Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Houseplants, revisited

The Houseplant Census of 2010, hosted by Mr. McGregor's Daughter, is timely for me because there have been a few changes in the houseplant population around here, even since my last post on the topic a few months ago. First, for the happy changes:


My bulbs are blooming!! And the other two should join them soon! I have now figured out which hyacinths were planted where: the two 'Woodstock' ones have revealed themselves, so the 'Blue Jacket's must be flanking them. They already smell wonderful and are bringing a great touch of spring to the house!


My overwintering coleus has also grown to the size of a small shrub. By counting each bulb individually, at this point we're up to 5.


Here's a look at my main stash of houseplants; I use them as a window dressing for the large bay window in our front living room. They make a lovely screen that keeps passers-by from being able to look right in, but they're not an unfriendly set of snapped-shut blinds or curtains. What you see here is my cutting of my night-blooming cereus, some of the re-potted aloes (counting as one), three bromeliads (two are obscured a little to the bottom right, but I'm counting them separately because they're totally different types of tillandsias), an arboricola, and my largest spider plant. So far up to 12.


Here's the momma night-blooming cereus, looking spindly but still putting out some new leaves. No signs of buds yet. Up to 13.


Now for some of the sad changes. In my office window there is a purple passion and my Christmas cactus (repotted recently in the cacti/succulent soil), OK, looking fine, although please excuse that ugly valance--it's been low on the redecorating priority list. But then, in the basket below them is this tragedy:


This is/was my oldest purple passion, and I killed it by repotting it! Last weekend I finally trimmed it down and put it in fresh, new, nutrient-rich potting soil after leaving it in salt-encrusted old soil for years, and look what happened! To make matters worse, I had another purple passion die during the annual Christmas tree exile, probably from overwatering although it had recently bloomed and I'm telling myself it was a natural post-bloom death. Either way, I started this winter with three purple passions, and I'm now down to one! So counting that and the Christmas cactus, the census count is 15.

Lastly, but not pictured, I have one more spider plant and my two baby aloes from the repotting. I'm counting them separately because they are in individual pots. With those three, the grand total is 18.

That is, until seed starting...

9 comments:

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Thanks for participating! I put a direct link to this post in the comments. I like the idea of houseplants as privacy screen. I think 'Blue Jacket' Hyacinths must be a later blooming variety, as I'm still waiting on mine. Sorry about your plant losses, but like they say - if it ain't broke...

Diane said...

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with purple passion issues. They act so easy-going, and then one day - DEAD. After seeing all the posts about forcing hyacinths, I really want to try it now. I'll have to put it on my to-do list for next year, especially some of those purple ones like yours!

Ramble on Rose said...

MMD--The window idea was great, unfortunately I can't take credit for it; it was my mom's idea! And you're right about the replantings...I'm not going to bother with the other ones I had planned unless they start showing signs of stress.

Diane--As a first-time bulb forcer I would highly recommend it! It's been very enjoyable so far!

Jan said...

I came over by way of MMD...you have a very respectable amount of indoor plants;-) I'm sorry about your purple passion losses...hopefully the one you still have will thrive!

Gail said...

I can't believe how many houseplants everyone but me has! I have 4! Using them as a screen is a great idea...and sorry about the plant deaths...gail

Rose said...

This brings back memories, Rose--when I did have quite a few houseplants years ago, the Purple Passion plant was one of my favorites. I'd forgotten all about that plant. So sorry about its demise, but maybe you can take comfort in those hyacinths--they certainly say "spring" to me!

I am kicking myself for not planting some hyacinth bulbs--I'm putting that as a definite on next year's to-do list!

garden girl said...

Very nice group of houseplants Rose! Sorry about the purple passion. That was one of my first houseplants, started from cuttings my mom gave me so I could try my hand at propagating, along with African violets I started from leaf cuttings, and spider plants started from 'babies' way back when I was a kid.

I like your privacy screen - much friendlier than blinds or curtains.

Ramble on Rose said...

Jan--Thank you, and I'm glad you stopped by!

Gail--The way I'm going, I'll have 4 houseplants soon too!

Rose--Yes, the hyacinths have been lovely, although I planted two different varieties that are not flowering at the same time. Live and learn!

GG--Thank you! I've had that purple passion for nearly 10 years, and it's like losing a friend!

Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said...

Well that's very odd about your purple passion plant. I'm not familiar with it so I can't offer any tips. I guess neglect is sometimes the houseplant's friend! Your hyacinths are a very pretty color.

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