Download How to Grow Houseplants,How to Grow Natives

How to Grow Houseplants
Bring the warmth and life of nature indoors and brighten your
home with plants. They not only create a relaxed and cheerful
atmosphere, but they also help clean the air.
Choosing and caring for house plants depends on the light,
temperature, draughts, and humidity conditions of your home.
Follow these simple guidelines, and you will be rewarded with
healthy indoor plants that will add colour and style to your
home.
Positioning your indoor plants
All plants have likes and dislikes. The key is simply to read
the plant labels carefully. Below is a guide that will help
you decide which room will best suit your new plant.
Living Room – Generally well lit and warm: African violets,
spider plant, croton, weeping fig, flowering begonia,
kalanchoe, poinsettia, radermachera, kentia palm.
Dining Room – Varies warm/cold: Azalea, Christmas cactus,
peace Lily, dracaena marginata, umbrella Plant.
Kitchen – Well lit and warm during the day, cold at night:
Geranium, chrysanthemum, parade Rose, cacti.
Bathroom – Warm and humid: Maidenhair fern, Boston fern,
bird’s nest fern.
Bedrooms – Well lit but cool: Bottle gardens, cyclamen, ivy,
hyacinth, parade rose, geranium.
Hallways – Shady and cool: Grape Ivy, parlour palm, peace lily
Porch – Light but not heated: Ivy, primrose, yucca, polka dot
plant, dragon tree, kalanchoe, freedom bells.
Caring for indoor plants
Watering
Most indoor plant failures are caused by over watering. People
are just too kind! Be particularly careful in the winter, when
plants may only need watering once a fortnight.
Check your plants once a week. If you can feel no moisture
when pushing your finger into the potting mix, the pot should
be watered. Fill the pot to the top with water. A few minutes
later, throw out any excess left in the saucer. Leaving the
excess water can cause the roots to rot.
Certain plants like African violets and vyclamens should be
watered by immersing the pot in a bowl of tepid water. Top
watering causes the stems to rot. Allow the pot to drain
before returning to its saucer.
Feeding
An easy and convenient way to feed indoor plants is with a
slow release fertiliser such as osmocote that will sustain
your plant for up to 6 months. Another fertiliser that is easy
to apply is one that is mixed in with the water when watering
for example Baby Bio or Nitrosol. Again, be careful during the
winter and feed rarely, as with outdoor plants, houseplants
need a time of little growth. Freshly potted plants will not
need feeding for up to 4 weeks.
Warmth
Choose plants carefully to suit the temperature of your home.
Sudden temperature changes will damage almost all plants.
Avoid placing plants too close to a window as direct sunlight
or coldness can damage the plant resulting in brown marks and
dryness or bleaching of the leaves.
Grooming
Make it a practice to “look over” your plants when checking if
they need watering. Check under the leaves for insects and
diseases. Dust on the foliage clogs leaf pores and stops the
plant from breathing. Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.
Smaller leaved plants such as ferns and palms can be mist
sprayed with water regularly. Pinch back the growing tips of
tall, leggy plants for a more compact, bushy plant. Leaf spots
and damage can be removed with a sharp razor blade.
Re-potting
Indoor plants are best re-potted during the warmer months,
from October through to March. If the roots start to emerge
from the bottom of the pot, or the potting mix dries out
rapidly, it is time to re-pot.
Water your plant well before transferring to a larger pot. Put
a layer of new potting mix in your new pot (one size larger
than the old pot) and place the plant (in its old pot) on top,
with the rim of both pots at the same level. Fill with potting
mix (never use garden soil) between the pots, to 1cm below the
rim to allow for watering. Tap out the plant from its existing
pot and place it in the new one. Water well and allow to stand
in a cool place for a few days.
Pests, Diseases & Ailments
Prevention is better than cure, so try to keep your plants in
their ideal growing conditions to keep them as strong and
healthy as possible. Always isolate your infected plant to
prevent the infestation spreading.
For further information please refer to Palmers Guide to Pest
& Disease Control. Or take a sample from the infected plant to
your local Palmers garden centre. Some commonly found
household pests:
Whitefly: Look like tiny white flies, which fly around when
disturbed. Spray with Confidor aerosol.
Aphids: Clusters of insects gathered around the growing tips.
New leaves curl and become distorted. Spray with Confidor
aerosol.
Botrytis: Brown spots and blotches appear on leaves and
sometimes stems. Under humid conditions, grey mould on leaves,
flowers and stems. Reduce humidity and increase air movement.
Space plants out. Remove dead flowers and leaves regularly. If
problem persists, spray with Fungus and Mildew spray.
Mealy Bugs: Look like wooly patches under the leaves or on the
stems. Spray with Confidor aerosol. Badly infected plants
should be discarded.
Red Spider Mites: Tiny yellow, brown, or red mites on
undersides of leaves. They produce fine cobwebs. Mist
regularly to increase humidity. To control, spray with Mavrik
at regular intervals
Scale Insects: Small hard yellow, brown insects cling to stems
and leaves. Generally scrape off the scales using tepid soapy
water, then rinse. To control, spray with an oil based product
such as Conqueror Oil. Repeat applications may be necessary
Mildew: White powdery patches on stems & leaves. Spray with
Bayer Baycor.
How to Grow Natives
There are native plants for all garden situations. Renowned
for dramatic foliage, textures and contrasts, they fit in well
with any garden design. For hardiness, low maintenance,
longevity and to add interest to the garden, native plants
cannot be overlooked.
Planting
The best time for planting is winter through to early spring.
However, planting can be done at any time of year as long as
plants are watered well through dry periods.
Natives do not require a particularly rich soil, but benefit
from the addition of compost, mulch or organic material dug in
before planting. Some native plants are frost tender; take
care to plant varieties that suit the conditions in your area.
Soak the plant in a bucket of water before planting. Dig the
planting hole twice the width and depth of the root ball. Dig
in compost and organic material. Add Blood and Bone or Sheep
Manure Pellets to the planting hole and mix in well.
Remove the plant from its container, run a sharp knife down
the root ball in several places to encourage new roots. Place
the plant in the hole and firm soil around it. Plant to the
depth of the plant’s original container and water well.
Natives for containers
Native plants suit today’s landscaping trends with bold
dramatic foliage creating a tropical effect in contemporary
gardens. Many native plants are suited to growing in
containers. They are hardy and easy care, look good all year
round and can remain in large containers for several years
with regular watering and the occasional application of a
controlled release fertiliser such as osmocote. agathis
(kauri), astelia, carex, cordyline (cabbage tree), fuchsia
procumbens, hebe, griselinia, libertia, meryta (puka),
pittosporum, pohutukawa, phormium (flax), pseudopanax
(lancewood), xeronema (poor knights lily).
Natives for dramatic foliage
Some of the most striking foliage plants are natives and are
sought after as features for modern architecture. Combined
with river stones, crushed shell or under planted with ground
covers they create a contemporary look. Arthropodium (renga
renga lily), astelia, cordyline, carex, ferns, griselinia,
hoheria, meryta (puka), phormium (flax), psuedopanax
(lancewood), xeronema (poor knights lily).
Natives for shade
Shady areas can be difficult because of the varying conditions
found there. However, many native plants suit these
conditions. Smaller plants will usually adapt to difficult
conditions quicker than large trees and shrubs. Arthropodium
(renga renga lily), coprosma, cordyline, corokia, griselinia,
libertia, meryta (puka), myosotidium (chatham islands forget
me not), pittosporum, ferns, pseudopanax (lancewood),
rhopalostylis (nikau).
Varieties of natives
Native climbers
Native climbers are useful for softening hard landscape
structures, climbing along fences, trellis or archways. They
are usually evergreen and are among some of our most colourful
and distinctive plants. Clematis paniculata, metrosideros
(rata), tecomanthe speciosa.
Natives to attract birds
One of the benefits of planting natives in the garden is the
attraction to native birds. Tuis, bellbirds and waxeyes will
entertain for hours as they flit from flower to flower.
Alectryon (titoki), clianthus, coprosma, knightia (rewa rewa),
metrosideros (rata and pohutukawa), phormium, sophora
(kowhai), tecomanthe, vitex (puriri).
Natives for bright flowers
New Zealand native plants are not known for their bright
flowers. However, with modern plant breeding techniques,
native plants now rival introduced exotics. Clianthus (kaka
beak), clematis paniculata, hebe, leptospermum, metrosideros
(pohutukawa and rata), myosotidium (Chatham Islands forget me
not), senecio, sophora (kowhai), xeronema (Poor Knights lily).
Native ground covers
Native ground covers create a good effect with their foliage
and texture. Ground covers keep the soil surface cool and
moist in hot summer months, stabilise banks, cascade down
walls, help create easy care gardens by suppressing weeds.
Carex, coprosma, cotula, fuchsia procumbens, hebe,
leptospermum (manuka), pimelea prostrata, pratia, raoulia,
scleranthus.
Watering
Regular watering in dry periods is required. Deep watering is
more effective than light watering.
Mulching and feeding
This is essential for success. Apply a 5cm thick layer of
compost or organic material around plants in late winter and
again in mid-summer to ensure roots stay cool and moist.
Regular feeding is not required. However, Blood and Bone or
Sheep Manure Pellets applied in late winter and again in midsummer can be beneficial.
Pruning
Pruning is not essential, but native plants can be shaped as
required. This is best done in early spring, after frosts have
passed in frost prone areas, and again in summer if required.
Flowering native plants can be trimmed after flowering has
finished.