How to MULTIPY your succulents?

Do you want your succulent to grow bushy from all directions? Do you want to grow more lil ones from your present succulents? Well, here is your chance to learn how to multiply succulents successfully, if you do!

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For bushy succulents - 

If you want your succulents to grow bushy there is one and only one way to do it – TRIMMING it off or heading back. It might sound crazy but it’s the only way! Do it yourself and check out for the results! Just cut the head or the top portion of you succulent and plant it separately removing some leaves from the bottom so that there are nodes for the roots to come out. Use those leaves to grow new ones (procedure for which is mentioned further). And from the remaining stem portion from the old plant that is already rooted, grows out new shoots from almost every bud and there you go! You have a bushy succulent! Trust me on this and try it for yourself and see the beautiful results.

 

 

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For propagation there are mainly two ways –

1. 
   
2. Using stem – Cut out a portion of your succulent, expose few nodes by removing leaves*, if present or just place the stem in a soil or preferably coco-peat and let it sit as such without disturbing and it will grow out roots ,and later shoots pop out in a month or two. Be patient!
     

   

   
   

1. Using leaves – propagation by leaves can be achieved through two methods – a. in soil b. in water. If we look in the percentage of success propagation through soil it has ≤50% chance of being successfully grown into a new one and propagation through water has ≥90% chance of success. Let’s learn how both are done.

• Its simple to propagate succulents anyways, but it is further simpler with soil. Just pluck some leaves* and put them on moist soil and don’t forget to mist every time it gets dry and that’s it! Leaves will show up roots and then shoots starts to show up in 2-3 weeks. After they show up roots try to put them in soil properly so that the roots don’t just be lying around on the soil without being able to draw proper nutrition, but do not disturb them from their positions too much since this will lag the process.
  

  
  
• To propagate using water you need four things – bowl or any container, polythene cover/sheet, cutter and rubber bands. Put some water in the bowl, cover it with a polythene sheets using a rubber band. Now, using the cutter make short cuts the length of the width of the succulent leaves. Then, insert leaves into these cuts so that they stay above the water level and do not touch it. Leave it as such for a week or two and you will see the roots coming out. After the roots grow long enough i.e., an inch, take them out and place it in soil and you will see mini succulent in few weeks! 
   
  

Take care

Grow plants

XoXo

Note: *While plucking succulent leaves, hold the leaf between your thumb and index fingers and gently twist and pull. This makes sure that the leaf and growth tip is not damaged. 

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The starlight-plants : SUCCULENTS and CACTI

Succulents have been great house plants since long and have gained the spotlight recently. Everyone wants to have these cute little ones but little do everyone knows about their care and maintenance. Most of the people treat them just as other plants and end up killing them. So today let us try to have an over-look on how to care for these plants.

Firstly, what are these succulents?

Succulents are those plants which store water in their leaves and hence, have a thick and juicy leaves. These are very low maintenance plants and don’t require too much attention to grow. They are slow growers and resistant to most pest and diseases. From aloe to haworthia, sedums to echeveria, bunny ears to astrophytum there are tonnes of succulents that are both simple and easily available to exotic. Though the names look so complex they are pretty easy to grow, if the following points are kept in mind.

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How to care for succulents?

• Succulents and cacti are majorly sun loving plants and does great in a bright spot. Though there are some succulents that  does pretty well in low light conditions, when kept in a bright spot atleast once in a month or two does their best. So here is a pro tip to grow succulents indoor. Make 2-3 different batches of all the succulents you have and keep each batch in a different light condition. For eg., one batch in bedroom with low light, other batch in a living room or on a window sill another batch in a balcony which is very bright or gets direct light. Keeping succulents in very low light can cause more inter-nodal space (space between two nodes or simply leaves) and keeping them in too much light can burn their leaves.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Succulents, as already mentioned store water in their leaves and hence doesn’t require lot of frequent watering like other plants. Its better to hold watering for a day or two even when the top layer of the soil looks dry, since there will still be enough moisture at the bottom. Too much moisture and humidity can rot your succulents and eventually kill them.
• Succulents are xerophytic plants and hence, love very loose soil. While preparing potting mix for succulents make sure to incorporate more soil loosening media like sand, perlite, coco-peat and vermiculite. These media keeps the soil airy and well-drained for the roots breathe. Very hard soils can make it hard for the roots to breathe and hence, can cause diseases of root.
• Succulents do not like a lot of humidity, hence during humid weathers keep them indoors. And do not mist them and use humidifiers for maintaining them.
• Succulents tend to grow better in smaller spaces than large spaces hence, use smaller containers and shift to a bigger one only when they have outgrown (roots showing out from bottom).
  
  
  
• While making a succulent garden make sure to use similar ones together avoid choosing plants requiring different conditions.
  
  
  
• Though succulents are resistant to majority of the pests, certain sucking pests do cause damage. So keep a look out for any sucking pests near your succulents and soap solution spray can do great in getting rid of them.
• To fertilize use very mild fertilizers since over fertilizing or strong fertilizers can burn them. You can simply add tea extract once a month or two, this is a great way to fertilize your succulents without having to buy anything extra. 

[ To make fertilizer out of tea leaves use leftover, used or new tea leaves or tea bag, rinse thoroughly and dry and use this directly by adding to the soil or add this to hot or warm water to get the extract, let it cool and use this liquid to fertilize.]

Keeping these points in consideration anyone can become a great succulent moms and dads.

Take care

Grow plants

XoXo

PS: Please let me know in the comment section how helpful this was and if you have any questions. 

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SOIL-LESS Gardening!?

Every time we think of plants soil is the first thing that hits our mind, but little did we know about growing plants without soil. Well yeah soil is the most abundant naturally available media, but it isn’t the ultimate! We know that we can grow some plants in water, actually we can grow a lot of plants on water, but plants can also be grown in many other media.

As I already mentioned soil maybe the cheapest, most abundant and natural media to grow plants, but when it comes to pot culture field soils fails to meet the satisfactory level since they do not provide the necessary aeration, drainage, water retention and nutrition. These needs can be met by using some or whole proportions of different soil-less media. Did you know some succulents like hens and chicks, pricky pear cactus, mosses and few plants like coral bells, rock cress, candy-tuft can also be grown on rocks. With this article let us know about all different kinds of soil-less media used in gardening.

Basically, there are three types of soil-less media

• Organic: cocopeat, rice husk, sawdust, sphagnum moss
• Inorganic: vermiculite, perlite, sand, gravel stones, pebbles, rock wool
• Synthetic: sponges, foam, water absorbent fibres

But, I will also consider WATER as a kind of soil-less media since it is used to grow a wide range of plants in gardening. So there are four different types of soil-less media. My favourite being cocopeat, vermiculite, perlite, sand and of course water.

COCOPEAT 

is almost every gardener’s favourite media. They hold good amount of moisture, provides good drainage and also makes soil airy. These can hold 20x moisture more and can be compressed 4-5x their voulume. I use this in preparing potting mix (1:3 :: cocopeat:soil) and for propagating my succulents but, they do a great job as mulch (layer applied over surface soil) retaining moisture and not letting the soil get dry. They are also majorly used for seed germination. It’s anti-fungal properties and neutral pH also aids plants. They can be used for amendment of hard soils.

RICE HUSK AND SAWDUST 

can also be used in the same way as cocopeat. Rice husk being rich in silica strengthens plant cell walls and can be used in soil amendments, they aerate and retain moisture. They takes 4-5 years to break down hence, are economical. Sawdust also does great job as a mulch holding moisture.

SPHAGNUM MOSS are widely used in hanging and vertical gardens. You might have seen moss sticks for growing pothos and other trailing plants vertically and moss used as bottom layer in hanging gardens, these are light in weight and hold a lot of moisture hence, are very useful in these areas. There are also great for terrariums, air layering and as mulch. 

 

VERMICULITE and PERLITE increases nutrient retention and absorption, drainage and aeration. They are mostly used in preparation of succulent potting mix since they aids good water drainage and keeps the soil loose and well aerated.

SAND, GRAVELS and PEBBLES increase drainage by loosening the soil because of their greater size. 1/4th portion in good potting mix consists of sand. They are also used in terrariums, succulent pots and in indoor pots to cover the moist soil.

 

ROCK WOOL are used for seed germination and in hydroponics.

SPONGES and FOAM are mainly used for show casing of cut parts of ornamental plants.

WATER: 

Many plants like lucky bamboo, pothos, spider plant, aglaonema, philodendron etc can be successfully grown in water. These plants grow roots and survive in water without getting rotten.

• When water is used as a media make sure to change the water once every week or two to replenish the lost nutrients and make sure to use TAP WATER and not mineral or filtered water. 
• If placed in direct sunlight algal growth on the surface of the container is common so make sure to pick the right spot. 
• Plants grow slower in water than in soil. BE PATIENT and observe them grow. 
• Roots of plants grown in water is much fragile than the ones grown in soil. So be cautious while handling them.

Just as us humans individual plants have their own requirements, which we can easily fulfil unlike humans. All it needs is quite attention and keen observation. Spending time with our plants observing all their responses and some knowledge about different aspects of plant growth is all it takes to be a good gardener.

Take care

Grow plants

XoXo

P for Plants, P for Pots

 Hello gardeners,

we have seen pots being used to grow all different kinds of plants since we were kids. But do you know that containers are being used to grow plants since the time our ancestors started setting and living in a society. Containers have evolved since then to what we see today. Container gardening makes way to imitate nature in our very own home, even at places covered with concrete.

Growing plants in containers are not as simple as it seems. When grown on earth directly plants will have supply of all the moisture and nutrients around them, but when it comes to growing in containers there is restrictions to both supply and growth. But container gardening has advantages of its own. They are compact and hence, saves space, they provide scope to grow plants anywhere and everywhere, they can be carried around easily, etc. So, in this post let us learn everything related to container garden.

There are different types of planters of different size, shapes, material. There vases, bowls, pots, jars, mugs, etc., made of mud, plastic, terracotta, cement, fiber, fabric, stones, etc.

terracotta pots

                            stone planters                          

Plastic pots

ceramic pots

   

How to choose among these wide range of planters?

Well all one needs to keep in mind is WHAT you want for and WHERE you want for. While choosing planters for interiors fiber or plastic ones makes shifting easy, ceramic ones adds beauty and terracotta ones adds beauty and also provides good aeration (through their micro pores and by absorbing some amount of moisture) and keeps the media cool. While choosing for outdoors cement and terracotta plants have more life compared to plastic ones, but of course if one needs a lighter one for easy shifting and movements you can cross out cement ones since they are too heavy and choose fiber or plastic ones. For growing trees, fruits, vegetables, tall plants grow bags can be your best mate. For hydrophytes, one can choose glass vessels, for succulents a low-profile wide planters will do good and for trailing plants a hanging pot can be used.

How to prepare potting mix?

Preparing a pot doesn’t just mean filling the planter with soil. For starters, get to know the soil texture. Moist the soil (do not make it completely wet) and feel it between your thumb and fore fingers. If you feel smooth, the soil is rich in silt; if you feel sticky, it is rich in clay; if you feel course, it is rich in sand. Knowing the soil gives us idea on how much of what to add. A good garden potting mix should be loamy, with good drainage and water holding capacity. To prepare a good potting mix use soil, sand and coco peat (or compost) in the ratio of 2:1:1.

How to prepare a pot for planting?

Before plating it is important to make sure that the container has good drainage. Make sure the planter has a drainage hole, if not try to make one and add potting mix. If the planter doesn’t have a drainage hole and even you can’t provide one make sure to layer with gravel stones, charcoal and sand before adding potting mix so that excess of moisture can be drained and absorbed.

If you are planting cuttings, propagules or plantlets fill only ¾th of the planter and fill the other ¼ part later after planting, and if you are sowing seeds fill the planter and sow the seeds at a depth twice that of the seed’s width, if seeds are too small just sprinkle them and over it spread thin and even layer of potting mix. Make sure to leave an inch or a few cms of space above the media so that when watered the water does not just overflow.

 

 Pot with drainage hole

Drainage in pot 

  without drainage hole 

Watering:

As mentioned in the last post, water only when the top layer is completely dry. You can know this by inserting your index finger into the media. Indoor plants will require watering only once every fortnight or once every week during summers. Outdoor plants require watering every alternate day or even every day during summers. Make sure to have a dish/plate below the planter so that it can collect drained water.

Fertilizing:

Since containers will have only some quantity of nutrients, soil nutrition has to be enriched regularly at an interval of 2-3 months. One can fertilize by mixing compost during re-potting or by applying liquid fertilizers like seaweed solution (3 ml/litre of water).

Soil loosening:

Make sure to loosen up top soil, by raking every two months when the soil gets hard and color of top most layer of soil changes, for good aeration and water absorption.

Re-potting:

Re-potting is one of the major process to be followed in case of potted plants. It is important to make sure proper root health and also to provide proper space for its growth. Water the plant an hour or two before re-potting to make sure soil comes out easily. Loosen the soil at the edges of the planter without causing damage and take out the whole plant with the media. If the plant has grown out of size for the present container, place this in a new container layered with potting mix and add extra potting mix to fill. If not, after removing the plant loosen the soil without causing damage and replant it to the same container. Make sure to water your plant after re-potting.

Container gardens are easy to maintain yet attention requiring at the same time. With right knowledge and interest one can beautify anyplace indoors or outdoors, balcony or terrace with container gardens. Since now you know what to do why wait anymore? Start right now and let me which plant you started with and about your experience.

Take care

Grow plants

XoXo

 

PS: Please let me know in the comment section about how informative and useful this post was to you and also, what topics you want me to discuss in the new post.

How to become a Pro in plant care and God of your garden!?

Hello everyone, I have loved plants since I remember. I used to grow everything and anything that I could grow with my granny in the yard beside my childhood home. I remember growing veggies, flowers, pulses, fruits, tubers and what not. I knew nothing about how to technically grow, but all I did was imitating my granny's actions- sow, water and enjoy watching them grow. I learnt growing plants watching the elder ones do it, who in turn learnt by watching their elders do it, who learnt from theirs and the history grows. I fell in love with growing plants eventually without knowing myself. I even ended up at farm degree for my under-graduation.

People love growing plants and do it without actually knowing if they are doing it right or not. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they know the reason but most times they don’t, sometimes they find a way of correcting their mistakes, sometimes they just give up. I grew up experiencing all of this. But today I have learnt and am still in the process of learning answers to most of the mysteries of plant care and I want to give those answers to the ones that are in search for it, so here I am starting this blog.

With this blog let us try to learn every detail of gardening and let us grow together towards being a pro gardener. Starting from the basics of gardening to plant care necessary for each type of garden plant let us learn everything we need to. Without further ado let us start this new journey.

Gardening simply is growing plants, any plants that you love, any plant that you wanna grow. There are no strict boundaries in gardening, it can be done at any place and with any plant/s you choose. Though specific plant species require specific plant care, most plants have a lot requirements in common. So lets dive right into it!

Proper watering:

Watering at proper amount and at proper time without overdoing it is the most basic and important step at maintaining your plant. Water your plant only when the top soil is completely dry and never when it is already moist. Over-watering your plants suffocates their roots and hence, is definitely not desirable.

Proper sun:

Looking into the sunlight needs of your plant is yet another step at your plant care. Observe how your plants react to different amount of light conditions and place them accordingly. Some plants though labelled ‘indoor’ does well in outdoor shade conditions rather than indoor conditions. So instead of looking into labels observe what your plant needs at your location. Just the way different person require different quantity of food different plants at different phase, require different amount of light, which when not met fails to function to its maximum.

Proper pruning:

Most ornamental plants need trimming by removing extra, dead and diseases plant parts to allow them to grow profusely. Pruning has to be done mostly during late winters or early spring i.e., during december – march.

Nutrient application:

Whether grown in containers or directly on earth, nutrients from the soil leach out eventually and needs to be replenished. One can use compost or animal excrete as manures which has to be applied by mixing with soil or inorganic fertilizers or liquid fertilizers. But I would suggest usage of organic manures since they have more beneficial effects in different ways (which we can discuss in another post) and liquid fertilizers for fertilizing plants in containers, because of their easy application.

Soil loosening:

Regular loosening of top most layer of the soil is also important since it makes way for proper aeration for the roots breathe and also makes way for water to penetrate easily into the soil. In case of plants grown in containers loosening is done not just during re-potting but whenever the top layer of soil gets hard, usually every 1-2 months.

Look out for pests and disease symptoms:

Pests tend to damage your plants and destroy your garden if left unnoticed. They also bring diseases. But if noticed early can be easily controlled and plant's health can be maintained. Pests are most probable to attack during rainy and spring, since these are the period of time when moisture is high and tender shoots are most available respectively. Spraying neem oil is known to control some common garden pests. Even spraying soap solution and later washing off before sunrays hit the plant helps get rid of the biggest enemy- 'mealy bugs'.

Keep clean:

Keep the garden area clean whether it be a roof garden or your front yard garden or your balcony garden or your indoor garden or your kitchen garden. Remove all the fallen debris and keep it clean. This helps in lesser pest invasion and infections. Keeping gardens clean also makes it look further beautiful.

Make time and spread love:

We bond with other people when we spend time with them; same way spending time our plants also bonds us to them. Our attention and love is also required by plants. Study shows that plants respond to light music. Regular cleaning of leaf surface of indoor plants regularly also helps the plants by making whole leaf surface available for photosynthesis.

These simple necessities when fulfilled can help you maintain a healthy and beautiful garden. All it needs is some time, little effort and of course love and passion. No one becomes a pro overnight everything starts with baby steps and if one starts with those little efforts everyone can become a pro. So why delay when you can start today!?

Take care

Grow plants

Xoxo