I wanted to show you another garden update today, but truth to be told I haven't been outside for almost one week. I don't want to go into much detail, and I guess it will be enough to say that I had an unsuccessful dental surgery on Monday, followed by swelling until yesterday and me being on painkillers for 5 days in a row now. Apparently, I resembled Homer Simpson as my husband enjoyed pointing out and making me laugh while the stitches were breaking and my gums bleeding. The swelling is almost gone, but I still need to take painkillers as the pain is not yet manageable. I have no idea how this story will continue as even my dentist couldn't say that, but I try to remain positive.
I was thinking about what I should share here if not my garden, and then I realized that I've had my own little jungle at home since many years and that this is a good opportunity to show you around.
Let's start!
I've been growing Tradescantias for a few years now. They are probably the easiest plant ever to grow as even if it's not doing good you only need to take some branches, stick them in the soil and the plant will quickly start growing again. This is also the way I manage its growth as it's expanding exponentially, so I keep replanting the tops and maintaining its shape. It's a grateful plant to as every now and then I get these cute little flowers. They don't last long, but the plant keeps pushing new ones again and again.
I have several varieties, but this one is my oldest and also the favourite one.
When I bought my Jade Plant about two years ago it was less than 5 cm tall. I love this plant because it's one of the most forgiving plants that I have. Even when I forget to water it for a long time it always perks up and keep growing. You can see that it's thirsty when the leaves become soft and start shrivelling. I let it soft for a few hours in water and it always comes back stronger.
This Pothos is one of my oldest plants and I have it for almost 5 years. It's such an interesting plant to grow as each leaf is different. It almost died two years ago when I was overloaded at work, but since I started to take care of it properly again it became lush and bushy.
These 4 photos are all coming from the same plant...
I haven't figured out yet how to properly take care of my zebra plant, but it seems to be happy as it keeps pushing flowers.
Its flowers are by no means beautiful, but they are still somehow cool. They grow on a long stalk which I usually remove after a few days as it doesn't stop growing.
Satin Pothos loves when you ignore it. Just put it in the place with enough light, but no direct sun, water it once in two weeks and it will keep getting bigger and bigger. I have no idea how I will ever entangle those wines though. This plant gets the most compliments from our friends visiting us.
This Aglaonema is about 10 years old. It got attacked by spider mites a few years ago and was almost destroyed, so I took the last surviving pieces, put them in the new soil and it perked up. I couldn't be more proud!
My Polyscias Roble is fighting scales all the time. I am convinced that they were there when I bought the plant. I can't get rid of them, but I manually remove them now and then, and it seems to be working as there is not much visible damage. I use no chemicals at home and soapy water really doesn't do that much magic.
Monstera Monkey Mask was my first monstera. It's a wine plant with hand sized leaves and fast growth. It's a perfect plant for beginners.
Monstera Deliciosa is quite temperamental. To ensure its health and steady growth you need to find just the right place with enough light and good humidity. Based on the season I get beautiful big leaves or small baby leaves.
Do you want a plant that you can water once in a month or even less? Then get a Sansevieria. There are many varieties from tiny to large, green to yellow or strapped and all of them are beautiful and so easy to take care of.
I have always wanted to own a black Zamioculcas, so I couldn't leave it in the shop when I finally found it. Where I live we have plenty of green ones, but the black ones are still rather unique.
The most resistant plant that I owe must be my Coffee Plant. This plant has never had any disease and have always been green and lush. It didn't flower yet, but it would be unusual here anyway, so I just enjoyed its leaves.
My Peace Lilly is the very first plant that I bought when I moved to Switzerland. It is 12 years old and keeps growing. It became a huge plant that takes over so much space in our living room, but it has a sentimental value, so I let it enjoy our space. It keeps flowering from February to November each year. At times I have as many as 20 flowers on it.
Polyscias Fabian has an eye catching body and dark glossy leaves. This is a plant that I would recommend in smaller spaces as it grows in an upright position.
And last but not least.. This is the plant that caused me too many headaches. It used to be large and healthy until it somehow got thrips. They destroyed the entire plant even though I tried to minimize the damage. In the end I cut down all leaves and let them regrow. This is the second time that it happened and it finally started to come up healthy again. It's my only Calathea and let me tell you that I'm not getting any more of them.
Plants are my passion and I dedicate a good part of each day to take care of them (sometimes at the expense of sleep or my husband 馃檪)
See you next time...
