THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9701310089
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 104 lines
WE SET SUCH high expectations for our houseplants - demanding parents that we are.
No matter how green our thumbs, we are asking a lot of any plant when we bring it home to live as we humans do.
The word, houseplant, is a misnomer because houseplants are primarily tropical plants that we take hostage and exile to a dry, unnatural habitat.
``Houseplants have to adjust to your environment,'' said Yvonne Thibeault, assistant propagator at Norfolk Botanical Garden, who works with the plants in the garden's Tropical Pavilion.
Houseplants try mightily to adapt to less light and lower humidity than they would have in the wild or, for that matter, in the greenhouse. Each also must adjust to temperatures that suit the humans in the household, Thibeault said.
And houseplants must conform to a life of captivity. Instead of growing free, snaking their way through the earth, an incarcerated houseplant's roots must go round and round in the confined quarters of a pot.
As proof, Thibeault picked up a leaf from a golden pothos, a plant found in many home hanging baskets. The houseplant variety's variegated yellow and green leaf is normally 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.
But Thibeault's beauty was raised in the Tropical Pavilion in conditions that are designed to replicate its natural home. Some of its leaves are more than a foot and half long and a foot across.
``That's because it has good light and high humidity,'' Thibeault explained. ``And its roots can spread.''
It's a small wonder that plants grow in our homes at all. Yet they do, and Thibeault has some suggestions for low-maintenance plants that even the palest green thumbs among us can enjoy.
A hardy cast iron plant is every man's houseplant, she said. The plant with its long, lanced-shaped, dark green leaves will exist for years in dark corners and the like, not growing much, but not complaining or dying either.
``It will stay confined and you cannot kill it,'' Thibeault said. ``In sun or shade, with too much water or two little, it's still fine.''
Another hardy houseplant is a birdnest snake plant. It requires only filtered light. The only thing you can do wrong is overwater, Thibeault advised.
If you have a heavy hand with the watering can, try a papyrus. Often grown as a water plant, papyrus also can grow in pots. They require a lot of light, but you can't overwater them, Thibeault said.
Ferns should not be allowed to dry out either. Thibeault favors bear's foot ferns, which are good floor plants with long fronds. Their fuzzy bear feet rise up out of the earth giving a soft mossy look to the soil.
Those who don't like to go to the trouble of repotting can try a ponytail palm, she added. It only needs repotting every four to five years. It's an interesting looking plant too with its big round trunk that rises up above the earth and the ``pony tail'' that comes out of the top. Beware, this is s plant that overwatering can kill.
Whether we go for houseplants that suit our style of parenting or not, we need to give them all a break. Lighten up our demands and heed Thibeault's tips.
Remember, houseplants are doing their blooming best on foreign soil. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The Virginian-Pilot
Yvonne Thibeault, assistant propagator at Norfolk Botanical Garden,
shows off the lush foliage of plants grown in garden's Tropical
Pavilion, where climate simulates natural growing conditions.
FIVE PLANTS YOU MAY WANT TO TRY
[Color Photos]
LOGEE'S GREENHOUSES
Brugmansia "Sunray"
Scutellaria Costaricana
"Maid of Orleans" Jasmine
"Tickled Pink" Rex
ATLANTIC GARDEN CENTER
Chinese Evergreen
TIPS FOR HEALTHY HOUSEPLANTS
Yvonne Thibeault, assistant propagator at Norfolk Botanical
Garden, offers these tips for growing houseplants successfully:
Don't buy a plant because of the way it looks; buy it because it
can live in certain conditions.
Use a light meter, available at garden centers, to determine the
light levels around the house and purchase plants accordingly.
Water plants less in winter, because their growth slows. A
wilted plant can indicate too much or too little water.
Don't fertilize in winter unless leaves are yellowing. Then use
a weak solution of liquid feed that brings out the green quickly.
As a general rule, Thibeault prefers slow-release fertilizer
pellets. The more expensive the pellets, the longer they last.
Dust off the plant leaves, not only for looks, but because
dusting maximizes the plant's photosynthesis.
When plants are brought inside after the summer, check the soil
and leaves for caterpillars, eggs and other signs of pests.
Re-pot when roots begin to come out of the bottom of the pot or
when the plant wilts quickly after watering. It's best to re-pot in
the spring or at least when the plant is not blooming.
If a plant is supposed to flower and doesn't, it's probably
because it doesn't have enough light.
The secret to ferns is high humidity; don't let roots dry out.
After a cyclamen or gloxinia finishes blooming, don't toss it
out. Let it go dormant and it will bloom again.