Burgundy Rubber Tree Summer Sunlight Experiment

 

Since this is the first summer I’m really putting a majority of my plants outside, I decided I would do a little test to see how much unfiltered sunlight makes a difference in plant growth. 

Ficus trees are known to thrive with bright light so I decided to test it out with my Burgundy Rubber Trees. 

I got both plants in a single pot about a month ago. They were the exact same size and had the same amount of leaves (I recently cut a few off the one staying inside because I was worried about a fungal infection – false alarm though). Since bringing them home, I split them into two ceramic pots (I recently switched one of them to terracotta since I was planning on putting that one outside) they’ve been sitting under a grow light next to eachother, so they’ve been exposed to the same environment. 

Both plants have gotten 1 new leaf since I brought them home. Well, one is still unfurling, but the other plant got a new leaf about a week ago, so they’re pretty in line with growth at this point. 

The plan is to put one outside in a few days when the weather is going to stay warm enough, and keep the other one inside under a grow light. The plant going outside will start in shade, on a south facing porch, until it is acclimated. I eventually hope to get it into full sun before the end of the summer. I’m interested to see if the plant that goes outside sees significantly more growth than the plant that is inside. 

Both plants will get watered with FoliagePro each time it’s watered and are both currently in a chunky mix soil (1 part orchid bark, 1 part potting mix, 1 part pertlite) and I’m even thinking I’ll switch the plant that will be indoors to the same size terracotta pot as the one going outside so the conditions will be exactly the same, with the exception of sunlight, temperature, and humidity. 

I’m excited to see the results and will post updates every few weeks! 

What do you think? Have you seen significant growth when plants go outside for the summer vs the ones you kept inside? 

Ficus Elastica “Rubber Tree” Plant Care

 

There are a ton of varieties of Rubber Trees, but the ones I have seen most commonly in homes include the

Red Ruby

Tineke

Burgundy

Propagating a Donkey Tail Plant

 Sedum Morganianum, burro’s-tail, donkey tail, whatever you’d like to call it, it’s one of the cutest succulents and one of my favorite succulents. 

I got two baby donkey tail plants this winter and it hasn’t shown much growth until a few weeks ago when the spring weather started to rear it’s head. 

I decided it was a good time to try to propagate and see if I could grow a few more so I could eventually pot up the plant and fill it out for a fuller, bushier plant. 

I haven’t had much luck propagating succulents in the past, but surprisingly this time around was a success! 

I started by gently removing some of the lower leaves and Putting them in a 2in grower pot with damp soil. 

I covered the top of the pot with saran plastic wrap to keep the moisture in and encourage root growth, then stuck the pot under a grow light. Every couple of days I would check on them and if the soil seemed to be getting too dry I’d spritz the top with some water.

Within about a week, roots started to grow and a few weeks after that I started to see some baby leaves sprout.

Eventually I moved the leaves to a larger pot and removed the plastic wrap, but I’m keeping them under a grow light until there’s a little more growth. I’ve been continuing to spritz them every few days to keep the top soil moist. 

Once they’ve grown a bit more I’ll pot them with the mother plants and hopefully they’ll continue to take off from there. I’ll post an update in a few weeks to show how they’ve been doing!

My Favorite Epipremnum (Pothos) Plants & Facts on a Happy Healthy Pothos!

 When I first started collecting plants I started with a golden Pothos. My mom had this Pothos for as far back as I can remember. It never died despite the fact that it was in my care and I NEVER watered it and it barely got any sunlight. It was crazy to me that it never died. It didn’t thrive but it stayed alive. 

That’s the beauty of Pothos plants. They’re pretty hard to kill and a GREAT plant for beginners! I love the trailing look of them and I feel like they’re a classic plant and look beautiful in every home!

I still have my golden Pothos but I’ve added a few other varieties to my collection that I’d have to say are my favorites. 

N’ Joy

It’s just got the coolest variegation in the leaves which are impossible to ignore! This is the newest Pothos to my collection so I’m excited to see it grow! 

Global Green

The green on green variation is stunning and since I got it, it has continued to push new growth at such a fast rate. I was actually able to split it into two plants. I have one hanging in my north facing window and another on a shelf that gets light from the north window. Unfortunately I only have north windows in my apartment or I would like to get them some brighter light but they’ve still been doing really well with the amount of light they’ve been getting!

Here’s some stuff about Pothos that you should know…

Light- they tolerate low light (hence the reason my mom’s OG Pothos stayed alive with such little light for so long). However, if you really want your plant to thrive, make sure they get a lot of bright light! They grow bigger leaves faster if they get a good amount of light. In the wild they receive a lot of direct sunlight, so they can tolerate being outside in the spring & summer in direct sun, but make sure to acclimate the plant first before sitting it out in direct sun to avoid burning the leaves. 

Water- they’re pretty drought tolerant in my opinion. When they need a drink the leaves will start to curl inward, but it’s best to keep the soil evenly moist (not soggy) and water when the top 2-3 inches of soil is completely dry. Be careful not to overwater though! If the soil stays wet for too long it can lead to root rot! Trust me, my Marble Queen and Neon Pothos both fell victim to root rot and I lost most of the plants to it. 

Fertilize- I fertilize all my Pothos plants with FoliagePro every time a water and since I’ve started doing that they’ve really thrived! They’ve been pushing leaves quicker and have become fuller! 

Give it Something to Climb- in the wild they are climbers that use their aerial roots to climb trees and other things around them. If you want large leaves then add a moss pole or stake to your pot to allow the plant something to hold on to and it will start to push bigger and bigger leaves, however if you like the trailing look (like me) you can let it grow over the side of the side of the pot and it will still grow into a beautiful plant! 

Propagation- one thing I love about Pothos plants is how easy they are to propagate! They do really well in water, however if you struggle with root rot, you can also find success propagating in moss, perlite or even sticking the plant directly in soil. Add a rooting hormone for better success! Just cut below the node and stick in your medium of choice. Below is a picture of a cutting from my Global Green that I’ve been propping in moss.

Currently I have a Marble Queen, Neon, Golden, N’Joy, Jade, and Global Green Pothos, but I’m hoping to eventually collect them all! I still need a Manjula, Cebu Blue, Snow Queen, and Pearls and Jade to complete my collection!

Do you have a favorite Pothos?!

Philodendron “Shangri La”

 

This plant started out at a relatively good size, but since I got it has thrived! 

February 2, 2022

March 12, 2022

April 26, 2022

It has started to get a little leggy, so I’m hoping that when I put it outside this summer it will fill out a little bit but otherwise I’m in love! Definitely one of my favorite plants and one of the plants I have felt has been most rewarding since it has grown like CRAZY! 

Here’s what I’ve been doing…

᯽ water with Foliage Pro whenever the soil is nearly completely dry

᯽ this plant loves bright light! Right now it’s sitting on a shelf in a north window, but come spring, I’ll put it out on a south facing covered porch where it will get direct light for most of the day.

᯽ it’s a more compact plant but can get leggy without the right light

Do you have one of these? If not, it’s definitely a beautiful plant perfect for bringing some full green growth into your home! 

Maranta Leuconeura

Here’s an update on my Maranta plants I got earlier this year.

January 20, 2022

April 15, 2022

February 28, 2022

April 15, 2022

Here’s what I’ve been doing to care for them

🪴 water with Foliage Pro whenever the soil is nearly completely dry. These plants would do better with rainwater or filtered water, but I don’t have time for all of that 🤷🏻‍♀️. I just use tap water.

🪴 I keep both of them under a grow light to help promote growth. 

🪴 I try to keep the humidity above 50% however it doesn’t always stay above the 50%. Never below 45%. These plants are native to the Brazilian rainforest and prefer high humidity. 

Both plants have continued to grow new leaves from day 1. They’re really thriving EXCEPT for the fact that I cannot keep those leaves from browning on the ends. There are many reasons that they are continuing to get brown tips…

1. HUMIDITY- most likely the plant isn’t getting the right amount of humidity it needs to keep the leaves bright and beautiful

2. Fertilizer- since I fertilize every time I water, it’s possible it’s having a crisping effect on the leaves. I continue to do it though because they’re pushing new leaves consistently and new growth is staying green for a decent amount of time with bigger leaves growing each time. 

3. Water Quality- Like I mentioned, they prefer filtered water or rain water. Since I’ve been watering with tap water, it could be contributing to the brown leaves. Something that would help would be to leave the water out overnight to let the water settle before watering.

4. Light- both plants are under grow lights and the brown crispy leaves could be the result of sunburn, but again, light promotes growth and I’d rather see rapid growth.