This week, Monica Schmidt, our horticulturalist at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion offers some great advice on keeping your houseplants looking fantastic:
First of all choose the right plant for the room you want to put it in, for example. houseplants that only grow in natural light or in light-shade would be: Aspidistra, Dracena, Bromelia, Spathiphlyum, Hedera, Helexine, Ferns, Orchids and Chlorophytum. Houseplants that can take very bright light or direct sunlight on a windowsill or in a conservatory would be: Plumbago, Bouganvillea, Cacti, Succulents, Kalanchoe and Citrus. For the bathroom with high humidity ferns, peace lilies and orchids would do well.
To keep your plants problem free keep in mind not to over water them. The soil should only be moist, not wet. Give them a regular feed in the growing season. There are many products on the market. Just follow the instructions on the packet and don’t be tempted to overfeed them. Decrease the feeding in the winter months and allow the plant to rest.
In Winter, central heating tends to dry out the air and misting the plant would be a good idea. A sign that your plant gets too little humidity is typically browning and shrivelling at the tip of the leaf and even yellowing of the leaf edges.
Another important point to keep in mind is to recognise any pests and disease early and treat them accordingly. Again, there are very good products on the market and usually a multi-purpose or all-in-one bug killer will do the trick.
Also after flowering, cut back all the dead flowers and hopefully you will get a second flush of flowers. By doing that you keep your plant tidy. Prune or cut away any dead leaves as well. Wipe off any dust on the leaves, it just looks better.
After a period of time you may need to repot your plant. Ask us what soil to use; usually a houseplant compost will be most suitable. Choose a slightly bigger pot and repot into it. If in any doubt about what houseplant to buy, where to place it and how to look after it call in to see me Monica or any of our horticulturists.
See you soon,
Monica
Powerscourt Garden Pavilion, Powerscourt Estate Enniskerry, County Wicklow. Ph: (01) 204 6014. W: www.powerscourt.ie
To keep your plants problem free keep in mind not to over water them. The soil should only be moist, not wet. Give them a regular feed in the growing season. There are many products on the market. Just follow the instructions on the packet and don’t be tempted to overfeed them. Decrease the feeding in the winter months and allow the plant to rest.
In Winter, central heating tends to dry out the air and misting the plant would be a good idea. A sign that your plant gets too little humidity is typically browning and shrivelling at the tip of the leaf and even yellowing of the leaf edges.
Another important point to keep in mind is to recognise any pests and disease early and treat them accordingly. Again, there are very good products on the market and usually a multi-purpose or all-in-one bug killer will do the trick.
Also after flowering, cut back all the dead flowers and hopefully you will get a second flush of flowers. By doing that you keep your plant tidy. Prune or cut away any dead leaves as well. Wipe off any dust on the leaves, it just looks better.
After a period of time you may need to repot your plant. Ask us what soil to use; usually a houseplant compost will be most suitable. Choose a slightly bigger pot and repot into it. If in any doubt about what houseplant to buy, where to place it and how to look after it call in to see me Monica or any of our horticulturists.
See you soon,
Monica
Powerscourt Garden Pavilion, Powerscourt Estate Enniskerry, County Wicklow. Ph: (01) 204 6014. W: www.powerscourt.ie 
