Friday, January 13, 2012

It's Getting Crowded In Here

My Chinese Evergreen plant, Aglaonema, can be traced back more than fifty years. This was my grandmother's plant, and I remember it as a child in her front hallway. She died in 1969 and by the early 1980s when my aunt Hoohoo died, it had seen better days. I brought it home and took it out of the dirt and placed it in water to strengthen the roots—where it sat for more than TWENTY years. With my career and other life choices, I just never got around to planting it in soil. It thrived for a while, it almost died a few times, and finally around 2004 I potted it. It had been reduced to three single leaves and a massive root system. Within a year of being potted, it had begun to grow into actual stems and now has "trunks" more than an inch thick. It has sprouted 5 baby plants and I've repotted it three times. I can honestly say that it's never been healthier or larger. I know my grandmother smiles down at this one! 

My lush fern next to it is almost 10 years old, and has had its ups and downs as well. I put it outside on the porch a few days too early in the spring three years ago and it was touched by frost one night. I had to cut all the dead fronds off, and it has now come up from the roots and is beautifully full again.

I like to mix-and-match my indoor plants in their pots. Plants grow next to each other in nature, so I don't see any need to have plants growing by themselves in individual pots. This is a large curly spider plant—Cholorphytum comosum bonnie, a Schefflera arbicola, and a large-leafed philodendron (barely visible on the left), all existing together happily. This grouping has been together for approximately five years, and I've had to trim the baby "spiders" off for new plants fairly regularly. I've also "topped" the Shefflera several times and created new plants. The long single leaf sticking out on the right is last year's Amaryllis. It has a few healthy leaves, but didn't send up a flower stem this year, and isn't part of this group. 

I think the key to planting like this  is to group plants that like the same lighting and soil conditions. You don't want to place a water-needy plant in the same pot as one that prefers dryer soil, for example, or one that prefers shade with one that requires full sun.

Hanging in the window is my lipstick plant, Aeschynanthus radicans. I've had it for almost ten years and have had perhaps a dozen "lipsticks," or flowers, during the entire time. It has nice dark green and full foliage though so I keep it around. My Thanksgiving cactus is on the lower left, and is still blooming, and what is left of my violet garden is on the right. I had six African violets growing together for several years, but they all grew so large and were falling out of the pot that I had to remove them. I now have two older ones and a brand new one planted together in the center of the hand-painted pot, and am watching them as they once again begin the move towards the edges, and freedom, lol!

10 comments:

  1. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! THanks Casey! I don't recall seeing some of these (and I've been "hangin' out" at your place long enough I'm surprised...but what a NICE surprise...just awesome..
    My Christmas Cactus I took from my folks home this last year is finally coming around. She was so sad and droopy...needed some sun (and I even gave her a little food/treat) and talked to her quite a bit...she is raising her little (well ok, BIG) head and looking towards the light...We were always told to let her dry out totally to drooping and then give her a good drink. I am taking your advice and watering more often...she is enjoying...
    Thanks again for the tour of your greenery (and its history..)
    Mare

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  2. thanks, Mare! You can tell it's REALLY cold out when I start taking photos indoors instead of taking a walk, lol. I have to go to the grocery store later, but I'm going to bundle up and not stop to take pics! I think it's 25° today, easily the coldest temp in midday this winter. And windy!

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  3. I have a papyrus plant that was given to me as a cutting twenty years ago from somebody I've lost touch with. I've almost killed it from neglect several times, but it's very resilient, and grows huge when shown some love. Anyway I've passed along cuttings to other friends over the years: it's nice to see how well my plant's "children" are doing when I see them.

    It's nice how the plants outlive friendships that turn out to be a little temporary. Life wants to live!

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  4. Thanks, Ish. So many of my plants remind me of people no longer in my life. The curly spider plant in the post above, reminds me of a great lady named Arlene. She was the receptionist at the publisher, and we bought matching curly spiders one lunchtime when I worked full time. She died a few years ago but I remember her every time I see my plant. And I have more Xmas cactuses that belonged to my grandmother. I lost one last year that was 115 years old, but I still have one that's more than 90. I also like to make new plants from clippings of mine, to give to friends. I hope they'll be around long after I'm not!

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  5. If you nurture and care for something not matter what state it is in, it will do its best to heal itself…and that goes for all of us.

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  6. Just love all your plants, Casey. I'm quite envious! I used to have tons of plants but now with 5 cats who all eat plants, all I can have are a few hanging plants. I don't have good places to hang plants except on the sun porch, but that's a 3 season room (not heated). So when you're enjoying your plants, think of me and enjoy them for me, too! LOL

    Katie

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  7. Wise words from the Woodster!

    thanks, Katie, I will!

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  8. Ok folks, contest time: "How Many Cars; Color/Make/Style" - Can you spy with your little eye in the above three photos????

    Prize reveal tomorrow.



    @Woody, I too had the feeling that Casey may have come up with a cure for our ailing economy under the guise of care and feeding of plants.

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  9. and don't forget dust particles, lol. Some of those plants need a bath!

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  10. LOVE READING ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS. I BROUGHT MY PLANT IN TONIGHT. I HAD IT OUT AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE. IT'S REALLY COLD OUTSIDE FOR FLORIDA AND THE PLANT JUST ACTED LIKE IT WAS SAYING TAKE ME IN THE HOUSE.FROST COULD HIT TONIGHT.DARN.I THINK IT'S SAYING GLORY. LOL

    GRANNY

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