My farm is covered with patches of snow and ice, but inside my home I have beautiful, healthy, lush container plants - specifically, bright orange and yellow flowering Clivia miniata.
Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of potted specimens and I enjoy displaying them inside my Winter House when they are in bloom. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, recently selected a lovely group of Clivia to decorate my enclosed porch. The colorful flowers are eye-catching and so cheerful, especially during these cold, gray, dreary days of winter.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Whenever my potted plants are flowering, I enjoy displaying them in my home where I, and my guests, can enjoy them.
Right now, the Clivia plants are in bloom. Here is one just opening in my hoop house.
Here are some in yellow. Clivia also comes in bright red, pink and white.
Before transporting them to my Winter House, Ryan sprays the leaves with Leaf Shine, a spray used to clean and restore the natural luster of plant leaves.
Then the plants are placed inside my Polaris vehicle and delivered quickly to my Winter House, so they are not affected by the very cold winter temperatures.
And look who is right at the door ready to inspect what comes inside – it’s my newest feline, Dahlia, a gorgeous young calico Persian. She is so curious and friendly.
And she enjoys checking everything out. Watch pets around the Clivia as the plants contain small amounts of lycorine, making them poisonous.Thankfully, my cats just enjoy smelling them.
And here comes my silver shaded Persian, Magnolia, who is also very inquisitive and social.
I have always loved Clivia. Clivia miniata, which is also known as bush lily, has a very faint, barely noticeable fragrance, but its flowers are so gorgeous.
Clivia has fleshy, fibrous, shallow roots that grow horizontally just under the soil surface. Clivia plants are also semi-epiphytic, meaning in their natural environment they live above ground with their roots partially in leaf litter.
The leaves of the Clivia plant emerge from the stem in a rosette pattern.
The leaves are also dark green and arranged in two opposing rows as they mature.
Each individual leaf is long, arching, and strap-like. At full length, each leaf is about 18 inches.
The colorful flowers grow on tall stiff stems rising above the foliage.
This time of year the plant produces clusters of showy trumpet-shaped flowers.
And then they open with such profusion. Look at all the gorgeous blooms in every pot.
This handsome evergreen perennial is slow-growing and thrives best in bright, indirect sunlight – a warm, sunny, south-facing window is great.
Clivia prefers somewhat moist soil and does best when it is slightly dry between deep watering.
It should should be fed a slow release fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro Osmocote or a liquid fertilizer at half-strength twice a month.
If cared for properly, Clivias can bloom well into April or even May. And do you know… the genus Clivia, was named after the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte Clive, who first cultivated the plant in England. The Latin specific epithet miniata means “cinnabar”, the color of red lead, referring to its flowers.
If you’re looking for a beautiful low-maintenance and relatively small indoor plant with long-lasting bold-colored blooms, consider Clivia.
Any spring bulb can be tricked into early bloom - some are just easier than others.
This year, I decided to force as many spring blooming bulbs as I could. Forcing is essentially the process of simulating the conditions of winter and spring in order to fool the bulbs, speed up their development, and have them bloom before their time. While we're going through a week of snow and freezing rain here at the farm, my head gardener is inside forcing muscari, scilla, blue squill, and crocus - all from Colorblends Flowerbulbs - a third generation wholesale flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Enjoy these photos.
There’s always excitement when the first bulbs of spring emerge. Here at my farm, I plant thousands of spring-blooming bulbs every year. These are some of last year’s crocus.
There are many types of crocus. Crocus is among the first flowers to appear in spring, usually in shades of purple, yellow, and white. There are about 90 different species of crocus that originate from Southern Europe, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and Africa.
Croci can be found in alpine meadows, rocky mountainsides, scrublands, and woodlands.
Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring.
Muscari bloom in mid-spring. Deer and rodents rarely bother them, and the bulbs multiply readily, returning to bloom again year after year.
But blooms can be enjoyed sooner through a process of forcing. Bulbs can be tricked into developing sooner given the right conditions.
Clay pots with good drainage are the best for forcing spring blooming bulbs. Make sure there is at least two inches between the bulbs and the bottom of the pot for proper root development.
I always place a shard over the hole of the pot to help with drainage and to prevent soil from falling through.
Ryan also adds a light layer of gravel to the bottom of the pots for better drainage.
Then, Ryan fills all the pots with a good, well-draining potting mix.
I like to use Miracle-Gro Potting Mix with moisture control.
Fill the pot three-quarters of the way. Depending on the size of the bulbs, one can fill a bit less.
The bulbs should be placed deep enough so they can be fully covered. Ryan gently pushes each bulb down into the soil, so it is well-anchored. And remember, pointed end faced up and root end facing down.
Use enough bulbs to fill the container. They can be crowded together or spaced out.
For these muscari bulbs, Ryan uses a long rectangular shaped planter. When planting bulbs, be sure any bulbs used are heavy and free from mold, mildew, discoloration, or a peeling outer shell.
And for these, Ryan put 150 muscari bulbs in a giant round planter. The display will be colorful and dense.
Here is my greenhouse cat, Blackie, watching from nearby.
Ryan fills the pots with more potting soil mix to cover the bulbs.
Ryan also adds Osmocote fertilizer, which can be sprinkled on top or mixed into the soil. The slow-release prills filled with nutrients feed the plants for up to six months. Remember, if you eat, so should your plants.
All the planted pots are brought out to the greenhouse for a good drink.
And then placed on a windowsill or on shelves in my hoop house where they will get light, humidity, and water to help them grow. I’ll have pots of gorgeous blooms in several weeks.
Here at my farm I regularly feed my plants a refreshing drink of tea - compost tea.
Feeding plants compost tea is a wonderful way to provide wholesome and organic nourishment. Every couple of weeks, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, mixes up a batch and feeds the potted plants in the hoop houses. Compost tea is made by steeping aged compost in water. It improves soil structure, reduces water stress, and is an ideal alternative to toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers. I use a brewing systems from Growing Solutions, Inc. in Eugene, Oregon - just combine a few ingredients to create the appropriate "brew" and leave it overnight before using.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is called the System25 by Growing Solutions. It’s a 25-gallon compost tea model that’s great for nurseries and farms. A smaller 10-gallon system is also available for home gardens. The unit needs a sheltered location with a level surface and access to power and water. I keep this in the back of my citrus hoop house.
The compost filter basket is durable and designed for long term compost extraction use.
The filter is connected to a tray that sits on top of the tank. Ryan fills the brewing tank with potable water up to the fill line.
A hose connected to an air stone sits over filter basket. It provides a consistent pattern of air bubbles that prevents compost compaction and incorporates necessary oxygen during the brewing process.
Once the unit is filled, it can be turned on. The bubble action also helps to release damaging chlorine from the water.
The first step is to add compost tea catalyst, which stimulates important microbial growth in the tea.
Ryan adds about a cup to the activating water.
These brewing systems need several generous quart scoops of compost for each batch of tea. I am fortunate to make so much of my own compost right here at the farm.
Ryan fills the filter basket with nutrient rich compost.
Here is a look at the compost inside the filter.
Next, Ryan adds booster supplements to the tea mixture – 2-4-1 fish fertilizer and 2-3-1 fish and seaweed plant food.
Ryan pours about two cups each into the brewing tank. Fish emulsion contains a rich amount of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
It also provides macro and micronutrients for robust plant growth.
He adds the same amount of the fish and seaweed liquid fertilizer which helps to improve soil health and increase its fertility.
Ryan puts the lid back on the system and lets it sit for 24-hours to complete the compost tea making cycle.
The next day the tea is ready to dispense into watering cans.
Ryan fills many cans of tea to manually feed all the plants in the citrus house.
Ryan pours enough to reach all around the roots. Compost tea helps alleviate diseases of the soil. I’ve been giving my plants compost tea for many years.
It also increases plant growth and provides them with so many nutrients. Every citrus plant will be treated. In addition to proper feeding, dwarf citrus trees require at least eight to 12 hours of full sunshine and good air circulation to thrive.
Compost tea can be applied to the soil and roots or sprayed on the leaves.
Here, Ryan rinses the filter to remove any residual compost.
Ryan schedules the compost tea feeding process when the plants are already due for watering.
It makes me so happy to be able to fortify my citrus plants with good, rich food. In return, they provide me with bounties of delicious fruits every season.
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