Flowering plants make beautiful gifts. They add instant festive flair and colour to a room and can be enjoyed for a long time if care for properly.
Here are some tips to keep them looking beautiful throughout the season and into the New Year!
• The first step in keeping plants healthy, is to pick out a healthy plant. Look for a plant that has fresh looking foliage with no signs of disease or pests. The foliage should not show signs of wilting as a wilted plant is often hard to revive and may show signs of distress by dropping leaves a few days later. There should be lots of flower buds with a few opened flowers, which means that the plant has just started flowering and will give you weeks of enjoyment
• Once you have picked out your plant, it will need to be transported to its destination. Make sure that the plant is carefully wrapped to protect it from the cold and weather. When wrapping the plant, be careful not to damage the leaves, stems and flowers. Place the plant in the car and go directly home. Don’t let the plant sit in a cold car for any length of time as cold temperatures can seriously harm and even kill a plant. It is a tropical plant, used to warm conditions and can not handle any frost. Temperature fluctations can also place the plant in distress.
• When you get the plant to its destination, find the right location to place it. Keep it away from heat sources, drafts, fans, and outside doors where it could get a blast of cold air every time the door opens. During very cold temperatures, don’t place it too close to a window where it can be cold. Flowering plants enjoy even daytime temperatures of 18-20 Celsius and slightly cooler night temperatures. They also need 4-6 hours of direct daylight each day.
• More plants are killed by overwatering, than under-watering. Only water the plant when the soil surface feels dry to the touch. Give it a thorough water, using room temperature water, and discard any excess water after 20 minutes.
• Indoor flowering baskets are a popular gift idea. They are made up of a few different potted plants placed in one large container. Keep this in mind when watering. Each individual plant will need to be checked and watered individually. One advantage to keeping the individual plants in their containers is that it will receive the correct maintenance and when it has finished blooming, the potted plant can be taken out of the arrangement and replaced with a new one, with very little effort.
• Check the plant regularly for any problems. Remove all finished flowers, and any damaged, or destroyed leaves and stems, before they begin to decay.