- Hi, thanks for joining us for the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Houseplants bring nature indoors, but for some they can be challenging.

Today we're going to cover the basics of houseplant care.

That's just ahead on the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer) Production funding for the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South is provided by the WKNO Production Fund, the WKNO Endowment Fund and by viewers like you, thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to the Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Joining me today is Jill Maybry.

Jill is a horticulturalist at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

- That's right.

- Thanks for being here today.

- Thank you Chris.

Thank you for having me.

- Yes.

It's always good to have you.

So we're gonna talk about all things houseplant care.

- Okay.

- So where to put the plant, repotting, up potting watering, feeding.

- Sure.

- Insects, diseases.

And the three easiest houseplants for beginners.

- Okay.

- What do you think about that?

- Let's do it.

Let's go.

- Let's do it.

So let's start with where we put the plant?

- Okay.

You have to start with what kind of plant it is.

So when you purchased it or when it was given to you, hopefully it came with an ID tag- - Hopefully.

- That it has the name.

If not, then ask a trusted friend or put a picture on social media or use a Google search.

Try to identify what that plant is.

- Okay.

First and foremost, right?

- Yes.

Yes.

You need to know what it is.

- Okay.

- And then if it does not come with any instructions, then hopefully you can just do some internet searching and see what is recommended.

In general, the plants that we use as houseplants are all gonna be okay with bright indirect light.

- Okay.

- Which generally means in one of your windows.

For instance, these are two houseplants, my personal houseplants that I brought from home.

And they both sit in a north window.

That is my plant window.

- It's the plant window.

Okay.

- So it faces north.

It does not get any direct sun that way, but it is bright.

It is bright, indirect light.

And that's gonna be a thriving light situation- - Got it.

- For most houseplants.

Some can take even more light and those could go in a south- or west-facing window.

Of course this all depends on how many trees you may have around your house.

But that'll help if you can just get an ID, a name on that plant and you can look up specifically their requirements to know exactly how much light they can or cannot handle.

- Right.

so we wanna be careful not to put 'em under vents, you know?

- Right, if you've got a ventilation system, if you've got a vent right above that plant, that could be a recipe for that plant drying out very quickly.

So ideally you don't want your houseplant sitting right under a vent.

- Good deal.

What about pets?

- Pets.

Okay.

Pets can love houseplants.

A lot of cats love to chew on those tender leaves.

Sometimes dogs with their enthusiastic tails can knock plants right off window sills.

So it's a good idea to just keep your houseplants out of your pet's reach, for both the safety of the animal and the plant and the, to make sure you get to keep enjoying that houseplant.

If you do have pets and you're worried about toxicity, then you can look that up online too, 'cause there's so many different kinds of houseplants.

Most of 'em are gonna be safe for your animals.

But it's a good idea to check just if you're, if you're worried.

- So let's talk quickly about humidity, 'cause that's usually a question that comes up about houseplants.

- Right.

So what we know generally as houseplants tolerate our humidity, our indoor humidity very well.

- Okay.

- Whatever the humidity that we are comfortable in in our homes is what our houseplants are happy with.

And that's why they have become houseplants.

That's why we continue to use the same plants is because they thrive in the same temperature and the same humidity that people thrive in.

- So let's talk about watering houseplants.

Alright.

So how do we go about doing that?

- I get a lot of questions about that.

People worried that they're over or underwatering.

And it can depend on the plant.

But in general, once a week is gonna be good for most houseplants in general.

That's how often I water mine.

And we can go through how to water.

- Oh yeah.

- How to water a houseplant.

I'll start with this guy.

This is a heartleaf Philodendron.

This variety is called Brazil.

And if you water it once a week, I'd like to put a drip tray under under my plants.

Typically with any houseplant, when you water it, you want to water it thoroughly so that the water goes all the way through the pot- - Like it's doing now.

Okay.

- Yep.

And drips out the bottom.

- Sure.

- And that's how you know it has gone all the way through.

So it's hitting all of the roots.

It's getting that soil evenly moist, is when you see it coming out the bottom.

So you do want to water it thoroughly and your pot should have drainage holes.

- Yes.

- You do want your water to run through it.

Otherwise, if it just sits there, that's a recipe for root rot.

- Okay.

- And with your houseplants, it's okay to let them sit in that drip tray- - I was gonna ask you about that, what about the tray?

There's water in it.

- For maybe 30 minutes to an hour or two.

'Cause while you're letting it sit, that plant will continue to suck up water through the roots into the stems and leaves as much as it needs.

- Okay.

- But after a couple hours, if there's still water in that drip tray, that means the plant doesn't need it.

So I would go ahead and take that water, take that drip tray out, pour it down the sink, or recycle it into another house plant that maybe you haven't watered yet.

And then put your plant back in the drip tray without water in it.

Just make sure it's not sitting in water.

- So let's talk about using fertilizers.

- Okay.

- All right?

So what do you use, or what would you use?

- I really like the granular time-release fertilizer.

That's what works for me and my watering schedule.

For example, when I re-pot or when I get a new plant or if it doesn't seem to have a lot of fertilizer, I might use about this much for a six-inch pot or so.

I would sprinkle that around the edges.

You don't want it right up against the stems.

'cause potentially the fertilizer could burn.

- Right.

Right.

- So sprinkle around the edges evenly.

- Okay.

- And then each time you water, a little bit of that fertilizer is going to trickle down into the soil.

- Right.

- And be able to be absorbed by the roots into the plant.

And with houseplants, you could renew this every six months to a year, just depending on how often you water and how your plant is doing.

If it's the middle of winter, you probably don't need to fertilize your plants.

All plants, all houseplants are gonna slow down a little bit during the winter, just 'cause the light is lower and the temperatures are a little cooler.

But fertilizing is a good idea in the spring and summer.

You can begin to tell when the fertilizer has run out when these little granules get clear.

- Yeah.

- And easily crushable.

So if you notice that they've, that they're pale and crushable, then probably all the fertilizer is gone out of the granules and it would be time to reapply.

- Okay.

But you definitely like a slow-release fertilizer?

- That, that's what I prefer to do.

It's just simpler for me.

You can also use a water soluble fertilizer - Yeah.

- That you mix into your watering can and pour, apply that way.

- Okay.

So let's talk about re-potting - Okay.

- And up potting.

- Okay.

So often when you get a plant you may want to put it in a more decorative pot and that's fair.

If you get something and it's in a nursery pot and you want to up pot it, you know that's gonna be a little more, a little more attractive than just the nursery pot.

- Oh yeah.

- And that's fair enough.

- Yeah.

You want it to look good right?

- Sure.

- And match the decor.

- Sure.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Or you may think that this pot, this plant is starting to look a little crowded.

- Okay.

- And maybe ready to go up a size.

And anytime you up pot, you only go, want to go up one size.

You can see this is in a four inch plastic pot and this is a six inch terracotta pot.

So this is the appropriate, it's one size up from the pot that it's in.

And you could go ahead and put this in now just for decorative reasons.

But if you want to really check if the plant needs to be up potted, you can check the roots.

Since this is a plastic pot, I can give it a little squeeze.

- Squeeze it, come outta there.

- There we go.

- That's easy enough.

- It comes right out.

- Yeah.

- And then you can see the roots.

- Yeah.

So what do you think about those roots?

- So these are nice, healthy roots, but they are not filling up the soil.

They're, I see the roots, but they're not packed.

Sometimes when you pull this out, the roots will be circling and circling and circling and that's a good sign that it's time to go up a pot size.

But since I can see a few but not, but they're not thick, I think I'm just gonna put this plant.

Okay.

Back in this size pot and let it grow for probably another six months or so.

- Good.

Good explanation.

Okay, good.

- But if, for example, we want to move this pot up just into a more decorative pot.

Terracotta is going to dry soil out more often than plastic.

So that's a good thing to keep in mind is how much water your plant needs.

And if it's a water-heavy plant, you might wanna choose a plastic pot or a glazed ceramic pot just 'cause that's going to hold onto the water longer.

This is a snake plant or a Sansevieria, which likes to dry out a little bit between watering.

So a terracotta pot is a good choice.

It does have a drainage hole.

I recommend anytime you pot to use a drainage hole.

- It's most important thing.

- You want that water to run out the bottom.

So for repotting, I have some soil here.

- Now is this just a regular soil mix or something?

- Yes.

This is, this is a regular potting soil mix.

So with a pot this size, I'm gonna put a little bit of soil in the bottom and then squeeze a little bit squeeze to get this pot out.

- Ah, look at the roots.

- Oh, you can see the root system on that.

It's, it's ready to go.

- Good example.

- It's ready to be repotted.

It has nice, nice circling roots.

It could have stayed in this pot for longer, but it's definitely okay to go up a size.

- So is that a good root system?

- Yes.

Yes.

This is a nice healthy root system.

Roots do come in different colors.

- Yeah.

I think that's pretty - And Sansevierias often have bright yellow-orange roots.

It always kind of surprises me every time I pull it out and see the roots.

- Yeah.

- So we're gonna look at the height with the bit of soil that's in there and that looks a little low.

- Okay.

So the whole soil level, you know, is very important, right, when you?

- Yes.

You don't want to bury a plant when you plant it.

In general, so you want it to be about the same level that it was in the pot you're going from.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna add a little more soil and then just look again.

That height looks good.

- And let me ask you this, so you don't have to break that root ball apart?

- No, you could.

- You could.

Okay.

- If it were severely going around I might.

But this is, this looks good.

- That's good.

- Okay.

Yeah, it's not overly circling.

So I'm just gonna leave this root ball alone.

- Alright.

- As it is.

And generally when I pot, I want the soil surface to be maybe half an inch down from the edge of the pot.

And that leaves room to water.

If you're potting up to the very top of the pot, then every time you water the water's gonna run over the side, take some soil with it, make a mess in your home.

- I think I've done it a couple times.

- Yeah, I have too.

- Yeah, I have.

- So if you leave a little bit of room that leaves room when you water for that water to rise up and then sink down into the soil without overflowing and making a mess in your house.

- Oh Jill, you're teaching me.

- Okay.

Oh good.

- I got you.

- Good.

- I got you.

- So now that we've tested the level and see that's about the height we want it in the pot, you can add more soil around the edges.

And I like to jiggle it a little to settle it in.

Also pat it down.

I'm not pressing it down, I'm just getting it to settle through the openings.

Okay.

So we've got our soil added, settled down a bit.

I've patted it just to make sure that it's settled.

- Alright.

- And it is a little below the surface of the pot, which is where I want it.

- What you wanted.

Okay.

And it doesn't matter that the soil's, you know, just up against, you know the plant itself?

- No, because this is the same level that it was potted, that it was already potted in.

- Gotcha.

Good.

- So now that it's been planted, I like to go ahead and water it.

- Okay.

- That settles the soil in around the crevices and also gives those roots a nice little drink to be able to help de-stress any of that stress that may have taken place during the re-potting.

And ideally we want to water it until we see water running out the bottom.

So that's how we know that the water went all the way through the soil.

So it was kind of dry soil.

There it goes.

- Oh, there it goes.

There it is.

- So since it's running out the bottom, we know the water has gone all the way through.

- Sure.

- So it has moistened all of the soil and gotten to all of the roots.

Now it's dripping out the bottom.

- Oh, it should be good now.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think watering is the, that's the biggest thing when it comes down to, you know, your houseplants.

I think some of us love it too much.

Too much.

- Yes.

Yes.

Sometimes that is how people kill their plants with too much love is a little too much watering.

Just wanna keep in mind once a week, a thorough watering.

- Yeah.

- And then you want that soil to dry out a bit before you water it again.

And usually once a week is gonna be fine for most plants, especially if they're an appropriate pot size.

That can be a problem if your plant is in too large of a pot, 'cause then you have too much soil that's holding onto that water.

And it can get, become too moist of an environment.

- So could you do the little finger test to see if it's, you know, dry or moist before you- - Sure.

If it looks dry on top, you can stick your finger in down to a couple inches and if it feels moist there then your plant is still okay.

- Okay.

Good deal.

That that worked.

- It did.

So it went all the way through.

We know it's, we know it's been watered thoroughly and right after you pot it, you don't want your plants sitting in water.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna go ahead and pour this out of the drip tray.

- Got it.

Okay.

- And then your newly planted- - There it goes.

- Pot, newly potted plant is ready to go.

- All ready to go.

How about that?

- Yeah.

- That is good.

- Oh, I forgot fertilizer.

- Yeah, so I was gonna mention the fertilizer.

- Right.

- Would you?

Yeah.

- So generally when I up pot a plant, I do like to use this time release fertilizer, time-release granular fertilizer, 'cause it's easy for me.

- Okay.

- And so up potting is a good time to add it.

And I'm putting it around the edge of the pot where it's not right up against the stem, 'cause potentially that fertilizer could burn it.

- Yeah.

- So around the edge of the pot where each time you water the fertilizer is going to trickle down into the soil and reach the roots.

- Okay.

Good deal.

Alright, so let's move into insect issues, disease issues, or anything else that may come about when we- - Okay.

- Talk about houseplants.

- So it's a good idea to keep your, keep an eye on your plants.

Generally when you're watering them once a week is a good time to just visually inspect them and look for signs of insects.

Okay.

- Mealybugs- - Yes.

- Are something that houseplants can be prone to, scale insects, occasionally spider mites.

- Okay.

- So anytime you see a leaf starting to look, maybe spots have suddenly appeared that didn't use to be there.

Identify your pest.

And then there are ways to deal with it.

For instance, if it's mealy bugs, mealy bugs are those white, squishy-looking looks like little squishy little walking pieces of cotton.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- That's a good description.

Yeah.

- Those can be manually wiped off.

- Yeah.

- With a cotton ball or Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and then keep an eye on the plant and if they start to come back, take 'em off again.

- Okay.

- Same thing with your scale insects, treat the same way with rubbing alcohol.

Spider mites tend to show up on plants that have thin leaves and if they're in too much, too little humidity, so in too much dryness, dry air spider mites tend to thrive in that environment.

You may need a systemic insecticide.

At that point you can also treat the mealys and the scale with a systemic insecticide.

But I like to try to manually remove them first.

Just to not go straight to the chemicals.

- Yeah.

Sounds- - But a systemic is a good, is a good option to really knock out your pest problem if you need to.

- Okay.

So let's talk about the three easiest plants for beginners.

- Okay.

- Yep.

- There certainly are some that are more challenging and some that are easier.

So we just repotted the Sansevieria and this is one of the most foolproof plants for beginners.

It's very forgiving.

- Okay.

- It handles low light well.

It also can handle pretty bright light.

A common name for this is snake plant.

- Yeah.

- 'Cause the leaves do look a bit like a snake.

And this is one your standard Sansevieria types with the green and the silver striping.

This is another variety that I like.

This one is called Moonshine.

So the leaves are more silvery, kinda like the moon shining on a lake.

So it's a, just another color variety.

Another real easy one kind of tried and true and easy is this heartleaf Philodendron.

This is the solid green heartleaf Philodendron.

So you can see each leaf is heart shaped.

- Yeah.

- So, aptly named.

And this is the variety called Brazil.

And it has this bright lime green- - I like it.

- Coloration.

Some nice variegation.

And they do well in low light, low to medium.

Bright, indirect light.

They will trail with time.

They do like a decent amount of water, but it's hard to overwater them.

I still recommend once a week.

Just get in the habit of once a week for your houseplants.

- Gotcha.

- So these can turn into beautiful houseplants with time.

They're pretty.

- Tried and true.

- Just to start out with.

Tried and true for sure.

- Tried and true she says.

Alright.

Okay.

- And then one that I like, this is a begonia.

- Yeah, I like that.

- This is one of the cane begonias and I like to recommend cane begonias.

Cane refers to the stalk.

The stem looks a lot like a bamboo cane.

- Ah, yeah, it does.

Yeah.

- This particular variety is called Sophie Cecile.

And it can end up being three to four feet tall.

- Wow.

- And pretty easy care.

Bright, bright, indirect light, medium to high indirect light.

Our houseplants can be pretty variable, so they can adjust.

It does like bright, bright, indirect light.

No direct sun that's gonna burn those leaves.

And these do come in different varieties.

As I said, this one is Sophie Cecile.

And this is one that I brought from my house also.

- Yeah.

- So this is another cane begonia.

This one is called Snow Capped.

This variety, it's called Snow Capped.

- I can see that.

Well Jill, this is great information.

- Well, thank you.

- Great information.

- Glad to share.

- So three easy house plants for beginners.

- That's right.

Yes.

These are three I would recommend.

- Well thank you much.

- You're welcome.

Don't give it too much love.

Not too much love.

- No, no.

Wait once a week.

Let it dry out before you water it again.

- All right.

[upbeat country music] - Today I am gonna demonstrate how to rejuvenate an overgrown cane-type begonia.

So to start with, I'm gonna trim back these canes.

I'm going to pull this recently cut back plant out.

Some of it has died off over the summer.

So I'm gonna pull off that little bit of stem.

I chose to cut it where I did because it's just above a node.

There's a plant node right there on the stem and that's where new growth will come out.

I am gonna break up the root ball just to allow for some fresh soil.

So I'm gonna start out putting some soil in the bottom of the pot.

So I'm just orienting it so that the stems are sticking upright and settling the soil in a little around it.

Not packing the soil down, just pressing a little to make sure that it's filled up all of the empty spaces.

I'm gonna give it about that much fertilizer.

This is a slow, time-release fertilizer.

I'm gonna water it in.

And we know that it's gone all the way through when it starts dripping out the bottom of the pot.

They grow quickly, so this should fill out quickly.

And then we have a new, rejuvenated, Morocco begonia.

[upbeat country music] - All right, Jill, here's our Q&A segment.

You ready?

- I'm ready.

- These are some great questions.

- They sure are.

- All right.

So let's get to it.

Here's our first viewer email.

"How do you control invasive Asian honeysuckle?"

And this is Chris from Ohio.

Honeysuckle is tough.

- It sure is.

- How can he do it?

- And it's a good, it's a good question.

That's been an issue in our native woodlands without competing natives.

So with that honeysuckle, you would pull it, pull it out of the shrubs, cut it, pull it, throw it away.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Send it, unfortunately, send it to the landfill.

And keep an eye on it.

You're probably gonna have to, he's probably gonna have to work on it for a couple years.

Couple seasons.

If you cut it all the way back, I would then take a strong shrub or tree herbicide and paint it on those cut stems.

You can use a paintbrush or paper towel, whatever works for you.

'Cause it is a tough plant and he'll probably have to revisit that for a couple seasons to get it under control.

But it is possible.

- It is possible.

Very invasive, very tough, right?

Pull, pull, pull.

- Right.

- It actually works better if the ground was moist.

Get a shovel.

- Good point.

- See if you can get enough of their root systems.

And then you're right if you cut it back, I would use either triclopyr or glyphosate.

Read and follow the label on that.

You can just use the wipe technique, you know, or you can use the little paint brush and just kind of brush the little stumps.

Right.

And I think that would work, but you gotta be persistent.

- After a couple seasons, it really is possible to get it under control.

- Yes.

And then too, if you can, you can actually mow it, you know?

- That's true.

- Continue to mow it.

You know?

- That's true.

- Deplete it of its carbohydrates.

- Right.

- And that may as well- - And eventually it should run outta energy- - It should.

- And it should give up.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Give up.

- But that still be, yeah, maybe a couple years or so like that.

So yeah.

So there you have it Chris.

It's gonna be a lot of work, but thank you for that question.

Here's our next viewer email.

"What is this plant?

"It is green and vibrant, then blooms.

"And then within a month the leaves turn brown.

Is there a way to keep it green?"

And this is Belinda.

So first of all, Jill, what is that plant?

- Well that is a type of cycad.

That is a sago palm.

- Okay.

- And we do grow those here in the Memphis area.

- Yes we do.

- We can use them outside in the summer in pots, bring them inside, they need some protection in the winter.

Usually a beautiful deep green.

I was very surprised by this question- - So was I- - And by these photos.

I'm used to sagos staying bright, deep green all summer.

My only thought is perhaps too much sun.

Perhaps sunburn, sun scorch to make those leaves turn brown.

- Yeah, I can go with that.

I thought could it been too much water?

Maybe.

- Possibly.

Possibly.

The stem does still look good.

- Yeah, it does.

- And strong and firm.

My just, my best guess is maybe it was sun scald.

- Okay, so what do we do with those leaves?

Do we need to go ahead and cut those off?

- When they turn brown like that, I would go ahead and cut them off.

And I have had good success before with cutting off brown sago leaves.

And that often will flush a whole new round of the bright green leaves to replace that foliage.

- Okay, will we need to fertilize, you know, what do you think about that?

- Perhaps?

- Perhaps.

- We could put out a general purpose fertilizer if that's not something that's been done in a while.

- Alright, Belinda.

We appreciate that.

But yeah, we were very surprised by that.

- Definitely.

- Okay.

Alright.

Here's our next viewer email.

"How do I propagate my African violet?"

And this is Jane from Memphis, Tennessee.

So Ms.

Jane, this is what we're gonna do.

I'm just gonna get outta the way.

I'm gonna toss this to Jill who knows a lot about this.

Right?

So there you have it, Jill.

- This was a fun question.

Think the first plants that I grew were African violets.

- Ah, how about that?

Okay.

- My with the African violet, they have those fuzzy leaves.

Fuzzy round leaves.

And the petiole coming off that leaf.

- Yeah.

- So if you literally pinch with your fingernails or you can use pruners clippers or scissors.

- Okay.

- Pinch down at the end of the petiole where you have that kind of the stem and then the leaf at the end.

And then you can plant that into either soil or in water first.

I did it with jars of water.

And with time you can watch it develop roots and then develop a whole new little set of leaves and it starts growing into this whole new plant just from one leaf.

- Just from one leaf?

- Yeah.

Isn't that amazing?

- Just in in water?

- Yes, just in water.

Okay.

And then after a bit of time, after you see those roots and those leaves, you can take that and plant it into a pot of soil.

- Nice.

- And it'll just keep growing from there and turn back into a clone of its parent plant of its original plant.

- That's pretty cool.

- And you can do that with as many leaves as you want to start your own little army of African violets.

- How about that?

The army of African violets.

I like that.

What kind of soil would you use?

- Potting soil, an average potting soil.

Something well draining.

You don't want it to stay too wet, not too dry.

You can buy specific African violet potting soil.

They do make that.

- They do?

Okay.

- But you don't have to get a specific African violet soil.

Just an average kind of general potting soil ought to work.

- Ms.

Jane, did you like that?

That was good.

Thank you, Jill.

We appreciate that.

- Sure.

- Jill, that was fun.

Thank you so much.

We learned so much, don't we?

- Thank you.

Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Always fun to be here.

- All right.

Thank you much.

Remember, we love to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is questions@familyplotgarden.com and the mailing address is Family Plot 7151 Cherry Farms Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to familyplotgarden.com.

That's all we have time for today.

Thanks for watching.

If you want to learn more about houseplant care, or even rewatch what Jill said a few minutes ago, head on over to familyplotgarden.com.

Be sure to join us next week for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]