GENERAL PLANT CARE FROM A TO Z
All Plants need some essentials…
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General Plant Care
Pond Care Fall and Winter
Cold Weather Composting
The sight of steam rising from a compost pile on a cold winter day is sure to warm the heart of every gardener. It’s a sign that when spring comes, you’ll have a batch of fresh compost to use for getting seeds and transplants off to a healthy start in your garden.
Benefits of Composting
It has the ability to help regenerate poor soils. The composting process encourages the production of beneficial micro-organisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) which in turn break down organic matter to create humus.
Ohio Department of Wildlife Invasive Species
Ohio Department of Wildlife Invasive Species
Native Plants of West Central Ohio or Eastern North America
Plants listed here are either native to west central Ohio or they are native to eastern North America and have displayed hardiness in our area. Some plants native to eastern Ohio may not be listed, because they prefer or need the acid soils of that part of Ohio.
Poison Plant List
1. Major Toxicity: These plants may cause serious illness or death. If ingested, immediately call the Poison Control Center or your doctor.
2. Minor Toxicity: Ingestion of these plants may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea. If ingested, call the Poison Control Center or your doctor.
Plant Care Guide
The Siebenthaler Company believes the care you give your new landscape plantings is just as important as the design and installation. Learning how to properly maintain your plants is the key to enjoying your landscape investment for years to come.
Compost Happens – With a little help from you!
Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching soil.
Trees
Watering – This is the number one reason for plant loss.
Too much water may be as harmful to your new tree as too little water. Do not over-water or leave the soil saturated for a long period of time. One inch of water/rain per week for newly planted trees is the general rule. To determine actual moisture content, dig four to eight inches into the soil close to the root mass with a trowel or shovel. If the soil is dry at this depth, it is time to irrigate!
Planting Under Black Walnut Tree
Planting Under Black Walnut Tree
How to Plant a Tree
Dig a bowl shaped planting hole (sloping soil to grade) at least nine inches wider than the sides of the root ball on trees up to two and one-half inches in diameter. Dig the hole at least fifteen inches wider than the sides of the root ball for trees over two and one-half inches in diameter. Loosen or rough up the sides of the hole so roots can easily penetrate into the surrounding soil.
Shrubs
Rose Gardening Calendar
Roses require the equivalent of an inch of rainfall per week during the growing season. You must provide what nature does not. For beds, a soaker hose is an excellent solution. Morning watering is best.
Winter Protection for Roses
Winterizing roses is a very important maintenance practice to ensure vigorous growth from year to year. There are several things you can do to make sure your roses survive Ohio winters long before the cold winds blow.
Perennials
How to Grow Successful Hostas
Hostas do their best in a moisture retentive and highly organic soil. To achieve this mix three inches of equal parts organic compost, manure and sphagnum peat moss should be added to every 6-8” of tilled soil.
Ornamental Grasses
One of the toughest and most versatile groups of perennials is the ornamental grasses. Whether sunny or shady, wet or dry, windy or calm site and you need a grass within a certain height range, there will be a one for your needs.
Perennials to Prune in the Late Summer and Fall
Readying your garden for winter is important to the health of your plants. How and when you cut things back is determined by the individual needs of your plants, your desire to provide food and cover for wildlife, and your appreciation for winter interest.
Perennials for Moist Soils
Perennials for Moist Soils
Winterizing Perennials
Southwestern Ohiowinters are impossible to predict. We can range from a low of 15 degrees above zero to a low of 15 degrees below zero. We can receive no snow or 18” of snow. The best way to care for your perennials is to be prepared for the worst!
Hosta and Sun Tolerance
Hostas do not always have to be relegated to the shadiest parts of the garden. Many varieties will tolerate sun to some degree. Our suggestions are no guarantee as to the plant’s performance.
Bulbs Not Blooming
1. Bulbs have not been ‘fed’ in a couple of years: a broadcast of 5-10-10 granules at planting, when leaves emerge, and again at bloom is a reasonable feeding schedule.
2. Feeding has been with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. This encourages production of leaves, but seems to quell the plant’s need for flowers.
Lawn Care
Fall Lawn Care Tips
Mushrooms in Lawns
Preparing Lawns for Winter
Rust in Lawns
Houseplants
How To Water Houseplants
If you’ve enjoyed indoor houseplants for any length of time, you’ve probably lost a plant or two.
Insufficient and excessive watering is among many reasons a plant might fail despite what seems like pampered conditions. In some cases, pampering may be precisely the problem.
Indoor Houseplant Watering Guide
One of the most popular questions we hear is “When do I water my houseplants?” Many houseplants have differing water needs. The water requirement for plants is based on the light, temperature, air circulation and stage of plant growth.
Indoor Air Pollution
The most common harmful airborne chemicals found in the average home or office is formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene and carbon monoxide. Even in low concentrations these chemicals can cause a variety of health problems.
20 Popular Houseplants with Toxicity Status
Houseplants are popular additions to many rooms. Usually people, plants and pets live together harmoniously, although some curious children and pets will venture to take a little taste. Listed below are 20 of the most popular houseplants and their levels of toxicity.
Poinsettia Re-Blooming
Getting poinsettias to re-bloom is not easy, but with some patience and care it can be done.
Orchid Care and Tips
The general rule of thumb for orchids grown in the home is to water every 5 to 12 days, depending on the type of orchid, the temperature the plant is grown in, and the time of year. During the warm summer months when days are long, more frequent watering is required than in the cooler, shorter days of winter.
Norfolk Island Pine Needs TLC
The Norfolk Island pine has grown in popularity as a live indoor Christmas tree. Its lush green twigs of soft needles provide a lovely backdrop for festive holiday ornaments. Garden centers and mass merchandisers have an impressive selection, ranging from compact desktop plants to large floor plants rivaling a traditional holiday tree!
How Plants Clean the Air
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was instrumental in determining that house plants improve the quality of air that we breathe while they were researching ways to clean the air in space stations.
Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Beauty
October is the time of the year to begin potting your favorite spring bulbs to prepare them for winter flowering. Tulips, narcissus (daffodils), hyacinths, crocus, scillas, grape hyacinths, and lily of the valley can be forced into flower in late winter and early spring.
Common Symptoms of Poor Health of Indoor Plants
Living plants are being used in great numbers and variety in all types of indoor environments. Although most indoor environments are satisfactory for the maintenance of the health of plants for relatively long periods, problems do occasionally occur.
Christmas Cactus Care
Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) is a popular, winter-flowering houseplant native to Brazil, available in a wide variety of colors including red, purple, oranges, pinks and creams.
Bringing Tropical Plants Indoors
Many gardeners like to try over-wintering their tropical plants in the house so they can use them outside again the following spring. A tropical plant is one that will not survive our winters here in Ohio, but prefer the mild winters of Florida, Southern California and the tropics.
Care of Amaryllis
Large bell-shaped or lily-like flowers of the amaryllis (Hippeastrum species) and its hybrids make excellent garden and potted plants and come in a wide range of colors: red, white, pink, orange, salmon or bicolor, they typically have 2-6 flowers per stalk.
ZZ Plant Tips and Care
Zamioculcas zamiifolia is commonly called the “ZZ plant”. Interior plantscapers are finding the ZZ to be an exceptional performer in any light. Especially the low light levels where few plants perform well.
How to Make A Terrarium
A Terrarium is a collection of compatible plants grown in an enclosed, clear container. Creating a terrarium is a practical and fun way to have a miniature landscape inside your home. Their easy care is ideal for people who are too busy to spend a lot of time caring for plants.
Schefflera Tips and Care
The Schefflera is a popular houseplant. There is one big leaf variety called ‘Amate’ and several smaller leafed varieties, some green and a couple variegated. They come in bush form or tree form. Some trees have braided trunks, which are very attractive.
Ponytail Palm Tips and Care
Considered extremely hardy, the Ponytail Palm enjoys lots of sunlight. The foliage is a nice green, graceful and attractive.
Because of this tree’s ability to store water in the trunk, it is very drought tolerate.
Philodendron Tips and Care
This diverse group of plants ranges from vines with 3-inch heart shaped green leaves to vines with leaves 3 feet long. Some types have glossy solid green leaves, others have velvet textured patterned leaves, while some have deep red leaves and stems.
Money Tree/Pachira Tips and Care
It is often called Money Tree and is a favorite plant of feng-shui decorators. It is grown to bring good luck and money into your home. You will find Money Trees in many sizes, from bonsai to large trees. Most of the trees will have their trunks braided.
Lucky Bamboo Tips and Care
Known for centuries as Lucky Bamboo, the plant is not a bamboo at all (botanical name: Dracaena) but a resilient member of the lily family that grows in the dark, tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Africa.
Hoya Tips and Care
Hoyas are beautiful, carefree plants wonderful for hanging baskets in well-lit, bright locations.
Allow these plants to get dry between waterings.
Gardenia Tips and Care
Gardenias have a well-earned reputation for being difficult specimens for even the experienced indoor gardener. But the success of having them bloom indoors is worth the effort you put into them.
Easter Lily Tips and Care
The Easter Lily is a bulbous plant which should not be considered a permanent house plant. They are perfectly hardy in our zone however, and may be planted outside in a sunny location for enjoyment year after year.
Coffee Plant Care Sheet
The coffee plant, cultivated on farms for its beans, is also commonly grown as a houseplant for its dark green, glossy foliage. Although it is not practical to grow indoors solely for coffee, the plant does flower and produce enough beans for a pot or two of coffee after three or four years.
Cactus and Succulent Tips and Care
Bright or filtered light is best for all cactus and succulents. Direct sun through a window is fine, but some locations may be too hot and will burn the plants. Watch them carefully for signs of sunscald, especially in the summer.
Aglaonema Tips and Care
Aglaonema, which is also known as Chinese Evergreen, can be grown anywhere in almost any conditions. If you need to give a housewarming gift without having seen the house, this is the perfect plant.
Yucca Tips and Care
The Yucca plant is a tough houseplant that can tolerate a broad range of growing conditions. It prefers high light and will do its best there. It will tolerate low light but you’ll need to make sure you water properly as it will not dry out as fast under those conditions.
Spider Plants Tips and Care
Spider plants are one of the most popular and one of the easiest plants to care for. They are excellent in hanging baskets but may be grown in pots on a table. Mature plants will soon form runners…or baby plantlets.
Pleomele "Song of India" Tips and Care
A member of the Dracaena family, this versatile plant can be grown in low, moderate or bright light (where it flourishes!).
In any light, its soil must dry out completely between thorough soaking waterings. It tolerates low humidity well extremely well.
Peperomia Tips and Care
Grow peperomias with all green leaves in bright light, but not direct sunlight. A west window or east an window shaded by a transparent curtain works best. Peperomias with variegated leaves can tolerate more light and need more light to generate bright colors.
Mini-Roses Tips and Care
To bloom and stay healthy, Miniature Roses need bright light all day long and several hours of direct sunlight. If needed, supplement what is naturally available with artificial full-spectrum lights.
Ficus Tips and Care
The Ficus, or Weeping Fig, has graceful weeping branches and thick, shiny dark green foliage that form a dense treetop above the smooth grey bark. There are many varieties available, some with bright green leaves, some with dark bluish-green leaves.
Dracaena Tips and Care
There are many varieties within this family of plants. Most of us have at least one dracaena in our home or office as it is one of the plants that easily survive indoors even when the conditions are far from ideal.
Clivia Tips and Care
Clivia are gaining popularity as a houseplant because of their beautiful blooms. However, there are conditions that must be met before they will do so in the house.
Place them where they will get morning sun or bright, indirect light. They will not tolerate either direct sun coming in a south or west window or low light situations.
Bromeliad Tips and Care
Bromeliad is the common name for a family of plants that contain many varieties with different colored blooms and leaf sizes.
Most bromeliads have leaves radiating from a central point creating a rosette that forms a water holding tank.
African Violets Tips and Care
African violets are more dependent on regular care than most other house plants. They “sulk” quite obviously when they are dry or cold. The plants flower best in bright light, but not in extreme heat and humidity.
Wandering Jew Tips and Care
Once very popular in the late 70’s to early 80’s… “Zebrina Wandering Jew” is gaining in popularity again.
Place your plant in bright indirect or filtered light. Early morning and late day sunshine is ok.
Snake Plant Tips and Care
Sanseveria, or Snake Plant is one of the most versatile and hardy of the indoor plants. It is a good choice for beginners. Another, rather old-fashioned name you may hear this called by is Mother-In Law’s Tongue.
Prayer Plant Tips and Care
Prayer plants are popular houseplants with beautiful leaves. They lay open flat during the day and fold up at night…. hence the name.
Provide medium or bright filtered light, but never direct sun. They will not tolerate a low light area.
Peace Lily/Spathiphyllum Tips and Care
Spathiplyllum, or Peace Lily will survive low interior light but would prefer bright filtered light. Peace Lilies have been used by interior plantscapers for many years as a ground cover where the light is very low. They should NOT be placed direct sun or they will sunburn.
Ming Aralia
It’s hard to think of a more elegant indoor plant. Ming aralias are graceful, bushy upright plants covered with lacy, bright-green foliage. There are several varieties of Ming aralia available and their ultimate size can vary from 2 to 4 feet.
Jade Plant Tips and Care
Jade plants are tough, easy-to-grow succulents. They grow well in containers and like the warm, dry conditions found in most homes. They can live for a very long time and grow into small trees or shrubs up to 5 feet tall indoors.
Hibiscus-tips-and-care
Hibiscus can be enjoyed year round. Plan on bringing the plant indoors when night temperatures are expected to be below 50 degrees. Before bringing the plant indoors for the winter, treat it for insects to prevent infesting house plants.
Fern Tips and Care
Ferns vary in their growing condition needs. Several commonly grown indoor ferns have a well-earned reputation for being finicky growers, but others are surprisingly easy. Ferns with tough, leathery foliage usually adapt better to typical household conditions than feathery, delicate types.
Dieffenbachia Tips and Care
Dieffenbachias need plenty of filtered light. The average indoor temperatures are suitable for the plant but do not expose it to extreme heat or extreme cold. Most houses are low in humidity, especially during the winter months, so make sure to provide the necessary humidity to your plant.
Cineraria Tips and Care
Here is a blooming plant for indoors that actually looks like a bouquet of flowers.
The tiny daisy flowers are available in some incredible colors including pink, blue, white, red and purple. Some of the blooms are bicolor, with the petal bases a contrasting color.
Aspidistra Tips and Care
Known as the Cast Iron Plant, Aspidistra elatior has corn like, shiny, dark green leaves that grow to 24 inches long; it occasionally produces purple-brown small flowers near the base of the plant.
Pothos Tips and Care
Golden Pothos forms a vine that just keeps getting longer and longer, and the leaves at the end of the vine are larger than the ones near the pot. You can let these vines hang down from a hanging basket, let them crawl across a windowsill, or wrap them around a moss pole to try to keep the plant in one place.
Piggyback Plant Tips and Care
The Piggyback plant, orTolmiea menziesii, is a fun and interesting houseplant because of the “babies” that grow on the older leaves. They cause the foliage to hang downward, making it a wonderful basket plant. The lobed leaves are sort of hairy, darker on the top than underneath, and resemble maple leaves.
Palms Tips and Care
Palms are probably the most popular houseplant, and with good reason: they’re reasonably priced, easy to care for and they look great. Palms are divided into two groups: the feather palms, with long fronds divided into many segments, and the fan palms, whose leaves are shaped much like a hand with the fingers spread.
Mandeville Tips and Care
Bring your Mandeville indoors when the night temperatures are consistently in the upper 40’s. The best time to make the move is when you bring your houseplants inside, which is usually done when indoor temperatures are similar to that outdoors.
Ivy Tips and Care
Ivy varieties are many…. there are solid greens, variegated, small leafed, large leafed, curly leafed and miniature leafed. They are all easy to grow.
Gerber Daisy Tips and Care
Gerber Daisies, while normally grown outdoors for summer color, can be grown indoors to bring a bit of that color inside.
If in bloom, place your “Gerber Daisy” in bright indirect or filtered light. Avoid abnormally warm areas.
False Aralia Tips and Care
As its species name implies, this is another very elegant form of aralia. The five-fingered leaflets of this plant are very narrow and slightly serrated. When the new foliage first emerges, the leaves are glossy and almost copper colored.
Croton Tips and Care
Crotons enjoy a brightly lit, sunny area and high humidity. Find it a place near a south or west window and it will be just fine, keeping its bright colors and full shape.
Calathea Tips and Care
Calathea is a beautiful houseplant with mottled or striped leaves in a variety of patterns. Bright indirect light is excellent, but lower light will be tolerated. Very low light will not be.
Anthurium Tips and Care
Anthuriums are relatively easy to grow, have attractive foliage and under the proper environment, produce long lasting flowers. They are durable and will survive as an indoor foliage plant for a remarkable period of time, even under adverse conditions.
Shamrock Tips and Care
Shamrock plants require direct sun for best growth and flowering. They usually bloom all winter if placed in a bright sunny window. These plants prefer soil that is kept barely moist and will do fine if the soil dries slightly between watering.