Even though it may be miserable weather outside, you don’t have to be stuck buying overpriced fresh herbs at the store or using less flavorful dried herbs. Why not grow your own inside the house? Most common herbs will grow quite happily in a sunny window at any time year, even when the weather outside is less than garden-friendly.

Where to Grow Your Herbs

Any sunny window can be great for growing indoor herbs, but most people prefer to keep their herbs in the kitchen. After all, it’s probably warm and sunny there. Moreover, think how great it would be to just reach over to your indoor herb garden, take a few snips of this and that, and serve “garden fresh” tasting foods to your family and guests.

Best Indoor Herb Choices

Wondering what herbs will do best indoors? The most popular and easily grown herbs for your kitchen garden include…

Herbs are great, but don’t overlook edible flowers as well! Pansies, marigolds and nasturtiums grow well inside the house when given sufficient light and add whimsical color and texture to salads and other meals.

Easy Tips for Growing Herbs Indoors

Growing herbs is no different than growing most houseplants. Luckily, herbs aren’t as fussy as many other plants. To grow the best, freshest and most flavorful herbs, consider…

• Light
  Brighter is better. South, southwest or western-facing windows should provide a minimum of four hours of sunlight. If none of your windows provides this, you may want to add indoor grow lights to supplement the sunlight your herbs receive.

• Soil
  Herbs do not require rich soil nor will they do well in heavy soil. Be sure to use a prepackaged potting mix instead of outdoor garden soil that may contain insects and weeds. Special herb mixtures provide the perfect balance of drainage, water retention and fertility for growing herbs.

• Fertilizing
  Plan to fertilize more frequently than you would if your herbs were growing outdoors. Fertilize every other week with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer.

• Watering
  Because some herbs prefer more water than others, it is best to plant different herbs in separate pots. When choosing a pot, remember a smaller pot will dry out sooner than a larger pot and will require more frequent watering. Clay pots dry more quickly than plastic or ceramic. It’s a good idea to give your herbs a quick monthly “rain” shower under the faucet to wash off house oils and dust.

• Drainage
  Herbs don’t like sitting in wet soil, so pots with drainage holes at the bottom are essential. Be sure to use a saucer or pan to catch the draining water and prevent damage to your windowsill or table, but do not let the pot sit in a puddle for long or it may encourage root rot.

• Harvesting
  When you’re ready to enjoy your herbs, snip and use the older leaves to encourage more plant growth. Keeping the plant smaller and bushier discourages flowering that changes the taste. Although the plants will be smaller and less lush than those grown outside, their flavor and convenience will make you forget about the winter weather!

When spring returns, you may find yourself addicted to growing your herbs in pots. After all, pots contain unruly herbs such as mint, can be decoratively arranged on your deck or balcony and continue providing delicious and healthful benefits in your cooking for many months. Bon appétit!

Have your houseplants been looking dingy and dry no matter how much you may water them? Have they lost the lustrous glow their foliage first had when you got them? Poor humidity may be the cause. Many of our houseplants hail from the tropics and grow in humidity of 50-80 percent, considerably more humid than typical homes. The trick is to know your plant’s preferences and be able satisfy it. Putting a cactus in the shower will cause it to rot, while a fern is perfectly happy.

But what can you do if you really want that fern in the family room where the humidity may only be 20 percent in the winter? If your plant has brown leaf tips or margins it probably needs more humidity and is asking you to increase it. Luckily, it’s easier to add humidity than it is to take it away.

Easy Ways to Increase Humidity

There are several ways you can easily increase the humidity around your houseplants. If they only need the air a little more humid, just one technique may be sufficient, but if they are humidity-loving plants, you may want to try several options at once to really give them a humidity boost.

• Pebble Tray
  Place an inch of small pebbles, marbles, shells or gravel in a 2″ deep tray, half fill the tray with water and set your plant on the pebbles. Don’t set the pot in the water, as the wicking action will saturate the pot soil and could lead to rotting roots and overwatering. As the water in the tray evaporates, it increases the humidity immediately around the plant. When you water the plant, pour out the water from the tray to prevent mineral buildup, algae and insect growth.
• Plant Grouping
  Rather than spacing plants throughout the room, group them together to take advantage of the moisture each plant produces through transpiration. Grouping plants can increase humidity by as much as 15 percent. Place the entire group on a pebble tray if additional humidity is required. Allow air circulation between the plants by ensuring the plants are not touching each other, and rotate individual plants periodically to encourage straight growth and distribute humidity absorption.
• Misting
  Use a misting bottle daily to increase humidity and cleanse leaf pores, which tend to clog with dust. However, to prevent leaf rot, do not mist plants with “velvety” leaves such as African violets. Do not over-mist plants to the point where their leaves are dripping wet, or else they may suffer from overwatering.
• Humidifiers
  Available in a variety of sizes, humidifiers increase the humidity in a larger space. You may also find yourself breathing better when using a humidifier. Our houses become very dry in the winter because of furnaces, heat pumps and fireplaces, and humidifiers can not only help houseplants, but can also help alleviate dry skin, limp hair, chapped lips and hacking coughs.
• Terrariums
  If your house is just too dry for the plants you would like to grow, try planting them in a terrarium. These nearly enclosed vessels create miniature environments perfect for humidity-loving tropical plants such as ferns, orchids and mosses. You will still need to water your terrarium, but because much of the moisture is trapped, the humidity in the enclosure is much higher.

Keeping your humidity-loving houseplants happy in the winter isn’t difficult. Come in and see us to ask questions, get answers and pick up the simple supplies to make your home a houseplant haven.

It is no secret that houseplants can beautify your home and office as well as freshen the air, promote relaxation and improve concentration. But if you’re tired of plain foliage and miss the colorful bursts of your annual and perennial flowerbeds, why not opt for flowering plants indoors as well? There are many beautiful bloomers that can brighten up your home and office throughout the year.

Orchids

Orchids are favorite flowers that add an exotic touch to any décor. The most popular varieties for indoor blooming include…

• Phalenopsis (Moth Orchid) – This favorite selection can continue to spike up to 9 months during the year and is considered the easiest to bloom
• Dendrobium – Many fragrant varieties in lots of colors, can rebloom 1-4 times per year
• Cattleya – Large standard variety blooms once per year, miniature varieties can bloom 2-3 times per year, many fragrant varieties, colors and sizes of flowers
• Oncidium (Dancing Lady Orchid) – Blooms once per year and lasts 6-8 weeks
• Paphiopedilum (Lady Slipper Orchid) – Blooms once per year with blooms lasting 6-8 weeks, very exotic.

Cyclamen

This popular plant produces a profusion of colorful flowers that bloom for a long time, ideal for adding reliable color and life indoors. Keep cyclamen evenly moist from September through May. Let them dry from June to August, so the tuber can rest and recover from the intense effort of the prolonged bloom cycle. Ideal light is a sunny east or west window. Cyclamen prefer a cool room (60-70 degrees). Feed them from September to May, then stop for the summer months.

African Violets

These small, robust plants are by far the most popular houseplant and among the easiest flowering houseplant that blooms all year long. Choose from a wide selection of pink, purple, magenta, white and blue options in both double and single blooms. African violets prefer bright, diffused or artificial light. Feed regularly and water from the bottom so as not to get water on the leaves, which could promote diseases and fungus. Be sure to empty any excess water so the roots do not rot.

Kalanchoe

These blooming plants’ flowers last for many weeks. Kalanchoes grow 8-12 inches tall with masses of small four-petaled leaves that are red, orange, coral, gold, yellow and purple. They have thick, waxy leaves with a succulent appearance and can withstand periods of dry soil, making them a good option for beginners or in offices that may be closed for holidays or other periods when the plants may be somewhat neglected. Water when soil feels dry to the touch and drain excess water from tray. Maintain flower color with bright, indirect sunlight daily for at least four hours.

Bonsai

If you haven’t tried it, the art of training a dwarf potted tree is a fascinating hobby. Because the soil around the bonsai plant is limited, these plants need watering almost every day, and sometimes twice a day during the hot summer. We carry a wide selection of starter plants and mature specimens from evergreen selections to tropical varieties. Some will bloom with true flowers, while others – though they don’t produce flowers – have such delicate and pleasing structures that their appearance is every bit as lovely as the most gorgeous bloom.

Not sure which blooming plant will be best for your home or office? Stop in and we’ll be happy to help you choose just the right plant to brighten your space!