How to Propagate African Violets

Propagating African Violets is easier than I initially thought.  As you may have seen, I’ve killed many of these pretty houseplants.  It wasn’t until recently that I seem to have gotten the hang of keeping them alive! Now that I seem to be able to keep the alive, the obvious next step is making as many of them as I possibly can, right? Here’s how to do it: Supplies: Scissors and/or a sharp knife A Small container (I use yogurt…

Blizzards, Begonias, and Winter Blues

Blizzards and Winter Blues After months of (very rare) warm and rainy weather here in northern Minnesota, winter caught up with us in only 5 days! We’ve had two huge snow storms, which have left me stuck indoors and feeling pretty darn restless! Now my seeds have all been delivered, but my dreams of an early spring have been dumped on by 3 feet of snow. My cabin fever was so bad this morning, that I decided to layer myself…

Newest Houseplant – Schefflera Arboricola

Here’s my newest houseplant and Plant of the Month, a variegated Schefflera Arboricola, also known as the Umbrella Plant. It’s native to Hawaii, and couldn’t be more welcome in my apartment right now. Having been snowed in all last weekend and a few days this week, it has been a welcome sight.     It looks a little rough right now because I just repotted it, but it should perk up pretty soon. This tropical plant is a fairly popular…

Who Knew I had a Wandering Jew?

I have been going completely crazy for the past week or so, just waiting for the day when I can take my plants outside for good! We’ve had golf ball sized hail, rain, and snow all in the last week. I don’t know what the heck Mother Nature is thinking, but this just isn’t funny anymore! Anyhow, all of my summer outdoor plantings have been put on hold for another week or two, and I have been left to amuse…

Feng Shui with your Houseplants!

The weather has been terrible lately; everything was covered in about 1-2 inches of ice, and now it’s just been cold and snowy. I was bored all weekend, and there haven’t been any significant developments with my little seedlings. I have just been worrying that they aren’t getting enough sunlight each day; I have been looking for grow lights, but that’s an entirely different subject. Anyways, this boredom resulted in me just randomly surfing the internet for hours at a…