laceblade | Plants

I haven't had much luck with plants. I made some type of succulent plant last for about a year, from Trader Joe's, before it died. I have a lucky bamboo plant, but that's slowly dying as well, and I'm not sure how to spruce it up.

Undaunted, though, I went to the UW plant sale yesterday and purchased an English Ivy plant and a Pink Polka Dot Plant. None of those pictures really do the pink polka dot plant justice. Mine has green leaves and brilliant red spots, almost neon.

Anyway, so I'm looking for advice.

Both plants came in plastic planter thingies....Am I supposed to take them out of the plastic and put them in a pot? Or keep them in the planter and just rest it inside of a pot?

The pink polka dot is supposed to get "bright indirect light." What the hell does that mean? Set it on top of my bookshelf near the window? Or elsewhere in my apartment where light sort of reaches eventually?

Am I supposed to use fertilizer, in addition to watering them? I'm already planning on getting a spray bottle so that I can "mist" the red polka dot.

Oh yeah, and what does "pinch back to prevent legginess" mean? Is a plant leggy if it grows to tall? Does pinching it mean snapping a stem with my fingers instead of cutting it with a scissors?

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Right away, you should know that you'll need to really be on top of the watering for these plants. i've had two of them, and if they dry out, they are gone quick.

i don't really fertilize my plants unless they seem to need it.
they will probably both do fine, if you want to keep them the same size, if you keep them in the same pot they came in. If you put them in slightly larger pots, it might help with the water issue. If you are a cheap skate, i might be able to dig up so old pots here if you want, but they won't be fancy or anything.

i would not "snap" them off. if a plant starts to grow out too much, you should be able to pinch the excess off with your fingernails or cut with a pair of scissors.

you picked out the cutest plants possible! i love english ivy.

Yeah! They are really cute, which was pretty much my only criterion (well, that and that they were cheap). I've always loved ivy. This ivy stands up straight, though! It's pretty crazy. Maybe it'll get more flowy as it grows more.

Okay, I will pay attention to the watering situation!

I do have a pot that's just a bit larger than the plastic one that the English ivy came in, so I think I'll be okay with that one. But maybe a little one for the Pink Polka dot one would be cool? I don't mind plain pots.

I'm not real good w/plants either, but my understanding is that you should transplant them from the plastic pots they came in & put them in bigger pots w/more soil, or possibly they'll get overcrowded & die.

Hmm. I think I'll put the ivy one in a bigger one for sure, then. They'd better not get overcrowded!

I could totally be wrong on that one! It's just what I've been told every time I try to sustain plant life in my apartment. ;) It makes sense to me, tho', that people selling plants would put them in the smallest pots possible, b/c to go any bigger would cut into their profit margin or whatever. Heh.

1) Replant them so that they don't get rootbound.
2) bright, indirect sun--yeah, near a window, but not where they'll actually get fried. For instance, a window that faces South (instead of East or West).

I have no idea what legginess means. I can't keep alive anything that can't fend for itself, alas.

Well, that's good on the window! I only have one window, and it faces south.

I will work on figuring out how to replant them!

Ah, that means removing the plastic liner, by the way. (If it was something that would naturally decompose, you could leave it.)

I'd replant them, and place them near your window. I use Miracle Grow or similar potting soil, which comes with fertilizer in it. Make sure the pots you use have drainage holes in the bottom--that's extremely important. That way, you can't over-water them, and it prevents mold from growing in the soil. I probably have some extra pots and soil in my closet, which you can certainly have. I do use fertilizer when watering, but only once every couple of months.

The pink polka dot plant can bolt; that'll be obvious to see if it happens. The stems get reeeeeally long and have few leaves on them. then you can pinch the stems back with your fingernails or use a scissors.

Okay, so if the pot has drainage holes in the bottom, do I just slip one pot inside of another one? I don't want dirty water leaking all over my shelves!

I'll look into buying some Miracle Grow. I'd love a small pot for the pink polka dot plant.

owlface1 also offered a pot, so maybe we can talk about it tonight at Wiscon book club.

If the pot has drainage holes, I usually get a plate or a tray (or the throw away gladware) and put the pot inside it. That way, when you water it, the water can get out the holes, but it has a container so it doesn't get all over your shelf/window/table/whatever.

A good thing to remember is that really it's hard to get a pot that's too big for a plant (they'll eventually grow to their surroundings), but if a pot is too small the plant will be unhappy.

Yours should be relatively easy (esp. in a south window), but yeah, make sure to keep up on the watering. But! Don't overwater them.....that's always my problem initially. I'd check them every few days or so to see if the soil is still moist (beneath the surface). If so, it can probably wait a few more days. If not, give it a little more water and check it again until you figure out how long it takes for the soil to get dry. Depending on the atmosphere in your apartment, it may be 2-3 days, it may be a week.

Most good pots have drainage holes and also a little tray (like a saucer) that the pot sits in. This saucer may or may not be attached to the pot itself. I also, like britrock, use gladware under pots. It doesn't look great but it works and protects your furniture.

I don't know if you'll be able to save your bamboo plant at this point, but their enemy is algae; you have to replace the water and rinse off the pebbles (if they're in pebbles) every week. Being out of direct sunlight helps with not growing algae. They don't need that much sun.

They're actually not in pebbles; they just sit in water.

Maybe I should change the water more frequently!

Yeah, they sometimes sell those things with pebbles for the aesthetic but it actually just makes the plant harder to maintain since the pebbles need to be washed too. Just keep changing the water every week and watch for green little floaties if they start to form.

Plants

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