GB 142 More Cut Lower Care Tips. Watering Houseplants. TRANSCRIPT
Farmer Fred 0:00
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Farmer Fred 0:20
Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, you've come to the right spot.
Farmer Fred 0:32
It was about a year ago on Episode 52, retired college horticulture Professor Debbie Flower gave us a beginner's class on having a cut flower garden. Today, we're graduating up to more tips for successful cut flower care, including how to cut an outdoor plant to bring indoors so that it will last an even longer period of time. Plus, Debbie has a homemade recipe for a floral preservative that will help that display last even longer. And since we're indoors, let's talk with Master Gardener and professional houseplant expert Lori Ann Asmus. She tells us the best ways to make sure your house plants are watered correctly. It's all on episode 142 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots. And we'll do it all in under 30 minutes. Let's go.
Farmer Fred 1:25
We like to welcome Debbie Flower to the Barking Dog Studios, here in the Abutilon Jungle of Suburban Purgatory, Debbie. Thanks for dropping by.
Debbie Flower 1:33
It's always fun to come here. And how nice to come in today and see this extra special display.
Farmer Fred 1:37
I wanted to cut some flowers for you...
Debbie Flower 1:41
Thank you!
Farmer Fred 1:42
...to talk about. They are zinnias one vase is zinnias, and it's an heirloom Zinnia called Macarena.
Debbie Flower 1:48
It's beautiful.
Farmer Fred 1:48
I really like the coloration of it. And it's just beautiful. And the other is a miniature rose called Joy.
Debbie Flower 1:55
and also beautiful.
Farmer Fred 1:56
and they are in their in their own separate vases. I have no artistic skills whatsoever.
Debbie Flower 2:02
So I disagree, based on what you've done here.
Farmer Fred 2:04
I wanted to get your purview on the best ways to display cut flowers. Now we've talked about cut flowers before on the show, back on Episode 52. We had cut flower basics, where we covered such things as the time of the day to pick the flowers, how to cut them long, cut them sharp. Make sure that the center of the plant is one color for the right age, floral preservatives, the height rule, removing leaves, placing the bouquet in a cool still area, not on top of a woodstove or something like that. I thought we'd talk about some other things. So first of all, what I want from you, is a critique of the vases I chose and the flowers I put in there and what you would do differently. By the way, if the podcast company that you're listening to this isn't posting a picture of this episode, then click on the link in the show notes that'll take you back to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred homepage, which is Buzzsprout where you can see a picture of the flower vases we're talking about here. So we've got the Macarena zinnias in one, the Joy rose in another. What did I do wrong?
Debbie Flower 3:13
Well, can I tell you what I like about it?
Farmer Fred 3:15
Oh, shoot. Okay, go ahead.
Debbie Flower 3:15
Yeah, the Macarenas are very pretty colors, the orange and red, you did follow the rule about picking the fresh flowers, the ones that are not old, and that was looking at the center of the flower. These are Daisy type flowers and they have a whole set of flowers in the center, and they open from an outside ring. So there are the petals and then there's this outside ring of flowers opening and then it'll move in towards the center of the flower. And these are only showing either no flowers in the center opening or just an outside ring. So that means they'll last a longer time in the vase and that's perfect. I love the little vase. I love the little twist it has in it and the variety of heights that you have in the flowers themselves. And the rose to me is in a real classic bud vase, kind of cut for the rose. The bud vase meaning it has a very narrow stem at the top and you included both open flowers which adds a lot of interest to the design. The couple of buds that are already in color will probably open, they will not have as much color in them as the one the pink one, that is already open. And if the others open, they will probably be pure white. You get less color out of the buds that open, once you've brought the flowers in the house. Some people would complain that you can see the stem through the glass vase. That's not been something that has bothered me. But when I taught, one of the techniques that the floral instructors used was to take a very large leaf of some sort and twist it into almost a funnel shape and put it down into the neck of that. They let it open up as far as it will and Then that's what you would look at from the outside in. You would see the leaf. That can lead to more rot in the water, over time. So you'd want to clean the leaf. You probably want to run it through a 10% bleach solution before you put it in the water. Wash the leaf first, get off any dust or dirt. And then just run it right through that water and take it out and do with the funnel and put it into the vase. That takes off any surface contamination and a fungus bacteria, that type of thing that could grow in the vase and it won't at that concentration it will not harm the leaf itself. And it gives you something to look at. It could be a colorful leaf or not. Or you if you don't like looking through the glass vase, you could put a bow on the outside of it.
Farmer Fred 5:47
Okay, now back on Episode 52, You talked about taking the cut flowers back in the house, cut them underwater and immediately place them in the vase. With these, I put water in the vase, took the vase outside with the nippers, and as soon as I cut the flower and trimmed off the lower leaves, I just plunked it in the water.
Debbie Flower 6:06
And that certainly works. And you will have these a few days. If you do it the other way around, as I said in the last episode, the cutting underwater prevents an embolism, prevents a gas bubble in the stem. If you have a gas bubble formed between cutting them and putting them in the water, then, they just won't live as long. You used plain water here. if you use a floral preservative, then they do last longer, significantly longer.
Farmer Fred 6:34
Give me some examples of what a floral preservative would be.
Debbie Flower 6:37
Well, the one I have at my house is called flora life. And you buy it in many different places. If you buy a bouquet at the grocery store, for instance, it often comes with a little envelope, like a foil little envelope of stuff in it that they say to put in the water and that is a floral preservative, you can make your own and it's typically two tablespoons of some sort. Acid vinegar works. Lemon Juice works, lime juice works. Two tablespoons of sugar, the acid is going to kill funguses. Funguses in general respond to or are killed by I should say or limited by acids. And so that's what the acid is going to do, the sugar just gives the plant a little bit to live on. It's not enough, it's not a lot. Sometimes you'll hear people talking about using seven up or some kind of soda pop. That's going to be your source of both acid and sugar. But then you also want about a half a teaspoon of bleach and you're gonna put all this into a quart of water so a quart of water, two tablespoons of acid, vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, two tablespoons of sugar and a half a teaspoon of bleach.
Farmer Fred 7:45
What does the sugar do?
Debbie Flower 7:47
The sugar supposedly is something that the flowers can live on. I think there is some sugar in the floral preservative, the flora life. I'm skeptical that they can actually use that sugar but I do know I get a much longer vase life out of the flowers if I use the flora life preservative in my water.
Farmer Fred 8:08
By the way we'll have Debbie's recipe for floral preservative in today's show notes if you're driving and trying to scribble at the same time, he just barely missed a car.
Debbie Flower 8:17
Oh, come on! A sticky tab on the steering wheel. I used to do that all the time. Well, no, don't get in an accident.
Farmer Fred 8:24
Yes, yeah, I need all the listeners I can get. I should be cutting it (the stem) twice, basically.
Debbie Flower 8:30
Yes. Okay, if underwater longest life out of those flowers, yes, you should. All right, what I would do maybe a little differently or in addition to what you did here is I would cut other things to fill out the bouquet. If you have ornamental grasses, herbs, ornamental grasses, herbs, some flowers, like the Eriogonum. This when they decline, they still look decent. And that makes an interesting addition to the bouquet, you can pick the color palette, it might match what you have in the house, you might do all pastels, or you might do all hot colors, or you might do a mix of like blues and yellows to make it go both directions, be sort of a clash to get a different feeling out of it, but to fill it in a little bit. And sometimes if I'm using a big vase, and a lot of plants, I will try to have a tall thing in the middle or to one side. It can be either way. It can be if it were symmetrical, it would be something very tall in the middle, and then it would come down and be shaped, the whole arrangement would be shaped like a Christmas tree, come down lower and lower and lower. And you can even have some things that hang over the side. If you have pieces of vine,s vinca or something that hangs over the side, so that you have trailing down, went all the way around or you could make your tall thing over on one side and have an asymmetrical and then have it hang down to the other side. Those are very more artsy things and either you have that gene or you don't have that gene.
Farmer Fred 9:55
You're sort of talking that thriller-chiller-spiller effect.
Debbie Flower 9:59
Right, but in cut Flowers.
Farmer Fred 10:00
Exactly, Yeah, exactly. Yeah ,I would think, though, cutting some herbs might not last as long as the flowers themselves. I'm thinking when you said "herbs", I go yeah you know the basil is bolting. I could use those flowers as part of the arrangement. But I think those would be just litter on the dining room table in no time.
Debbie Flower 10:23
Well, I haven't cut the bolted as much basil but I'll bring some in and I'll use only a portion of it and it is actually without floral preservative because I don't intend to keep it. It stays pretty well in the in the vase as a plant in general. As I said, I haven't cut the bolted basil, so I haven't cut the flowers. I do happen to right now on my counter have the flowers of coleus which is a similar structure and they're not dropping anything. So that is something to consider. I brought you a plant today called Verbena bonariensis, which produces a roundish head of purple flowers which are very pretty, but they drop all over the place.
Farmer Fred 11:01
Hence their reputation for being, shall we say, invasive?
Debbie Flower 11:04
Yes, they seed around, they do. But they're easy to pull out. So plant flowers that would be good to grow or have in your garden for your cut flowers would be Cosmos and zinnias and those are annuals. So you'd have a bed that's fairly rich in soil nutrition and it gets regular water and has full sun and you want to go out and tend that garden regularly and deadhead it, meaning take off the flowers that have gone past their prime. And that will stimulate new ones to grow. In a plant's world, the goal is to make offspring, especially if you're an annual. The goal is to make seed if you never get that chance this is true we've probably talked about with being plants. If the plant never gets, can't get that chance to make that seed, it'll try again to flower and in the case of a being fruit again or in the case of the zinnias make another flower so the more you cut them, the more they will make more flowers so that would be true for the Zinnia, the cosmos, sweet peas, if you grow those, they are not in season in the summer. But you can get some really fragrant ones. They make really nice little nose gays and if you can, get some nice sort of larger leaves to go in. Among sunflowers, they make floral sunflowers, ones that are not as inclined to make the seed in the center that we commercially grow sunflowers for as a food, either for us or for the birds or other animals. They are called floral sunflowers. You can find them. They'll be listed on the seed package that would be another annual and they tend not to get as tall so they're easier to harvest and they have multiple flowers per stem. Roses are going to be then they're the perennials, the roses would be included in that I also have a dwarf rose that I like to cut for my cut flowers. When you're cutting a rose you want to go start at the flower, move back until you find a five leafleted leaf that is pointing out from the center of the plant. And you're going to cut just above that, about a quarter of an inch on a slant that will indicate, and there's debate about this, but it typically is believed to indicate that part of the stem is strong enough to produce another bud and another flower and it will grow in the direction that that leaflet is pointing. With roses, we try to keep the center open to keep disease and insects out of that center.
Farmer Fred 13:24
So you make the cut right above that five leaflet leaf.
Debbie Flower 13:27
Yes, and on an angle, so water won't sit on it and cause it to rot. Hydrangeas make lovely cut flowers. They come in all kinds of colors. In the industry, they're painted and I don't know how they do that. They paint, they're called bracts, they're not really petals. So you can get hydrangeas, that's another perennial you could grow in your yard; and lavender makes a very good cut flower as well and they come on fairly long stems. You didn't do the two thirds rule now but that doesn't bother me.
Farmer Fred 13:55
I thought it was the 50-50 rule. But no, it's not the 50-50.
Debbie Flower 14:00
I think it looks good. It really bothers me is when I see these giant containers in front of commercial buildings though they might be feet across and they have like bedding plants in them. It just looks so ridiculous.
Farmer Fred 14:14
I like one tip that you were mentioning before we started recording and I've done this too. When people come over to visit. Make them the offer of, "would you go out and cut me some flowers? here's a vase or some snippers go out, cut whatever you want." And it's amazing what they bring back in, things you'd never thought about using in a cut flower arrangement.
Debbie Flower 14:34
Yes, it broadens my view of my garden and I love to do it with children. Oh I just love it. They come out with all kinds of stuff and they're so pleased with what they did. And of course you can send it home with them. You can use anything for a vase. Cleaning out my dad's house, my mother used to cut flowers, and I didn't bring home she lived in New York. I live in California, it was not easy to get these fragile glass ceramic containers. She had a lot of ball jars, the old ball jars. And so I use lots of those for flowers.,
Farmer Fred 15:08
the pint or the quart, or both?
Debbie Flower 15:09
Both and so I have so many around that if somebody comes and cuts their own flowers, I can send them home with the jar.
Farmer Fred 15:15
Good idea as well. Yeah, that works fine. Yeah. And if you're a party animal use those red cups.
Debbie Flower 15:23
They're not real sturdy, though. In terms of easy to knock over. I have cats. And a lightweight cup like that is a little easy to knock over. My mother also had something called frogs, pin frogs. I didn't bring them either, but they are typically round. Sometimes they're square, and they have these pins sticking out the top and you put them in the bottom of a wide, this maybe a wide dish, maybe you have a even a mixing bowl. And they used to have to have things with stiff stems, but you poke the stems either right into the needle sticking out or between the needles and that holds them in place and you have more control over where you do your arranging. You can also get floral foam for that, but that you have to throw away all the time and I'm into throwing things away if I can avoid it.
Farmer Fred 16:13
I love these quick tips that take up most of the episode. This is great, we learn so much. And now we'll just run it all together. More cut flower tips from Debbie Flower. Thank you for that, Debbie.
Debbie Flower 16:26
Oh My pleasure. Thank you, Fred.
Farmer Fred 16:31
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Farmer Fred 17:35
It's time for a quick tip about picking apples, especially a very popular variety called Granny Smith. Many people are picking it way too early, Phil Pursel from Dave Wilson nursery says here's when to pick it:
Phil Pursel 17:48
The one thing about Granny Smith and everyone thinks they're too tart. And you get them in the grocery store they are too tart. Well that's because they pick them too early. In fact, our trees here at the nursery, we start picking the Granny Smith off the trees at the end of November, beginning of December, when they start turning almost like a Golden Delicious color, the tartness is gone. And you get that fantastic Granny Smith flavor that people really like. But people shy away from Granny Smiths because the commercial growers, they just pick them early, they're set bright green, really, they should be a lighter green, almost yellow in color, they're still super crisp, juicy, but they don't have the hardness that you're kind of familiar with in the grocery store.
Farmer Fred 18:30
Exactly. And that's why I always advise people to not judge the quality of a piece of fruit based on what you buy at a grocery store. Judge it by what you're picking in somebody's backyard, because that'll give you a true indication of when it's really ripe. And that's great information about the Granny Smith, which is naturally a green apple. But if you just let it sit on the tree, maybe through a frost or two, and it turns kind of yellow, that's when it's sweet.
Phil Pursel 18:57
That's when it's sweet. Yeah.
Farmer Fred 19:01
Because there are so many demands on your time these days, I like to keep the Garden Basics podcast to under 30 minutes. Still, there is a lot more to tackle on all the garden subjects we bring up on the podcast. So, for that, and a lot more, we’re starting up The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred newsletter, on Substack. It’ll go into more details about what you just heard on the latest podcast. For instance, the Aug. 31st newsletter has more Japanese beetle control information. And for those of you here in California and other parts of the West who think you are seeing Japanese beetles, well, it’s probably a much bigger relative, the green fruit beetle. Information about that pest, is in the newsletter. Also, we will also have a picture of the Plant of the Week, the Oxblood lily. And just for the heck of it, a lot of maps, explaining USDA gardening zones, as well as a more complete reference for figuring out what can grow in your region, the Sunset national Garden Zones. As the newsletter grows, so will the subject matter. So, yes, it will be a good supplement for the Garden Basics podcast, but there will be a lot more garden related material and probably pictures of my dogs and cats, as well. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Newsletter on Substack. And best of all, it’s free! There’s a link in today’s show notes. Or, just go to substack.com, and do a search for Garden Basics with Farmer Fred. That’s substack.com. The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred newsletter. Did I tell you it’s free? It’s free.
Farmer Fred 20:03
We're here at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center with Master Gardener and Plant Princess Lori Ann Asmus, the owner of Emerald City interior landscape services, the giggling gardener. Yes. All right. Okay. All right. I won't forget that part. Yes, we're here talking about watering your house plants. Among the percentage of people you know with houseplants, how many are overwaterers? How many are underwaterers?
Lori Ann Asmus 20:30
Most people are both. Actually, just depending, you know, I mean, okay, have we caught up with summer yet? Or have we scaled you know, by watering more in the summer, for example, or have we scaled back in the fall by watering less. And we're talking about when we talk about watering, and I know this is a whole other topic, but when we talk about watering, we're talking about frequency, not the amount per time. So in the summer, you're going to water a little more often, you're still going to water thoroughly when you water and let things dry out. In the fall, you're going to water a little more, but a little less often.
Farmer Fred 21:06
Define watering thoroughly.
Lori Ann Asmus 21:09
Watering thoroughly means getting the entire soil body wet. So where your roots are, which you hope is in the entire soil body, which is if you've got a six inch pot, the roots should be filling that pot more or less, you want all of those roots to get wet. If you just water the top couple of inches, you're going to have roots in the top couple of inches. And that's not going to create a very healthy root system. And what we know is that a healthy root system is the most important thing to a healthy plant.
Farmer Fred 21:40
I like how you can determine how a plant is too wet or too dry. And you've talked about this for years and I use it every time I water, which as you know, is once a month on my houseplants.
Lori Ann Asmus 21:54
You don't need to check your house plants once a month. They need water. Trust me on this. How many do you have alive now, three?
Farmer Fred 22:02
Oh, no, there's like, five, okay, five. All right, when you go to ascertain does my plant need water or not, you have a very scientific way of doing it, you pick up the pot.
Lori Ann Asmus 22:15
Yes, you can pick up the pot and determine its weight. Say you bring home a new plant and you've got a six inch pot, I'm just gonna say this for you know, whatever size it is, you're going to put it in the sink, you're going to water it thoroughly until water comes through the holes in the bottom. And you must have some kind of drainage, please, unless you're really, really, really an expert. So the drainage, the water comes through the bottom, you're going to pick that pot up when it's completely saturated, and you're going to sort of get an idea of how heavy that feels. Then you're gonna let it dry out for a week or two weeks, and you're going to pick it up again and you're going to see how it feels. And depending on the soil type, okay, which may be another conversation, you're going to feel that it's a lot lighter without the water, the water is by far and away the heaviest part of your soil for the most part or your soilless mix, as the case may be. When you pick it up and it's really light, it probably needs water. Now you know, the other way to tell, is just by sticking your finger in the soil. Say it's too big. Say it's in a 14 inch pot, say it's gigantic and you can't really pick it up. Sometimes you can kind of tip it a little bit and get an idea of how heavy it is right? Or if it's sloshing around in water, you could stick your finger in the soil and down to about two inches, maybe the second knuckle or so if it's dry, chances are pretty good that that plant is ready to be watered.
Farmer Fred 23:33
And again take it over to the sink so you can water it thoroughly. And the water will drain out the bottom.
Lori Ann Asmus 23:39
Now if it's big though, if it's a big plant that can't be taken to the sink or the bathtub or dragged outdoors, okay, oh and let's just say if you are going to drag your plant outdoors to water it: please please, please, please, please do not leave your plant in the sun! Not even for a minute. People I hear all the time saying oh I just thought I'd do a nice thing. It was Saturday morning and I put my plants out in the sun. Well it's kind of like putting your redhead out there without sunscreen. It's not a good idea.
Farmer Fred 24:04
How about this. Now sometimes, when I go to my houseplants and I pick them up, they're very very light. And I know that one soil balls especially if there is a mix of say peat moss in there...
Lori Ann Asmus 24:16
which most soilless mixes are based on peat moss...
Farmer Fred 24:19
When peat moss dries out, water will tend to roll off, go down the side and out. The root ball does not get watered. So I have gotten in the habit of taking my wife's good baking pan and putting an inch of water in it, and setting the plants in their pots inside this baking pan and letting it sit there for a few hours before my wife gets home. Does that work? Well that saturate a root ball?
Lori Ann Asmus 24:47
Well, there's Yeah, sometimes Yes. And sometimes No. Sometimes it's so dry that it's not even going to pull that water up through capillary action. So essentially sometimes you may need to take like a little chopstick or some tool of some sort of small tool that's not going to do too much damage to the roots and sort of work the soil a little bit. Now I would just use my fingers but some people don't like to do that, particularly if you've just got your nails done or something like that. So you can use a tool or your finger to sort of work the soil a little bit in the front to sort of work some of that water in. The other thing that you can do is you can put a drop of soap, like just dish soap, into your water. It acts as what we call a surfactant. And the surfactant breaks that surface tension between the soil particle and the water and allows that water to soak into the soil. So just a drop of soap in your water will help to saturate the soil as well. If it's dried out too much.
Farmer Fred 25:41
Do you have to mix it?
Lori Ann Asmus 25:42
Mix what?
Farmer Fred 25:43
The soap in the water and make soap suds?
Lori Ann Asmus 25:45
You are so silly.
Farmer Fred 25:47
No, I'm serious!
Lori Ann Asmus 25:48
You have to make bubbles! Absolutely. You put the the drop of soap into the gallon of water or whatever it is that you're using. No you don't just put it on the surface of the soil. You mix it in.
Farmer Fred 25:58
All right. Can you do that by taking your one gallon container, filling it maybe half with water, putting the drop of soap in, and then topping off with the rest of the water? Would that do it?
Lori Ann Asmus 26:07
Sure. Honestly, It's not a real difficult process and you're not going to hurt anything.
Farmer Fred 26:14
What about the soap suds? They're going to be in the plant. It'll look like it has rabies or something.
Lori Ann Asmus 26:20
Well then, once you get the soil wet, leach it out. run the water through again. Get those bubbles out of there if you don't like them.
Farmer Fred 26:27
Obviously two points I would like to make: you probably heard an airplane fly over. No, I have not moved to Sacramento airport. We are at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center on what is a fairly nice day, sitting in the shade here and admiring all the plants here. And that's why you heard a plane go by.
Lori Ann Asmus 26:46
Related to the fires maybe huh.
Farmer Fred 26:48
More than likely, Yes.
Lori Ann Asmus 26:50
Get your houseplant. Make sure that the water is soaking into the soil when you water it. If it's not, you already heard what we said about the soap and the mucking around with the soil to try to get the peat moss wet again. But what you want to do is you want to water so that the water goes all the way through the soil body and leaches out the bottom. And then you want to let it dry out in between, down to the second knuckle, before you water again. So we're going to water thoroughly. Each time we water, we're not going to water a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. We're going to water thoroughly each time that we water. Now if you can't take it to the sink or the bathtub, it's got to be in a saucer of some sort. And it better be a plastic saucer because anything ceramic, even if it's glazed is going to sweat and it's going to ruin your surfaces and you're not going to be happy. So use something plastic to contain the water if it's too big to move. And then make sure that that plant is not sitting in water and you can use a turkey baster to pull out that excess water if you want. That's the easiest way to do it.
Farmer Fred 27:43
Good advice on watering your house plants and if you can solve your watering issues, you are well on the way to having successful houseplants. Lori Ann Asmus, Master Gardener, Emerald City interior landscape services owner, house plant Queen and Plant Princess. Loriann Asmus, thanks for all that great information.
Lori Ann Asmus 28:05
Okay.
Farmer Fred 28:07
The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast has a lot of information posted at each episode: transcripts, links to any products or books mentioned during the show. Plus, you can listen to just the portions of the show that interest you, it’s been divided into easily accessible chapters. There’s other helpful links for even more information, including the new Garden Basics newsletter. And just like the podcast, it’s free. Plus you’ll find more information about how to get in touch with us. Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at speak pipe dot com slash gardenbasics. it’s easy, give it a try. And you just might hear your voice on the Garden Basics podcast! You can also use your phone to call or Text us the question and pictures, 916-292-8964.916-292-8964. E-mail: fred@farmerfred.com . If you tell us where you’re from, that will help us greatly to accurately answer your garden questions. Because all gardening is local. In the show notes you’ll find links to all our social media outlets, including facebook, instagram, twitter, and youtube. Also, there’s a link to the farmerfred.com website. And if you would please, if you hear something you like, share it with your friends and family. Thank you!
Farmer Fred 29:32
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