Houseplants and persuasion

Jill Severn

Photo by Anna Schlecht

I am no expert on houseplants, but I have two long-term leafy housemates that have thrived for more than a decade. That ought to count for something, right?

It took me years to figure out what species liked the atmosphere in my house and where, exactly, they liked it. One likes an east-facing window; the other is in an improbable spot in the kitchen near the stove. The first is a pothos – more about that in a minute – and the other is a snake plant with tall, narrow, sharply pointed leaves. Snake plants used to be called mother-in-law’s tongue, which was apt, but insulting to mothers-in-law. If I were in charge of plant names, I would call it snake’s tongue.

The pothos is actually about 20 now. Pothos also called “devil’s ivy” because they have a reputation for being impossible to kill, and they will even thrive in fluorescent light windowless offices. That may help explain my success. My happy pothos has been repotted just three times, and pruned a lot because it grows a lot. It’s variegated, bushy and shiny. It was never afflicted with any pest or disease until – well, see the photo above.

This was a difficult pest to remove. If I left the room, Kitty jumped right back to this favorite spot. My organic remedy was to pull out a package of shish-kebab skewers and plant them, pointy end up, all over the pot. I started with five, which he eluded; it took about 15 to keep him out until he lost interest.

Before my success with these two plants, there were lots of failures. That’s why, if you want to grow successful houseplants, I would advise that you (1) consult the zillions of sites online that offer species-by species expertise, or (2) just go with the flow of trial and error until you find plant housemates that like living at your place. And if you have problems with pests and diseases other than kittens, you might try this site for organic remedies.

How to persuade bulbs

There is also a third option: You can plant bulbs and persuade them to bloom indoors. Nursery industry folks call this “forcing” them to bloom, but wise gardeners know it’s really persuasion, not force. The persuasion is this: You put the bulbs in a bag in your refrigerator for four to six weeks, which makes them believe they’ve lived through winter and it’s time to grow. Then you pot them up and bring them into the spring-like light and warmth of your house.

This works for almost all bulbs, including tulips, daffodils, fragrant narcissus or hyacinths, and even the little ones like crocus and grape hyacinths. You can also plant mixed pots of several kinds.

Another option is to shop for bulbs that are pre-chilled and ready to pot up right away. They are usually sold as “prepared” bulbs.

The most spectacular bulbs to grow indoors are amaryllis, which don’t require the refrigerator treatment and which, if you’re more patient and meticulous than I am, can be persuaded to bloom year after year. (They need to be treated according to fairly complex directions.) These fast-growing plants produce tall, spectacular flowers in reds, whites and pinks. If potted up right now, they are likely to bloom by Christmas.

And speaking of holidays, potted bulbs make fine gifts. Also, the potting part is fun to do with kids. And in this season of traditions, that would be a good one to start. In contrast to cookie-making, it involves no calories, no sugar, and no dirty dishes.

Jill Severn writes from her home in Olympia, where she grows vegetables, flowers and a small flock of chickens. She loves conversation among gardeners. Start one by emailing her at  jill@theJOLTnews.com