The leaves are falling. We had some fairly cool nights back in mid-September and pumpkins are magically showing up everywhere. These are all harbingers of our need to get the garden and landscape ready for winter. There’s plenty of time for this, but there is one thing you should absolutely be tackling in the next few weeks.
That’s shopping for plants. Houseplants. It’s time to consider your indoor plantscape.
Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of these plants, and when I was in retail, I sold thousands of them. But where are the best places to buy them? What should you be buying and why now?
For many plant shops and garden centers, houseplants — also known as “tropical foliage” in the trade — fill the gap between pumpkins and mums until our thoughts move on to Christmas trees and poinsettias. For gardeners, it’s a chance to bring some green and a bit of color into our homes. There’s the added effect that many houseplants have been proven to improve indoor air quality during the colder months. And it’s also a way for us to express our love of nature and the wonder of things that continue to grow, albeit slowly, during the darker days of winter.
The vast majority of our houseplants have their roots in Central and South America, as well as other more far-flung tropical areas. These days, the plants are grown in large nurseries and greenhouses in Florida, North Carolina and Canada.
Canada, you say? Yup. Canadian growers have always had a leg up in this business, as they can take advantage of inexpensive hydroelectric power that’s abundant up north. The plants are almost entirely grown in greenhouses, then boxed up and shipped south by the tractor-trailer load.
Most of the Canadian material is small and grown in 4-to-6-inch pots, with the larger plants being trucked up from our southern growers where it’s more economical to keep large potted plants in shade houses or minimally heated greenhouses. The best growers down south depend on their plants doing well when they get up to our latitudes — and they do this by growing them in lower light so they acclimate to our homes better. At least the quality growers do this.
But if you’re in the market for larger plants, like a 6-foot-tall weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) or a 5-foot-tall dumb cane (Dieffenbachia), they’re in the garden centers now — or on their way. Once it gets colder toward the end of October, the growers and retailers get reluctant to ship and carry these larger plants for fear of cold damage in transit.
My question for you, though: What kind of plant parent are you? Do you enjoy buying smaller plants in 3-to-6-inch pots and growing them on for several years (the best way), or do you want instant gratification from that fall Ficus with its dense foliage and wide footprint that makes a statement in your living room? As I alluded, a smaller plant that’s still suited to your situation will perform much better over several years than a taller and more mature plant — and they are easier to care for.
If you’re new to this, here are some considerations: How is your home or apartment heated? Forced hot air heating systems wring every last drop of moisture out of the living space in our homes, and unless you’re growing plants that prefer dry climates, your new friend will quickly resent you and perform poorly.
Next is light. You can’t convince a light-loving plant, like an orange or lemon tree (however small), to grow in low light. They want as much bright light as possible to thrive and, in the right situation, they will not only thrive, but flower and bear fruit. And if you’ve never had an orange or lemon bloom in your home, you’re in for a wonderful and fragrant treat in the dead of winter.
But there are gradations of light. You may have a large window that gets full sun for most of the day and that’s great, but not everything will grow in full sun. However, to the sides of this window, or a distance away from it, the light changes and lessens, providing an opportunity for lower-light demanding plants. Just a foot to either side can make a huge difference.
And, sorry to say, you will need to learn how to water. No, you can’t water on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or every other day. You need to know the moisture requirements of your plants and learn how to test the soil with a finger, or look at the foliage, as both will give hints about when water is needed. If neither of these options work for you, then invest in a simple water meter with a probe that you can insert into the soil. Of course, there are plants that are heavy drinkers and those that just sip — so again, know your plant and how and when to water it.
One hint on the watering, though. Avoid watering from filling the pot from the top. This can result in overwatering, which you can’t remove, or time and again only getting the water down a few inches while the lower roots scream for moisture.
The solution is bottom watering. To do this correctly, you need a plant that’s potted in a high-quality potting soil and, strangely enough, these soils rarely contain what we might call “dirt.” Almost all potting soils these days are variations of a peat-lite mix in which peat moss or shredded bark is blended with other materials to create a good anchoring material that will retain moisture and still allow air to exist in the root zone. Saturated soils almost always result in rapidly declining plants.
Then there are the pots. Most if not all the plants you buy will come in some type of plastic pots. Not all plants like the fact that plastic pots allow moisture to be retained in the soil longer than clay pots. The same size plant in a clay pot versus a plastic pot will have a very different watering regime. You’ll also learn that some plants prefer the fact that water can evaporate through the sides of clay pots, whereas plastic pots can’t do this. Ceramic pots are also an issue, as they tend to be non-breathers as well. One solution that some indoor gardeners use when they prefer the look of clay is to use the plastic pot as an inner pot, while the outer pot — the one seen by all — is clay or ceramic.
Tempted by orchids? Many can be easily grown in homes as long as you buy the right varieties and are aware that they are often grown in bark and bark chunks, not soil. Watering orchids takes a bit of practice. As with most other houseplants, overwatering is often a plant’s death knell.
Back to the watering, though. Under the pot, be it plastic or clay, should be a saucer — and don’t be stingy with its size. You can buy very inexpensive clear plastic saucers that will come up an inch or so above the bottom of the pot. This inch becomes a reservoir to hold water because you’re going to do most, if not all, of your watering from the bottom, not the top. Clay pots will easily wick up the water in the saucer while plastic pots, which only have four to six holes on the bottom and sides, will wick up the water more slowly.
The basic rule of thumb is to put a small amount of water into the saucer and keep on adding water as the pot and soil wicks it away. Continue doing this until the wicking stops. Water should never remain in the saucer for more than 15 minutes. Getting this right is an important houseplant skill. Be patient.
I’ll delve more deeply into what plants to look for, but for now, some advice on what to look for on the plants themselves. The plant should look fresh and the leaves not drooping. Touch the leaves. Are they sticky? A tacky surface on houseplant foliage can often be an indication of honeydew, the excrement of insects you may or may not see. Pass.
Are the lower leaves yellowing and fading? This can be an indication of poor watering practices, or a plant that’s already pot bound. Look at the underside of the pot. Are roots growing from the drainage holes? Are the leaves speckled with tiny yellow dots the size of a pinhead? This can be spider mite damage. Do you see any telltale signs of mealybugs in the stems, leaves and especially on the portion of the leaf that attaches to the stems? Look under the foliage, as well as up and down the stems. Once you bring home mealybugs, even just one, you’re in for months of debugging. Also look for scale. These will be small brown spots that are hard, but can be scraped off with a fingernail. Again, find any of these culprits and pass on the plant.
Then, as an extra precaution, when you get your new plants home, isolate them. Find a place where they’ll get the right amount of light, but don’t let them touch any plants you have already. None of these insects can fly, but they all crawl. Allowing a new houseplant to be in direct contact with your existing houseplants can cause problems months from now.
Bottom line? Be a careful shopper. Pay attention to the advice above and browse at plant shops you trust. Big box stores should be your last resort. There’s a reason why their plants are so inexpensive and, in the long run, you pay the price and swear you’ll never buy houseplants again.
I never ever want that to happen. Keep growing.
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