Easter lilies have a grace and beauty that is their own. They also signify spring and are an extremely popular Easter flower. Their pretty blooms and amazing fragrance fills any home or garden with beauty.
photo credit: Koshyk

Forcing the lily to bloom in early spring for the Easter holiday makes the lily plant seem rather fragile. Forcing a plant takes a toll and the response is fast flowers and blooms but also the fast decline in the plant. But with a few simple steps the life of the lily can be extended for you to enjoy longer.

First, choose a healthy plant with dark green foliage. You will also want the flowers to be in various stages of bloom. The plant should have 2 to 3 partly opened flowers and several unopened buds. These buds will bloom in the next several days.

The decorative foil around the plant’s pot adds more flair to the flower arrangement but it will need to be removed for the health of the plant. Water the plant when the soil feels dry, but do not over water. Also make sure the plant does not sit in standing water. This is why I always set a plant on pebbles and plant tray.

For the best watering results, hold the lily plant over a sink and allow the water to drain out through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Using this method you will the soil has been well saturated and that the plant is properly drained.

Easter lilies thrive in cooler temperatures around 60 to 65 degrees so keep the plants away from a heater. Also avoid sitting them in a drafty area. I place my lily plants in front of a window in bright, indirect sunlight. Do not keep the plant in direct sunlight.

Also remove any flowers that have started to wither. Even withering flowers take energy and the small buds will be affected.

As beautiful as the lily is the plant is very toxic to cats so place the plant out of reach of any small animal or child.

After the lily plant has died down, pull off the dead stems and let set for a few weeks. Lilies will re-flower if left alone or planted outdoors. They are actually a hardy plant and can grow up to eight foot tall in the right environment. So save the bulbs for later planting as  the lily is a beautiful plant and adds to any garden.

Technorati Tags: flowers, indoor plants, plant care

Growing different or unique plants adds a certain challenge to your plant and garden areas. It’s also a learning experience as you learn about new plants, their care and often the history that surrounds the plant.  Children also learn from a plant terrarium as they care for a watch a living “plant” grow.
photo credit: Just chaos

A very interesting terrarium is one set up with carnivorous plants. Most carnivorous plants are native to the United States. With their tropical look this fact surprises many people. And they are one of the more difficult plant varieties to grow. But growing them in a terrarium creates an atmosphere they like and it is a fun project to try.

Supplies needed for your Carnivorous Plant terrarium

·    Activated charcoal
·    Distilled water
·    Glass container – fish tank or unique glass bowls make great terrariums
·    Gravel
·    Several carnivorous plants
·    Sphagnum peat moss
·    Insects such as crickets or flies

Choose a glass container for your terrarium. If you have a lot of plants you may want a fish tank. I pick up my glass containers at garage sales and auctions and I look for interesting shapes. Your Carnivorous plants will need a lot of humidity, so the container should have a lid.

Next add a layer of gravel of loose pebbles or gravel to the bottom of your terrarium. The layer should be an inch deep. Then top the gravel with about 1/2 inch of activated charcoal. This absorbs any odors in the tank.
photo credit: ljmacphee

Cover the gravel and charcoal with a layer of sphagnum peat moss. Next I add about three inches of unfertilized soil. My friend told me many years ago to using sphagnum peat moss with silica sand or medium grade orchid bark. This mix will create an acidic soil that carnivorous plants like.

Add distilled water to the peat moss and mix until it turns black.  Then you will want to mix in the sand or bark. This creates a bog type soil that the plants need to thrive.

Now comes the fun part. Adding the plants! These are a few carnivorous plants that you might select for the terrarium: Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia Californica); North American Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia); Australian Pitcher Plant (Cephalotus Follicularis); South American Sun Pitchers (Heliamphora); Sundew (Drosera); Bladderwort (Utricularia); Butterwort (Pinguicula); and the most well known carnivorous plant, the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). These plants can be ordered from garden suppliers or bought at larger garden centers or greenhouses.

Water your terrarium well with distilled water. This is important. The other types of water contain minerals and additives that could stunt plant growth or kill your plants.

You will want to place the terrarium in a spot with bright light where the temperature should average 65 to 75 degrees during the day and 55 to 65 degrees at night.

Tip: Carnivorous plants do not tolerate low light levels or high temperatures. The area also should not be drafty. Since carnivorous plants need plenty of light but will overheat if placed in direct sunlight, you may need to supplement lighting by using a good quality florescent light.

Your plants will need to be fed about once a month. They will eat either live or dead ants, flies or crickets. Children enjoy a carnivorous terrarium and will learn a lot from this project.

Technorati Tags: indoor plants, plant care, venus flytrap plant

Every gardener has one or two garden projects or some plant they don’t like to grow. For me it is “root crops.” Beets, onions, carrots, potatoes, etc… It’s not so much I don’t like to grow them, it’s that I don’t like to harvest them. I put it off until the last minute and either the weather turns cold and rainy or I forget about them completely. 
photo credit: Matt Biddulph

In the last few years I have solved the problem. My root crops are grown in containers and harvesting is as easy as tipping or dumping a container or bushel basket. This works particularly well with potatoes, which can get damaged while digging up. Plus digging potatoes is hard on the back.

My other favorite crops to plant in containers are carrots. When you grow carrots in a container they grow straight because there are no rocks in the soil. You can also cover the container with cheesecloth or mesh if white flies bother them. One other thing about growing carrots in a container is if you have a persistent rabbit that wants to dine on your crop, you can set it up out of reach.

Beets harvest quickly in containers, as do onions. And because I like my gardens to be fun I usually arrange my containers in artistic forms or mix what I plant in each container so that they are pleasing to the eye. Theses vegetable root crops will look nice with flowers added a few herbs and a hanging vine.

Container growing tips

As when anytime you plant in a container you will need to check the water to make sure the vegetables are not too dry. Container pots will dry out faster. I always mulch any container garden pot and usually add a plastic cut off bottle into the soil to help direct the water down to the roots where it is needed the most.

One other helpful hint for containers is that if the container is a deep one I will place quite a lot of straw in the bottom. The straw will help hold moisture in the soil, make the container garden lighter and will break down over the summer months and add nutrients to the soil.
photo credit: kthread

Give roots crops a try in containers and let me know how it works for you. It’s been very successful for me and easier than planting in the ground or even raised beds.