I go outside early in the morning and tend to whatever needs water to make it through a few hot afternoon hours. Around 1pm, I return to the garden to harvest herbs. For the rest of the day, I do some computer work, read, and do some housekeeping, which today led me to my neglected houseplants.
I have a confession to make. Most of these plants I don’t know or soon forget what they actually are, they are chosen for how they look. Today I actually researched all their names and their light and water requirements. Most were doing fine but a couple were struggling.
“Fern” is actually “Fluffy Ruffles fern”. What a cute name.
This one needs a more uniform watering schedule and more humidity, I think. Added to my calendar – check it twice a week, during the summer.
Next is the aloe vera – a challenge because it is getting pretty big and needs bright sun, as does one other large plant. I have waffled between watering it too much and too little. I learned today to water only when it is completely dry; when in doubt, wait a couple days. So testing by inserting a finger and getting lots of dirt under my fingernail. I moved it outside on a south-facing deck that gets only a few hours of direct sun a day, at this point. Lots of dappled light.
Then there’s the mystery cactus; it’s not a Christmas or an Easter or a Thanksgiving cactus because it flowers whenever it feels like it. Sometimes as soon as the previous blooms have dried up and fallen off. Go figure. So I will check it every 10 days to see if it needs water, using the same dirty finger method as the aloe.
The plant I previously called “Ivy” I now know as “Heartleaf Philodendron”. Basically I water it when the leaves get droopy or start losing color. Now I will treat it like Mystery Cactus. That was easy.
Last but not least, another Mystery that my husband bought me, that was looking sad until I watered it and moved it to a south-facing window. Imagine that…water matters. Today I bothered to look it up and behold, it’s a Fiddle Leaf Fig. I found a website with a calculator that told me how much water I should give it and how often, based on whether it got direct sun and how big the pot is. So it’s 2.5 cups of water every 9 days, since it does get some direct sun and is in a 9″ pot. I am going to gradually move it outside onto the deck because I don’t like letting the sun warm up the room (my bedroom) this time of year.
I promise to do this again, once the nights are cool enough that I need to bring the outside plants back in, to recalibrate water requirements.
Most of my gardening life, I’ve been a chaotic mess. I didn’t offer advice to anyone except in the form of questions, like “have you ever tried this?” or “maybe that would work?” Now that I have decades of experience but a terrible memory especially when it comes to numbers, my advice is usually in the form of “I think I used to…” or “look what I learned today!”
This is why I write. Holding on to memories, and sharing them along with my mistakes so others can feel less intimidated. Most of all, have fun!