fantastic...


do you treat the pots with a systemic before you being them in from the balcony???


ive been struggling with multiple grey days in my MI... jan and feb will be worse... flowers like this blooming indoors would be a great pick me up ...




ken

Inspiring pictures @getgoing100_7b_nj

(Is that first plant a Nicotiana??)

All I got to show right now is our long time held geranium.

My Christmas cactus was especially nice this year (some years are better than others and I can't explain why) but it's finished blooming now. So I guess it's a Thanksgiving cactus.

The first plant is a Pelargonium. The second is Nicotiana.

I

The second is Nicotiana

Yup that is what I meant. (I guess I didnt scroll up enough to see the geranium was first)

I don't have any indoor flowers. But there's quite a few outside still/already. We're away for Christmas but when we get back I'll be bringing the forced hyacinths in from the shed.

Meanwhile, the osteospermums keep going in the window boxes.

Great picture 'floral'.

Thanks Ken. I don't treat anything before bringing them in. That is too much work. I bring in too many plants in from outside to do that. Some years I have zero pest issues, some years I get aphids at some point. I just wash them off if they get unseemly.

Rouge, that is a healthy pelargonium.

Floral, you have excellent weather for the osteospermum. I have struggled trying to grow them here. I have couple hundred bulbs in the fridge that I should start planting now...

Rouge, that is a healthy pelargonium.

Floral, you have excellent weather for the osteospermum. I have struggled trying to grow them here. I have couple hundred bulbs in the fridge that I should start planting now...

Rouge, that is a healthy pelargonium

For sure. I was referring to the *2nd* picture which is the Nicotiana. I grow several each year and maybe yours is the more compact petite variety as the tall ones can grow way t a l l.

Rouge, that comment was for your pelargonium. My nicotianas do get huge but depends on the pot and how old they are. I think this one is about 2 year old now. I had some survive last winter indoor and then go out and do their thing. Not as vigorous as new ones started from seed (we can't get them here as starts in the nurseries) but sometimes that is a good thing, not having those giant bottom leaves.

The jasmine polyanthum and kalanchoe are in bud and so are the half dozen grocery store phalenoposis orchid. A couple of Vanda orchids also have spikes but not sure they will make it. and the nobile dendrobium orchids are starting to bud up too. I will post some pics for those who can appreciate the joy and anticipation of watching buds grow.

The Osteospermums are a bit borderline and I wasn't expecting them to do so well but they're into their second winter now. They seem to like the west facing window boxes and the haphazard watering regime. There are February Gold narcissi in with them and I just saw the first green tip this morning.

This is my favorite time of year in the garden - no weeds. Here are some window sill shots from today, everything is looking forward to the longer sunny days!

My west facing plant window

Narcissus 'Winter Sun' this morning and Ruellia makoyana - trailing velvet plant

An orchid seedling ready to bloom for the first time!

Ludisia and Prudence Risely playing together nicely under the led light

Buds!

Growing a [plant indoors signals certain death. I dunno why but houseplants have always been a total fail for me.

Sigh, obviously, I do know why indoor plants fail to thrive...because I am negligent and rubbish. All the landscape plants are the hardy and resilient survivors of my untender care and entirely suited to the greyly drear UK winter. The greenhouse is leaky and (ahem) ventilated enough to be practically outdoors too...so survival rates over winter are usually high - summer is the season of attrition. There are still salvias blooming away. and a handful of Morrocan daisy (rhodanthemum hosmariense). And properly outside, the handily named 'Jingle Bells' clematis cirrhosa is having a tremendous bloom.

Rosaprimula, share Pictures of your blooms please. When you have blooms outdoors, nn need to grow them indoors.

Nothing blooming indoors, but outdoors, my Camellia has two blooms on it.

I think it's winter here in Pa but as of this week it's still barely worth putting a coat on most days. Maybe a bit of snow will come our way this weekend but for now the earliest snowdrops are flowering and the later ones are almost all poking their noses up and wondering if they should also get going. If it were just a little sunnier I think they would, but the end of December was just gray and rainy and gray and drizzly and then just gray and I think things are still waiting it out until the days get longer.

With all the gloom I think I'd go nuts without a few things growing indoors but the windowsills here suck for plants, so I've taken over the barely-heated room behind the basement and set it up with shoplights and a couple benches. It gets worse?/better? every winter :)

A bunch of cuttings get taken every fall, they're not as full and flowery as those baskets but it's something

A couple of the succulents put on quite a show in the winter

I did buy this cyclamen, it really likes the cool air back here and has been going strong since October.

This bromeliad hasn't faded yet, it usually does when it comes inside.

I try to keep the coleus cuttings in water as long as possible, but they were dying so I potted them up even though it takes up much more room. This is the coleus factory for next year but they need the warmest spot close to the furnace in order to do well.

Geranius are always nice in the winter, and easy!

and in the coldest part of the room I have cyclamen and some narcissus. They would be hardy outside but it's much more comfortable enjoying them from a seat instead of in the cold on my knees.

Katob, excellent collection. I just got a couple of primroses from the grocery store and put them right outside the window (between the glass and the window screen). I will bring them in if it gets too much below freezing.

How do you care for the gardenia, anything special? I almost bought one a few weeks ago but there's only so much room lol

Katob, funny you ask about the gardenia. Me and Gardenias have long running feud, someday I will get the better of them and get one to live long enough to rebloom. I keep them in as bright and cool a place I can give and get them outdoors as soon as freezing temperatures are gone. They do better in terracotta pots. I lost my last one in bud last winter. It dries out while I was away for a month.

The pansies are still hanging out for the most part except a few days when it gets below freezing.

Sorry for the typos. The keyboards have their own mind these days, even if they are no good at grammar.