I’m trying something different here at

The Gardeners Rake.

You see its snowing out and its way too cold (7 degrees) and I would rather be out playing in garden dirt. So, I’ll have to play with my indoor plants instead.

So tell me what your favorite indoor plant is and ask a question if you have one. Or tell me about your favorite plant.

photo credit: idalingi

Here’s a tip my neighbor gave me about African Violets. They grow best in a window with northern lighting. My neighbor, Irma, always had the most amazing African Violets and it was a plant I struggled to grow.

So I switched my plants to a window in the north and the plants recovered and were beautiful.

Send me a comment, story or a question about indoor plants and lets see where it leads.

Technorati Tags: ask a question about indoor plants, indoor plants

At this time of year my gardening turns to indoor plants. Flowers, vegetables and house plants get all my attention.

photo credit: sausagecemetery

Over the years, one of my favorite plants has become the Aspidistra, which is commonly known as the Cast Iron plant. This plant will beautify any dark room or corner. And in my home this is a plus for the rooms on the north side.

Many gardening experts describe the Aspidistra as one of the toughest and most adaptable house plants. Its long blades of slender dark green or variegated dark green and white leaves shoot straight out from the soil but in clumps and up to 75 cm in height and 15 cm wide.

It is such a low maintenance plant that it only needs very low light, average temperature and humidity and just occasional watering. This is truly the perfect plant for hard to grow homes or for the person who has a brown thumb.

Low-light plants are usually defined as those that can survive in 25 to 75 foot candles – that is, a spot that is 4 to 5 meters from a bright window, just enough light to read by comfortably, but where artificial lighting switched on by day would give a brightening effect.

photo credit: marc kjerland

You can easily find the Aspidistra in your local garden center nursery. In addition, here are suggestions for five other plants that will suit very low light situations:

Aglonema (Chinese Evergreen) which are among the few plants that prefer only moderate light and adapt well to low light. It has large dark green oval then tapering leathery leaves later developing a caney base.

Drachaena deremensis varieties (also know as Happy or Fortune Plants) which are slender leafed and usually white variegated. The Drachaena family are caney plants crested with decorative rosettes of straplike foliage.

Holly fern which adapts to low light and Boston fern a fishbone type of fern that will remain in low light for many months but need a spell in brighter light to rejuvenate.

Neanthe Bella or Parlor Palm, which is more suited to low light situations than most palms.

Sanseviera (also known as Mother-In-Law’s Tongue) which stands low to very bright light has waxy, erect straplike leaves usually with cream-colored margins and an unusual banding of the grey-green center.

If you are finding it difficult to find a plant that will brighten up that dark corner, why not try one of these hardy favorites of mine?

Indoor plants add to any home and they also have health benefits so talk to your local garden center and adopt a plant today.

Technorati Tags: garden plant, indoor plants, plant nursery, plants for low light conditions

The Staghorn fern has always been a favorite plant of mine and once you get used to its care it’s easy to grow. My biggest mistake with my first one was over watering it. I called a friend of mine who owns a greenhouse and she helped me set up a good watering and care system for my zone 5 climate. I still have the plant to this day and have removed many new plants from the original.
photo credit: robstephaustralia

I have had many questions about the Staghorn fern. I have written two articles before,  Indoor Plants: The Staghorn Fern and its Care, and the other, How to Grow and Ariel Theme Garden. 

But recently I had a question on how to divide a Staghorn fern that was bought in a pot. Some people grow the Staghorn ferns this way and they are beautiful.  The question was how to divide a plant that was bought this way and place it on a board.

I also like the look of the Staghorn fern on a piece of wood and to me it adds to my home décor and can be hung anywhere where the growing conditions are correct. In warmer climates many people hang them on fences or trees and leave them out year round.

If you get a Staghorn in a pot and want to divide it and place it on a board you need to check the plant and make sure any division or “pup” as they are referred to has at least two fronds or stems. Division is best done in the spring or summer when the sterile “shield” fronds are brown.

First thoroughly water the Staghorn to be divided. Next, use a sharp knife and cut through the sterile fronds at an equal distance between the parent plant and the pup. I pack wet moss around the new section of the plant immediately and also pack the area with moss where I removed the small plant form the original. This encourages new root growth and keeps the area from drying out.

Make sure the pup is oriented (placed up) the same as it was on the parent plant when placing the plant on a board.

Squeeze most of the water out of the moss and pack it around the pup. Using the fishing line, cross back and forth tightly over the shield on the pup, close to the fronds, hooking the line around the nails. When it is securely fastened tie the end onto one of the nails. Using the technique described above apply a “patch” of moss into the area where you removed the pup from the parent plant.

Your new plant should thrive. And if by change you need to wait for a bit for you plants to develop more fronds before separating they will do well in a hanging pot. Care for them as you would a plant placed on a board