Friday, July 28, 2017

Growing flowers indoor - Orchids and African Violets

I love flowers in the various shades of pink/fuchsia. Somehow, bright pink flowers are so shocking, mesmerising and vivid. They really bring a splash of colours amongst my indoor garden and no regrets in getting/cultivating them thus far. I've embarked on a series of different types of flowering plants and to my surprise, these 3 little pets seem to bloom just as well as in the shop over the past few months.



From my orchids collection, the only plant that blooms seasonally is this bright pink orchid @ Pinky. So how do I care for Pinky and her gang amidst my busy schedule? Spray only at the roots twice a day and let plenty of air circulate around them. Usually I add a few drops of liquid orchid food into the watering can.






Another wonderful responsive plant is this Gloxinia which I have placed in a sunny corner in the office. It was resurrected from near-certain death while I was growing it in my sunny, warm living room. In the cold air-conditioned office environment, Gloxinia keeps on showing up with gorgeous bright blossoms once every 2 months. Despite long periods of non-watering from her owner. Maybe that's the key for this particular species - lack of fuss and water!




And of course there is this wonderful gift from a colleague at office after I chatted about my indoor garden at my little apartment. I was promptly rewarded with this little plant, Violet, an African violet. She was actually propagated from other plants grown in the floors above. Initially, Violet refused to flower in a semi-sheltered corner. I've moved her to a sunny corner next to Gloxinia and lo and behold! She flowers every 3 weeks now. Again another fussy plant, I've taken care not to over-water this creature and over-fed them with nutrient. However, I've not been very successful in my desire to re-pot this rapidly growing plant and I worry that the root system will be stunted soon in view of the exuberant growth. Usually I add in diluted African violet liquid fertilizer into my watering bottle once every 2-3 weeks to help with replenishing the nutrient in the soil.