Spring is Plant Upkeep Time

Springtime is typically considered a period of fresh beginnings and revitalization. For plants it is a very active span as they arise from their winter sleep. For horticulturists this is a very spirited period for not only outdoor plants but our indoor plants too. Springtime is the ideal period for indoor plant maintenance.

Fertilizing plants in the spring and summer months will render the best results. A useful rule of thumb to keep in mind when fertilizing is that less is indeed more. Don’t fertilize a plant that has recently been re-potted for a few months or a new plant just brought home from the nursery. The fertilizer nutrients are already in a nursery plant and the fresh soil of a re-potted plant.

I also examine my plants in the spring to determine if they need re-potting. There are 3 standard methods to determine if your indoor plant needs re-potting:

1. If the roots are protruding out of the drainage hole.

2. If the roots have totally filled the pot and are growing around in circles.

3. If, after adding water, it quickly leaks out the bottom. This is a matter of either the soil altogether drying out, or the roots so totally filling the pot that they are self-strangling and can’t take up any water at all.

After re-potting, it is a perfect time to consider displaying your plant in a splendid, natural-looking macrame plant hanger.

Macrame plant hangers are also a good method to move that plant that needs more or less light into a superior spot to receive its needed light. Usually plants come with a guideline on the amount of light that works best for them. During the winter, less sun comes inside than in the spring and summer. It’s useful to know which windows have the less to more sunlight that comes through on any given sunny day. The north window has the least amount of light. The east window has the next brightest; the west window is the next brightest with the south window being the brightest of all.

Pruning a plant to improve its shape and cultivate more even flowering throughout the plant is also ideally completed in the early spring or late summer.

During this spring I am loving the blossoms of my many African Violets and the spring flowering of my Christmas Cacti. I also have numerous macrame plant hangers in my home so they can all have their individual showplace. It is fun pampering your plants…they love it!