PLANTWISE

Air Plants

wierd and wonderful pineapple relatives

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Feb 17, 2010 at 09:21PM 0 Comments

I spied these unusual air plants (Tillandsia ) at the Seattle garden show and made a bee-line for them. Turns out the grower, Owens Gardens from Monroe, WA was at Portland’s Yard, Garden & Patio Show, too.

Tillandias are made up of spidery green to gray rosettes of foliage that can be fine and grassy, spidery and twisted or thick and fleshy like a succulent. Blossoms emerge in flattened bracts that range in color from pale pink or lavender to orange or sizzling hot pink, sometimes with contrasting blue and violet flowers at the tips.

Air plants come by their name because they do not root themselves in soil. Instead, they attach themselves to rocks, trees and sometimes, in urban areas, buildings and phone lines. From these positions, they draw the moisture and nutrients they need from rain, runoff and ambient humidity using tiny hairs growing on their leaves. Air plants are tropical and subtropical “epiphytes” and most come from Central and South America. If you’ve been to the Southern US, you’ve probably seen another type of air plant, Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) trailing from the branches of evergreen oak trees. Air plants’ roots exist solely to anchor them to rocks and trees.

Hopefully this spot will provide all the bright light, good air circulation and humidity these plants need. Tillandsia medusae (center), Tillandsia aeranthos (on right) and Tillandsia stricta (on left)

Caring for these odd little treasures is easy. They require bright, indirect light (no blasting afternoon sun). And they need to be drenched with a squirt-bottle 1-3 times per week (depending on ambient humidity and heat). If you fertilize them 1-2 times per month in spring and summer with 1/4 strength, high phosphorus fertilizer, you should be rewarded with flowers. Since they are tender, they should be protected from frost. While they live indoors all winter, they do appreciate summer vacation outdoors. Just drench them with a hose a few times a week.

I’ve seen them in shops, artfully nestled into beautiful shells and wee baskets, affixed to stones or pieces of pottery, and tucked into small glass terrariums. (This latter idea isn’t so good for very long, as they do require brisk air circulation.) But I just settled mine in the shower caddy in my sunny bathroom next to a window. It required no effort on my part to set up and I get to regularly admire them up close and personal. All I need to do is douse them with water (cold, of course!) a couple of times a week and give them fertilizer a couple of times a month in winter. Easy!

Owens Tillandsia Nursery doesn’t have an online store but they do sell directly at garden shows and plant sales. Call them at 360-794-6422 for more information. Locally, try Artemisia Garden Nursery and PIstils Nursery.

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Tags: Nurseries, Gardening Tips, Indoor Gardening

…and Heeearrr They Come!

- the first flowering bulbs of the season

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 27, 2010 at 08:00PM 0 Comments

Iris reticulata ‘Pixie’ (inky purple-blue); Iris danfordiae (yellow) and very early white Crocus chrysantha ‘Purity’ -in their tiny clay pots, they fit right on my sunny south windowsill.

It’s a sweet thing to go to Trader Joe’s in January and February and buy little pots of cheery spring bulbs in flower. But it’s another kind of sweet altogether to pick out your own bulbs and start them in little clay pots yourself in October – tucking them in to a blanket of mulch as the weather gets colder, unearthing them in late winter, and finally, bringing them to flower on your own windowsill right around now. If you want flowers that are as green as can be – that don’t involve heated greenhouses and trucking costs but are completely made by hand – go DIY and start your own.

Of course, you wouldn’t be starting them now – starting spring-flowering bulbs is an autumn project you would have done back in October, when those tulip, daffodil, crocus, iris and other bulbs first showed up in the shops. That’s when I posted instructions on how to do it.

So, if you didn’t get around to it way back in late 2009 – that seems like a million years ago already, doesn’t it? – then just imagine this is your mildewy window is yours (yes, I do currently have a bit of a moisture problem in my kitchen.) And in addition to feeling thankful that your kitchen fan works, you can also admire the bright and happy little floral bon-bons on my windowsill. (I smartly followed my own advice back in October and got my bulbs all potted up before traveling.)

Since everybody’s a little flower-crazy right now, as January comes to a close, here’s another idea for bringing flowers and budding life into your home: you can cut branches from certain old-fashioned, early-flowering shrubs commonly found in Portland backyards and “force” them into flower. Try shrubby quince (Chaenomeles sp), Forsythia , and fruit tree branches including flowering apricot (Prunus mume ). I sometimes experiment with others, even just for the leaves: Japanese maple leaves unfurling can be as lovely as any flower on the planet. The gnarlier and more twisted the branches, the more beautiful it looks in a vase.

I cut these quince branches a week ago and instead of opening up bright coral red, they are white tinted with coral. If I cut them now, their pigment will be better developed and they’ll be the right color.

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Tags: Flowers, Indoor Gardening

Plant Spring Bulbs in Containers

A festive autumn project

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Oct 08, 2009 at 10:00PM 2 Comments

Materials all assembled: pots, potting soil, mulch, scissors, frost cloth, bulb food… and the bulbs!

It’s October and that means it’s time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Purple crocus, sunny yellow miniature daffodils (Narcissus), elegant blue iris, and other bulbs, both exotic and prosaic, can be found at retail nurseries now. (Portland Nursery has an especially wonderful selection at the moment, I noticed yesterday.) Plant bulbs now (certain kinds are best for this) and they will flower during the cold, dreary days of winter. In fact, if you plant Tete-a-Tete Narcissus in a pot in the next few days, you might even get them to flower by Christmas. They make nice gifts – and are all the sweeter when you have grown them yourself.

There are some tricks to planting different kinds of bulbs. To keep it simple, start with Tete-a-Tete Narcissus. Perhaps the most popular dwarf narcissus for forcing in the world, Tete-a-Tete is reliable, cheerful and above all, early. You can use adorable little terra cotta pots from yard sales (cheap!) and, once you have your materials assembled, you can pot up a half-dozen pots in 20 minutes. If you’re feeling adventurous, try some other easy, early types of bulbs like Crocus, other dwarf Narcissus and Iris reticulata as well.

First, gather your materials:

-a one-foot square of white frost cloth or newspaper (optional)
-scissors
-a bag of all-purpose potting soil (1 cu ft bag for a dozen medium terra cotta pots is about right)
-a bag of fine hemlock mulch (min 1 cu ft bag)
-organic bulb fertilizer (optional – it just gives bulbs nutrition for next year’s flowers, should you wish to plant them out in the garden after flowering)
-a few little pots (at least 4-5" deep for Tete-a-Tete narcissus – and as wide as you like)
-Bulbs (try other types in addition to Tete-a-Tete Narcissus if feeling adventurous!) You might start with 25 or so and plant any extras in your garden. I plant hundreds – but then again, I have zillions of little pots!
-plastic labels (I use the empty flip side of existing plastic plant labels – popsicle sticks work, too)
-a fine Sharpie pen or sharp pencil

Now, set up your work area. I always do it outdoors so I can make a mess.

1. Lay out your pots and estimate how many bulbs to plant per pot.
2. Cut newspaper or frost cloth squares 2-3 times the size of the drain holes and lay them over the holes to prevent soil from escaping when you water.
3. Fill the pots 1/3 full of potting soil.
4. Sprinkle fertilizer at recommended rate (by the tablespoon full for small pots) and mix it up.
5. sprinkle another handful of potting soil to separate the fertilizer from the bulbs – pots should be about 1/2 full of potting soil.
6. Gently snug bulbs onto potting soil. Don’t compact or push them hard into the soil. Their roots will need room to expand down there. I keep a tiny space between bulbs them so their roots have more room to spread out.

Like most bulbs, Narcissus can be fit closely but shouldn’t touch one another. Their roots can take up a lot of space so be sure there’s enough room at the bottom of the pot for the roots to spread out.

7. Sprinkle more potting soil onto the bulbs to cover, adding more until there is about 1/2-1 inch of space left at the top of the pot.
8. Label each pot with the bulb name, quantity, and date of planting.
9. Also calculate how long a cold period each type of bulb you plant needs (ie, Tete-a-Tete Narcissus 8-10 weeks; Iris reticulata ‘Pixie’ 12-15 weeks) and mark the day on your calendar to bring them indoors.
9. Add hemlock mulch to the top of the pots.
10. Water thoroughly, until water drains out of the bottom of the pots.
11. Finally, snug the pots into a dark, shady spot outdoors where they will receive winter rain. (Remember to water them during cold, dry periods in winter.) I place my pots on the north side of an unheated shed or garage, where no sun can warm the pots all winter. Then spread hemlock mulch over the containers so that the sides of the pots are completely buried in protective mulch. This will help insulate them from frigid temperatures in their tiny pots and also help retain moisture. If squirrels are burying nuts in your pots, lay chicken wire over the top.

I use fine hemlock bark to top-dress bulb pots. This helps retain moisture in the potting soil (which can tend to crust and dry out) and helps protect the bulbs from the cold winter air.

12. When the bulbs have been in cold sleep long enough (see chart below), look for small white shoots. At this point, you can scrape off some of the hemlock mulch and bring the container indoors in a cool, bright place like a drafty east windowsill (about 60F). This is where the term “forcing” comes in. By bringing the pots indoors, you are in effect tricking them into thinking it’s springtime, even when it’s cold outside. After 5-7 days, the sprouts start turning green. Move the container to a sunny window (no more than about 68F or shoots elongate and become floppy). Water daily and watch the beautiful flowers develop!

COLD, DARK PERIOD (40F or below) CHART:
Crocus: 10-12 weeks plus 2-3 weeks cool, light period
Hyacinth 12-15 weeks plus 2-3 weeks cool, light period
Miniature early Narcissus (including Tete-a-Tete): 8-12 weeks plus 2-4 weeks cool, light period
Tall Narcissus: 12-15 weeks plus 2-4 weeks cool, light period
Tulip: 14-16 weeks plus 2-4 weeks cool, light period
Iris: 12-15 weeks plus 2-3 weeks cool, light period

Some bulbs are more easily forced than others. Easy types include Crocus chrysanthus, Muscari latifolium or Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’, Narcissus obvallaris, Narcissus ‘Rijnvelds Early Sensation,’ Narcissus ‘Jack Snipe’, early tulips like ‘Purple Prince’, or hyacinths. Larger bulbs are usually best in larger pots, not only because the bulbs themselves are bigger but because taller pots balance the height of taller bulbs. But play around. I like the look of small, late, black-flowered Fritillaria persica, the surreal ball-shaped Allium karataviense and pale blue Valerie Finnis Muscari. I’ve also planted a single orange parrot tulip bulb in a little terra cotta pot and it looked divine.

Iris reticulata ‘Pixie’ is very early and has the loveliest rich purple color.

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Tags: Gardening Tips, Indoor Gardening, Container Gardening