Are You and Your Plants Ready for Spring?
Spring will soon be in the air. If you are like me, it can't get here soon enough! Spring is a time of new beginnings and rebirth. For plants it is a very active time as they wake up from their winter rest period. For gardeners this is a very busy period for not only outdoor plants but our indoor plants as well. Spring time is the best time for indoor plant maintenance.
Fertilizing plants in the spring and summer months will give the best results. A good rule of thumb is to remember that less really is more when fertilizing. Don’t fertilize a plant for a few months that has just been repotted or a new plant just taken home from the nursery. The fertilizer nutrients are already in the nursery plant and the new soil of a repotted plant.
I also assess my plants in the spring to see if they need to be repotted. There are three basic ways to tell if your house plant needs to be repotted.
- If the roots are growing out of the drainage hole.
- The roots have completely filled the pot and are growing around in circles.
- If when you add water it immediately pours out of the bottom. This is a problem of either the soil has totally dried out or the roots have so completely filled the pot that they are self-strangling and can’t take up any water at all. After repotting is a good time to consider displaying your plant in an attractive natural looking macramé plant hanger.
Macramé plant hangers are also a good way to get that plant that needs more or less light into a better position to receive its proper light. Most plants come with a guideline on the amount of light that works best for them. During the winter less sun comes inside than the spring and summer. It’s good to know which windows have the less to more sunlight that comes through on any given sunny day. The north window or exposure has the least amount of light. The east window or exposure has the next brightest; the west window or exposure is the next brightest with the south window or exposure being the brightest of all.
Pruning a plant to improve its shape and promote more even flowering throughout the plant is also best done in the early spring or late summer.
I'm looking forward to enjoying the spring blooms of my many African Violets and the spring flowering of my Christmas Cacti. I also have various macramé hangers throughout my home so they can all have there special showplace. Pamper your plants with some macrame plant hangers from Macramenia.com…they will love it!
