The Unexpected Houseplant: 220 Extraordinary Choices for Every Spot in Your Home by Martin Tovah

Author:Martin, Tovah [Martin, Tovah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: 2013-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

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Primroses are spring’s happiest moment. And that’s why everyone absolutely needs a container of Primula denticulata ‘Confetti Blue’ and Primula denticulata ‘Rubins’ close by.

SPRING AGENDA

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Pity the poor shirkers in spring, because their picture will not be pretty. All the plants that were not repotted in a timely fashion last spring and summer will haunt them. All the pots fitted with insufficiently wide saucers will overflow. All the plants that are not watered will wilt, wilt again, and come down with aphids. Spring is an unforgiving season.

The key to spring, as I see it, is twofold. First, you must deliver water on a timely basis, or else. A stressed plant is a sitting duck for all sorts of problems (and spring seems to be a hotbed for issues to flourish). Second, you have to throw open your windows generously and without dallying or undue deliberation. Toasty is not the way to go in spring. Hesitate too long in the ventilation department, and the repercussions might reverberate far beyond just some uncomfortably stuffy situations. In spring, prudence will get you insects.

But why am I harping on this? Nothing is more fun than sprinkling water around in spring, ministering to the needs of houseplants making fresh, new growth. And when it comes to throwing open the windows, it’s usually a hold-me-back state of affairs. I rush to push open the storm windows and pull down the screens so I can crack the windows without watching Einstein go flying out. Then I turn down the thermostat so the furnace won’t labor when I get home late while the temperature has plummeted. The houseplants love the fresh air, and the bugs are held at bay.

Meanwhile, I push the food. A week or two before the calendar actually chronicles the official beginning of March, I’m looking at the fish emulsion with longing and anticipation. I can hardly wait for that smell to permeate the house (and I don’t care how adamantly the label proclaims a product to be scentless; fish emulsion always emits its own unique odor). Initially, I dispense fertilizer prudently and in partial portions. Being a gal who believes in moderation in all things (at first, anyway), I dilute the fertilizer beyond the usual label recommendations for the first couple of feedings and gradually edge into full strength. And the plants respond. Given the additional sun and the ramped-up feeding schedule, houseplants begin thinking about pollination. They start producing the flowers that might make it happen. Even indoors, spring raises the bar in the performance arena.

If ever there was a season that changes drastically from start to finish, it’s spring. At first, it’s just a nebulous sense that light levels are increasing. But this state of affairs improves daily as plants that had no blossoms begin to initiate buds galore. It’s incredibly thrilling. They are shaking off their holding pattern and coming to life. Spring is a celebration. It’s payback time. Everything kicks up its heels and starts performing. Other

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