I was really worried about moving my plants to the new house, but I am happy to say that I haven’t lost a single one. Actually, I think the abundance of indirect light and higher humidity is making them healthier. I am also taking some time to learn more about each plant so I can get it in the best environment. I am sad to say I have killed dozens of tropical plants, but after a lot of self-educating, I have kept several of these alive and thriving for more than a year. This year I want to help them grow larger and propagate so I can share the plant love.
Lily and Winter have slowly been acclimating to our new home as well. Lily was particularly cautious the first couple weeks but I think she feels at home now. Winter basically walked in and proclaimed the house his new kingdom.
I have had to move these Monsteras a few times as they are getting too much sunlight on the South side of the house. This is a northern corner that gets bright indirect morning light and gets bright partial light for the rest of the day if the blinds are cracked open. I recently learned that they need a lot of bright indirect light to get those split leaves. I’ve been wondering why my leaves weren’t splitting and it was likely because they weren’t getting enough light in that dark apartment. I’ll try and post a follow up in a few months to see if it worked. Do you have any tips for Monsteras?
My newest addition is this gorgeous fiddle leaf fig tree. Fiddle leaf figs love indirect bright light so I placed this one near a south facing window, but in a corner that doesn’t seem to get direct light into it. I will have to keep an eye on it over the next few days to see how it’s doing. I’ll post updates on Instagram!
This is my second ficus tree. The first one I almost killed by underwatering it. Ficus trees like moist soil so I need to make sure I water them a couple times a week especially in the summer. There also could use a spray from a spray bottle every few days because they like that higher humidity. It’s so hot and dry in the desert during the summer I might want to re-pot this into something larger so it stays moist longer.
I only have two orchids. They are picky, and I am a bit intimidated by their care. This little one was limp and I could easily bend the leaves so I did some research and found Michael’s Orchids on Youtube who says in this video, to rehydrate them in diluted black tea. The tannins promote the growth of new roots. After trimming all the dead roots off like Michael said, I’ve been soaking the roots on and off for 12 hours at a time. I’m hoping for the best.
Gavin is obsessed with Venus flytraps so when we walked by a display in Lowes he had to have one. I don’t like to buy them because you are literally trying to grow a swamp plant in the desert. Not likely to happen. These plants are used to a wet humid environment. I’m thinking of making him a little jungle terrarium for it but would have to do some research on that.
The plant that seems the happiest with the move is this one. It never did well at the other apartment but since we moved its started to grow a bunch! Just goes to show how just a change in environment can completely change the health and growth potential of plants, and people too! I hope you enjoyed my houseplant tour. This isn’t even close to all my plants so if you are interested in seeing more or learning more tips about growing tropical plants let me know!
Shoots and Roots 