One doesn't have to wait until spring to see beautiful lush, green plants. There are so many lovely houseplants that are easy to care for and enjoy indoors right now.
I hope you saw my latest segment on NBC's TODAY Show. If not, just click on this highlighted link. During yesterday's appearance, I shared tips on caring for a variety of houseplants - ferns, echeverias, cacti, begonias, philodendrons, money plants, and sansevieria. Sansevieria is a genus of about 70-species of flowering plants native to Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. You may know it as one of its common names, such as mother-in-law's tongue, devil's tongue, jinn's tongue, bow string hemp, snake plant and snake tongue. I have many of them in my greenhouse.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I was up bright an early for my regular appearance on the TODAY Show. Here I am on set just before it started.
If you’ve never seen what happens during a television segment, here I am in front of the cameras – numerous lights are above and several camera operators, a stage manager, and other crew members are in front of me. It takes a lot of people and a lot of work to put these shows together.
During the segment, I talked about the stiff leafed Sansevieria plant. While working in my tropical greenhouse back at my farm last weekend, I noticed that these beautiful sansevieria plants were overcrowded in their pots and needed to be divided and repotted.
I removed a lot of the shoots from the parent plants and placed them all in a bag for repotting. I am so happy these specimens are doing extremely well.
Look closely at the plant’s leaves – they are accented with darker green bars going vertically on each leaf.
And here are the parent plants now – so much better. Sansevierias are very “succulent“ and “heavy plants” and hold lots of water in their leaves. The pebbles give quick anchorage to the roots.
For repotting, Brian uses an appropriate soil medium. The right soil mix will help to promote faster root growth.
Brian first covers the bottom of the pot with the soil mixture.
This is the shallow root system of the Sansevieria. The roots often don’t grow more than a few inches.
Here is a closer look at the bottom. The root system is a mix of thick underground “stems” called rhizomes and smaller twig-like roots. When healthy, they should feel firm to the touch and are light orange in color. They are rapid growers once established.
Brian selects about three shoots for each pot.
And then places the sansevieria firmly in place. Several can fit into one pot – they actually don’t mind being a little crowded. Do you know… these plants absorb toxins, such as nitrogen oxides – they work great for improving indoor air quality? In fact, it is one of the best air purifying plants to keep.
The sansevieria plant features upright leaves that range from one to eight feet tall depending on variety. These plants are among the most hardy of all houseplants because they can withstand virtually any conditions.
Brian tamps the soil down around each plant to prevent any air holes. Although they are very forgiving, Sansevieria plants prefers indirect but steady light with some direct sun. They can adapt to full sun conditions, and will also survive quite dim situations.
Once the plants are repotted in the gallon pots, Brian places them in one area. We always save our plastic pots for this purpose – they’re very handy to keep.
Next, Brian fertilizes all the newly potted plants. Remember what I always say, “if you eat, so should your plants.”
We use Osmocote – small, round coated prills filled with nutrients.
The beige shell on each prill coats a core of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Brian sprinkles them around the entire base of the plant.
And then he gives all of them a good drink. For regular care, the soil should be almost completely dry before thoroughly watering. Plants can be watered about once every two to six weeks, depending on the temperature, light levels, and humidity.
Here are the newly potted Sansevieria plants – they’ll be very happy. What indoor plant care tasks are you doing this weekend? Let me know your own tips and tricks in the comments below.
I always enjoy seeing photos from others taken during their vacations.
Not long ago, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, and his son Mingmar, returned from a brief trip to Thailand. Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, Thailand is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea. Thailand is home to more than 71-million people and is well-known for its tropical beaches and islands, its culture, and its ornate Buddhist temples. Chhiring and Mingmar spent most of their time in Bangkok, the capital and largest city of the nation.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is a floating market in Bangkok. Floating markets are mainly found in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. These are markets where goods are sold primarily from boats.
These markets were first opened when waterways served as primary modes of transport and trade. Now, these floating markets are more popular for visiting tourists. Chhiring and Mingmar stopped for this photo aboard one of the floating market boats.
One of their first purchases – fresh coconut juice. Here, Mingmar made a hole in his mask to drink safely.
Thailand is a Buddhist country, so it is well-known for its many Buddhist temples. Chhiring and Mingmar visited as many as they could while in Bangkok.
Here is Chhiring in front of another temple. There are thousands of Buddhist temples in Thailand, most of which are still active. The temples vary in size, but are largely used for praying to Buddha and asking for good health, good fortune, and advice from its monks.
While walking through the city of Bangkok, Chhiring stopped to pose with one if its police officers.
Chhiring and Mingmar also visited Ancient City, a museum park constructed by Thai businessman Lek Viriyaphant. The park, located in Thailand’s Samut Phrakan province, occupies about 250 acres of land made in the shape of Thailand.
The Ancient City features 116 structures of Thailand’s most famous monuments and architectural attractions including these long temple bridges.
This is a temple re-production in the Ancient City, known locally as Muang Boran, which means “Ancient City” in Thai.
Here is Chhiring with a small potted “Bodhi Tree” or sacred fig tree, Ficus religiosa, recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or Bodhi circa 500 BCE under this type of tree.
Here is another reproduced temple within the Ancient City.
Some of the local foods Chhiring and Mingmar enjoyed included bowls of boiled rice, fried fish, sautéed bamboo shoots, pork, and peppers.
This is a tuk tuk – Thailand’s iconic rickshaw taxi. Tuk tuks are motorized three-wheeled rickshaws that transport passengers around Bangkok and other places in Thailand. The name comes from the sound the engines make as they move along city streets.
The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings in the heart of Bangkok. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925.
This is just outside the monastery of The Grand Palace.
Here’s Chhiring inside The Grand Palace paying his respects to the giant Thai kings and statues.
Elephants are the national animal of Thailand. They represent strength, loyalty, and longevity. Many Thais believe walking under one will bring good luck.
On one of the last days of their trip, Chhiring and Mingmar visited Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan – an island in Phang Nga Bay northeast of Phuket. The smaller islets nearby are limestone karst towers and are part of Ao Phang Nga National Park.
The two were able to take a boat ride to James Bond Island – a famous landmark in Phang Nga Bay.
Before 1974, the island was a rarely visited; however, it was chosen as one of the locations for the 1974 James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun.” After the movie release it turned into a popular tourist destination and was named James Bond Island.
And look at its beautiful beaches – the weather was perfect with blue skies and clear waters. Chhiring and his son love to travel, and continue to check off places they want to visit. Thanks for sharing your photos from Thailand, Chhiring.
During this time of year, while delicious, organic produce grows in my vegetable greenhouse, more vegetable and flower seedlings are developing in my Urban Cultivators.
My Urban Cultivators allow me to sprout greens in appliance-sized devices right inside my main greenhouse. Urban Cultivator is a hydroponics company in Canada that creates indoor gardening machines. There's no need to use any pesticides or chemicals of any kind, so we know we're growing the highest quality plants. I have three Urban Cultivators at my Bedford, New York farm that I have been using for many years - and they continue to help me germinate strong, healthy seedlings for every growing season.
Enjoy these photos.
This is my commercial-sized Urban Cultivator. It weighs 545-pounds and can hold up to 16-flats. The automated system provides a self-contained growing environment with everything the plants need to thrive.
The large Cultivator has four grow drawers for the seed trays – well spaced so there is plenty of room for seedling growth. There are also 16 specially designed grow lights – four on each level.
The Cultivator provides the proper aeration and circulation for its plants. There is a fan on the inside wall of every shelf.
And the seed trays sit over these reservoirs and are automatically watered from the back of the unit. The Urban Cultivator Commercial model uses only about 32-gallons of water a week to refill and clean the reservoir.
Each of the 16 trays measures 10-inches by 20-inches. Seed starting trays are available in a variety of sizes and can be saved and used over and over again.
Seed starting mixes are also available at garden supply stores. It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. We keep our soil mixes in these large commercial grade ingredients bins often used by bakers to hold flour.
Once a tray is filled with seeds, it is placed into the Urban Cultivator.
Each tray is then covered with a humidity dome. The humidity dome remains positioned over the seed tray until germination begins. Each tray receives about 18-hours of light a day.
Here, one can see where the water comes out from the back of the Urban Cultivator. Each spout also has a water sensor, so the machine does not overflow.
The water is absorbed through the holes at the bottom of each tray.
Some trays are different, but all seed trays have holes at the bottom for water intake.
Here it is all filled. The entire unit covers the space of a double-door refrigerator. We keep ours in a small alcove between the head house and the greenhouse where it can be accessed easily.
The liquid crystal touch screen enables one to control the functions and monitor watering, lighting, temperature, relative humidity, and nutrient data.
The machine has pre-set growing conditions, but users can also custom program the cultivator to fit specific needs and then reset them at any time.
Here is the sreen for setting the unit’s temperature – just press the desired setting and save.
All the settings are then clearly listed on the main menu screen for quick reference and monitoring.
It is fascinating to see how much the plants develop from day to day. These seed trays were just filled earlier this week.
This is a tray after two weeks in the Urban Cultivator. Taller dome covers are also available for the growing plants.
Once the seeds germinate, the domes are removed.
I also have two smaller Urban Cultivator residential units in the head house. These units each take up the same footprint as a dishwasher and are plumbed to water and electrical sources in the same way.
Each residential machine has two grow shelves for the seed trays. The units also have pre-set control centers to ensure plants get exactly the right amount of water, light, and humidity for what is growing inside.
And, once they’re big enough, they are transplanted into bigger celled trays or individual pots and moved into the greenhouse until they’re ready to plant outdoors. It’s a wonderful process. In coming weeks, I will also share our tips for seeding these trays and growing many plants from seed.
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