Plants

Peloric Streptocarpus

I have been growing Streptocarpus for several years, doing a lot of breeding to develop new cultivars. A couple of years ago, I got a seedling that was a stable peloric. Its offspring have now flowered, and I have several pelorics. These are a bit more common in Europe, but few people seem to be breeding them in North America, so I decided to start a breeding program for them.

The purpose of this blog post is to document both my journey and the information I find about breeding peloric streptocarpus, which seems fairly limited.

Key Takeaways
  • Peloric streptocarpus are interesting mutations.
  • Little is known about their breeding.

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Is Your Tap Water Suitable For Plants?

I see a lot of online comments from people who feel their tap water isn’t suitable for plants. People are moving towards distilled, RO water, or rainwater instead. Is this necessary? Is your tap water a problem?

The following are some concerns people have.

  • Chlorine
  • Fluoride
  • pH
  • Hardness (high calcium and magnesium) & alkalinity
  • Sodium
  • Water Softener
  • Lead

Tap water is rarely a problem for outdoor gardens growing in real soil, but it can be a problem for houseplants and plants growing in soilless mixes, and that is the focus of this post.

girl filling watering can at the sink
Key Takeaways
  • Chloride is usually not a problem.
  • Hardness and alkalinity can be a problem.
  • Lead is usually not a problem.

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Providing the Right Humidity for Plants

Humidity is a form of water, and water is critical for plant growth. We can all sense high and low humidity, but what effect do these extremes have on plants? How does a gardener control humidity to help plants grow well?

Let’s clarify the misunderstandings and myths about providing humidity for plants.

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Are Clear Pots Better for Orchids?

I have been growing orchids for over 40 years, and at one point, I grew over 1,000 orchids. Whenever I was asked about the best orchid pot, I responded with the same answer. Any green plastic pot will work just fine. If it had a raised bottom with drainage holes at the bottom rim (azalea pot), to allow better water drainage, that would be better, but any pot will work.

That answer is still correct. We know that because most hobbyists use that kind of pot.

However, there is some new research that suggests a clear pot may be better. Let’s have a look at what the new science says.

The clear pot on the left shows green roots that photosynthesize. The roots on the right are a slivery-white color because they are dry.
Key Takeaways
  • Opaque has been the standard for many years and still works great.
  • New science says there are some benefits from clear pots.

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Should You Use Drainage in Your Pots?

It used to be very common to add drainage material, such as rocks, Leca, or clay pot shards in the bottom of pots for added drainage. Then it was claimed that this is a myth and it does not work. But then some new science this year upsets everything by showing drainage material may actually work.

Should a gardener use drainage material? What kind of material works best?

lady's hand putting leca beads into a pot.
Leca being added to the bottom of a pot of succulents, source: Depositphotos
Key Takeaways
  • Drainage material reduces the water in the soil.
  • It is best not to use drainage material in most cases, but it can be useful in the right situation.

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Growing Streptocarpus: Watering

Watering may be the hardest part of growing streptocarpus well. Not because they are difficult to water but because there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about their care. The goal of this post is to describe some watering experiments and provide clarity about watering.

5 or 6 flowers in a cluster, purple color with lots of stripes and spots of dark purple and white
Streptocarpus RP Dreamy Night
Key Takeaways
  • It’s better to keep streptocarpus wet than dry.
  • Leaves die back if kept too dry
  • Provided the potting media is porous, regular watering will not harm the plant.

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Repotting Myths Busted

Gardeners make repotting more complicated than it needs to be and in the process, they have created all kinds of myths about the process. It’s time to simplify repotting and bust the myths around it.

empty pot with a root bound plant laying beside it
Does this plant need repotting?, source: Depositphotos
Key Takeaways
  • Repotting does less damage to plants than you think and they recover quickly
  • Don’t listen to so-called experts online – learn to understand the plant and let its natural growth habits direct you.
  • Many of the repotting rules are myths.

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Growing Streptocarpus: Germinating Seeds

Streptocarpus seeds are some of the tiniest you will ever sow but they are also very easy to germinate if you follow these simple instructions.

top view of a pot showing very tiny green seedlings
Streptocarpus seedlings – 3 weeks after seeding – 4″ pot
Key Takeaways
  • Surface sow in pots.
  • Streptocarpus seed needs light to germinate.

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Growing Streptocarpus: Light Conditions

Streptocarpus are becoming popular houseplants and for good reason. They are relatively easy to grow, they don’t need high light and they bloom all year long in the right conditions.

How much light do they need?

Small plant with dozens of purple flowers which have a yellow center.
Streptocarpus RP Sassy Angel, bred by Robert Pavlis
Key Takeaways

Ideal conditions for Streptocarpus are at or above these values:

  • A DLI of over 7
  • 10,000 lux for 12 hours
  • 1,000 foot-candles for 12 hours

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Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

There are so many types of fertilizer that it’s hard to know which one to use. Which NPK ratio is best? Is one brand better than another? Organic vs synthetic. Soluble vs slow release. This all seems so complicated, but in this post, I will simplify the whole process of selecting the best fertilizer.

Key Takeaways
  • The best NPK ratio for most plants is 3-1-2, some like 3-1-3.
  • There is no such thing as plant-specific fertilizer.
  • Mix fertilizer so nitrogen is at about the 100 ppm level.
  • Fertilize with every watering, and use just water once a month to flush the pot.
Girls watering a plant
Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

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Mulching Trees Too Much | Mulch Volcanoes Kill Trees

As Penn State puts it: “Mulch Volcanoes are Erupting Everywhere“, and they are killing trees. It is a slow death, but one that is almost inevitable. Gardeners and landscape professionals see over mulched trees everywhere and they copy the method, not knowing that they are mulching incorrectly.

The main cause of death has been attributed to increased trunk rot, but that is a myth. This post will debunk this myth, explain the real cause of death, show you how to mulch trees and shrubs properly and how to fix the problems caused by mulch volcanoes.

huge cone shaped pile of mulch around a thin tree
An extreme mulch volcano. Notice that all of the trees in the background are also over mulched, source: Paul Hetzler, Adirondack Almanack

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