Boiling water on plants

There was a knock at the door today and in front of me was someone with a very sorry looking Peace lily plant in their hands. These plants tend to have droopy leaves anyway but some of them on this plant were transparent, the person held it up to my face.

“Someone in the office was looking after it whilst I was away for a week” they began “and I asked them to water it”.

“Didn’t they”? I inquired. “It’s looking a bit sorry for itself.”

“They did water it,” came the reply “but as they were in a hurry to finish for the day they used the recently boiling water from the kettle.”

These plants are pretty tough but I think that will be enough to finish it off.

“Could you do something with it?” I was asked.

My first response was to throw it into the compost bin, at least it’ll give the worms a bit of food as it rots down and you could just pop to the shops and buy a new one. But then came the story.

“I’ve had the plant for three years, it was a present from someone very special and I have become very attached to it”. The story continued. “I have it on front of me on the desk in the office and I prefer to look at this plant than out of the window. I couldn’t bear to be without it.” 

Just swap it

I’ve learnt my lesson trying to swap things in the hope that people won’t notice. Take the time I was entrusted to look after a friend’s goldfish. When it died I thought they wouldn’t notice the new one I bought from the pet shop. They did, and I am sure this person would know if a new peace lily appeared on her desk. No-one could explain why all of the leaves miraculously turned a lush green overnight. 

“Could you fix it?” said the person at the door with eyes all wet and expectant.

“I’ll see what I can.” I said helpfully.

Hardy

Peace lilies are really hardy and are one of the favourite house plants of the time. One of the many reasons is that they purify the air making them ideal for offices. They also don’t really require any feeding and can withstand a bit of watering neglect. But not, I fear boiling water.

I took the plant and headed into the polytunnel to work a bit of magic whilst Julie consoled the owner. If truth be known I didn’t really “do magic” These plants are made up of a lot of smaller plants and they divide easily. I just pulled the plant apart and threw away the bits where the roots had turned brown along with the leaves. The remaining smaller plants were then bunched together and put back into the pot with some fresh bark based compost. The lilies grow in tropical woodland conditions and like a bit of composting bark.

Five minutes later I return with a slightly smaller but happier looking plant.  “Don’t water it for a week or so” I told the woman. “The soil was very wet around the roots so it’ll give the plant time to dry off. “And next time just leave the plant to dry out when you are not at work, it’ll stand a greater chance of surviving.”

One happy customer - and hopefully one happier plant.

Easy open fruit and more gardening tips

There’s a video going around on youtube on how to open a banana. It doesn’t sound very exciting but it made me realise I have been doing it wrong all of my life. I complain a lot (it’s true) that the fruit are harder to open now than ever they were. I have always opened them from the top. The video shows you how a monkey does it… from the base. It just pulls apart. Revelation. This got me thinking of a few gardening related tips.

Gently brush your hands across your tiny seedlings several times a day. This stimulates them to grow slightly slower, resulting in stronger, sturdier stems.

Soak finished compost from containers in water to "brew" compost "tea," a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used for foliar feeding or for watering plants in your garden or houseplants.

Use newspapers as weed barriers when creating a new bed. They are printed with soy ink and decompose nicely, and are simple to lay out again when decomposed. Don't use slick colored advertisements or coloured pages.

Once a seed sprouts it must be kept watered. If it dries out, it dies. If seeds are lightly covered with soil, they may need to be gently sprinkled with water once or twice a day to keep them moist.

Check moisture in container plants often with your fingers. Potting soil is often lightweight and dries out quickly.

Cinnamon makes an excellent natural fungicide. Mix in your potting soil when planting seeds to prevent damping off of the seedlings.