Rubber Plant Rejuvenation

Good afternoon, it has been quite a while since my previous post over a year ago. It is great to be back! We are now in the sizzling summer months and all of the plants are growing tremendously. For today, I would like to place my rubber plant in the spot light as he is in need of a leaf cleaning as shown below:

I originally acquired this Ficus elastica in April 2021 at a local garden center. He was much smaller with only five leaves. Within a year, he has grown leaf after leaf like nobody’s business which is quite impressive as I was not previously aware that rubber plants can grow at a rather fast rate. My plant lives in a northeast facing window that receives direct sun in the morning hours during the summer and little to no sun in the winter. He seems to love his location indeed. Lately, I have noticed that his leaves have accumulated dust and debris from the indoor environment. Today, I wiped down the leaves with a damp, soapy cloth to clear all of the debris from the leaves so that they can photosynthesize (if that is a word). Here is the following result:

The leaves look much better than before. The leaves can finally breathe clearly now. Of course, the soapy water cannot stay on the leaves, so I took my plant to the shower for a thorough rinsing and rejuvenation. The following is the result:

The rubber plant enjoyed this experience and he looks refreshed indeed. I also added some of his friends: my peace lily (Spathiphyllum) and mother in law’s tongue plant (Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentii’). They needed a good thorough rinsing as well. Both of them live in a northeast facing window as well. I first acquired my peace lily in December of 2020 from a clearance shelf at a hardware store. The plant looks nothing like when I first brought her home. I first acquired my mother in law’s tongue plant in July of 2019 and he has grown a lot within these past three years. He was in a 4” pot when I first brought him home. After the rinsing in the shower, I allowed for some time to elapse for the excess water to drip from the leaves and also from the pot’s drainage holes.

Everyone looks refreshed. After the excess water is completely, drained from the leaves/pots the plants will return to their original growing locations. Here is one last shot of the rubber in his shower glory:

This is absolutely one of my favorite houseplants. The dark, glossy, large leaves are very appealing to look at. He does have a new leaf that recently unfurled. The new leaves does have an initial orange-maroon color, however as the leaves mature, it transitions to a rich dark green/burgundy color which is absolutely amazing indeed. Based on this plant’s fast growth rate, he might be a fully grown rubber tree by the end of the summer. He is currently about three feet tall and counting. 

Thank you all for reading for today. It is great to be back. I know that it has been a little while. Enjoy the awesome warm weather and happy gardening! See you all soon again!

Long Awaited Update

 Happy Wednesday! It has been quite a while since I posted. It has been approximately a year and a half. A lot has transpired since then. Spring is slowly approaching now and the days are slowly getting longer. Here is my zz plant (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia) when I first purchased it in June of 2020:

This was a plant that was pushed to the side on the shelf at the hardware store. It was one of a kind as I did not see any others like it. I brought it to the register as I was interested in purchasing, however there was not a price included. The cashier ended up creating a price of

$6.00 which was great in my opinion. The photo above was when I first brought it home. I did notice that the plant was severely root-bound as the root system was bursting out of the growers planter. I found a roomy 6'' light blue planter and repotted:

It was a lot happier and its root system was not stressed any longer. On the right side of the zz plant is a propagation that I grew from a few zz leaves originally planted 2 years ago in March 2019. This was my very first attempt with propagating zz plants and it has been successful. I am sure that it will need to be repotted soon so I am looking to have this completed soon.

Here is a photo of the larger zz plant in late December 2020 below:

From my experience, these seem to be winter growers as numerous new shoots. The entire duration that I have had this plant, it has been in near an east facing winder that receives direct sun in the morning and indirect light in the afternoon. This plant seems to love this lighting exposure. In terms of light, these can be happy in a west, south, or even north facing window as well. Below is a photo from this month, March 2021:

The new growth that began back in December 2020 has completed unfurling all of the new leaves. As each new stem matures, it transitions from chartreuse to a deep green like the older growth. Over the winder, I have watered both zz plants sparingly, once every 2-3 weeks. As it is now spring, watering's will be more frequent. These are very adaptable and easy plants. I would like to add some rare varieties like the raven to my collection. Hopefully I will come across one. Thank you all for reading! Next post will be coming soon!

Long Awaited Update

Hello readers, I am back! I know that it has been forever since I last posted which was approximately two and half years ago. A lot has transpired since then and I am glad to be posting again. It is late in the summer season and the month of August is coming to a close. Today I will show the progress of some plants in my collection. The first plant is my recently acquired Parlor Palm or Chamaedorea elegans. Another common name is Neanthe bella palm. Here is a photo:

This is a great plant and I really like looking at it often. It is located seven feet away from two east facing windows in my living room. I give it a thorough watering once a week and I mist the foliage twice per week as the humidity levels in my home are relatively low. Although it is almost fall, I will most likely repot this parlor palm into something more roomier.

The next plant that will be covered is my Sansevieria trifasciata robusta plant that I originally acquired in January of 2015 as a small two dollar plant from the grocery store. Here is a photo from January of 2018:

At that time, the plant was growing nicely. I could tell that it was root bound in the ceramic pot so during March of 2018, I repotted this plant into a larger plastic planter. This in turn encouraged more new growth where more rhizomes popped up. The next photo is from January of 2019:

This past spring, I realized that the plastic planter was making the plant root bound once again, so this sansevieria was upgraded again to a slightly larger plastic planter which also encouraged more new growth. From late spring to the summer months, I kept this plant on my east facing balcony. This past June, the plant did flower surprisingly. I was ecstatic to make this discovery. Here are some photos:

These were taken the very first night that the blooms opened. This is actually rare for sansevierias. When this occurs, the plants are often mature and have endured some slightly stressful growing conditions. I believe that this plant in particular endured less than optimal watering which could have been a contributing factor to the blooming. The blooms had an indescribable fragrance and it was quite enjoyable. I call it a natural air freshener. Here are some photos from the day time:

This was simply an awesome aspect of sansevierias to experience and observe. The last, but most certainly not least plant that will be discussed for today is my Norfolk Island Pine or Araucaria heterophylla. I have had this plant since the end of 2015. It was originally a pot full of pine stems. Over time, many of them died off and there is one stem who survived:

I am actually surprised that this plant has survived for this long. I remember in the past, I have had not too many successes with Norfolk Island pines. When I first acquired this plant, it lived in a west facing window for approximately six months. The remaining three years, it was lived in an east facing window. I really like this plant personally. I unintentionally ignore it often and it does not seem to mind at all. Also the appearance is awesome to look at. The designs that the branches create all together supply an architectural element of design.

Well thank you all for reading this long awaited update. I will try to post more often. Happy gardening and have a great weekend!

How My Monstera Evolved

Good evening and I hope that everyone has had a great week so far. This weather has been very unusually warm in my area for this time of the year. I have been noticing some new growth on some of my house plants as if it is near the growing season. One plant, my Monstera Deliciosa, has been transforming completely lately. In April of last year (2016), I acquired some Monstera Deliciosa cuttings:

I placed the cuttings in a vase of water. You also can place Monstera cuttings directly into soil without rooting them in water first. I personally just prefer to allow them to root in water and I like to watch the process of the roots forming. A few weeks later, the roots grew in plentiful amounts:

This photo was taken at the beginning of May 2016. Shortly after this photo was taken, I planted the cuttings in soil. I wish that I had taken photos of the process of planting the rooted cuttings. I do have a photo that I took on May 19, 2016, when the plant started to sprout new leaves:

I love the shiny, crisp look of new leaves! In this growing location, I had the plant growing in my kitchen window that faced west and it seemed to enjoy the light conditions. Here is a photo of the plant on the right along with some of my other plants, taken on June 1, 2016:

At the beginning of June I did move and my Monstera Deliciosa did unfortunately get sunburned on several leaves as a result of the process of moving. The plant was accidentally left in the direct sun  on a hot day for about 15 minutes which did cause some leaves to turn a blackish color which eventually turned brown. Here is a photo of the plant, recovering in an east facing window taken on June 12, 2016:

Here is a photo taken a few days later on June 16, 2016:

Over time, the Monstera Deliciosa did recover from being sunburned pretty well. Two months later in August, I placed the plant on my balcony that faces east that also gets a little exposure from the south. These were taken on August 3, 2016:

I was very happy to see these results as the plant was putting out larger leaves. Here is the plant's progress about a month later on September 1, 2016:

Here is a photo of the plant taken on September 28, 2016:

At this point, the Monstera had a more full and lush appearance and it love the lighting situation. At the end of September, I brought the plant indoors since the temperatures outdoors were starting to plunge significantly. Here is a photo of the Monstera taken on October 10, 2016:

I was very excited when I noticed the split in this leaf. This is a sign that the plant is getting mature. Since this is really my first Monstera Deliciosa, beforehand I was not completely sure as of how long it would take for split leaves to form. From what I know now, it seems to be that the more light that your plant is exposed to is directly correlated to how many splits in the leaves that your plant will produce. Here is a photo of the plant taken on November 25, 2016 alongside with my Peace Lily:

This was another exciting thing for this plant, another leaf but with two splits this time! Here is a photo of the plant taken on January 11, 2017:

My plant is putting out more leaves with splits on them at this point. Here is how my plant is doing today:

I just love these leaves! This plant is an awesome sight to look at and sometimes I cannot believe that I have one of these growing in my indoor garden. Even though it is winter, this plant is still continuing to put out more new/mature leaves and increase in size. Thank you for exploring this journey of my Monstera Deliciosa plant with me. Have a great evening!

Exactly One Year Ago!

Hello everyone! Happy 2017 gardeners! For today I would like to show my Norfolk Island Pine and Peace Lily exactly one year ago today:

I am amazed! Well that is all for today. Thank you for reading this short and straight to the point post!

Progress of the Plants by the Fireplace

Happy Friday everyone! There is only one more day after today of 2016 left and it is still unbelievable to me! For today, I would like to share how my plants growing near my fireplace has grown over the past 6 months. When I first moved into my new home, I only had my Golden Pothos there. Here is a photo from June 8, 2016:

My Golden Pothos was just introduced to this new growing environment so it did take a little while for it to adjust to the new conditions. Here is a photo of the plant two days later on June 10, 2016:

Here is a photo of the plant from June 18, 2016:

This was the point when the Pothos started to get acclimated completely which is a great sign! On June 19, 2016, I purchased a new plant which I found on clearance at Lowe's for only five dollars:

I placed this new Dracaena 'Lemon Lime' on the other end of the fireplace so that the Golden Pothos will have a new friend nearby. Like the Golden Pothos, this Dracaena is also a low light plant which made this growing location perfect! Going into the month of July, the Dracaena adjusted to its new home quite well. Here is a photo of the Dracaena on July 11, 2016:

I love the bright chartreuse colors of the edges of those leaves! The Dracaena looked very happy! Here is a photo of the Golden Pothos taken on July 18, 2016:

This plant was starting to put out lots of new growth with abundance of variegation on the leaves:

This variegation is priceless! This was an excellent sign of progress! Going into August, the Dracaena has also been doing well. Here is a photo of the Dracaena from August 11, 2016:

It did put out some new growth and was still continuing to do well! Here is a photo with both plants growing on both sides of the fireplace, taken on August 22, 2016:

This duo of houseplants were surely getting along pretty well! I am very sure that they communicate in their unique plant language. During the month of September, they were continuing to progress, I wish that I would have taken photos in September. In October was when the weather started to get colder, which did make the growth rate of the plants to go at a slower pace. Here is a photo of the Golden Pothos from October 20, 2016:

Here is a photo of the plant on November 8, 2016:

There was a little more new growth in November for the Golden Pothos. Here is a photo of the Dracaena taken on November 20, 2016:

The Dracaena was definitely enjoying the direct sunlight from a nearby east facing window. Going into December, both plants were still doing great. With the great deal of colder temperatures, the plants started to go into a more dormant stage. Over the course of the past six months, my Golden Pothos and Dracaena 'Lemon Lime' has grown well in the same growing location and has became essentially plant friends which is amazing in my eyes! Thank you all for reading this long awaited update! Have a great afternoon!

Progressing Aloe Vera Plant

Good evening everyone, I hope that you all are having a great day. It is unbelievable that there are only two days left of 2016! I was thinking today about which plant of mine had a complete transformation over the course of this year. Immediately my aloe vera plant came to mind. Last year's winter was a very cold one here in North Carolina, and my aloe did not fare too well in it. This was due to my previous home, since it did get very drafty especially at night. When spring arrived earlier this year, the plant was looking considerably droopy and I was becoming more and more concerned. Here is a photo taken on April 29, 2016:

My aloe vera was looking very unhappy. I posted on Instagram about this plant because of my concerns about this plant, and how to stop this drooping condition. I received some advice to tie up the drooping leaves so that the new growth won't be affected. I took this advice and searched around the house for something to use to tie the leaves in an upward position and I came across some leftover yarn. Here is a photo of the plant tied up in an upward position, taken on May 1, 2016:

This made the plant look much better and this did make me feel a little better that this plant will make it successfully! In the middle of June 2016, I decided to change the planter and soil texture. I realized that the ceramic green planter did not have proper drainage which could have been a leading reason as to why this plant was declining. I wanted to change the soil to make water drain more easily as well. I changed the aloe vera to a plastic planter with sufficient drainage and I added sand to the soil to allow for more proper drainage. I wish that I had pictures to show of this process but somehow I did not take any photos. I do have a photo of the plant's response to these new conditions. This was taken about a month after I changed the planter and soil texture, taken on July 20, 2016:

Here's another view:

The aloe seemed to have responded pretty well. Sorry that you cannot see the entire plant, part of my sansevieria plant is in the way on the left in the upper photo. There were no more signs of droopiness and the plant looked happy for the first time in many months. I just continued to leave the aloe in this same growing spot in an east facing window with regular waterings. Here is how the plant looked on August 11, 2016:

This transformation really made me very shocked and excited! Here is how the plant looked on August 30, 2016:

Even more healthy, new growth has arrived! The tables has surely turned for my aloe vera plant! Here is how the aloe looked on December 17, 2016 (most recent):

The plant looks completely recovered now! I am glad because this plant is a very special one to me. I have had this plant for at least two and a half years and  it's a special member of the plant family. This is a major transformation that has happened in my indoor garden in 2016. It was a rocky road to recovery for the aloe vera plant but I am glad that my aloe made it! Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read my post. Have a great rest of the day!