- Reader's Tip: Put "styrofoam peanuts" about four inches deep in a large pot, then cover them with landscape fabric. Fill the rest of the pot with soil and plant roses or hibiscus. This is wonderful drainage for these large plants and keeps the pot from being so heavy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (from Ethel H., anglyoggly@digitalexp.net)
- Take care not to place a plant in a container that is too large. If you put it in a pot that is too big, it will spend lots of time filling the pot with roots, and little time growing foliage.
- A bottle cap placed crimped-edge down makes a good cover for the drainage hole in the bottom of a pot. The cap keeps soil from washing out the hole, yet the crimped cap edge allows just enough room for extra moisture to escape.
- If a plant is too heavy to move easily, mount it on a platform with wheels or in a child's wagon painted to fit with your decor. Now it can be wheeled to the sink for watering!
- Soak clay pots in water for 2-3 hours before using them to repot plants. Otherwise, when you water the newly-potted plants, the pots are likely to absorb the water.
- If a plant is top heavy and keeps tipping over, try double-potting it. Put the plant and its original pot inside a larger pot, and fill the space between the two with rocks or gravel.
- No room for a garden? A wheelbarrow makes a wonderful moveable bed, and hanging baskets work well for some types of vegetables.
- Turn an old barbecue into a conversation piece. Paint it, fill it with soil, and plant flowers or vines in it.
- Use pieces of "styrofoam" for a light weight drainage for the bottom of a hanging planter.
- A freestanding stepladder (painted an accent color if you wish) makes a good display stand for plants.
- You can grow many small vegetable varieties successfully in hanging baskets. Cherry tomatoes look delightful in a hanging basket.
- To keep bugs out of your houseplants, push a clove of garlic into the plant’s soil. If it sprouts and grows, just cut it back.
- Plants benefit from humidity, which you can increase by grouping plants together. Humidity can be created by putting a layer of pebbles or perlite in a pan with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Place potted plants on top of the pebbles or perlite, and they will be nourished by the constant evaporation of moisture.
- House plants that like to be evenly moist will survive your absence for a couple of weeks if you water them well and put them on a tray of wet gravel inside a large, clear plastic dry cleaning bag.
- Many plants do well in the humid atmosphere of the bathroom.
- For dripless watering of hanging plants, put a few ice cubes on top of the soil (but not against the plant). The melted water will reach the roots slowly enough to be absorbed, and by the time it gets there it will be warm.
- An easy way to know when to water your potted plants is to ask them: Just thump the pot or container. If it sounds hollow, chances are the soil is dry and needs water. If it thuds, there is some moisture in the soil.
- Slip shower caps over the bottom of hanging planters to catch the overflow when watering. The caps can be removed after an hour or so.
- Another way to slowly water outdoor and indoor plants is to use a 2-liter plastic bottle and poke a small hole in the side near the bottom. Fill it with water and set this right down in your plant, or just on top of the soil where it won't mash the plant. Drip, drip, drip ... great for when you go away from home for awhile.
- If you run a wick made of soft cotton rope or nylon hose from the soil in a pot to a container of water, your plant will water itself.
- Nothing is as good for plants as letting them out on a rainy day. If rain is scarce, bring them all into the shower or tub and turn the shower on low (check the temperature of the water first so you don't scald your plants). After turning off the water, close the door and let them soak up the moisture while they drain.
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