Bring Houseplants in Now

I love moving my houseplants outdoors to the porch and patio in the summer. They add peace and beauty to any outdoor room. Unfortunately, they cannot stay there all year. Now is the time to start bringing houseplants in. During the move take the time to groom and clean the plants. And, while you are at it, also consider “fall-cleaning” the plants that remained indoors during the summer. 

Move plants back indoors before nights reach 45 degrees F. Most tropical houseplants are very sensitive to temperature extremes and may show injury symptoms below 45 degrees F. Symptoms of cold injury range from complete leaf collapse to subtle changes in leaf color. 

Clean and groom plants to keep them healthy, clean, and attractive. Also, check each plant to see if it has become root bound. If it is outgrowing its pot, repot it into a bigger pot using a good potting soil mix. Clean plant leaves to remove dust and dirt build-up with 1-teaspoon non-phosphate soap in 1 quart of water. Commonly used soaps include Ivory dish soap and PineSol, but many others are okay too. Use a sponge, cleaning cloth, or paper towel to wipe all surfaces of the leaves clean. Wipe down containers too. Another cleaning option is to spray plants with a non-ammonia glass-cleaning product (such as Sparkle) and wipe clean. Hairy plants should be cleaned only with a brush or feather duster. 

Groom plants by removing debris. Debris found on the plant, on the top of the soil, or at the bottom of the container should be cleaned out regularly. Keep the plant attractive by trimming off old flower heads and all dead or dying leaves. Plants kept outdoors during the summer may need pruning to fit back indoors. Isolate the plants from those already in the house until they are determined to be pest-free. 

Do not despair if some leaves drop after moving the plant indoors. The plant will need to adjust to differences in light levels and watering. Most growing conditions in a home only allow plants to maintain current growth. Some plants, such as Ficus, will adjust to lower light levels by dropping leaves and forming new ones. Others will simply drop lower, older leaves. Water carefully since they will not require as much water as they did outside. The most common mistake homeowners make indoors is watering too much.

Finally, do not fertilize houseplants in the winter. Plants only need fertilizer when they are actively growing. In the winter, most houseplants do not grow much and therefore do not typically need fertilizing. 

Moving nature back indoors for the winter allows homes to come alive. In fact, recent studies indicate that houseplants help keep people happier and healthier. Plants fill an important psychological function and are also proven to cleanse indoor air. Enjoy your plants as you move them in. If you don’t have a houseplant, go buy one. 

Originally published in Canton Daily Ledger on 9-26-1998

Boston Fern

You have probably noticed that many traditional houseplants are now sold as annual hanging plants. One common example is the Boston fern. I had two big, beautiful ones this summer hanging in my gazebo. Unfortunately, I did not have a place to move them inside and will need to buy new ones next spring. Hopefully, some of you were able to move in your Boston ferns for the winter or maybe you already had an indoor Boston fern. 

The Boston fern is a mutation of the sword fern that was found near Boston in the 1890’s. It soon became a fixture of the overstuffed parlors of the time, but later became known as an old-fashioned plant. In the past twenty years, it has regained popularity. Today it has many uses including specimen pedestals, accent for tables, baskets, contrast for dish gardens or group plantings, and indoor groundcovers. 

The Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’) has graceful, arching fronds up to 3 feet long with flat 3- to 4-inch closely set leaflets. In addition, there are several mutations with different frond types. ‘Bostoniensis’ is more graceful and drooping than other varieties. ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ is a smaller plant, which grows more erect than other varieties. It has dark green fronds that grow about 12 inches long. The foliage has a finely ruffled appearance. ‘Dallas’ is also a smaller, compact plant with a curlier leaf. It is also tolerant of lower light and lower humidity. 

As with all houseplants, proper water and light are key to success in the home. Medium to high light is ideal. They do best with sun in winter and diffused bright light to partial shade in the summer. Gradual yellowing and decline usually indicate poor light. Move the plant or prune away shade-producing vegetation.

As with most ferns, the Boston fern prefers a humid environment. This is hard to achieve in most homes. Because the plant is sensitive to chlorine and other chemicals often found in tap water, regular misting is generally not recommended. Try to always keep the soil moist, but not soggy. The plants can be allowed to dry out between waterings if not excessively fertilized. Remember there is a fine line between moist and soggy. This plant’s foliage and roots rot in wet conditions.

Other maintenance tips include cutting older fronds back to soil level to encourage fresh new growth. General grooming of brown leaflets is desirable. Sometimes, spore-bearing spots (sori) will appear on the underside of leaflets. These are normal and should not be removed. If you prefer to fertilize, use a general indoor plant fertilizer at one-quarter recommended strength every 4-6 weeks. This plant can take being root-bound, so repot infrequently. Repot only as needed to renew crowded or overgrown plants. Simply move the overgrown plant into a bigger pot or divide it into several new plants.

Finally, place your Boston fern where people are not tempted to touch the fronds. Fronds will not tolerate being handled and will turn brown.

Originally published in Canton Daily Ledger on 11-13-1999

Asparagus Fern

Last week (November 2005) a couple at choir gave me an asparagus fern from their yard. They said that they simply had too many plants this year to move them all into the house for the winter. 

Asparagus fern in Florida landscape

Asparagus fern is one of many plants that makes a nice houseplant and serves as an annual plant outdoors in the summer. Many people simply throw them away and purchase new plants the next year, but with some effort the plants can be brought indoors and reused from year to year. 

Asparagus fern is not a fern at all, but a plant belonging to the lily family. It originates from West Africa and will thrive under the most adverse conditions. 

Leaves on the plant are scale-like or spiny and light green. The plant grows into long hanging displays. Because of the fine texture of the plant, it works well as an accent plant and is often used in container arrangements. 

It is very easy to grow and tolerates of a variety of growing conditions. It prefers medium light conditions and somewhat dry soil. However, keep the soil lightly moist until the top growth is established on new plantings. If fronds (leaves) are turning yellow, there may be too little or too much light (or water). 

Don’t be afraid to trim the plant. In fact, in the spring overgrown plants can be cut back to soil level when they are moved outdoors. This will revive them into a new, better plant. Often the stems need trimming to encourage bushiness so that plants aren’t sending little spindly stems all over the room. 

The most used asparagus fern is Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ or Sprengeri Fern. This is the one with wiry stems that can grow to 36 inches long with arching and trailing, loosely branched stems of bright green fluffy needles. 

There are other varieties available that you might want to try. The Lace Fern (Asparagus setaceus) has long, climbing, wiry stems with flattened triangular clusters of fernlike needles. You sometimes see this fine textured foliage used in floral arrangements. 

Ming Fern (Asparagus macowanii) is an upright, woody plant that grows two to six inches tall with short branches. It has bright soft green needles that look like a bonsai. 

The Foxtail Fern (Asparagus densiflorus) has stiff upright and spreading stems that grow to 24 inches long. It has dark green needles just like on the Sprengeri Fern, but instead of trailing they are all in stiff, upright stems. 

Enjoy your fern year-round. You might also try a Boston fern or Rabbit’s foot fern or maybe even a stag horn fern (if you like a challenge). 

Originally published in Canton Daily Ledger on 11-5-2008

Plants That Move

No, plants do not have legs, but they do move. Although I don’t see it happen, each week my African violet leaves lean toward the light requiring me to straighten them with a quarter turn. I also don’t see the prayer plants fold their leaves each night and reopen them each morning.

Usually, plant movement is very subtle. Yet, there are a few plants that will move right before your eyes. Here are some examples. 

When I was a kid, I remember watching with awe as Mexican jumping beans leaped above my hand. In this case, it isn’t the plant’s seed that is jumping but rather an insect inside it. The “bean” jumped in my hand because the moth larvae inside was trying to get away from my warm hand to a cooler location. Too much heat can cause the caterpillar to dry out and die. Though called beans, they are seeds of a shrub that is native to Mexico. 

While visiting my son Derek in Costa Rica a few years ago, I saw mimosa sensitive plants growing in their natural environment near a volcano. Sensitive plants immediately fold their leaves inward when touched. This is a defense strategy thought to remove harmful insects or to scare herbivores. The leaves quickly roll back out and resume their normal growth processes.

Sensitive Plant growing in Costa Rica

Some plants have parts that move quickly. I loved showing my boys the exploding jewelweed seeds during woodland hikes. Jewelweed, also called touch-me-not, is a type of native impatiens that grows in moist places. The fruit explodes when ripe to distribute its seeds. You’ll find both yellow and orange touch-me-nots growing in Illinois.

Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

Most people are familiar with the Venus Flytrap. It is one of many carnivorous plants. Most plants get their food from nutrients in the soil, but a carnivorous plant also eats meat. Carnivorous plants grow in wet, boggy soils where plants have trouble obtaining the nitrogen, so they must supplement their diet with insects.

The mean-looking Venus flytraps have leaves that resemble small mouths that are lined with lots of teeth. When an unsuspecting insect walks across small triggering hairs inside the “mouth,” the leaf bites down to trap the insect. It then releases digestive enzymes to digest parts of the insect. After a few days, the trap opens back up and waits for its next victim.

There are many other types of carnivorous plants. You can learn more about them by watching the University of Illinois Extension Four Seasons Gardening YouTube video Cultivating Carnivores. University of Illinois Horticulture educator Ken Johnson discusses why carnivorous plants have evolved to ‘eat’ meat, the different ways carnivorous plants go about capturing their prey as well as their unique care requirements.

Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column on 9-9-2017

Nature Journaling Reduces Stress

I’ve mentioned many times that I love to journal, and I usually write surrounded by plants and nature. I use nature journaling as a creative form of self-expression, but I find that it also promotes relaxation and calmness.

Journaling at Burden Falls in Southern Illinois

Many people journal. In its most basic form, journaling is a daily record of news and events that happen in a person’s life. Writing down our day-to-day happenings saves that information in an organized manner and helps us remember it later. I’ve been journaling since I was a teenager, and my family often enjoys reading my old entries, reminding us of fun family times.

Nature journaling provides all this and much more. We all intuitively know that being in nature makes us happy. In fact, research shows that spending just 20 minutes in nature can promote health and well-being. Journaling while surrounded by nature allows us to slow down and see the natural world from a different perspective.

Relaxing in nature provides mental and emotional clarity to express our private experiences, thoughts, and feelings. While doing this, we begin to relax, thus enhancing the outdoor experiences even more. After all, have you ever stayed in a bad mood while surrounded by nature? Journal takes that positive experience to a deeper level and makes it last longer.

Journaling is not difficult to do. You don’t have to write a magazine-quality short story, just write what you see and feel. Over time we all develop our own style that works for us. Although most people journal with pen and paper, there are no rules. Some people prefer to blog, scrapbook, tweet, or use a smart-device writing app. You could also express those same thoughts through music, art, pictures, videos, and more. Be creative. Adding sketches and pictures makes the nature journal even more meaningful.

I admit there are times when I have a bit of writer's block while journaling. Although I usually write my general observations, sometimes I do come up with witty, inspirational thoughts. It is often surprising what inspirational ideas I find while in nature.

There are many writing techniques to help inspire our nature journaling activity. Start with the facts by writing down the date, weather conditions, and journaling location. Then sketch or write down your observations of that place. What do you see? What does it remind you of? Does it make you wonder or ask questions? 

Happy Journaling!

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 9-30-2017

Backyard Greenhouses Extend the Garden Season

Every year my dad (Ron Simmons) starts many annual plants for our family in his backyard greenhouse. I get most of my flowering annuals, vegetables, and herbs from dad’s greenhouse. His plants are amazingly healthy and grow better than any other plants in my gardens.

Dad's greenhouse

I see more and more hobby greenhouses and hoop-houses popping up in homeowner’s backyards. What’s the difference? They are both very similar. They both extend the growing season in spring and fall, sometimes allowing edibles to grow year-round. Both hold in the heat with a covering, usually plastic. Greenhouses typically grow plants on benches or tables, while hoop-houses grow plants in the ground. Greenhouses usually have a supplemental heat source, while hoop-houses trap the sun’s heat inside to warm plants in the ground.

Dad's greenhouse

Due to their relative low cost, hoop-houses are becoming more popular than greenhouses. Hobby greenhouses costs vary from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Operating costs can be high if year-round heating and cooling are required. Greenhouse kits are probably the easiest way to get started, or like my dad, you can design and build your own. Dads’ greenhouse started with recycle glass windows, but due to hailstorm damage he later replaced those with greenhouse polycarbonate panels.

Most hobby greenhouses grow plants in soil, but hydroponics and aquaponics are also options. Hydroponic systems grow plants in nutrient enriched water, instead of in soil.

On a recent trip to Monterey California, I visited a small community garden on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies where my son Derek is going to grad school. The garden had a small aquaponics system in the back where fish are raised in tanks that supply nutrient rich water to hydroponically grown plants. When I was there in April, they were growing lettuce, Swiss chard, and onions.

Backyard Greenhouse Basics was the topic of a University of Illinois Extension Four Seasons Garden webinar series. Extension Horticulture Educator Kim Ellson explained how, regardless of their shape or size, greenhouses allow us to get a head start on our favorite plants and be outside whilst the weather is bleak.  Kim discussed how to get the most out of your backyard greenhouse.

If you’ve dreamed of having your own greenhouse, let this be your year to make that dream come true. In just a few years, the savings from growing your own food will pay for the greenhouses. 

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 5-21-2016

Green Space is Necessary for Life!

Are plants just pretty or do they really make our lives better? Look around you the next time you drive through town. Are there enough green spaces around your community? Research has found that plants are beneficial to our health and psychological wellbeing.

University of Illinois researcher Bill Sullivan, Associate Professor of Horticulture, studied these issues. Dr. Sullivan’s research addressed the question, “Does having everyday contact with nature affect a person’s functioning?” That is, is there a connection between the presence of nature and effective human functioning?

Frances Kuo and Bill Sullivan of the University of Illinois Human-Environment Research Laboratory studied these concepts in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes, the largest public housing development in the world. The Robert Taylor Homes consist of twenty-eight 16-story apartment buildings. Most of the complex is an urban desert – concrete and asphalt cover the spaces between the buildings – but there are pockets of trees here and there. Kuo and Sullivan studied how well the residents of Robert Taylor were doing in their daily lives based on the amount of contact they had with these trees.

The study found that when compared to people who live in places without trees, residents of Robert Taylor Homes who live near trees have significantly better relations with, and stronger ties to their neighbors. Trees are important. Frances Kuo put it well when she said, “Before we started our research I would have said, trees are nice, but the problems we’re facing in our cities and our budgets are such that I’m not sure it’s worth it.” “I think that through this research I have become convinced that trees are really an important part of a supportive, humane environment. Without vegetation, people are very different beings.”

For more information visit the Human-Environment Research Laboratory website. The information is certainly applicable to smaller towns as well.

Plants in my home office be a window that
looks onto the plants in my backyard. 

But plants are just as important indoors too. Plants are an integral part of our homes, offices, and shopping malls. This is not just a fad. Plants serve a purpose in these places by filling a psychological need, enhancing our environment, and are also a satisfying hobby. But more than that, indoor plants help cleanse the air! A study done by NASA investigated the potential use of plants as reducers of indoor air pollution on Earth, and in future space habitats. They found that certain plants not only clean the air of pollutants, but also reduce airborne microbial levels and increase humidity.

Research in these areas will continue at the University of Illinois and beyond. For those of us who love plants, the results are not surprising. Plants are a necessary part of our lives!

Originally Published in Canton Daily Ledger Column 9-23-2000