Hello My Dear Gardening Friends,

It is time to bring in your house plants!

It is almost half way through October, and my houseplants are still enjoying their vacation outdoors. At night I pull them on to my covered porch, for any time now the frost will strike.

I have brought all of them close to the house, where I keep watering, and picking off yellowing and dead leaves. I also keep checking for pests, worms and other foreign delights that will be trying to come inside for the winter!!!

It is a good idea to keep them on a porch, or someplace where the sun and humidity is not affecting/reaching them, for the light is getting shorter and shorter each day and it really is time for them to return to their indoor home. If we bring them straight inside from that lovely bright sunshine, they will sulk, drop leaves, or at least the leaves will turn yellow and we do not want that to happen if we can help it.

Scrub the pots thoroughly, prune a little, to define their shape, and make them smaller for the house. Give a thorough spraying, making sure that you reach the undersides as well as the tops of the leaves. You should have re-potted them in the spring before they went outdoors, if not, you may do it now, whilst it is still warm enough to work outside.

Plants recover more quickly from any treatments when they are going outside into ideal growing conditions, so keep this in mind for next spring.

If at all possible for the first couple of weeks keep the windows and doors open, (I do not know what my cat will do when I have to close the doors, she has been in and out at will since May) and be sure that the plant trays are filled with water, do not let them dry out. Spray foliage frequently to compensate for the dry indoors, remember that wonderful heat and humidity?? The plants will, and they will want more all winter, much like children who never let you forget a promise.

I bring in flowering plants and pot them up for bloom indoors. They last longer than cut flowers. Wax begonias and impatiens, big plants and even volunteer seedlings have been potted up since the middle of September. They are grouped on the porch steps, enjoying the last of the warm sunshine. Oh I keep a full watering can near by and water them as often as possible. Even when they wilt from transplanting they will perk up and the buds will continue to open – especially if you spray the foliage – it is the dryness that makes buds drop. Now this will not work with all your plants, but it is worth a try.

Geraniums are different, I just bring in the containers full, put them in a cool dark basement to wait until spring – the ones that have been growing in the garden, I pull out, put in a bushel basket, I have crammed as many as over a hundred plants (I get the neighbors plants too) into one basket, with the earth, and put the whole thing in the basement – I keep on eye on them, do not let them dry out totally. In about six weeks, I remove the dead, yellow and weak leaves- at that time I make sure that they are not totally drying out. Around the end of February, early March I bring them up into the light, weed out the weak ones, pot up the rest into individual pots, put them on a bright window ledge (the counter under a south facing window).

Why do we do this to ourselves? I have vowed that this year I will not do this, why then have I pulled them out of the ground and have them in plastic bags ready to start the winter ritual?? Sigh!!

I have an assortment of plants that are so very special to me: a passion plant, orange and bell shaped, the Jasmine that Deborah gave me several years ago. A Plumbago from Elyn etc. You too will have these treasures! I scrub the pots well, then put some dishwashing soap on the top of the soil, put a hose into the container and let it run and run, until the plant is not only soaked, but hopefully most of the nasties have been washed away, a spot of ammonia is sometimes added. Once again they have been placed away from the bright light and are ready to come indoors. These plants will be going into the basement under grow lights, for although they will drop their leaves and go somewhat dormant I have found that they appreciate a few hours of light each day.

I loved this “weather forecast”. It is usual that a dry autumn precedes a windy winter, a windy winter, a rainy spring; a rainy spring, a dry summer; a dry summer, a windy autumn. This certainly was the case this year!!!

I am going to talk about African Violets, we all seem to have at least one tucked away someplace that was full of flowers when that dear friend dropped it off for us – now it is sitting sulking, not blooming, really not doing anything at all just sitting like a lot of children I know!!

African Violets demand regular care, protesting when they are not comfortable. I had some in the south window, where they thrived through the summer (shade was provided by a large tree). When the weather turned cold they seemed to “hug” the sides of the pot. I put a foil strip around the top of the pot to help straighten out the leaves again and moved them to a warmer position. Under poor light conditions they grow elongated with up-reaching leaves, as well as thick stems. We think of them as shade loving indoors. Not true; from October to around early April they will flourish in full sun. In May of course you must move them back from the glare of the window.

As for temperatures, Saintpaulias like the same temperatures that we do 70 to 75 degrees, not too much warmer, they will adjust to cooler temperatures too, just like us. They need a fresh atmosphere; do you ever get a headache when the room feels stuffy? I think that these plants do too, even in the winter I either open the outside door for a little while, or the room to the hall, this is really “closed off” so it freezes heavily in there. A good exchange of air keeps us all happy, of course as soon as the spring and its warmer days arrive – I have the doors wide open for as long as possible.

African Violets crave humidity so set them on pebble trays where the humidity tests at 65 to 70 percent, this means keeping an eye on the level of water and keep topping it up, do not let the pots touch or stand in the water.

If you are using those pretty plastic pots, you will not have to water as often, but if you are using clay pots with saucers, be sure to empty the saucers after about ten minutes, otherwise you will end up with crown rot.

Generally speaking African Violets prefer their soil to be kept barely moist, neither sopping wet nor bone dry. When the weather is dull, take great care not to over water your plants. I fertilize every time I water (all) my plants, using only a quarter the strength that is suggested on the label of the fertilizer. Something with a high middle number is good – say 12-36-14 I also like the fish fertilizers, I use even less for it takes a while for the “fragrance” to dissipate!!!

Inevitably bare unsightly “necks” do occur in older plants, if you continue to remove the outer leaves. Knock the plant from the pot. Either slice or cut off the roots so that it fits back into the pot low enough for the bare neck to be covered in soil. If you are getting multiple crowns, keep an eye on them and when you first spot them developing just nip them off, you want more flowers, not more plants and foliage!!

To promote shapely plants, especially if you are planning to put them on the show table, give them a quarter turn two or three times a week, that is the plants that you have in the windows. Those under lights do not need this treatment, thank goodness, but they do need more food and water, for they are busy under those stimulating lights.

You can use the package soil for African Violets, but you will need to add sand or perlite to lighten it. With packaged soil, it is good to start liquid feeding at once, again at a quarter the recommendation, or even ¼ teaspoon to a gallon of warm water.

Those of you on city water must draw the water at least 24 hours ahead of usage, to let the chlorine dissipate – you should always water your plants with water at room temperature.

Hopefully this will help those who say I cannot grow African violets, once they have bloomed I toss them out – follow these simple guidelines and you will have lots and lots of flowers.

Good gardening Lovingly Beryl