The-Dirty-Hoe.com

Humidity and plants

Humidity is often a missing element in the environment we except plants to thrive in. Many houseplants are tropical and live in naturally humid conditions. While some plants can do fine without humidity, even in dry climates, most will thrive best with some added humidity. As an added bonus, humidity is also a beneficial to humans it can help with respiratory health and dry skin. Understanding how to add humidity to your environment will give you a wider range of options when choosing your plants to bring home.

A few misconceptions of humidity:

“Misting occasionally creates humidity”- TRUTH: Misting can create a temporary humidity, but for lasting water vapor in the air, this is not enough. Misting can also cause problems with leaves.

“humidity is hard to provide”- TRUTH: Some plants do need an extreme level of humidity, which can be a challenge to provide, but for many plants that benefit from humidity, something as simple as a pebble tray or a small humidifier can be enough.

“Humidity is the same as dry heat”- TRUTH: While many people just think of heat when they hear humidity, this term actually refers to water vapor in the air. Both warm and cool climates can be humid, though warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air.

There can be ways to add humidity in your home for your plants. Three simple ways is naturally humid room, for example the bathroom is a good place for your plant to have a boost of humidity. A pebble tray is simple to make and is easy way to provide humidity for a single plant. The most effective way to add moisture to the air , especially if you have several plants that need it is adding a humidifier.

Here is a list of plants that need that extra bit of humidity to help them thrive!

Pilea Peperomioides thrives in tropical environments, making it the perfect bathroom plant candidate. However, it will do better in a bathroom that has a window with bright to indirect light. Also referred to as a pancake or a UFO plant, the plant has flat, round leaves.

The golden pothos will make itself and all its vines at home in your bathroom, where it will thrive in a more humid environment (the tips of its leaves will turn brown if the air is too dry!). This plant can handle anywhere from low to bright sunlight, so long as the light is indirect.

The stunning calathea plant in medium indirect light and a moderate to a more humid environment, and it’s sure to do well. Think of it as a symbiotic relationship: Your bathroom’s environment will help it live a healthy life, and its beautiful foliage will give your bathroom new life, too.

If you love the whimsical, secret garden vibes of ivy outside, why not bring that same aesthetic into your bathroom with English Ivy? With a classic British countryside charm, potted English Ivy is super resilient and grows pretty much wherever it can find room to do so. This plant likes medium light and humidity.

Orchids are a little fussy when it comes to watering, but even though they prefer their soil to be on the drier side, they also like humidity—they are tropical plants, after all. Orchids tolerate low light but will fare much better in brighter indirect light, so they’re better kept on your bathroom windowsill.

Just choose the right varieties for your space, and these humidity-loving plants will be content.

Propagating Jade Plants

“The Jade plant is one of the easiest plants to grow and care for. So are you wondering “can jade plants grow in water?”

A jade plant can be propagated and grow in water either by the stem or leaf propagation. After the new plant develops roots in water it can grow and stay in water indefinitely or transferred to the soil. That said, let’s dive into why you should try it. And how you can do so.

There are two methods of jade plant’s water propagation. The first one is stem propagation. Cut part from your established jade plant’s stem and place in water vase.

The taken part should have at least 2 inches bare stem and at least 2 leaves. The second method is the leaf method.

When starting a jade plant from a leaf, start by selecting a healthy leaf from the plant. Snip the leaf from the plant. The next step in propagating jade plants from leaves is to lay the jade leaf onto a potting mixture of half vermiculite or perlite and half soil. Water the potting mixture once after you lay the jade leaf down and water sparingly until the leaf puts out roots.

Once the leaf has taken root, the leaf will start to grow plantlets, or tiny plants, from the edges of the leaf that touch the soil. It should take anywhere from two weeks to two months for plantlets to appear. Once the plantlets are a few inches (7.5 to 10 cm.) tall, you can treat them as normal jade plants. Growing jade plants from cuttings or leaves is easy to do. Knowing how to root jade plant cuttings and leaves can help you to make more plants for friends and family. Good luck with starting a jade plant in your garden.

Attracting Hummingbirds to your Garden

Nectar is the only reason that hummingbirds visit flowers in the first place. They need this sugar solution to fuel their high energy lifestyle. (They flap their wings around 60 times per SECOND)Also, a common trait of many flowers that attract hummingbirds is that they are long and tubular. Insects have a hard time reaching the nectar in these types of flowers, but hummingbirds, with their long beaks and tongues, are perfectly adapted.

I wanted to find hummingbird flowers that were common and typically supplied by your local nursery or easy to buy from a reputable company online.

Trumpet Vine is an excellent flower to attract hummingbirds (it’s even commonly referred to as “hummingbird vine”), as it features long, tubular, bright flowers with lots of nectar.

It’s native to the southeast United States but is easy to grow in most of the country. And I do mean GROW. It has a reputation for growing like crazy, and I can second that with my first-hand experience. It needs to be trimmed regularly, or it will take over an entire area. The vine gets so big that many birds will even nest in its dense foliage! It is widely available, and I can always find Trumpet Vine at my local nurseries. Typically, it takes a year or two after planting to start getting bright and beautiful flowers.

Another vine that is native to the eastern United States, Trumpet Honeysuckle is a favorite of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The birds love the bright clusters of red and orange flowers. It has similar features to the Trumpet Vine, and many people get the two mixed up. A benefit of the Trumpet Honeysuckle is that it’s not as aggressive and does not get as big as the Trumpet Vine. Because of this, Trumpet Honeysuckle may fit better in your hummingbird garden.

Bee Balm is a smaller, perennial flower. Hummingbirds, along with bees and butterflies, love visiting these plants to get nectar. It’s native Bee Balm is a smaller, perennial flower. Hummingbirds, along with beBee Balm, is a smaller, perennial flower. Hummingbirds, along with bees and butterflies, love visiting these plants to get nectar. It’s native to eastern North American and the Pacific Northwest. They are easy to grow, deer resistant, and drought-resistant!

If you have ever seen a Rhododendron in full bloom at the end of May, you will agree that their display is incredibly beautiful. You can’t blame hummingbirds for being attracted. One of the most popular plants at any nursery, there are over a thousand different species of Rhododendron that have been identified, with the majority of them originating from Asia.

But the Rhododendron species that I recommend for hummingbirds is native to North America.

This small flower list is the start to help you attract beautiful hummingbirds to your little flower garden this season.

Growing Pumpkins for Fall

Whether you’re growing miniature pumpkins for tabletop displays or a beefy fruit for spooky carving, learning how to plant pumpkin seeds will improve your odds of success. It’s also critical to know when to plant pumpkin seeds, especially if you’re aiming for a larger-than-life harvest.

Like all seeds, pumpkin seeds need just a few things to get growing. Soil and water jump-start the process. Light is pivotal once leaves appear. The trickiest part is knowing when to plant pumpkin seeds.

If you’re growing a giant that needs 140-plus days to reach its mammoth size, sow seeds from April 25 to May 15. If you garden where those dates still have a frosty feel, start seeds indoors. Sow traditional field pumpkins or jack o’lanterns into garden soil from May 15 to June 15. For an earlier harvest or perhaps a slightly larger pumpkin, you can start seeds indoors up to two weeks before these dates. Miniature pumpkins don’t need as long a growing season to reach their full potential. Tuck these seeds into garden soil from May 25 to July 1.

Pumpkins dislike cold of any kind, so don’t plant pumpkin seeds directly into garden soil until after all danger of frost is past. It’s a good idea in cooler areas to cover your pumpkin planting spot with black plastic for a few weeks prior to planting. This helps concentrate the sun’s rays to warm soil. At planting time, cut a small X-shaped slit in the plastic and sow seeds through that opening. Watch for seedlings to appear; make sure they’re not hindered by the plastic.

Indoors and out, pumpkin seeds usually germinate within 10 days. If 10 days come and go and you see no signs of growth, consider making a second planting. You can gently try to excavate planted seeds, but if the seed has germinated, you risk damaging emerging roots. In the garden, use a large garden trowel to lift soil gently and inspect it for any sign of the seed or seedling.

The current world record pumpkin title, awarded in 2012, belongs to an orange orb weighing 2,009 pounds. Experts predict that record will hold for years until another perfect pumpkin-growing season arrives! Will you be the next gardener to have the largest pumpkin?

You can purchase pumpkin seeds at our Etsy Shop: http://www.printhousedesign.com

Small Edible Garden

Getting a Small Kitchen Garden Started can be a fun summer project for your kids or for yourself.

Edible salad gardens in a pot can be a fun filled treat in your kitchen. The yummy greens are planted to the brim with tasty herbs like parsley, chives and spring onions, edible flowers, and baby spinach. I rotate the plants by planting seasonal greens and herbs in the summer and fall.

Clever design tips will help make the most of the space you have. Lots of plants including vegetables require very little effort but reward you extremely well for a minimal outlay. There are lots of clever ways to design your space for maximum production, design out problems like weather or nosy neighbors and add beauty, color, fragrance and structure as well as encouraging children to get their hands dirty. Keep it simple and you can fit at least some gardening into your life. Having an idea of what you want is a good starting point. A few design ideas ( hanging basket with herbs) ( window sill leafy greens) ( medium size container to grow tomatoes on the patio or front porch)

Simple pots of fragrant culinary herbs are a great starting point for your kitchen garden. Such as lavender, rosemary, or mint, and Salad greens can be grown on the windowsill with lots of natural light. One or more large containers on your balcony or veranda can be planted with vegetables; tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions.

You can also try a mushroom growing kit – these can be grown indoors or outside and will provide you with several flushes of mushrooms.

So whatever you choose to start growing, you’ll get plenty of help right here. Feel free to ask questions if you need to know more.

If you are ready to get started growing in a pot, make sure you choose the right container and consider when to plant your plants (certain veggies and herbs grow at different seasons.)