Indoor Gardening

Phalaenopsis (moth) orchids again. The pull of last weeks visit to the produce market got the better of me. Not only do I love plants but it was obviously that many others do also evidenced by the lack of plants from last week. I was disappointed that I couldn't get my dish garden but there will be more plants coming in I'm sure. Instead of cut flowers which will last maybe 10 days, I choose 3 orchids, a begonia and another primrose.  The blooms on the orchids should last for at least a month. After the plants are not in bloom I won't expect much if they die. I have enjoyed their blooms and a little bit of spring time in the winter.

What are my plans this time to keep the orchids alive after blooming? Since they like a lot of humidity I plan to put gravel inside the outer liner with a small amount of water, then put the pot back inside so it sits on the gravel. Misting is supposed to help also. The location of a plant can be my down fall. I like to display them where I can enjoy them. This is usually not the best place for them so the plants will be removed from the mantel to a small table near the light. If they appear to try to survive I will fertilize them once a month. My kitchen window will be a good location for them in the Spring. Right now the window is cold and this may be a problem for them.

Rieger Begonia

The begonias can now be seen better with the eye. There was 100% germination, good seed. Now hopefully they all survive to adulthood. The humidity lid is still on them. I did have a problem with white fungus on the soil but a mist of peroxide mixed with water and chamomile water made from tea bags immediately stopped it. I guess this would be a problem with the recommendation of keeping them in a humid environment. 

The vinca seedlings had a poor germination rate with approximately 17 seedlings out of 40 germinating; not good. They have their second set of leaves and I transplanted them today. I will have to transplant them again into seperate container when they get a little bigger. For now I put the ones with their second set of leaves into 2 pots. I gave them their first dose of a 1/2 strength fertilizer.

The remainder of the pansy seedlings were also transplanted today and the weaker looking seedlings disposed of. Disposing of weaker seedlings didn't bother me this time because I already have a lot of seedlings and I still have to start petunias, coleus, dichondra, becopa, 2 types of geraniums, stachy, herbs, and vegetables. This year I will need all of the shelves on the plant rack for seedlings.