Indoor House Plants

On this edition of “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, we bring you a show on the topic of “Indoor House Plants”.  Master Gardener Dece Morgan interviews Julie Bawden-Davis who is a fellow Master Gardener and a resident expert on indoor house plants. Bawden-Davis is a bestselling author, journalist, novelist, blogger, and YouTuber.  She’s authored over 45 books in a variety of genres that includes page-turning suspense novels with a little romance, spiritual books meant to inspire and enlighten, and of course gardening books.   Dece met Julie at her home for a relaxed tour and conversation discussing Julie’s vast home collection of different houseplants. You’ll pick up tips on potting, lighting/exposure, watering needs, fertilizer suggestions, and growth patterns. Don’t think you have a green thumb? Learn about ‘hard to kill' plants for your home. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

The opinions and views expressed in this program do not reflect those of KECI, its management, or the UC Board of Regents.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Good morning, listeners. Our show is called In the Garden and it's produced by the UC Master Gardeners of Orange County, California. Our topic today is indoor plants. I'm DC Morgan, your host and a volunteer with the Master Gardeners. And with me today, I'm really happy and excited to talk with Julie Bodden Davis, a garden author and master gardener, as well as she's written over 12 books and just a very impressive resume. For example, since 1985 has written publications for organic gardening, wildflower, better homes and gardens, The Gardener, and she was a columnist for the LA Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is the author of over 12 books, and I'll just mention a few of them here. One of them is The Strawberry Story: How to Grow Grape Berries Year Round in Southern California, Indoor Gardening, the Organic Way. She is the founder of Healthyhouseplants.com. And her backyard is a certified wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Welcome, Julie. Tell us how you got started in this. I understand that you were a child.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yes, I was, and it's very nice to be here. Thank you. The uh it all started in in a drugstore when I, and it was the 1970s, so there were house plants everywhere. And at that point I met and fell in love with a coleus plant. It was a gorgeous burgundy one. I remember walking up to it and petting it and thinking, could I get this to grow? And I decided to give it a try, and I'm very glad I did. Got it home, and I thought, well, okay, I need to start researching how do I keep get this to grow well. So that was back when you needed to go to the library to get information, which I did. I believe one of my parents dropped me off, and I went in with a little notebook, which I found recently, which was very cool. Oh, how precious. And I started making notes about how to how to get them to grow well. The house wants to get to get them to grow well, and then I decided to branch out from there and started taking notes on how to propagate them and what you would need to propagate them. So my little uh burgundy coleus grew really well. And then I what I did ended up doing was propagating that. So about and about 30 coleuses later, I thought, okay, now I'm ready to branch out into other types of plants, which I which I did.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Wow. And what was that like something like$3, the original price at the Yes?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

I believe it was something like$279, something like that. My my allowance wasn't that wasn't that much back then. Yeah. And how did you propagate it? From root? So I I found out you could do from cuttings. Um and you can also grow them from seed as well, which is really fun too. But I did it for from cut from uh cuttings in water and then did then planted them in soil and things like that. Once the roots came out, you put them in the soil. Okay, yeah. Are the seeds very big for a coli? The seeds are very small. Yeah. And if you let the plant go to seed, and I have colias right over there, actually. Oh, yeah. If you let the plant go to seed when it has a little flower spike, a lot of times they'll say to take that off because you don't want the plant to get too leggy and that sort of thing. However, if you let them go to seed, then you can replant those seeds. You could plant those seeds, which is fun to see what you'll get.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Yes, yeah. Okay. Well, let's talk about interior decor with plants.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yeah, so that's the one of the wonderful things about houseplants. I just love because they're so they're beautiful, they're architectural, and one of my favorite aspects is the fact that they have there's so many different types of foliage and colors and color patterns. The variegation on them is incredible. And you can mix and match them with your home decor. So things like your sofa, your up, so upholstery, and also window coverings, and even your paint. And one of my favorites is with uh paintings. Um, and my my daughter does a lot of painting, my son also has done some in the past too, and my mother did too. So I like to juxtapose a plant that has similar color patterns and even maybe the shapes of the leaves, the shapes of the leaves also against um against the paintings and the artwork and that and such. Very pretty.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Yeah, I love that they the beautiful greens and the other colors, the textures, and it gives a peaceful vibe, I think.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Very peaceful, yes. You'll notice when you go into model homes, they will have houseplants. They and and and if you go into one that doesn't have any, it doesn't feel like that homey, like I want to move in here kind of vibe. So that's why they do that.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Interesting. Okay. Why about we talk about tips for taking care of houseplants?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yes. So the the uh we'll go through the those very important tips because obviously you want to have a really healthy houseplant as well. So one thing to keep in mind is e when you're first getting your houseplant, because what can houseplants are slow to react to mistreatment, I should say. So if you were to find a houseplant out in bright sun, for instance, it may not, depending on the where you buy it from, you want to watch where you buy your houseplants from, especially if you're doing a a purchase that some large floor plants, house plants can be very expensive. I mean, we're talking like a couple hundred dollars, right? So you want wherever you're you look at the look at where you're buying it from and if it looks like they're they're keeping good care of it. You you don't the plants shouldn't be sopping wet because they've been overwatered. And like I said, they should be in the right, the the right uh exposure in terms of lighting, because what'll happen sometimes is people will get plants and then a week later that's not doing well, and it has nothing to do with what they did, it has to do with what happened before. Yes. So the choose it where you choose it from. And when you're choosing the houseplant, looking at it, things like I'll often hear if there's roots coming out of the drainage hole, that's okay. As long actually, it's kind of a good thing to see a little bit of root coming out of the drainage holes because that means the plant is very healthy and growing well. Growing, yeah. And you can also check out the roots at that point. What you can do, what you want to look for is you want the roots to be white, cream colored, tannish, um, not black and mushy.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

Ooh, no.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Um, so and so you what you're looking for is things like root rot, right? So if the the soil's very wet and the plant is drooping, that's obviously a sign that you that's not a good choice for you, probably, unless you're you want to save the plant. I have done, I have done that uh for my videos, just so you know I can teach people how to save a plant with root rot. Actually, that plant right there was one that was that this this is uh I named him Henry. That's Henry. He was saved. Yeah, he's looking good, looking healthy. So the so it and your gut instinct, right? A lot of times you'll see a plant and you just think, I don't know, it just doesn't uh there's something not quite right. Because another thing what they'll growers will do is they use artificial growth hormones to get the plants to grow quickly so that they can sell them because that's their business, right? But the problem is the plant will go into detox mode when you get it, and that's how some plants so I just mentioned this because a lot of people have tried house plants and they think I have a black thumb, but it has nothing to do with their thumb, it has to do with prior.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

And so, like then after they start coming down, they'll look bad, but then you can revive them, hopefully.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yes, a lot of times you can revive them. There's also things you can do when you get them, which I can cover now if you want, or I can cover as we go. But uh you really want to detox them from uh from the from things like the artificial growth hormones because those aren't available to the the the home gardener. However, the really good news is there are a couple of different um organic products you can use that are natural growth hormones. Alfalfa meal is one of them and the sea kelp and seaweed, uh the sea kelp products, you know, any of the kelp products as well. So those have the natural growth hormones. So it's good to start fertilizing them with that when you get them. And another thing that's really good to do is to either repot the plant. I'm gonna talk about something very important about the right size of potting when we talk about repotting in a bit here. Uh however, if you feel like the plant needs to be repotted, it's it's you can get it into some organic soil. That's good. A lot of times they'll be super loaded with chemical fertilizers that really get them growing, once again, to get them growing. But then the plant, you're you're doing, yeah, the plant's like, where where where's my, you know, where's my fix exactly? What's going on here? And you're like do-do-do, watering and you've given it everything you need, it needs. So those fertilizers is mentioned, organic fertilizers. And then excuse me. So again, that was for natural growth hormones. It's alfalfa. Alfalfa meal, uh-huh. And alfalfa meal comes separate. It also comes in some fertilizers, but it's a it's a it's a it's a fertilizer. And what seaweed was it? So sea kelp, sea kelp axe extracts, they have uh they have um, they have those in granular form, they also have them in liquid form too.

SPEAKER_03 10:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

So any of those derivatives of that as well. That's really helpful. And then leaching the soil. So if you don't have time to repot, and or you're it's it winter time is not the great time to repot your houseplants, for instance, and leaching the plant, running s water through the soil um will leach out a lot of the stuff that's in there until you can get to so you're basically you're turning, you're giving, you're going from a fast food diet to a uh a whole a whole grain or organic diet for your houseplants. Yeah. But it does, it will help them. So yeah, rinse them off with room temperature. Oh, yes, okay. And yeah, let me cover that right now with the watering. So watering is, I would say, if if if you have to choose the top reason why plant houseplants don't do well, it's watering mishaps, let's call them. Uh not watering the plant enough is pretty obvious, right? So if you don't plants need water, they're made of water, quite a bit of water. So if you don't water it enough, it it will droop and fail and edges will be browner. They can get, yeah, exactly, crispy edges. And the plant will drop when it's stressed, it'll drop leaves as well. Uh so you may have a plant that you water, it starts to come back, but then it drops leaves because it was just so stressed from from being drouted. So obviously to and another thing to keep in mind too is if you have a plant that droops and you water it and it doesn't come back within a few hours, it doesn't mean that it's not going to. Some plants will take a week to actually come back to, and you then you'll be able to see what needs to be pruned off, if it's gonna live, etc. So that's you that's important to know. There are certain plants um that will um like the peace lilies, bathophylums. Usually by the next morning. Yeah, and even within a few days, with a few hours, it will be like, oh good, I didn't kill it. Yeah. The um phytonia is another one, it will droop like it's you know, just it's very dramatic drooping, and then you water it and it's like, oh, I'm okay now. But then there's other ones. So maidenhair fern does not agree with being droughtdown, but you can bring that, so you can bring some of them back, but with patience, and then you a lot of times have to uh downpot them. Um, down pot, yeah. So so the so that that will that, yeah. Let me I'll finish watering, then I'm gonna talk, and I should just talk about potting since I've already mentioned it a couple times here. So the um always watering, as you mentioned, with room temperature or war even warm water. And a lot of uh times you would I will have people ask, well, I'm not doing that outdoors, so why would I need to do that indoors? Well, indoor climate is much different than the outdoor climate. For one, the soil in your containers is room temperature, and most people keep their homes between 65 and 75, somewhere in there, right? So imagine in the winter when the water is 40 degrees and you're putting it in on those roots that are in 70 degrees, it's it's a huge difference. And they have done studies that show that it will cause root dieback, and then it also will cause spottings on the leaves and things like that. So the that cold water is not good. And obviously, it's a more it's a little bit more of an issue in the winter when the ground is colder and the water is colder, but it's still so room temperature, warm water is um you always want to do that with houseplants.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Oh, that's such a good tip. I need to do that because I just turn the faucet on and you know put it in.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

And end, yeah, exactly. And then the um now the overwatering is the other side of this, and that's very common because people will love their plants too much, be very concerned that they're not getting enough water. Most plants, not all of them, they're there's things like uh maidenhair fern is one where you really don't want to let those go dry. There's certain plants that like to stay a little on the moist side, but a lot of the house plants really need to go almost dry before you water them again. Good point. That's a good way to prevent the root rot. And root rot, you'll know you have if the soil is staying moist and the leaves are drooping and they're not coming back to life after you've watered. And yellowing. Yellowing, yeah, and falling off. And what happens is that the roots the with the rot shut down. So the leaves, so it'll people will think, oh, I need to give them a little more water because they're it's so it's a vicious cycle. And yes, the leaves are starving for water, but they're starving for water because the roots have shut down. So it that that's when you so if you can stop, if you stop watering, then what'll happen? You can potentially save the plant. And there's things with peroxide to treat the roots with to kill the fungal pathogens and that sort of thing. So, did you want me to cover repotting the repotting? Yeah, so because that does kind of segue into this whole thing with if you've overwatered, you're having root rot, that means your the roots are rotting, they're dying back, right? Okay, so you have less root in that pot. Now, very common problem that I see, and the way that people kill their houseplants without knowing is to put them in too big of a pot. So the rationale is I'm gonna put my plant here in a big pot, so it's gonna grow really, really big and fill in, and then I won't have to repot for a long time. Well, you won't have to repot for a long time because the plant's not gonna make it. Because what happens when you put a plant in that much soil is the soil stays wet. It's like planting in a lake. The soil stays wet because there's not enough roots to absorb the moisture, and so then the roots start rotting because there's too much moisture. And what what'll happen is the plant, even some plants that can tolerate that moisture, they just won't grow. So, and I had someone recently tell me, yeah, you know, I have had this palm, and palms are usually fast growers. I have one back there that's pretty big, right? Right up there, yeah. So, and it hadn't grown in three years at all, because it was in too big of a pot. So it was surviving the wet, but just not growing. So, what you want is a ratio of two-thirds plant on top to one-third pot below. So you can see, like right there, you see that two-thirds, this plant, there's a dersena, a dersina marginata. Another thing is two-thirds root to one-third soil, too. So mainly root. Yeah, a lot of root. And you'll be surprised when you start to pack in that soil though, that there's still a lot of soil. Because uh, but I also often see the the reverse. And it doesn't even look good. That would be me. It doesn't even look good to have the big pot and the little plant, right? So this is much more, you know, visually appealing as well.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

So that is what really so down potting I mentioned earlier. So if you have a plant that's that you've you you know is has root rot, you would not only take it out and and treat the roots with hydrogen peroxide and get rid of the soil that was there and put it in obviously clean, clean, fresh soil, but you would downpot to that ratio so that the plant is okay. Two-thirds to one-third. Yeah. And you may even bring a lot of times what you'll find plants in the nursery, house plants in the nursery that are in too big of a pot. And the reason they do that is they tend to sell by pot size. So they'll put this little plant in this big pot, and then you bring it home thinking, well, they did, they're the experts. They did this, right? And then the plant will go downhill. So if you get one home like that, you definitely want to downhill pot it. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

Yeah, I've noticed that with uh with lots of plants at the nursery. I'm going, they want this much for this little plant, and the pot's huge, and you go, Well, we're buying the pot, is what we're buying. Yeah. But the same with trees, the boxes they put them in. Have this little tiny tree in this great big box so they can charge more.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

But yeah, well, you know, you gotta make it, you gotta make your money, but stay in business. We do want you to stay in business. But you want your plant to survive, so down pot when you get it home. Down pot.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

That's a new word for me.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

That's I think I may have coined it.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Okay, let's see. So let's talk about some of the features of hard-to-kill houseplants.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Yes, so they're the uh top, some of the top tips, the top things to look for when you have um when when you're looking for the hard-to-kill house plants, and it's really good to start with those, right? Yeah. So um but best in low, lower the lower light, the lower light um plants, things like pothos, cast iron plant, which at which is aspidistra. Uh, we've also got the Dorsinas can grow in low light. Um, peace lily is really cool. One of my absolute favorites is African violets, and people don't realize this, but they bud up in a northern exposure. This is a northern exposure. So this is where I'll but I'll bud them up, and then you can put them around the house, and then you put them back in the northern exposure and get the buds. Yes. And the northern exposure is very low light as well. Uh, there's also fill a lot of the philodendrons will do pretty well in the lower light. Now, lower night, arrowhead vine is another one. Lower light is not necessarily no light, though. So you need you need some light. So if you had a northern exposure window, if you don't, then full spectrum lighting is the answer. And there's tons of really nice um, there's very pretty uh lamps that you can get, but you also you just get a full spectrum bulb and put it in a regular lamp, and that that gives you full spectrum bulb to do it. Oh, that's a good tip. Years ago, it used to be these metal halide lights that were huge and they look like space agey and like yeah, and they were expensive. Yeah, exactly. So nowadays it's just full spectrum bulbs. They they that mimics daylight. So there you go. And you can just get those like at a big box store. Yeah, nowadays they're they're available just about everywhere, yes. So that's the talking about a little bit on the lighting, and so just wanted to mention that because people will have the put plants in a very dark area. If you're not be able to read very well in there, there the plants it needs to photosynthesize, it needs some light. Photosynthesis. So other uh things about the hard-to-kill plants, um not requiring a lot of water or or surviving periods of of some neglect and and drought. Um, sansivaria, for instance, is one. Cactus and succulents do really well if you just forget about them in your house. But there are a lot, quite a few plants that, as I mentioned about watering, that you can go for the you don't need to water the plants as much as you think. Like a lot, depending depending on where it's located in your house and how big of the pot. But uh that but that's uh and I would say also plants that are gonna come back if you do drought them too much, right? Because that's easier than having a plant that you're like, well, this one's toast because it didn't get the water, right? Right. The um, let's see, uh thriving in various environments in your house as well. So the um you could put it in the kitchen, you could put it in the bathroom, you could put it is providing it has enough light.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

So those are the I would say those would be the top, the topic. Yeah, like the maiden hair fern, which I love, which is so dainty and those. Do great in bathrooms because of all the humidity? They do, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

The maidenhair ferns do like bathrooms because you get that burst of humidity when someone's showering or something. And then, yeah, so the maiden hair ferns are tricky. Those are one of the harder ones because one little one little day of not watering them in time, and they they definitely protest. And also they like a lot of humidity. So uh there, so that's um I would say that's the uh the top things.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

So let's talk about some of the different um hard-to-kill plants.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah, so I mentioned pothos, and uh that that one a lot of people know. Um the it's it's it's very easy to grow. It will grow in almost any type of lighting. I have one in my bathroom which doesn't get all that much light that does well, and then I have some out here that that are growing more that grow more. So the the um that's a that's a really good one. One thing to keep in mind, however, with any of these plants, the lower the light that you put them in, even if they are low light plants, they're going to grow a lot more slowly. Okay. So because they don't have that light, they're not photosynthesizing as much. So that's just something to keep in mind. But the but it that's a one, the pothos uh is one that you can keep in that lower light and it'll still be healthy. Another good one, the snake plant, also called mother-in-law tongue. That one's that one's another good one for um uh in terms of being easy to grow. That one you don't want to overlove because you will quit it will quickly succumb to root rot. So it's better to even let it drought. If it does drought, it will get crinkly, but all you have to do is water it, and a week or two later it'll fill back up again. Interestingly, um it was it was classified as a succulent, but it is no longer class classified as a succulent. Yeah, they took it out of I could see where it would be kind of on the border. So that, but it has the same succulent properties. So that's how it was that had that's how it became classified as, you know, and they they do that, they'll reclassify plants, and it gets very confusing. Also known as AKA. Oh, I wondered what happened. Aloe verish, very easy indoors, same thing, providing you don't that is a succulent, providing you don't overwater it. Um, rubber plants, so that Henry is a rubber plant, a rubber tree there. And the they're very easy to grow, really easy to grow. Once again, you can let them kind of go dry. A lot of the plants with the thicker leaves are the ones that you can that that will take a lot more abuse than the thinner. You can think of the maidenhair fern with this very delicate, thin foliage, and then you've got the the things like the rubber tree with very thicker foliage, um, the a lot of philodendrons, there's philodendrons over there, um, some of the dressinus. Oh, Zizi plant is another one for the list. I've got two of them, one here and one there. That that those are great for uh hard to kill and easy to neglect. And actually, they like neglect too. So low amount of watering, only water sometimes. And then Hoyas also are another really beautiful one over there, there, Hing there. That's a variegated one. They're beautiful, and they also they're also known as wax plant, is their common name. And they also, you don't want to overlove them. You they they need to um be uh not watered that often, and and and actually not even you need to have just the right amount of fertilizing for them for them to flower. Too much fertilizing, they get the green, the leaves get too green, they're not going to flower for you either.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

I have one, that is one I have, and it's called a common name is Hindu rope, and it's gotten really long, so I took it outside and hang it from a perch. Nice. And it's it's always it's it gives me good blossoms, and I call it they're like Barbie blossoms because they're they look fake. They're pink and waxy, and they don't look, they look like a Barbie toy. But I take pictures and I send it to my niece who sent me the plant, and they're just they're just beautiful. I I guess also known as porcelain flower.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Right. Those are those are gorgeous. Does that does it smell at night? A lot of times they smell at night. Oh, I'll have to check it out. I haven't gone up to it yet. Yeah, so go go go smell, go smell her tonight. So, yeah, that's another that sounds like a really pretty, really pretty one, too. Yeah. And they do like to be outdoors if they can be in in direct light, like you've done. Yeah, then they they do perform well there too.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

I've had friends take cuttings, and then it seems like it adds more to it, you know. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

Yes, it definitely does when you when you um when you do a little pruning. Um, I'll see another good one, uh, Swiss cheese plant, also caught called Monstera Deliciosa. Um, that one is, and I have one over there actually, and I have another one somewhere else. The uh that one is pretty easy to grow, despite how or exotic it looks. Uh, so that's another good one. Jade plant, one over there too. Those are very easy to grow. Another succulent that you can pretty much forget about, and and and just as long as you don't overwater them.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

I was just gonna mention kind of a point of interest when I was looking up some information on the Monstera or the Swiss cheese. It said that the reason Mother Nature had made the little slits in it is so that it's from, I guess, tropical areas where heavy rains would break the branches. Yeah. So this way the rain just goes through and it doesn't harm the plants. I thought that was a really interesting little tidbit on that.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Yeah, it's very cool, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 27:51

Yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Actually, a lot of house plants are from the jungle floors and they grow in the understory or they grow up into the trees like the Monsteras do. And so that's uh that's their origin. So I always tell people to think of how you can replicate what's where they're from as much as possible because that's when you'll have the the best look. That's probably the best tip of all.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

You just go by that rule of thumb, that'd be great.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

And then we also mentioned peace lily is also a really easy one too.

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Yeah. And I understand it's it's a symbolic plant. It was discovered growing wild in Columbia in the 19th century, and it carries this symbol of um sympathy, healing, hope, purity, and of course peace. And they say that it's commonly given as uh a gift to someone that has lost a loved one. Sometimes a card just doesn't feel like enough. So a peace lily would be really a nice little gift for them.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

Definitely. Yeah, it's very common for that. I'll often have people ask me how they can save their peace lily that they got at their someone's funeral. Oh, yeah. Uh and they unfortunately it is easier one, one of the easier ones to save, too. So I think they sometimes call it the resurrection plant as well.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

Oh, that's funny. Also, a reminder that as a community service, we offer a hotline where you can email questions along with a photo if possible to get answers based on research by the UC scientist. So please see our website. Just Google Master Gardeners of Orange County, but be sure and put California in there because several other states have Orange Counties, and we've gotten calls from people that are calling from Florida or New York. So and now, once again, this is the in the garden show. Today we're talking about indoor plants with Julie Bodden Davis. Now back to our show. Julie.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Okay, so let's see.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

We left off with peace lily.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Yes, so that's and the um cast iron plant as pedistra is another really nice one that is also hard to kill, pretty easy to grow. And the Dracinas. Yeah, I don't like Dracinas. Yes, Drecinas, that they're so I I love them because of their versatile, because they're easy to grow, also their versatility. Uh, there's so many variegated forms, and I have quite a few of them. So this is the um uh the this one here is kind of more the common one that you see. It's Dracina fragrance. Uh, and that one actually, when in when it becomes an adult, it will flower indoors. Yeah. And it it's you'll know it is flowering because you'll walk into your house one night and think, oh my gosh, what is that lovely scent? And where is it coming from? The first time it happened to me years ago, I had I did have a larger one. Uh, it um it was like I it took me a while to figure out what was happening because I didn't know where the beautiful scent was coming from. And then there's uh you can see tons of there's there's white, there's white outlines on the on the leaves. That's the there's the Dreusina Janet Craig, which has a deeper green. Um, then there's also the Warneckee variety, and then uh there's a bunch, you know, see with the strappy leaves, the Madagascar dragon tree is also a Dracina, so there's quite a few Drusinas uh with, like I said, different patterns, different shape, different leaf sizes, and that sort of thing. So it's a really, really good plant. Are they all tropical? Creature the I think so. I'd have to check on that for sure, though. Yeah. I I I think it varies somewhat. I think they're very common throughout the world. Now, is the the Dracina, is this a good one that likes to be root bound? Yeah, so the Dracinas can go, can be pretty, pretty root bound for quite a while. They'll keep going for you. Will they do a little bit better if they're not? Yes, but they can, they can.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

Yeah, because mine is really it's really tall and it's in the same pot that I've had it in. So uh I'm gonna try transplanting.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

So see, yeah. So they the but they yeah, they're pretty, they're pretty easy. Like because that's the ease of growth, too, is not having to repot would be another good thing.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

And you say only one size larger at a time.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Right, one size larger. If yeah, and you may even find out when you open when you when you get thing the plant out of there that it should go back in the same size, the same pot. And you all you're doing is is basically repoting into the same pot with fresh soil. Fresh soil. Because if you determine that when you do that, well, I don't think this bigger pot is, I think this bigger pot is just too big than just put it in the same size pot. Okay, good tip. The dum cane, um I think you were gonna mention that about cane.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Oh yeah, I wondered about the name, and they said it's because it's poisonous to humans and dogs and cats if you ingest it, um, because it inhibits speech. So you kind of go down, I guess gap and dumb. And it's also another name for it is the leopard lily. Um, and I was surprised it it grows fast, up to two feet a year. It's a tropical plant. And but it does get spider mites. Can you describe spider mites? Because I have a hard time with those. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

These the spider mites are they're basically mites. They are mites, but they look like spiders. Okay. And they, if the a good way to see one thing you'll see is you'll see cobwebs on the plant, because they make like spiders, they make little cobwebs. And then the other the other way you can determine if you have them is take a white piece of paper and shake the plant over it. And if you see a bunch of little things running around, those are those are probably spider mites. Spider mites thrive in dry conditions. So if you can keep things humidified, then that helps them. Yeah. They well, if you think about spiders, you find them, you'll find them in dry areas in the outside in the garden where they're yeah. So the um you horticultural uh horticultural oils can kill them. Um neem oil. I really like neem oil because it's it's derived from the neem tree. The it will kill the pests on contact in terms of suffocation, but also what it does is it will prevent the the adults from females from procreating, basically. Yeah. So that it helps it, it it has so it has a lot of good properties there. Um, and then the uh soap sprays, those help as well. So, but uh and get but giving the plant a bath on a regular basis and humidifying with uh with the humid with humidity in some way, um, you can uh mist them. That helps keep the spider mites at bay. Talk a little bit about the dum cane. So, the dumb, what happens is with the dum cane, and there there are actually quite a few houseplants that have this problem, but dum cane is one of the worst. It has oxalic crystals and another something that's escaping me, another something else, a property that's in the leaves. And what it can do is it will inflame and hurt the vocal cords, the mouth, and everything, so you can't speak.

SPEAKER_03 35:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Um, it it actually so that's why it's called dum cane, and it's actually has kind of a little bit of a dark history because they used it in time ancient time, or a long time ago, to basically punish slaves, things like that. Yeah, so not that so that that's what it has, but but it's a beautiful plant, so but you just as long as you keep in mind, you don't want to take a bite out of it, most people aren't. Yeah, however, pets may and little children, so you do want to watch that plant in particular. And then there are, like I said, there are others, but um, and then when you're when you're pruning it back or something, wash wash your hands afterwards. Think about don't rub your eyes after, you know, something like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

Okay. So let's see. Now let's talk more about the uh easy to care for plants, but the tree-like indoor plants, like the parlor palm. Is that one behind you there?

SPEAKER_01 36:24

Yeah, so there's a parlor palm. Yep, that's the really nice, easy. And the Dracinas get very large. Um we also have fiddly fig. I've got one around the corner there and over there. They get very tall and pretty. That's the uh those are really fun. Ficus benjamina, there's one over there, and then I have a smaller one too. The Ficus benjamina is really nice because it um it really does feel like a tree. Like of all the the houseplants you can grow, it has more of a tree-like uh feel to it, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:01

Now, one thing I noticed about it is if you move it, it loses all its leaves. And I thought I killed it. Well, it takes a while, but it seems like it eventually will come back.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Yes, exactly. That that that one is uh notorious, the fight because Benjamin is notorious for protesting when you move it. Yeah, do not move it a little bit. And you scare and then scaring you. Very much. You could try. I have tried before, and it has actually helped, telling it, look, we're just I'm just I'm I'm because I do talk to my plants. Look, this is just a this is for your own good. Please don't lose your leaves.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

Yeah, because you've spent all this time, you know, a couple years or more, you know, tending it, and then all of a sudden you have to move it.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

And then it it uh so then when that happens, you want to cut back on watering some since it doesn't have all the leaves to go, and then let it as it and then you'll see it'll decide to not be unhappy with you. Promise it won't you won't move it again, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

Yeah, that's it. So yeah, that would make sense. If it has less leaves, you need a lot less water.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

So then uh the other ficus, too. There's uh there besides that well uh the rubber tree is ficus uh uh ficus elastica, there's ficus audrey is another one, so that's another really pretty one. So the phy and ficus are pretty fast growing as well. So um those those are good ones for the colour. So it's hard to get fast growing, that would be a good one. And uh yuckas can be grown indoors as well very successfully, and they get nice and tall. The ponytail palm is is can get with a more mature plant, can get to a really good size. I do have one of those. And well, big caveat with that one is not to overwater that one because that the cottacks is the base, is that the big bowl, but the that is full of water, so it it it's self-contained. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so that one you want to let go dry like uh like succulents. Okay and cactus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

So that covers a lot of the good to know.

SPEAKER_02 39:07

Yeah, so that covers a lot of the hard to or easy to hard to kill plants. Yeah. Easy to keep, hard to kill.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

Um arrowhead vine, I would add to the list too. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Do you have one here?

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Yes, actually, there's one right there.

SPEAKER_02 39:22

That's it.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Oh yeah, it's shaped like it's the one that shaped the phone. Yeah, it's shaped like an arrow, yeah. And then there's ones that have pink in them and a lighter green and a darker green. I have another one that has some um some uh some pink in it as well. So that's uh that's a really nice one as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Any other ones that you'd like to add to I know there was a long list, but do you have a favorite?

SPEAKER_01 39:46

Looks like you got lots of Yeah, I guess it would be hard for me to choose a favorite. Uh yeah, I think. The um what's this one down here? Is that the prayer plant? So let me see. Is it on the oh yes, that's the prayer plant. Yes, the prayer plant. Um, that one is is a little more tricky. Uh I'm glad you mentioned the prayer plant, however, because one of the key things for keeping the prayer plant healthy is that you want to um make sure to use reverse osmosis or distilled or rain water. Oh. Because it's very sensitive to to things in in in in water, including um chlorine, fluoride, chloride. There's chloramine apparently as well, as if uh I've been told. Um, and you can get rid of the chlorine by letting it sit for the 24 hours, but you can't get rid of the other things. So that's will your they those plants go downhill very quickly when they're when you use um just regular tap water on them. Okay. So distilled water for the prayer plant. Yeah, distilled or reverse osmosis is good too. It takes out the the and the the minerals and things. Uh so that's that's something to keep in mind. Caladiums are nice and calatheas as well. I love calatheas. Calatheas are in the same category, needing to use that distilled water. What's their common name? The uh uh calathea. Actually, the that's pretty much their common name is calathea. That's funny how there's some plants that they just never get a call, they never get a common name, or if it is, it's not as widely known. Right. Uh, but you know, as you you know, as a as a master gardener, it's better to have the botanical anyway, because you're there's so many trumpet vines out there. How which one is it, right? Or whichever, right?

unknown 41:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

Okay. Well, how about uh we talk about some spring gardening chores for houseplants?

SPEAKER_01 41:55

Yes, so that's really, really good. The repotting is which we've already talked about some. Um, it spring is an ideal time to repot your houseplants. It's the best time of year. As I mentioned, winter isn't a great time because plants aren't actively growing at that time, so you have a lot more chance of having transplant shock at that time. But in spring, the plants are ready, they're they're they're getting ready to grow and they're and you give them some new soil. Uh and what you want is a really good, I like organic potting soils uh with make sure they have good drainage as well, some added drainage as well. And when you put that plant into the soil at its prime growth time, it's just game on. I'm gonna grow crazy for you because you've just given me this wonderful new soil to grow in. So that's a really good thing to do. Some pruning at this time of year, too, if there's things that you if maybe if a plant's getting a little too unwieldy or a little uh top heavy, or if it's getting a little, there's too much growth on this side that you're not as balanced. One thing, however, when you prune houseplants, you don't want to prune by more than one third at a time. And once again, be careful when you do that, that you don't you don't uh mess up the three-quarter, one one, yeah, yeah. That I mean two-thirds to one third is what I should say. Right. The two-thirds to one third for most plants. Uh the the plants that like to go pot bound would be more like three-quarter to one quarter. But that's another. So that the and fertilizing, you can start fertilizing again in the spring because it's best not to fertilize in the winter as well. Uh looking for pests and diseases, giving them baths. Those are some really good things to do at this time of year.

SPEAKER_02 43:48

Oh, one thing, um, going back to the Dracina when you're talking about pruning. Uh I had a friend that his Dracina got too tall, so he clipped the top like, I don't know, six. 12 inches off and stuck that in a pot and it's not dying, it's alive. I don't know if it'll grow or not, but what do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 44:09

So the best thing to do if you would because Dracinas will get tall, and there are other plants that will get very tall as well. The best thing to do is to what's known as air layer the plant. And the process is that so you've got that tall stem, you want to right above a stem node, you know, those bumps and the where the the new that those bumps in there, those are stem nodes. They can also be root nodes, some very similar, and they have oxens in them which are which are um rooting hormones basically. So what you do to air layer the plant, and this will uh make sure that you have that the plant will be the new plant that you're cutting off will be healthy, is you you cut a notch in there, and then you put in rooting hormone powder in there, and you put a spagnum moss around it, moisten it, put it around it, and put a plastic bag around that, and then roots form on the top part. Okay, and then you cut it off at that point, and then you have a new plant with roots. Okay. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 45:19

The roots are coming out, so you cut below the roots and move it into a new pot.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

Yeah. Okay. And then you've got you've saved that top part, and then the uh then the part the plant that's left is going to start branching out from where you've cut it, providing you've cut it right above a root node. Above a root node.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

Okay, I've got to remember that.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

I'll probably go up today tomorrow and do that to one of my Dracinas. So that's great information. Okay, let's see. We've got about 10 more minutes. Okay. What about fertilizing, the organic ones? That's a big one.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

Fertilizing is really important. The and as I mentioned earlier, the a lot of the the growers will use chemical fertilizers, which are very high in nutrients, to get them to grow very quickly, but it's not it's not a really good way to sustain the plants. Um, and you have more of a chance of root rot and chemical burn on the on the roots because of that, too. So you can recognize the chemical fertilizer with with the higher NPK ratio, 30, 30, 30, 40, 40, 40, 50, 50, 50. It's kind of like where they talk about for you take too many vitamins, they're gonna come out somewhere. Yeah. So it's it's it's even just overkill anyway. Uh something under 10, 10, 10 or under is generally organic. And as I mentioned earlier, you want to mimic mother nature as much as possible, right? So mother nature is not using chemical fertilizers. What happens in nature actually is humic acid. So leaves fall and they decompose, they create humic acid, and that feeds the roots. So humic acid is something that you can buy in as a part of fertilizer, um it, or you can even buy it separately as well. So that's you can see, look for that humic acid on the fertilizer, the guano, so it's natural things that are out there, right? Bat guano, bird guano. We know that they're out in nature and they're just there, the animals are fertilizing the plants, right? Right. Um, then there's things like green sand, which is a good uh good thing for um for houseplants as well. Green sand. Yeah, and that's uh, I believe it's it's mined from the, I don't know if it, I don't know if it's near oceans. I'd I'd have to check into that for sure, but it has some it has some micronutrients. So what you're looking for is not only the macronutrients, but the micronutrients as well. Right. The um, let's see, you the one thing you I organically you probably wouldn't want to use indoors is fish emulsion. It's pretty smelly. Oh yeah. However, the kelps that I mentioned earlier, there's there's kelp uh fertilizers that are very uh they come in liquid form and and and and otherwise to in the granular as well. So as I mentioned, mimicking mother nature as much as possible. And what happens when you do that is you create a self-sustaining environment for the houseplant in the soil. And the soil is what you want to keep healthy. So you're feeding the soil, and when you do that, you don't have to fertilize as much. Because what happens with the chemical fertilizers is they're used up and then the plant needs more, so you kind of get them hooked, right? But when you have all these natural uh an alfalfa meal was the natural growth hormone, that's also a fertilizer to add to the bone meal is good for the um, especially for for fruiting and flowering plants, but every plant needs a little it's some as well. So you don't really need to fertilize that much when you fertilize organically.

SPEAKER_02 49:05

How often do you fertilize?

SPEAKER_01 49:08

Every three, four months. Like once a quarter. Yeah, about once a quarter, yeah. Every week every two weeks. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, about once a quarter, yeah. And then even there's some plants that can go a little bit longer. So it's not you're not constantly doing that. Yeah. Good to know. Yeah. Humidity. Do you want me to touch on humidity? So humidity is is one area where a plant not necessarily is going to not die if it doesn't have enough humidity, but you're going to have a lot of growth problems when the humidity is just too low. Brown leaf tips are a sign of low humidity. They can be a sign of other things. They can be a sign of fertilizer burn. Fertilizer burn, uh, just stepping back big from that, will not only kill back off roots and can cause root rot, but it can also cause crispy edges and tips as well. So that's something to keep in mind with the fertilizer aspect. But also with the humidity, the uh it's you're gonna get the brown leaf tips, you're gonna get some leaf loss, the plants just not gonna be that healthy. So there's different ways you can humidify plants. Misting, but you need to mist a few times a day. You can't mist like once a week because it's just it humidifies the air for a little bit and then it's gone again. Uh uh the uh some people do use humidifiers, they you know, and they're very dedicated to their plants. I'll say the uh also um pebble trays where you put a little bit of water underneath the pebbles or the marbles, and they that will humidify the air a little bit around the plant. And my favorite is getting more plants because plants transpire. We perspire, they transpire. When they transpire, they emit moisture into the air. So the plants will humidify each other. So that's great. So you can even tell with a hygrometer, and a hygrometer is a good tool to have, they're very inexpensive. It will give you the relative humidity in the room as well as the temperature in the room. And you can put, like if I put one in here right now, it'll be about 50% humidity because of all the plants, and even sometimes it'll go up even higher than that, too. The the good range for humidity to keep most houseplants really happy is um no lower than 45, and 45 is a little low. Uh, sweet spot is really like 50 to 50 to 60-ish, but 45 to 55 is good. If you get lower than the 45 on a continual basis, you're gonna have humidity problems. So you're gonna want to look at ways to humidify. And some plants that certain plants like are more need more humidity than others as well. That's a really good tip.

SPEAKER_02 51:53

I had not heard that, but I love the way you can just make a little neighborhood of plants and they'll give each other.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

So you say, I have to go out and buy more. It's you know, and my plants need more humidity. Right. Staking. Staking is something. So some plants need staking. There's different reasons for staking. Certain plants need staking because we want them to grow upright in our home environment, and orchids are a good uh example of that. Because naturally, out in their native habitats in the jungles, they grow upside down from trees. That's how orchids generally grow. You can see some over there, and they're actually growing more naturally, like hanging, they hang down. However, in our homes, generally we want them to grow upright. So we'll put like a stake in there, and there's curved stakes for the phalanopsis, is this one here, um, which is just finishing a bloom, but that will hold it up so that you can see it. So basically, it's so I can see that philodendrons also, the the uh the bigger leaved ones, those we you kind of need to stake so that you can, they're upright. But then there's other things that will get top heavy that you just want to keep up so they don't come out of their pot. And and and and diffimbachia actually will get pretty, pretty top heavy too. So when you do stake, you want to be careful when you put it into the soil, and you also want to tie with green tie tape, it's stretchy green garden tie tape, because if you use something like metal, something that's that the it can it it can uh work its way into the trunk of the plant, it can even there. Yeah, it can it's called girdling and it can even kill the plant. So you want to be careful with that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:40

Right. Oh, let's talk about gifts for the garden and your gardener in your life.

SPEAKER_01 53:45

Yeah, so gifts for the gardener in your life, of course, houseplants. And then you could start if they're new to gardening, indoor gardening, you could also you could start with the easy to grow ones. And uh there's also uh a very a lot of really nice um uh plants that are on trellises and that sort of thing. Um the ivies are very common for that. They are a little more difficult to grow, though, so that's something to keep in mind. I would I would keep with the the just more standard, easier to grow plants. You can and you can dress them up with ribbons and bows and and little and little there's really nice little figurines and things now.

SPEAKER_02 54:32

Especially around Thanksgiving. You can put herbs together in a basket or something and then get the fall colored ribbon, and you can do that for any holiday. It's so fun and pretty. Yeah. Exactly. And I see you have a mister here, and I have to tell you about my mister. I got it as a gift, uh-huh, and it's so beautiful. It it's by an artist in Denmark. Oh, it's uh stainless steel, and it goes up like this. It has a long neck, and it's so beautiful. I think it's a piece of sculpture, so I just keep it in my living room, out in my living room. I would put it away in the cabinet. Well, I wouldn't. I would definitely, yeah, definitely. So I just had to share it. Show that off. That's nice. So uh one last thing. I think it would be really fun to uh people to know about uh fragrance, where fragrance comes and goes. Because I went to the Huntington and they had all those rose bushes, but it was late and it was warm, and not one of them had any fragrance. And then I read this and I thought that's why, that's how it's happening.

SPEAKER_01 55:32

Yeah, so when the when a plant's essential oils evaporate and the molecules are released into the air, that's when you smell it. And as I mentioned earlier, so the the uh the um with with your with your Hoya, sometimes it only happens in at dusk or in the evening. So it just depends on when the plant's going to release those molecules into the air. And interestingly, the white and pastel blooms tend to be the most fragrant. Um and pale pink is is um is is very fragrant as well. When you see when you see things like the bright orange and the crimson and things like that, they may look really nice and eye-catching, but they usually don't have very much smell. So that happens sometimes with the roses too, depending on the roses. And the the flowers, the fragrant flowers, they produce the scent to attract bees and discourage pests. Um so, you know, of course, it's nice for us to be able to smell them, but uh if you do smell one that doesn't, you'll know that it has it's do it has other it has other things that it's doing.

SPEAKER_02 56:40

Right, right. Well, gosh, it's been great spending the hour with you. We've covered a lot and this has been a lot of fun. Well, I thank you for your time and your knowledge. And we I need to let our listeners know that we have a hotline for any questions. Just Google Master Gardeners of Orange County, and there's lots of information there, along with uh how to get in touch with our hotlines. So bye, everybody.