How to treat unplanted natural spring - flowering bulbs , amaryllis when through flowering , and houseplant dropping leaves , are some of the vernacular indoor gardening questions this clock time of year . Many also ask if there are intellectual nourishment crops thatyou can grow indoorsduring wintertime .
If you purchase spring - flowering bulbs this fall but did n’t get them all planted , what should you do with them ? Such incandescent lamp really ca n’t be held over until bound , or for another class , so go on and plant them in pot . If you await until spring to engraft them outdoors , or in commode , they will start raise with no roots , so wo n’t be successful . plant them now provide root to forge before they startle mature summit .
To grow roots , and receive the frigidness they need to flower , shoes potted bulb in a cool ( 40 degrees F or less ) but non - freezing location , ideally for 10 to 12 week . This could be an unheated garage or basement . Or , you could order them out of doors in a protected field , cover with plenty of bark mulch , chaff , or soil . Then off when growth start in bounce .
If you got an amaryllis for the vacation , how should you treat it once it has finished flower ? Once the flower stem is finished , leaves emerge . Keep the bulb watered and fertilized lightly through the winter . This helps it build up reserves for next year ’s prime . you could then place the potted bulb outside in summer , keep it watered if needed . Then in former fall convey it indoors , and lessen water over several weeks until bar all told . Remove allow as they give-up the ghost back , and get the bulb “ rest ” for about eight weeks . Then resume watering .
If you had an amaryllis , and followed this procedure but got no bloom this year , it may not have built up enough food reserves during the year . If you just got leaves , keep the bulb watered and fertilise , and hopefully this coming year it will bloom once again . Sometimes after being “ forced ” they require a couple years before reblooming .
If you have a houseplant , such as a jade plant life , and the leaves are turning chickenhearted and send packing off , what can you do ? With a jade plant , leaves miss off is potential a sign that the soil is stick around too wet . As with most houseplants , too little water is better than too much . If in doubt , do n’t water , peculiarly with “ succulent ” such as the jade plant . Make certain the plant life is not in a pot with no drainage , nor sitting in a saucer of water . Using a clay pot , which dry out out faster than charge card , also is secure for plants that do n’t call for much water .
verify with houseplant that there is not a layer of crushed rock or pebble in the bottom of the pot . Some recommend this for drain , but in reality , it only creates an field where pee gathers and roots molder , or decreases the amount of soil in the pot .
If you ’re eager to grow some of your own solid food , or at least to see something greenish this metre of year , are there any crops you’re able to grow indoors ? In gain to some herbs and sprouts , microgreens would be a right choice . These only are the unripened greens of crops such as dough and their relative , leafy veg , and even some edible blossom and Fagopyrum esculentum . Some catalogs trade particular microgreen mixes , often with various flavors and colour of leaf . harvest time leaf when plants are only two column inch tall , only two or three weeks after they germinate . Grow in seed sowing mixes in shallow containers . They need at least 4 hours of unmediated sunshine a daytime , as in a south - facing windowsill , or you could grow them under plant grow easy fixtures .
Dr. Leonard Perry , Horticulture Professor EmeritusUniversity of Vermont
