For some time now, I have been fascinated with indoor plants. Over time I have collected a respectable set, through purchases, gifts received and propagation of my existing plants.
This started quite innocently with the purchase of an indoor ivy from Home Depot which nearly died within a couple of days and took some time to recover its health. The pictures in this post are from the internet as my Ivy plant has now died.
From those humble beginnings I started my love affair with plants, both leafy green and flowering. Now, my plants are my happy place and my relaxation point and I unwind merely by touching those beautiful leaves!!!
A lot of information is available online from experienced and very knowledgeable professionals and that is my research database; I will use this blog to share my personal experience, success and failures with my plants.
My first purchase has come a full circle as the Ivy is dying after providing close to 12 years of pleasure; it was like family and we called it "Junior". For years it was a welcome fixture in the kitchen, hanging from the ceiling by the window. Ivy's aren't the easiest plants to grow indoors, but look beautiful when placed by a window or in other well lit spots.
I live in the Greater Toronto Area, which is in hardiness zone 5b, meaning I have only a short summer period in which to enjoy my backyard and have to spend a large part of the year with my lovely house plants.
Here are some facts about growing these beautiful plants (sourced from the internet):
Light: Bright light in summer, but not direct sunlight.
Water: They prefer moist, humid conditions, but not soaking. Don’t let soil dry out and keep evenly moist.
Temperature: Ivies prefer cooler nights, often below 60ºF (15.5 C). Many species can overwinter outside and will grow back from their stems. During hot summer days, mist frequently.
Soil: Loose, well-drained potting mix.
Fertilizer: During growing season, feed with controlled-release fertilizer or biweekly with weak liquid fertilizer.
Here's a fun fact about this beautiful plant ... Ivy plants are excellent purifiers of air inside the house and are recommended for people with asthma and allergic conditions. They clean benzene and formaldehyde from the air and thus make excellent house plants.
Because of my incident with my Ivy plant (I left the plant in a freezing car he day that we bought it), only one plant in the pot survived and I nurtured it by regular watering and fertilization (about 2-3 times a year) and the single Ivy plant recovered an eventually thrived, growing to over 15 feet long before I cut it back.
These were early days of my indoor gardening and I was very wary of trying any propagation or any other procedures that I am now familiar with. In fact, when I tried to root the cuttings from the Ivy in recent times, I wasn't successful and eventually had to lose my beloved 'Junior'.
In terms of regular maintenance:
1. I watered the plant each week, reducing the water in the winter. This was purchased in a hanging planter with an overflow at the base, which helped me in deciding the watering level. Any water in the overflow tray indicted the need for reduced watering. This was a very useful feature in the early days while I was building by experience with house plants.
2. Every 3-4 months I would fertilize the Ivy; I use a store bought fertilizer; mine has 15-30-15 NPK content.
3. In the summer, I would trim the plant back to promote healthy growth.
Other than this, I just let Junior hang by the window and enjoyed the beautiful green foliage all year round. Other than my failure to root it's cuttings, I really can't say I had any issues with the Ivy.
One lesson that I learnt over time was the need for annual trimming of the plant; I performed the first trimming after a few years and realized that the leaves at the base of the stem had died and fallen off, leaving an ugly bare gap between the stem base and the start of the fresh leaves. However, once the stems were cut back, the fresh growth was lush green and gave the plant a new look.
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From those humble beginnings I started my love affair with plants, both leafy green and flowering. Now, my plants are my happy place and my relaxation point and I unwind merely by touching those beautiful leaves!!!
A lot of information is available online from experienced and very knowledgeable professionals and that is my research database; I will use this blog to share my personal experience, success and failures with my plants.
My first purchase has come a full circle as the Ivy is dying after providing close to 12 years of pleasure; it was like family and we called it "Junior". For years it was a welcome fixture in the kitchen, hanging from the ceiling by the window. Ivy's aren't the easiest plants to grow indoors, but look beautiful when placed by a window or in other well lit spots.
I live in the Greater Toronto Area, which is in hardiness zone 5b, meaning I have only a short summer period in which to enjoy my backyard and have to spend a large part of the year with my lovely house plants.
Here are some facts about growing these beautiful plants (sourced from the internet):
Light: Bright light in summer, but not direct sunlight.
Water: They prefer moist, humid conditions, but not soaking. Don’t let soil dry out and keep evenly moist.
Temperature: Ivies prefer cooler nights, often below 60ºF (15.5 C). Many species can overwinter outside and will grow back from their stems. During hot summer days, mist frequently.
Soil: Loose, well-drained potting mix.
Fertilizer: During growing season, feed with controlled-release fertilizer or biweekly with weak liquid fertilizer.
Here's a fun fact about this beautiful plant ... Ivy plants are excellent purifiers of air inside the house and are recommended for people with asthma and allergic conditions. They clean benzene and formaldehyde from the air and thus make excellent house plants.
Because of my incident with my Ivy plant (I left the plant in a freezing car he day that we bought it), only one plant in the pot survived and I nurtured it by regular watering and fertilization (about 2-3 times a year) and the single Ivy plant recovered an eventually thrived, growing to over 15 feet long before I cut it back.
These were early days of my indoor gardening and I was very wary of trying any propagation or any other procedures that I am now familiar with. In fact, when I tried to root the cuttings from the Ivy in recent times, I wasn't successful and eventually had to lose my beloved 'Junior'.
In terms of regular maintenance:
1. I watered the plant each week, reducing the water in the winter. This was purchased in a hanging planter with an overflow at the base, which helped me in deciding the watering level. Any water in the overflow tray indicted the need for reduced watering. This was a very useful feature in the early days while I was building by experience with house plants.
2. Every 3-4 months I would fertilize the Ivy; I use a store bought fertilizer; mine has 15-30-15 NPK content.
3. In the summer, I would trim the plant back to promote healthy growth.
Other than this, I just let Junior hang by the window and enjoyed the beautiful green foliage all year round. Other than my failure to root it's cuttings, I really can't say I had any issues with the Ivy.
One lesson that I learnt over time was the need for annual trimming of the plant; I performed the first trimming after a few years and realized that the leaves at the base of the stem had died and fallen off, leaving an ugly bare gap between the stem base and the start of the fresh leaves. However, once the stems were cut back, the fresh growth was lush green and gave the plant a new look.
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