. The woman on the stall – I forget which nursery it was – assured me that hers had bounced back from the harsh winter, resprouting readily in the spring but time will tell.

One of its common names is 'Roving Sailor', because they spread by runners (strictly speaking stoloniferous plantlets, I think): mine’s already made four or five new plants (one is visible in the shot above) from its spot in the side passage with no effort from me, and free plants are always good.

It's a good job that this plant is happy in full shade as my saxifrage is about to be completely covered by the rapidly burgeoning leaves of my soon-to-flower Nicotiana sylvestris - pictured here at half its current size in the bit (not big enough to earn the title of 'border') on the other side of the passage, with Garrya elliptica 'James Roof' and some honeysuckle behind.

I put these in a bit late, really, but they were an impulse buy** having read m'colleague Lia Leendertz’s book The Twilight Garden, in the hope that the scent would mitigate against any potential whiffs emanating from our nearby wheelie bins (they're disguised with a rather stylish wheelie bin cover but that doesn't contain smells).

 

*Talking to James Wong at Chelsea this year, we discovered a mutual childhood enthusiasm for this book – I’m glad I wasn’t the only one with a square pastime aged 10. James used a lot of plants you’d see in The Houseplant Expert in his 2011 show garden, such as pileas. I’ve asked my mum to root out some photos of me with my plants as a kid, as if you need some proof. Stand by for some seriously embarrassing images ...

**From an ebay seller called seed-feeder who I’d highly recommend. They don’t have anything for sale as I type but the large plugs I bought were very healthy and well packaged, and I am kicking myself for not buying several things from them this summer.

 

Terrariums: low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance

I love terrariums for many reasons, but one of the main pluses is that they are genuinely low maintenance: a jar can go for months with nothing more than a bit of a dust now and again. But that doesn't mean no-maintenance - over time, plants will outgrow their space and the glass will grow cloudy, signalling it's time for a revamp.

That's what happened to a terrarium I planted back in August 2009 - it looked good for well over a year, and then recently I started hiding it behind the living room curtains because the plants inside had begun to look really sad (see below - eurgh).

Aside from the fact tht I've been busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mouse holes, I'd had to delay any work on the jar because it's really hard to get hold of small houseplants suitable for terrariums these days - one garden centre manager I spoke to said she no longer buys in 'mini' houseplants because they've gone up so much in price and everyone wants bigger, cheaper plants - the manager of another garden centre told me he's stopped selling houseplants altogether because they are simply not good sellers these days.

Anyway, Wilkinson came to the rescue with a tray of good-looking specime that ticked the boxes for terrarium dwellers - small enough to fit in the jar, fond of humid conditions and ideally slow-growing.

Replanting is easy - just empty out the old plants, relocate or compost as appropriate; give the empty jar a good scrub with hot soapy water, then add fresh compost and the new plants.

In this case I went for a couple of Fittonias, a tiny bit of small-leaved Tradescantia (it grows fast) and some kind of Dracaena (I think). The red and white veins are a bit more gaudy than I'd usually like, but somehow in that particular jar, it works. Job done in about 15 minutes - just long enough for the kids to watch an episode of the Octonauts and for me to get my plant fix for the day.

It now sits in the hall alongside another recently replanted terrarium, (see right) and they look great side-by-side. I reckon the next replant will be in summer 2012 - although the Tradescantia will need snipping back well before that, as it's a bit of a bully.

 

Book review: How to Grow Fresh Air by BC Wolverton

I've been delaying and delaying getting a plant for my desk at work, but I am starting to regret that having started to read Dr BC Wolverton's book How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office. The author carried out research for Nasa looking at air quality in spacecraft and for potential lunar bases, in the process discovering that certain houseplants are brilliant at filtering pollutants that are rife in modern homes, such as formaldehyde, xylene and benzene. A range of health complaints are attributed to exposure to these pollutants, found in everything from particleboard to fabrics. Indoor air pollution could also be a major factor in sudden infant death syndrome, Wolverton says, as most new babies go into freshly-painted, carpeted rooms which are therefore full of pollutant emmissions. Yikes. Reading further about how efficient plants are at dealing with the likes of formaldehyde, it made me want to run out and buy a load of new plants for every room in the house right now.

Dr Wolverton helpfully gives each of the plants he features a rating out of 10 based on removal of chemical vapours, ease of growth and maintence, resistance to pests and transpiration rate. The number one rated plant is the areca palm, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, which he describes as "consistently rated as one of the best houseplants for removing all indoor air toxins tested". Other high scorers include the rubber plant, Ficus robusta, common-or-garden ivy (Hedera helix) and various members of the Dracaena family.

I've already got several of the book's top 50, but I'm also aware I have no plants in my daughter's room or my bedroom - places where a bit of pollutant removal should be a priority, it seems to me. The top performer of the areca palm looks like a must-have, but they seem fairly pricey as they're usually sold as largish specimens of 1m tall or more, but I just spotted they have them in Ikea: a 120cm tall plant for £16.99. Sanseveria trifasciata, commonly known by by its un-PC title mother-in-law's tongue, only scores 6.3 on Dr Wolverton's scale, but fascinatingly it differs from most plants in that it produces oxygen at night rather than carbon dioxide - a good one for the bedroom perhaps?

If you're one of those people that can't reall see the point of houseplants, this book is worth a read. If you're into houseplants already, it'll shed new light on your hobby. Just don't buy all the areca palms from Ikea before I get there, ok?!

Fussy fittonias: or, who to blame when your new houseplant dies

Fittonia verschaffeltii ver. argyroneura "Compacta". Photograph: TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋)/Flickr/Some rights reserved

Mike E emailed with a question about sagging fittonias, a low-growing houseplant that's often offered for sale in garden centres.

I have a red veined (Pink Anne), a white veined, and two "Pink Frankie" fittonias. All but the "Pink Frankies" are growing nicely with no leaf drop. The 2 "Pink Frankies" are smaller, purchased at Wally World, and have suffered from considerable leaf drop. All are in 3 inch pots in same soil as purchased. Have not repotted or fertilized any since I bought a month ago and my room temp. varies from 70 to 80 degrees with humidity recorded between 50 and 65%.I keep all in a planter box on a table 2 ft. high next to a sliding glass door window (remains closed). Only light is coming through a South facing sliding glass window with vertical venetian blinds partially open.

The "Pink Frankies" are 4.5 inches high by 4 inches acoss and the other fittonias are 7 inches high by 7 inches across (plants-not pot size). One of the "Pink Frankies" has six main stems in its pot. The leaves have completely dropped on 4 of the stems-the other 2 stems are fully leaved bottom to top. The other "Pink Frankie" has 5 stems in the pot with four bare of leaves and one stem fully leaved. There are newer leaves coming out on the bared stems but they seem to drop off after about a quarter inch long. Could you give me any suggestions as to why my "Pink Frankies" are suffering so much leaf drop?

I had to Google "Wally World" but it seems you may be referring to Walmart? Anyway, anyone who's bought a fittonia may be nodding their head in agreement with Mike's sorry tale of dropping foliage.

I will, if I may, quote from my favourite houseplant tome, the Gold-Plated Houseplant Expert, in which DG Hessayon notes: "Many people have bought a specimen to add novelty to their collection ... only to find that the plant has died within weeks. Unfortunately the standard large-leaved types are very difficult to grow under ordinary room conditions".

Sadly, this is true for many of the houseplants on display at your local supermarket or garden centre: caladiums, dizygothecas, codiaeums, and anthuriums, for instance. These plants are all divas, demanding conditions that most living rooms won't be able to provide: high humidity, steady temperatures and no draughts, primarily. For most of us with busy lives, these plants are out of bounds: a waste of money. If you insist on growing them, you're better off getting a large terrarium to put them in: fittonias are small enough to work in bottle gardens, too. (And as I've already noted, bottle gardens and terrariums are back in fashion right now - bonus!)

That said, Mike's growing conditions don't sound too off the mark: humidity of 50-65% isn't bad for most houseplants, although it would help to stand the plants on a drip tray containing pebbles and some water to help moisten the air a little more for the fittonias. The leaf drop on Mike's plants may have been set in motion by events well before he bought the plants: were they stored incorrectly in transit, exposed to deadly cold, under or overwatered? A plant that looks perfectly healthy when you buy it can suddenly die from the shock of travelling from the cosy confines of the shop to your home, too. If I were you, Mike, I'd cut back the de-leafed stems and hope they begin to revive. Also, it's worth looking for the small-leaved, white-veined fittonias (Fittonia argyroneura nana), which tend to be a bit tougher and less susceptible to turning up its toes.

The lessons here are several:

1. Buy from a reputable supplier who knows about houseplants: they're more likely to have cared for your plant before you bought

2. Keep plants protected on the journey home, preferably wrapped in bubble wrap if you're buying them in winter, and never buy houseplants from outdoor markets - in the summer they may be burned by sun, and in winter the cold will kill them

3. When you get them home, put the plants in a bright place out of direct sunglight to give it a chance to acclimatise before choosing its final position

4. If your plant dies, remember: it's not your fault, it's the shop's!

More funky planters, this time with cacti and succulents

I wrote the other day about the bottle gardens I made for my August 29 gardening feature in Weekend. I also had fun planting up some succulents and cacti - they didn't all get used owing to lack of space on the page so I thought I'd share them with you, and add in some extra detail there wasn't room for in the text.

I used some fun polka dot china as planters (sorry for the poorly focused pic, which is a world away from the job done by the photographer on the shoot, Anders Gramer). When using teacups, teapots and the like as planters, the easy way is to use plants that love being waterlogged, ie carnivorous plants or a Cyperus alternifolius (if you have a really big pot like an old, deep china casserole). That way you don't have to worry about the lack of drainage, and provided you keep the water level close to the lip of the container at all times, your plants will thrive.

But if you're really set on cacti, or most other houseplants that absolutely hate being waterlogged you'll have to either keep the plants in their original pots and remove them to water regularly, or drill holes in the bottom to provide some drainage. Cups and saucers are ideal when dealt with in this way as the saucer makes the perfect drip tray. The way to make the hole is with a ceramic drill bit, and it helps to add a strip or two of masking tape over the surface of the china to help you start the hole. Even if you're careful when drilling, there's a risk you'll break the china, so don't try this with anything precious (pick up cheap but funky stuff from charity shops and auctions instead). I couldn't bear to drill holes in this particular set of china (apart from anything else that bullet-shaped teapot is the best pourer I've ever found) so these were planted for the purposes of the shoot only!

The plants shown here are Plover Eggs (Andromischus cooperi) on the far right, Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartzkopf' at the back in the teapot, Gymnocalycium mihanovichii in front, and alas I've forgotten the name of the succulent on the left - I'll track down the label and post it later. They're now repotted in other containers (boring white ones for the moment until I take another trip to the junk shop). I've just found a great-looking nursery called Glenhirst that sells cacti and succulents and has a lot of good care advice, so I guess I might be expanding my collection again soon ...

Fierce plants for bottle gardens

I’ve always been a bit of a bottle garden nut. As a kid I got a huge aquarium from god know’s where (perhaps my sister can remember?) and set it up in my room as a terrarium, with plants bought with my pocket money from Woolies. It even had a grow light in the top, which my dad set up for me.

Bottle gardens (or terrariums) have been rather out of fashion since then, but I was inspired by posts on Garden Rant and the Blithewold Gardens blog to give them a second look. I made up a couple for today’s gardening feature in Weekend, which looks at three different fun things to use as pots. The terrarium that ended up being pictured (although you'll have to look in the actual magazine to see it) was a rather nice jar from Heals filled with some baby Chlorophytum ‘Ocean’ plants.

I was pleased at how it turned out, but I think I prefer the other bottle garden I made (pictured left), containing a sarracenia and a venus fly trap.

Carnivorous plants have a bit of a reputation for dying once you get them home, but bottle gardens help because it's easy to check they have enough water (they prefer to be more or less waterlogged in summer, less so in winter, so keep the gravel covered in rainwater - never use tap). The closed environment keeps out the draughts that can kill these plants, but if you want them to catch some meals you'll have to take it off from time to time, or else feed them occasionally with a very dilute foliar houseplant feed. The jar I used here was £30 from Lytton & Lily but if you like hunting things down in junk shops and charity stores you can track something down for a lot less. A good book to start with if you want to get into carnivorous plants is The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato.

Depending on what plants you opt for, terrariums require very little maintenance. Faster growing plants like the chlorophytum will need thining every now and again, but this really is the ideal way of growing if you're short on time but want some greenery in your home. Read my piece for more info on how to plant them up: I'll write a separate post soon with some extra info on the other elements of the piece: A hanging basket made from a colander and some funky plant pots made from a tea set.

African violets - hot or not?

One of the most popular posts I have ever written on this blog is this one on how to look after African violets.

I have had a couple of questions from readers of late on how to care for their Saintpaulias, so I thought I'd return to the subject. I recently bought Andy Sturgeon's excellent book on indoor plants, Potted, and loved it all, barring one thing - he includes African violets in his list of plant "pariahs" - the deeply naff species that render you deeply uncool.

I love African violets, though, and my one-woman campaign to rehabilitate the Saintpaulia as a cool plant begins here.

Admittedly there are some rather tasteless confections on the market - I am not a big fan of the pink frilly ones that look like your nanny's knickers. But the deep purple of the classic AV is enchanting, and they look great grouped together, and I like the white ones too. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that one of these plants was the first thing I managed to coax into flowering, aged about 10 or so.

Part of the problem is that while they're pretty easy to grow, unless you do a few easy maintenance tasks, AVs don't stay looking like the plants you take home from the garden centre. I can't remember how many times I have seen a pot crowded full of AVs, usually a parent plant that's grown lots of offshoots - so it looks like a vesuvius of furry leaves.

The flowers are long gone, of course. When offshoots appear, usually from the base of the stem, they should be removed - and preferably potted on to make a new plant. Then there's the problem of overwatering, which tends to be the fate of most houseplants that die. African violets are - duh - from Africa, so they prefer things on the dry side - it's best to let them get completely dry and even a little limp before watering. Head back to my original post for the full monty on AV care.

On to the questions. Bonita Goodman says:

My violet leaves gets to the edge of the pot and then break in the middle. The whole plants seem to take up the pot. The pot is 4 ¾ “across, and it has only bloomed once since I have had it. That was 6 weeks ago. It was in bloom when I brought it home, and I removed the dead flowers when wilted. Should I repot, and if yes, then do I have to use African violet soil?

Not quite sure what Bonita means here, but suspect she's got an overcrowded pot - if there's more than one plant in there, they need separating out. If it's a single plant, however, it can probably stay put as their roots like to be a little bit on the crowded side. Yes, it is wise to remove dead flowers - make sure you pull them off cleanly so no stump is left behind. And African violet compost? Well that's a new one on me, but having Googled it seems such a thing does exist - J Arther Bower sells it for one. I don't think it's necessary - any regular peat-free multipurpose compost that states it's suitable for houseplants will be fine.

Bonnie has another good question:

In reading all the different articles on violets there is no mention of the little tiny black flying bugs I have on my one violet.  How can I get rid of them?  I think I read one time that you can use soapy water?

Hmm. Very hard to know without seeing the plant, but I think that you may have a case of fungus gnats, little beasties that thrive in damp compost. Fortunately Emma Cooper has a great post on her blog that explains the best way to get rid of this problem - installing a couple of sundews. If, however, it's a case of some blackfly - a kind of black aphid - then yes, a spray with some soapy water would usually do the trick. BUT this is a bad idea for an AV - their furry leaves abhor getting wet and you're likely to end up with a very unhappy plant. The only solution then would be picking off by hand, or brushing off with an old (clean) makeup brush. Hope that helps Bonnie!

How to care for African violets

Here's the first of a series of posts about my favourite houseplants: a sorely neglected subject that I am hoping to write more about in the coming months.

Number one: the African violet
The plant pictured here is my all-time favourite African violet: I love the colour combination and the candy-stripe look.

African violets, or Saintpaulias as they are properly known, are easy plants to grow, making them extremely popular plants - you can buy them just about everywhere, from garden centres to petrol stations.

Unfortunately, they also have a reputation as being hard to grow, and I frequently wince when I see tortured-looking clumps of miserable looking Saintpaulias on a windowsill in someone's house. Follow these few top tips - either with a newly bought plant or to rescue a poorly specimen - and you should find your violet will flower almost all year round.

Tip 1: watering
The most common mistake with this plant is overwatering. Remember, its leaves are fleshy and hairy, meaning it is adapted to dry conditions that it finds in its native homelands in East Africa. Only water the plant when the soil is bone dry, and it won't harm if you even wait until the leaves start wilting: cut back even further on watering during the winter months to encourage the plant to rest. The second key point is that the leaves hate being splashed with water, so add water from below and allow the plant to suck up what it needs - but don't let the pot stand in water. Books also counsel against using really cold water, so I usually pour on the remains of a long-abandoned bedside water glass that's reached room temperature.

Top 2: suckers
People often end up with unsightly humps of non-flowering Saintpaulias because they allow baby plants that grow from the base to grow unchecked. Given time these will compete for space with the adult plant and result in an unattractive clump. Instead, check regularly for baby plants by gently lifting up the leaves: if you see any, cut them away with a penknife, taking care not to damage the stem of the adult plant. If you are careful and they come away, you can try potting them up and propagating them as a new plant. If that sounds like too much work, just add the excess leaves to your composter. Remove damaged outer leaves: if this leaves you with a "stalky" plant, you should repot it, covering the stem with soil to the point where the first leaves spring.

Tip 3: sunlight
They light bright light but not direct sunlight - a west- or east-facing windowsill is ideal. It will survive but not thrive in deep shade. They will tolerate most domestic conditions temperature-wise, but if you like the central heating at full blast, they'll probably benefit from being sat on a dish filled with moist gravel to increase humidity levels.

Tip 4: dusty leaves
If your plant's leaves become dusty, or infested with whitefly or aphids, it's easiest to remove the problem with an old makeup brush, dragged in the direction that the leaf's hairs go.

There's more info from African violet experts here, or add your own tips below ...

The latest addition

I was given this for my birthday: my first ever orchid. Gorgeous, isn't it? I've always loved the blooms of these exotic plants, but never dared to own one. But this, a Phalaenopsis, is one of the orchids that is relatively easy to grow in one's own home. Lots of people buy these, and they flower and then die back, never to blook again. The challenge will getting it to flower again.

I thought I was doing everything right: not too warm, good humidity, water about once a week; except now I read some further instructions on its care I realise that I shouldn't have used water from the water softener on it. I hope it'll survive one dose, and have now vowed to give it only the finest rainwater.

Anyway, the orchid has given me something beautiful to look at over the last few days, from my sick sofa. I think it could be another week or so before I am back to full strength: I am concentrating on getting well so I can: a) finish the book, and b) get down the allotment.

And while I welcome this new plant, I am steeling myself to say goodbye to the Croton that got scorched by steam from the kettle and is now looking very sad. I always find it hard to consign a plant  to the compost heap that's brought colour to my kitchen. On the other hand, I've already bought another croton to replace it, and there's nothing worse than the sight of a sad specimen that's past its best. Given how cheap houseplants are and how many I have, I really shouldn't be so reluctant to encourage a bit of stock rotation.

(Almost) total recall

I guess I was an unusual child.

I spent a lot of time reading books about houseplants, and memorising their Latin names. Strangely, I have never forgotten those tongue twisting titles and I'm prone to blurting them out at embarrassing moments: when someone shows me a new plant they've bought I'll say "oh, that's a lovely Dracaena marginata triclour!" It can be rather disconcerting, I know, but it does serve a purpose.

When Lynda Penlington emailed me a picture of a houseplant she wanted me to identify, I couldn't quite place it. Then, a few minutes later while doing something else entirely, I suddenly exclaimed "Pteris certica!"

I was very nearly right, although after consulting my houseplant bible, DG Hessayon's The Gold Plated Houseplant Expert, I think it's actually the closely related Pteris ensiformia victoriae. They're both ferns: indeed Hessayon desrcribe's Lynda's variety as "the prettiest of all the table ferns".

The ferns are a huge family of houseplants but they all need roughly the same care: a humid environment, moist soil and indirect light (but not shade). The Pteris types are among the easiest to grow, which is why they are so popular as plants.