Garden Tips

By Keith Markensen

The Geranium (Pelargonium) is the most popular indoor house plant in America. One of the "big three" that's grown popularly here, they are the hardiest of the group and are easily grown and cared for. They can be the central attraction for any window garden or room décor. They come in an enormous variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.

The Geranium is commonly broken down into four major classifications to keep track of all the various strains and types of flower that fall into this family. These four classifications are: Show or Fancy (also called Lady Washington), the Zonal or Fish, the Ivy, and the Scented-leaved.

The Show, Fancy, or Lady Washington variety of Geranium is a very showy plant that produces large flowers that bloom for a few months of the year. These often appear in the summertime and grow in a wide range of colors and usually have a distinctive black spot in the center of each petal.

The Zonal or Fish Geranium is the plant you'll see in homes most often. Because it flowers nearly every day from spring until fall, it's quite popular. They will try to use their energy to grow, however, so trimming and care are needed to force flowering and keep the plant's size under control. While the flowers of this type of Geranium aren't as showy as others, they make up for it by blooming much longer.

The Ivy-leaved type of Geranium is, as it says, an ivy. This means it grows quickly and can be trained to climb or "snake" as you'd wish. Properly cared for and pruned, these can be one of the most beautiful of the Geraniums in a garden or home.

Finally, the Scented-leaved Geraniums are very popular in homes because, as their name implies, they are quite perfume heavy. They can be grown with other plants to make for a beautiful scent arrangement to complement the beautiful flowers they produce for a short time each year.

Mixing and matching these various types of Geranium is another popular way that enthusiasts display these flowers. Utilizing the Zonal, Scented-leaved, and Ivy for ground cover and scent, they can complement many flowering plants such as the beautiful flowers of the Lady Washington when it blooms. All together, they make for a wonderful assortment that any grower would be proud to display.

Caring for these flowers is a little work, but well worth the effort in the payoff they give. Learning more about how to care for them and keep them free of disease while nourishing them properly will greatly increase your success.

Ready to fix the confusion on the topic of flowering indoor plants. Today you too can gain from our years of experience, visit plant-care.

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By Eudora DeWynter

One of the most popular plants of the Christmas holidays is the Poinsettia. Poinsettias are very easy plants to keep and with proper care can last in bloom for several months past the holiday season. When you are ready to purchase you plant for the holiday season, there are a few things that you should look for before buying it.

First of all if the leaves and flowers are brown around the edges move on, you are looking for plants that have an abundance of dark green leaf foliage and brightly colored (Bracts) flowers that are completely opened. Poinsettias are slow to bloom but when they do their flowers remain for weeks.

Poinsettias do not like the cold so when you purchase them make sure to take them from the store well covered to protect them from cold temperatures and wind and take them straight home, do not leave them in your car if you are living in a cold climate, even a short exposure to cold can damage them. Once you get them home do not place them in drafty areas or near the high heat of furnace or fireplace vents, the best temperature for them is 65-70 degrees.

Allow the soil to dry between watering and water thoroughly. If they seem to be drying out water them, if their leaves start turning light green, give them more sunlight, these plants tend to make a quick come back. Many people believe that poinsettias are poisonous, but they are not, if eaten they will however give you a stomach ache so try and keep small children away from them.

Believe it or not, if you managed to keep your poinsettia healthy during the winter months, you can move it outside come late spring and either plant it directly into the ground or plant it in containers on your deck or patio. To give them some added beauty when you bring them outside, give them a good round trimming and apply a general purpose fertilizer every two or three weeks, and as the weather starts to cool bring them back inside long before the first frost.

Eudora DeWynter offers tips on Caring for Your Holiday Poinsettias on her blog at http://www.gardentoolguru.com
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