Christmas cactus

One of my Christmas cactuses on the kitchen windowsill has come into flower. I hope the rest will flower too. I have ten different Christmas cactii there. I think they are not doing as well as they can because I am not watering them enough.

On the end of the sill was an old amarylis plant, I think I’ve overwatered it. But it was about ten years old. I also have a maidenhair fern on the bathroom that is huge but most of it’s leaves have gone brown. Probably because I had the radiator fixed in the bathroom and it gets too hot in there. I need to sort things out…..

Christmassy cactus

I watered my Christmas cactii and they have all developed flowers. My indoor plants have been sadly neglected this winter. I’ve been distracted by everything that has been going on. I have not looked after the orchids and my amarylis plants have not developed flowers. Oh well. It might be time to replace them, they are 7 or 8 years old!

Old Orchids

Old orchids on the windowsill

Growing fitfully, they need repotting. I’m going to have to do it soon as the orchid medium is spent, but they have reflowered a few times. They need clear plastic pots to let light to the roots apparently. My worst habit is not keeping them misted so they are a little dry. I’ve got two more on the kitchen windowsill but I think it will be too cold in there in the winter so I will be moving them into the living room where it’s warmer..

Killed my orchids?

I am sad to say it’s been too cold for my orchid plants this winter. I have some on a windowsill that have just about survived, but hubby bought me some a month or do ago and the only room was in the kitchen. But it’s drafty in there and the leaves are starting to yellow. I tried not to water them too much in case they started to rot. I think I need to repot them all.

Orchids need orchid medium, not soil, they like their roots loosely potted I think and they grow ariel roots to draw moisture from their surroundings. They also prefer clear pots so light can get to their roots. You are supposed to spray mist on them but I never remember to do it. I must try and rescue them.

Christmas cactii

Pink and red flowers popping open like fireworks, following the curve of the leaves as they sprout. Some of them have flowered, some are open now and some are in bud… How do they know to flower? Day length. Apparently if you move a Christmas cactus about too much it may drop its flowers. I’m not sure if that’s true or a gardening myth. I do know you can break a few leaves off and put it in water and it will send out water roots, you can plant them up. Some of these (cactuses cactii?) were propogated from my grandmother’s plants forty years ago. X Nrxt- Easter Cactuses.

Orchid flowers

This morning I saw the sun shining through the petals of my orchid flowers. I have four plants and they flower for ages, but this is the only one in flower at the moment. I decided to mirror it to create a more abstract, alien image, perhaps a real alien! I adjusted the colour to a more blue grey tone. It was very yellow because of the morning sunlight.

Inside nasturtium plant.

Hubby decided to put a Nasturtium seed in the pot of our Money plant upstairs, (it has round, coin like leaves). It grew, thin and etiolated (tall and thin, reaching for the light). It’s still there this November. It never flowered but maybe I will plant another one next year? I don’t think it will last through the winter, I think Nasturtiums are annual plants, only growing for one year. But it’s an interesting experiment. It would be good if it flowered and trailed down from the upstairs side window. Meanwhile the Money plant needs watering, it’s top heavy and has started pulling over to one side. I do like indoor plants. We have lots of Christmas cactuses. They need watering to get them to flower soon…

Side window

On a cold sunny morning I like looking through the side windows of the house. This one is surrounded by orchids. Three plants live there, all different sizes. One recently stopped flowering after sending out a second flower spike. One keeps growing but hasn’t flowered again and the last was one we got in the summer and the flowers on it are fading. I think they all need repotting. They sit in clear pots as the roots like to get light to them, I have some orchid medium but last time I potted them on I think I used too much of it and crammed the roots of one of them in too tightly….

Theres a glass frog and another glass piece hanging from the curtain rail. Then the window glass is dusty and covered in cobwebs outside. It’s hard to clean as there is a large shrub in the way outside. Also there is a nesting box which families of Blue Tits use over the spring and summer. So it gets left, and the dappled light from the trees outside give it an atmospheric, olde worlde look. Which is why I like to take photos of it.

X

Succulents

Houseplants are good for you according to recent research. Apparently just a glimmer of green in an otherwise plain and boring magnolia painted house can improve your mood. If you are locked down in a house or room, having that bit of green can help.

This is a badly watered succulent plant we have at the top of our stairs. I look out over our garden and feel infinitely lucky to have that patch of green.

X