Design Green India
Best tips on growing plants & vegetables at home
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Best tips for growing Salvia splendens / Scarlet Sage / Tropical Sage at home
Salvia
splendens native to Brazil makes a beautiful indoor as well as outdoor plant. Stem
is square, hollow and upright featuring large, dark green, oval and serrated leaves
on it. During blooming season Salvia displays spikes of red, tubular flowers.
It blooms throughout summer as well as autumn. Not so tolerant to low
temperature, Salvia should be brought inside home in winter months. Salvia
splendens is known as scarlet sage, tropical sage also.
Propagation
Salvia is not propagated
from seeds as germination rate is extremely low. It is grown from stem
cuttings. Cuttings can be rooted either in water or soil mix. Take a 4-5 inch
long stem cutting. Remove leaves present on the lowest node and make a slant cut
just below this node. Put the cutting in a jar filled with fresh water and keep
in a bright spot away from direct sun light. Change the water regularly to
avoid any type of contamination. Cuttings root within a week. Transplant the
cuttings in pots or containers when roots are ½-1 inch long. Cover the pot with
a plastic bag and tie it with a rubber band. Put some holes in the plastic bag
for air circulation.
Follow the same above
mentioned procedure to take cuttings. Prepare soil mix for planting cuttings in
the pot. Poke 2 inches deep holes into the soil mix using pencil. Put the cuttings
in those holes and water it. Cover the pot with a plastic bag and tie with a
rubber band. Puncture the bag with 2-3 holes for air circulation.
Container
Choose a 8-10 inches
long container or pot. Container should have drainage holes at the bottom.
Cover the drainage holes with small pieces of bricks or stones to ensure smooth
drainage out of the container otherwise excess water stays in the container
leading rotting in the plant.
Soil
Grow Salvia in any well
drained soil. However, Loamy silt is good.
Sun / Temperature
Salvia grows in full
sun to partial shade well. Put near window sill while growing indoors. It can
tolerate moderate to deep shade conditions too.
Watering
Keep the soil moist
always. Water the plant on first sign of drooping. But be careful not to over
water Salvia otherwise it will rot.
Fertilizer
Feed once a year in
spring when it is actively growing. Use any general purpose liquid or granular fertilizer.
Caring
Salvia can be attacked
by mealy bugs and aphids mainly. Treat the plant with appropriate method as
soon as first sign of infestation appears.
Labels:
Salvia splendens,
scarlet sage,
tropical sage
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Best tips for growing spinach at home
Spinach
is a cool season leafy vegetable. Known
for lush green foliage spinach is rich in iron, vitamins and anti
oxidants. Spinach crop can be harvested
after 6-8 weeks from planting. In warm climate spinach tends to produce seeds
rather than growing the foliage. So harvest it at right time. It is called as 'Palak' in Hindi. Spinach can be
grown in containers at home, follow below tips for success.
Propagation
Spinach is propagated
from seeds. Prepare soil enriched with garden compost and sow seeds ½ inch deep
and 1 inch apart. Water the soil without affecting seeds. Seeds germinate in a
week. Then thin out the weakest seedlings and create 3-4 inches of space
between two consecutive seedlings. This increases air circulation around the
crop and minimizes the chances of any fungal attack.
Container
Prefer a tray to
regular pots or container to propagate spinach, tray being 3-4 feet long
provides a large surface area for sowing more number of seeds. Planting tray
should have sufficient number of holes at bottom. You can put small pieces of
bricks or stones over the holes to help with drainage.
Soil
Spinach grows in any
type of well drained soil. However loamy soil is ideal. Soil should be loose
too so that spinach seedlings could establish roots easily and quickly. Add a fine
layer of garden compost to the soil. It will provide nutrients to the plants.
Sun/Temperature
Spinach thrives in full
direct sunlight. It should get minimum 5 hrs of sunlight. So place your
container where it gets that much light like east facing window or balcony.
Partial shade is beneficial for spinach.
Watering
Spinach is a humidity
loving plant. Mulch the soil using dried leaves, straws etc to retain moisture
around the plant. Water spinach regularly. Keep soil moist.
Fertilizer
Spinach doesn’t have
feeding requirements. Good quality compost works well as fertilizer. If you
want feed the plant with nitrogen based fertilizer as it promotes foliage
growth on the plant.
Harvesting
Start harvesting crop
after 6-8 weeks of planting. Cut off outer leaves which are 3-4 inches long. It
will encourage more growth on the plant and ultimately results in more foliage
to harvest. Remember to harvest the crop completely before plant blots and
produces seeds. (Generally when temperature rises the plant tends to flower and
fruit due to increased temperature and stops producing more leaves)
Caring
Spinach plant can be
attacked by mealy bugs, aphid and slugs. So inspect the crop regularly and
treat it on time.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Best tips for propagating Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) from cuttings in water
Lucky
bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is very common houseplant. It is assumed to bring
luck and fortune in home. Being not at
all demanding, Lucky bamboo can be grown indoors for many years. It is easily
propagated from stem cuttings. Steps for that are mentioned below.
First of all choose a
healthy looking at least 4-6 inches long lucky bamboo’s stalk. By healthy looking
means, stalk should be green and solid. Avoid any blackened or rotten stalk.
The stalk should have minimum one shoot growing from a node / joint on it.
Pluck all leaves off
the shoot leaving mature leaves on the top. It helps lucky bamboo to focus all
its energy on root formation.
Make a cut on shoot ½ inch
above the point where it connects to main stalk. The cutting should have at least one node from
where roots will appear. Or directly cut the shoot in the line with stalk's top.
Put shoot cuttings in 1-2
inches of fresh water filled in a glass jar or ceramic container. Cuttings will
root in 2-3 months. Change the water regularly to avoid infection.
If you want to use stalk then cut it a bit (½ inch) below the joint from where cutting was taken. Cover this part with candle wax to avoid any type of infection on it. New shoot will emerge in 1-2 months.
Friday, January 17, 2014
A visit to annual flower show 'Buds N Blooms' at Empress Botanical Garden, Pune (India)
DesignGreenIndia visited
an annual flower show - ‘Buds N Blooms’
at Empress Botanical Garden, Pune. The Empress garden covers a sprawling 39
acres, and is home to many rare species of trees and flowers. Managed by
Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India since 1880, Empress garden
organizes this annual flower show with aim of bringing gardening lovers
together across India.
Around 1,500 varieties
of flowers, including 600 different varieties of roses are on display there for
gardening lovers. Petunia, Marigold, Salvia, Zinnia, Coleus, Gazania and
Gerebra are main annuals covering most of the ground area at the show.
Different stalls of
indoor plants, bonsais, vegetables (seeds), gardening and landscape
accessories, flower paining, Japanese ikebana flower arrangements are arranged
by nursery owners, vendors and horticulturists coming all over India from
places like Sikkim, Darjeeling, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra.
Flower competition
(Rose) is one of the highlight of the event. Different type of roses (hybrid,
floribunda, miniature roses) grown by nursery owners and enthusiast are being
showcased in the show.
Also there are stalls by
nursery owners for home gardeners. Soil
mix, fertilizers, seeds, bulbs, compost could be purchased after consulting
with experts at these stalls.
Various flower
competition, workshops, street-plays, story-telling sessions and an interaction
with experts in the field are other features of the show. Around 25,000
visitors are expected this year.
DesignGreenIndia
recommends its viewer a visit to this show. It is being held from 17 to 19th
Jan 2014. The exhibition will open from 9 am to 9 pm.
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