Check soil, roots if water runs out of pot
Q. I water my indoor plants every day. The water seems to run straight out the bottom of the pot. Should I be concerned?
A. Most plants do not need to be watered daily. If the soil is saturated, it can’t absorb more water, so the excess runs out the bottom. You will also have this problem with pot-bound plants. Their roots fill the soil, so there is no space for the water.
Allowing the potting mix to get too dry will also create this problem. Once the peat moss in the mix is dry, it is hard to re-wet. The water runs over the surface, down the side of the pot and out the bottom. In this instance, set the plant in a saucer of tepid water and wait for it to start absorbing water.
Q. Is spider flower (Cleome hasselrana) edible or medicinal?
A. I was unable to find any reference that cleome is edible or medicinal. Reliable sources say it is nontoxic, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says it is not toxic to cats, dogs or horses. I would enjoy the flowers and all the volunteer seedlings that appear the following year.
Q. Can I leave my canna bulbs (really rhizomes) in the pot I had them growing in for summer?
A. The way you have been storing your cannas is the most common and reliable method. I have had success leaving dahlias and calla lilies in the containers I grew them in for summer. You may want to try just one or two of your potted cannas to see if your storage conditions will work before using it for all your plants.
Q. I can’t seem to grow clematis vines. I have tried growing them in sun, shade, well-drained soil, on a fence and in the open. No luck. I never get flowers, and some years the plants don’t even grow a foot tall. Please help.
A. Find a sunny, welldrained location. Mulch the soil around the plants to keep the roots cool and moist. Clematis like “their face in the sun and feet in the shade.”
Water thoroughly when the top few inches of soil are crumbly and moist. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers that promote leaf and stem growth at the expense of flowers. Then wait. It can take plants a few years to get established and start flowering.
Q. I have a 9-foot-tall Norfolk Island Pine I have been trying to air layer since July. I want to make it 3 feet tall. Can you help?
A. The older the stem the less likely you are to succeed. You will have the greatest success with 1-year or younger growth.
Because you are trying to create a 3-foot-tall plant, you may want to try this method:
Remove the branches from the area you are trying to air layer. Remove an inch-wide strip of bark from around the stem. Treat the wounded area with a rooting hormone and pack a baseball-size wad of moist sphagnum peat moss around this portion of the stem. Wrap in clear plastic. You should see roots in several months. Email questions to Melinda Myers through melindaymyers.com.