If you have learned anything from my blog before, you should know that I don’t have a green thumb. I really don’t. BUT as with every year of my life I try new things & try to better myself so I’ve slowly started to train my green thumb & thankfully I have the help from some of my friends. I met an amazing woman this year by the name of Angie from Passiflora. How I met her was pretty amazing… She called the store one day & I happened to be there. When I picked up the phone I heard this bubbly woman on the other end asking about selling her plants in our shop. My first thought was “Wow, no one can be that nice.” & my second thought was “Wow, our shop could use some greenery & someone with so much joy.” We set up a meeting & when she came in I discovered she really is that nice, she really is that bubbly, & she really is just pure joy. She is now part of The Found Cottage family & I look forward to seeing her and her lovely mom come into the shop to drop off plants. This week they came to the farm to hang out with me & see the house & bring some lovely plants & topiaries to liven up our porch. We also talked about some great tips to keep the plants happy & healthy so I thought I would pass along some tips that she shared with you guys because I know I’m not the only one who could use a little help with their green thumb. Here are 5 super quick tips she shared…
#1. Bright light. “Green” plants just need bright light near a window. If its a blooming plant, 4-6 hours of sunshine is required for flowers. Some other light notes: Full sun plants thrive in direct sunlight all day, some sun/part shade plants should be in at least 4 hours of sun, part shade plants should be in filtered sun, & Full shade should be out of light all day as the sun can injure the plant.
#2 Moisture. Homes & outside environments vary with humidity, furnaces, etc so adequate water us important. Water daily just enough to keep the soil moist & your plant will be happy. Don’t be like me & forget about your plants for a week!
#3 Trimming vs. Training. Plants that require “haircuts” to maintain shape include boxwood Honeysuckle, rosemary, lavender, myrtle, flowering maple, basil, olive, euonymus, lemon cypress and santolina. Plants that like to be “trained” with the help of twist ties include angel vine, ivy, creeping fig, rosemary and goldfish plant.
#4 Transplanting. When a plant becomes root-bound (you tend to see roots coming to surface) its time to move into a bigger pot, typically 1″ bigger in diameter.
#5 Fertilize. To get the your plant to the fullest potential you can choose to fertilize once a month with a water soluble fertilizer. This will give you a better chance at having super happy plants.
Those are just five tips she shared… I would LOVE to hear your best plant tip!! Share them with everyone below in the comments, on Facebook, & on Instagram. Can’t wait to hear from you! Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today & for sharing the post with your friends and family. xx
About twice a week, soak your potted ferns in a large container of water with a few tablespoons of Epsom salt (I submerge them until they stop bubbling). You will have the fullest, greenest ferns! When you’re done watering your ferns, use the leftover water to water your other potted plants.