I am not sure why I didn’t decide to have houseplants in my hometown earlier when I have had a beautiful south-facing window in my bedroom. I suppose it was due to uncertainty of how long we would be staying here and when we would be going back to our work city. It’s still uncertain but at least now I have some lovely plants to liven up my space.
There is a farmer’s market organised nearby our home every Wednesday and Saturday where we can get all sort of perennials or seedlings at a very cheap price. I got a Marble Queen Pothos (epipremnum aureum) first because pothos are hardy and good to build up confidence on house plant keeping.
Next time I got some Polka Dot (Hypoestes phyllostachya) plants because I had seen them in my last visit and I had fallen in love with their foliage – green leaves which are spotted with pink or white or pale pink patterns. I got the pink one and the white one and will certainly buy the pale pink one later ?
I had seen some beautiful aglaonemas at the market that I will surely grab next time. And then there is a green-yellow variegated pothos vine in a neighbour’s yard that I have eyes on… So the houseplants adventure has just begun ??
I have not transplanted my plants yet as I am waiting for the set of cute planters to arrive. And while I am waiting I am reading this book called, How Not to Kill Your Houseplants by Trisha Bora. It’s quite an enlightening book. Particularly the part about how much light is “bright indirect” light, something that you always hear about which your tropical houseplants should receive to thrive. I downloaded a mobile app to get a general idea and in my south-facing window I have mid-morning light of more than 200 foot-candles and that is quite good for houseplants to thrive in.
Soil is the next important thing to think about. While the book mentions quite a good recipe, as I don’t have some components, I have come up with my own soil mix recipe:
Charcoal + Sand + Garden soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat
10% Charcoal – for aeration, nutrient retention. This is not the horticulture one, but the normal ones used for cooking because that’s what I have handy.
10% Sand – For drainage – Instead of perlite
40% – Soil – For density
20% – Vermicompost – As fertilizer
20% Cocopeat – For absorption and retention of moisture
The next thing is watering which I have a bit of idea of, from bitter experiences of having killed some precious plants in the past. It is better to water less than more. Less watering problem can be resolved. More watering is a sure way to kill the house plants.
So this is it – a beginning of another attempt at keeping house plants and I hope I am better equipped with knowledge, experiences and resources than before. Let’s hope! ??
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