Care Level: Plays Hard to Get
Pet Friendly: Warning
Toxic to pets if ingested.
This Funky Friends Bundle is a group of some of our most diverse plants. Picture this, a jock, prom queen, math wiz and band star walk into a room. While each are unique with their strengths and powers, they all bring great features to the table.
Get yourself the full "Breakfast Club" and add some spice to your spaces!
Collection Includes:
Care Level: Plays Hard to Get
Pet Friendly: Warning
Toxic to pets if ingested.
Filtered light or bright shade outdoors is best. Ideally bright morning sun is best; Bright indirect light indoors. The lower the light, the more straggly it will become.
Weekly watering is sufficient. Use filtered, bottled, or tap water sitting 24 hours to release the chemicals and water enough that the water discharges out of the drainage holes. Once the water is fully drained, replace it into the cache or decorative pot. This plant likes to be kept slightly moist during the growing season but cut back watering in the winter months. The stems are thin and can dry out quickly so don't let the soil get bone dry or the little pearls will shrivel up. Once established, this plant is drought tolerant outside.
It can tolerate low humidity.
Indoor temperature between 65-75°F. No drafts or fluctuations in temperature. You can force this plant into dormancy and keep in a room at 55-60°F to bloom better the following spring while overwintering.
Outdoors in filtered light or bright shade where nights are above 50°F. If growing in a pot, overwinter in colder regions below 50°F. Indoors, give them bright, indirect light.
Use cactus and succulent food concentrate and dilute as directed on the container.
Fast draining succulent or cactus potting mix is an excellent choice to use for this succulent. Choose a high enough pot or hanging basket so the plant's tendrils can hang over the pot or basket. Only enlarge the container by one pot size.
To prepare for the transfer and secure the tender tendrils, gently drape them onto the top of the soil. To avoid backfilling as much, work the soil up the container pot's side before placing the plant inside. If possible, to avoid breaking any tendrils, cut the grower pot down one side and gently pull the container apart to lift out the root system. Sit the root system into the new pot and add extra soil around the sides, leaving no air bubbles and pack down tightly. Gently unfold the string of pearls stems down the sides of the pot all the way around to hang properly. Water well and allow a month before fertilizing.
Trim stems on the side to promote growth. Begin trimming early in growth to get a fuller foliage on top. Us the stem cuttings in propagation.
In the spring and summer, clip off a string and separate into a single strand. Use succulent and cactus soil mix and dampen. Lay the whole stem in a circle on top of the soil and the stem will root and grow tendrils. Or, remove some of the pearls at the base of the stem, dip in rooting hormone and push down into the soil. Let them hang over and drape around the pot. Use several cuttings to start in your new planter.
Moderate, indirect light. Direct sunlight will burn the leaves.
Water well and then allow the soil to dry out between each watering.
Enjoys humidity. Spritz occasionally.
Keep this plant on the warmer side and avoid cold drafts.
Outside: Keep them in part shade (early morning sun) on a patio out of direct sunlight to prevent leaf burn and bring inside when nights are below 55°F.
The Dracaena Tree doesn't need a lot of fertilizer and may become sensitive to too much salts if applied too often. Apply a liquid fertilizer at half strength especially formulated for indoor plants. Avoid using water with chemicals (chlorine or fluoride). Apply once a month during the spring, summer and fall season. Let rest during the winter.
When receiving the Dracaena Tree do not repot immediately but wait at least 6-12 months. Repot every 3-5 years or when the roots are beginning to get crowded and growing through the drainage holes.
Repot in the spring, using a 2 inches bigger pot to keep the roots drier.
Place a piece of screening at the bottom of the container over the drainage hole to secure the soil and allow to drain. Use a well-draining indoor potting mix with perlite to help with drainage.
Water your plant in the old pot before transferring over and let sit an hour.
Add soil to the bottom to elevate the root ball. Lift the plant and release the roots against the existing planter. Use a clean knife or garden trowel to wedge between the pot and the soil to loosen.
Inspect the root ball. Notice if there are any dead or rotting roots and trim off with sterile pruners. If the plant is rootbound, cut through the roots to alleviate continued encircling.
Ensure the plant is sitting about 1 inch below the edge of the pot to avoid water spillage. Add more soil and backfill around the sides by tamping down. Fill up to the soil line but not over.
Water thoroughly, leaving the soil damp but not soggy. If settling occurs, add more soil.
Water well to dampen the soil and let drain.
Prune your Dracaena tree in the spring and summer during the growing season. If yellow or browning tips develop, cut the discoloration off with sterilize scissors and flush the soil to remove any accumulated salts in the soil.
To prune the stems to produce more foliage, use a clean, sharp knife. Make a cut anywhere on the long cane. They will look naked until sprouts emerge around the cut area. Use the cuttings for propagation.
Take a stem cutting with sanitized pruners 4-6 inches long with the leaves attached.
Dip the cuttings in water, then in a rooting hormone.
Use a pot with drainage. and place the stem 1-2 inches down into the damp, well-draining, moist potting soil mix and tamp down around the stem to secure.
Place a clear plastic bag over the cutting to mimic a greenhouse and mist the bag. Set in bright, indirect sunlight while they are rooting.
Check the moisture and humidity each day and add misting to keep the soil moist while the roots establish.
After 6-8 weeks, roots will begin to establish. You can tug onto the stem to ensure the roots are secure.
Medium to bright indirect light. Never direct sunlight.
Enjoys being on the moist, but not soggy side.
Enjoys high humidity. Spritz occasionally.
The Swiss Cheese Plant likes warmth and to stay above 50°F with high humidity.
Outside: Grow in morning light, partial shade (4-6 hours) where nights are above 50°F.
Indoors: This plant prefers bright, to medium indirect light for at least six hours in a southern, eastern and western windows.
Fertilize during their growing period in the spring and summer months between February and October every 2-3 weeks. Use a balanced liquid fertilizer at 1/2 strength. Reduce fertilizing during the fall and winter to once a month while the plant is in their dormant phase. Raise the humidity around them and never use chlorine or fluoride in the water.
When receiving the plant, do not repot immediately but wait at least 6-12 months or if the roots are beginning to get crowded and growing through the drainage holes.
Repot in the spring, using a 2" bigger pot to keep the roots drier. (Too big of a pot could cause the soil to dry slower, which is not helpful.) Use a well-draining indoor potting mix with perlite to help with drainage.
Water your plant in the old pot before transferring over and let sit an hour. Place a piece of screening at the bottom of the container over the drainage hole to secure the soil and allow to drain. Add soil to the bottom to elevate the root ball. Lift the plant and release the roots against the existing planter. Use a clean knife or garden trowel to wedge between the pot and the soil to loosen.
Inspect the root ball. Notice if there are any dead or rotting roots and trim off with sterile pruners. If the plant is rootbound, cut through the roots to alleviate continued encircling.
Ensure the plant is sitting about 1" below the edge of the pot to avoid water spillage. Add more soil and backfill around the sides by tamping down. Fill up to the soil line but not over.
Water thoroughly, leaving the soil damp but not soggy. If settling occurs, add more soil.
Wear gloves while working with this plant, as they have a sap that causes skin irritation. Trim off any yellowing bottom leaves down to the base of the stem using a sharp knife. Remove any debris off the soil surface. Train your plant to grow up a moss pole and tie them up to promote upward growth. Wipe the leaves with a clean, damp cloth using filtered or rain water. Support the leaf by wiping them from the stem to the tip of the leaf on both sides. Spritzing the leaves is another way to wet them and wipe them clean.
Take cuttings just below an aerial root.
Remove the bottom leaves on the stem with sterile scissors or a knife. Place the cutting in a container tall enough to hold the leaf upright. Add about an inch of water at the bottom and change the water weekly.
Keep the leaf in medium indirect sunlight while they are beginning to form roots.
Once roots are at least 1-2 inches long, plant them with rooting hormone mixed into the well-draining potting mix.
Water and place in bright to medium, indirect light.
Prefers medium levels of indirect light.
Water well and then allow the soil to dry out between each watering.
Enjoys humidity. Spritz occasionally.
Keep this plant in rooms where the temperature is a comfortable 60°F-75°F and avoid cold drafts or air vents below 55°F.
Outside: Keep them in full shade on a patio out of direct sunlight to prevent leaf burn where nights are above 55°F.
Fertilize throughout the spring, summer and fall every six weeks. Apply at half-strength a balanced, liquid fertilizer especially formulated for indoor plants and let them rest in the winter.
When receiving the Dieffenbachia, do not repot immediately but wait at least 6-12 months or if the roots are beginning to get crowded and growing through the drainage holes.
Repot in the spring, using a 2 inches bigger pot to keep the roots drier. (Too big of a planter could cause the soil to dry slower.)
Place a piece of screening at the bottom of the container to secure the soil and allow to drain. Use a well-draining indoor potting mix with perlite to help with drainage. Plant in the old pot before transferring over and let sit an hour.
Add soil to the bottom to elevate the root ball. Lift the plant and release the roots against the existing planter. Use a clean knife or garden trowel to wedge between the pot and the soil to loosen.
Inspect the root ball. Notice if there are any dead or rotting roots and trim off with sterile pruners. If the plant is rootbound, loosen the roots to alleviate continued encircling.
Ensure the plant is sitting about 1 inch below the edge of the pot to avoid water spillage. Add more soil and backfill around the sides by tamping down. Fill up to the soil line but not over.
Water thoroughly, leaving the soil damp but not soggy. If settling occurs, add more soil.
Water well to dampen the soil and let drain.
To clean the leaves and alleviate dust particles, give them a shower from above. Fill a watering can with filtered, distilled or tap water that has been sitting for 24 hours. Place the plant in a sink and lightly wash the leaves with a shower spray end watering can.
Trim off any brown leaf tips that may appear with sterile scissors. Remove any debris from the soil and replenish soil if needed. Inspect for any insects at this time.
To propagate this plant during the growing season, take a stem cutting in the early spring. Use a knife or sharp pruners, cut below a node where there are at least three leaves. Find a place in the plant where there are still stalks on either side with leaves so they will have a chance to generate new leaves. Place the stem in a glass jar and fill with filtered water and watch the roots grow! Replace and freshen the water each week. After the roots are several months old, add to moistened potting soil, continue to water, and give them the bright, indirect lighting requirements.
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