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Pruning & Care for Air plants

Like any other plant, air plants also need pruning for appropriate maintenance. It helps them to get rid of brown and dead leaves that hamper healthy growth. Air plants are generally known for being low maintenance and easy plants to care for. With a little trimming and pruning, you can help them maintain their beauty.

Pruning Roots-Air Plants do have tiny roots that seek to anchor themselves for support. These can be trimmed away without causing the plant any harm.

Shedding leaves- Air plants produce new leaves from their center, so its normal for the older outer leaves to gradually dry out and drop off. You can actually remove any dry leaves by gently pulling them downwards, but if you can completely remove it, that means the leaf is still healthy and needs to be left alone. If your air plant is shedding lots of leaves, it is likely due to unsuitable light, temp, or humidity.

Curling leaves- This is a typical sign of dehydration and indicates that you need to water your plant more frequently.

Soft brown areas & rotting- If you find your air plant suddenly turning brown at the base and the leaves are falling apart, it could be a build up of water that has led to rot. Sadly, there is nothing you can do to save it at this stage. For future plants, remember to make sure after watering that you place your plant upside down to dry ( if you soak your plant).

These are a few tips to help keep your air plant flourishing. You can read more about watering and taking care of air plants in several earlier blog posts in our garden blog.

If you have any questions about your plant- leave a question in the comment box.

Talk about it Tuesday: Indoor Composting

This Tuesday and for the next Tuesdays in the month of October I will be posting only a topic and I would love for my followers and viewers to comment in the comment box a question that would be related to the topic. Each week the topic will change and I will be collecting all the questions to answer them in a podcast that will be aired in November or December.

This Tuesday Topic is all about getting dirty in the kitchen… Indoor Composting

Pumpkin Topiary

It’s not too late to make a last minute pumpkin project for your porch or for the centerpiece of your halloween party. Fall pumpkin topiary can be an easy decor to incorporate the fall colors with a variety of pumpkins, dried flowers and garlands. Faux foam pumpkins come in all shapes, sizes and colors and if you don’t see the one you like, you can always create your own with paint colors that are your favorite.

What you need to start your DIY Project:

Pumpkin Topiary Supplies:

3 or 5 foam pumpkins (in graduated sizes)
Spanish Moss or other filler
Berry Garland
Dowel Rod
Urn or pot
Glue Gun
Floral Foam
Drill and Drill bit

Pumpkin Topiary Instructions:

Step 1) Cut a piece of floral foam to fit in the bottom of the urn.

Step 2) Using a hot glue gun, spread glue all along the bottom of the foam block and press it to the bottom of the urn.

Step 3) Stick dowel rod into the foam block.

Step 4) Using a drill and large drill bit, drill holes in the bottom and top center of the pumpkins for the dowel rod to slide in. NOTE: Do not drill a hole in the top of the top pumpkin. You wan’t to leave the stem on this one.

Step 5) Place spanish moss or filler on the lip of the urn (no need to glue it down…the pumpkin will hold it in place). Especially if you want to use the urn for something else next spring; just pull the dowel out with the pumpkins and store to put back together next year.

Step 6) Slide the largest pumpkin on the dowel rod first and rest it on the moss.

Step 7) Place some moss and garland on top of the first pumpkin and then slide the next pumpkin on to hold the moss in place.

Step 8) Repeat with the next pumpkin until you are on your last pumpkin.

Step 9) Hot glue moss and garland to place them where you want them if needed.

Now that your little pumpkin project is complete you can show it off on the porch or inside on a table!

Tillandsia ionantha: Air Plant

The Tillandsia Ionantha is originally native to Mexico, Costa Rica, and certain areas of South America.One of the most desirable aspects of the Ionantha air plant is that it is a very hearty plant that will require minimal attention compared to some other varieties of air plants. While they are a hearty plant, they still do require some attention with regular misting and soakings.

The Ionantha varieties love sunlight, so they should also be kept in an area that gets adequate light throughout the day(east/west facing windows are best). We recommend soaking the plant once or twice a week depending on the environment. It likes warmer, humid conditions but will do just fine in a dryer environment with regular misting. Below are a few questionable questions about this beautiful plant that will help you keep your plant healthy and flourishing.

How do you care for an Ionantha plant?

How big does Tillandsia Ionantha get?

Each Ionantha Tillandsia air plant will range from 2 to 3.5 inches in size. The plants you will receive will most likely arrive with green colored leaves, but these leaves will transition into gorgeous pink and purple colors before blooming into a flower.

How long does Tillandsia Ionantha live?

Life Cycle. Tillandsias are tropical plants that usually live for several years and will bloom and produce flowers only one time during their lifetime. The flowers are striking and brilliantly colored, and the bloom period will last several days to many months, depending on the species.

How do I know if my air plant needs water?

Signs of under-watering your air plant include the leaf tips turning brown or crispy. The natural concave shape of air plant leaves tends to become more exaggerated when under-watered. Unfortunately, if your air plant has been overwatered, it’s often too late to save it.

How fast do ionantha air plants grow?

The quick answer is, Air Plants are slow to grow, and will only bloom once in their life-span! This can take between a year and two years. Today we’ll take a closer look at Air Plant growth and blossoming.

You can read more about air plants in our previous blog post to learn more!

In our Etsy shop: Printhousedesign1 you can purchase these beautiful plants in their own listing or along with a planter.

Follow the link to see them at our shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/834531119/small-tillandsia-air-plants-for-indoor

Vegetables that you can regrow from scraps

Which Vegetables Can You Regrow From Scraps?

Here are some of the common vegetables that you can regrow from scraps:

Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Onions, Garlic, Leeks and Shallots
Celery
Carrots

Chunky sections of potato peel or pieces of potato that include an ‘eye’ on them (those small indentations from which the shoots grow) can be replanted to grow new potato plants.

Sweet potatoes can also be regrown with their scraps. If a sweet potato is a little past its best for eating, you can cut it in half and suspend each half using toothpicks or twigs above a shallow container of water.Once the sprouts grow to around 10cm/ 4 inches in height, nip them off and place them with their bases in a container of water. Roots will grow from the base of these shoots. As soon as the roots are growing, you can take these slips and plant them up in the soil.

You can re-grow all of them ( Onions, Garlic, Leeks and Shallots) from the rooting base of the bulb or stem. Simply take a small section of the base of a bulb or stem, with the roots attached, and place it in a shallow dish of water.green material will begin to grow from this base section. These re-sprouting sections can then simply be harvested again. Or you can plant them out in your garden. Onions and garlic will form new single bulbs, while shallots will divide and form clumps, expanding your harvest each year.

Celery is one of the easiest plants to regrow from scraps. You simply have to cut off the bottom of the celery and place it in a shallow container with a little warm water in the bottom. The bowl should be kept in a sunny and relatively warm place.After a week or so, leaves will begin to grow, and you can wait and harvest these as required, or replant the celery in your garden and allow it to grow into another full-sized plant.

Retaining the tops of carrots (where the leaves and stems join onto the root) will allow you to regrow them. Place the tops in a container of water and new, green tops should begin to grow in a matter of days. You can simply harvest and use these greens as they grow, or you can allow the roots to continue growing until the plants are ready to be transplanted back into the ground.

Starting your windowsill garden is as easy as placing the ends or tops of a few kitchen produce scraps in about an inch of fresh water and setting them in partial sunshine. Your only maintenance is to change the water daily – now you see why this is such a good project for kids.