Still blooming good gifts
MOTHER’S DAY LOOMS: POT PLANTS LIGHT UP LIFE
Add colour to outside and inside living areas temporarily or permanently.
Mother’s Day is around the corner and most moms don’t need a crystal ball to know they are likely to get chocolates and a flowering pot plant on that special day.
If you don’t know what to do with it, a pot plant can look like a poor relation at a family gathering; always slightly out of place. So here are some tips for how to dress up those lovingly-given pot plants and keep them looking good!
African violets are pure retro but when they are in full flower, there is no denying their appeal. One pot is a little mingy, but three in different shades makes quite a statement. Put all three in a curvy urn or brass bowl and fill in around the pots with moss that you can buy from a garden centre or florist.
Use on the coffee table, side tables, next to the bed or in the bathroom. Violets like a warm room with direct light, but not sunshine on their leaves. To water, lift the moss and then replace it. The soil needs to be moist but not soggy. Don’t get water on the leaves and fertilise once a month.
Flamingo pink Anthuriums outsell the more common red at this time and the orange flowering variety with the bronze leaf is particularly attractive. Use them to add height to a room, or fill a tall, narrow space, by placing them on a tall bookcase or shelf. The plant draws attention upwards, making the room appear larger. The green or bronze heart-shaped leaves are as much a feature as the ‘flower’.
This is a low-maintenance plant that can dry out between watering. It tolerates low to high light, but should not get direct sunshine on its leaves. The better the light the more it will flower.
Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) is the quintessential Mother’s Day plant and in winter it likes light and humidity, so a sunny, steamy bathroom is its idea of heaven. Pop the orchid, in its pot, into a Kokodama hanging basket or container made from natural coco fibres, emulating the Japanese technique of creating containers made from moss. Kokodama don’t drip, and unlike plastics, absorb water and keep the pot plant cooler, putting less stress on the plant roots. Water once a week by running water through the pot for one minute to wet the potting mix thoroughly. Return the plant to the Kokodama which will trap any moisture as the water evaporates creating a humid microclimate.
Cyclamen is the indoor plant most associated with winter because it thrives in the cold and doesn’t stop flowering. The flowers look like a handful of butterflies and the more pots squashed in together the better. Place them around an indoor palm or on the patio for baseline colour, or in an oblong, window-box type holder. They add instant decoration to a mantelpiece, a window sill (that doesn’t get direct sun) or a stoep. A bright, south or east facing room is ideal and even a north facing room is fine if it doesn’t get too hot. They can be used as temporary table centrepieces in low light areas. Keep the soil moist; they are likely to wilt if the soil dries out completely but recover quickly after watering. Encourage new flowers by snipping off the old ones.
Zantedeschia (arum lilies) that are grown indoors as pot plants are much smaller than the white garden arums. Their small trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of pink, orange, red, yellow, and purple rise above long, tapering green leaves. They need bright light and moist soil that drains well. They are good candidates for the outdoor living area in a ceramic container. Because of their many colours they are easy to match to interior décor. After flowering they can be planted out into the garden. They may die down but will sprout again in spring. These plants are poisonous and should be kept away from pets and children.
Begonias warm up a room with their rich colours and showy flowers. They will last for two to three months as an indoor flower arrangement. The plants like a warm room with bright, indirect light. Don’t allow sunlight onto the leaves as they will burn. Keep the soil moist (not soggy or they rot). Depending on the temperature, half a cup of water a week in winter should suffice. Feed with a liquid fertiliser once a month and remove dead flowers.
For more information visit Kokodama containers are available through garden centres and selected hardware centres.