“A plant is a wonderful thing cause people can put it out and it’ll look really pretty,” Morris said. “It might just set a fire under someone to become a gardener for the rest of their life.”
Ciscoe’s Holiday Tips:
Use plants as a little gift when you come to a dinner party
Talk to nursery employees for suggestions
Gift plants that have a short lifespan—“If it dies it’s not your fault.
Air plants are always a great idea, you don’t have to water them!
Ciscoe answers questions from the Take 5 Hive:
Kara: I accidentally left my jade plant outside during the week of thanksgiving. I trimmed off the parts that froze, but how can I help promote growth on what’s remaining of the plant
Ciscoe: You might be calling for last rights for that plant, jades are a tropical plant and they cannot take freezing weather. Take it in, talk nice, and don’t bore it- if you keep it in a warm sunny spot, don’t water it until spring.
Tina: I have brought my angel trumpets in for the winter, should I still water as if it was outside? Also is it possible to actually put them in the ground here?
Ciscoe: you can’t put your angel trumpet in the ground here. This is a huge plant, with big hanging flowers, and what they’re trying to do is attract moths to pollinate them. But those moths are down in Brasil, cause that’s where these plants come from. They’re not hearty, no way they’re gonna live here. You got two choices: bring it in, put it in a cold dark place like a basement, cut it down two thirds and let it go totally dormant & bring it out in the spring. The problem when you do that is it won’t bloom until August or September. Much better if you take that plant, Keep in bright window, water it all winter long, it’s going to look horrible, but it’ll get through it and it’ll start growing right away. You’ll have flowers in June or July.
Robert: Are there plants during this time of year that feed hummingbirds?
Ciscoe: Yoh ya there’s a whole bunch, and that’s the best way to feed hummingbirds! You want plants to feed them cause if you hang up a feeder and it’s freezing weather and the hummingbirds use your feeder and it’s empty or freezes, a hummingbird can freeze to death! I’ll tell you a few: Grevillia and Witchhazel.
Jackie: What’s the secret to getting orchids to bloom? Right now, my plant is sending out a new leaf and root.
Ciscoe: That’s good news! Depends which kind of orchid it is. If you’ve got the one that almost everyone has, moth orchid, as soon as they’re done blooming you cut down just below the last node, keep it in bright light (but not sunshine), fertilize once a month, and with a little bit of luck in about six weeks a new stock should come out where the last one was and that will be full of blooms.