Tips for flowering potted plants

Beautiful flowering tropical and subtropical plants are for sale at the garden centers and food markets. With a little extra attention and care, you can have these plants around for many years. All these blooming beauties are grown under ideal greenhouse conditions, where they are pampered with just the right amount of light, temperature, humidity, water and fertilizer. It is almost impossible to compete with these conditions.

The moment these plants are shipped to stores, they begin to suffer from the tremendous stress caused by change of environment. They could be on the road for several days (even though the trucks are climate-controlled). When they arrive at their destination, depending on the store, they usually end up in a low-light display, and waterings are often irregular or insufficient. Fertilizing is not done.

So when you buy one of these flowering plants, you may want to ask how long it has been sitting in the store. Find out when the store gets plant deliveries, as that is your best way to find the healthiest plants.

It's almost unavoidable for such a flowering plant to lose some of its blossoms. Some leaves also may turn yellow, which is a normal reaction to the plant's changing environment.

Plants are extremely light-sensitive, for that is their source of life. So you'll want to put your plant in its most ideal environment; if it goes indoors, ideally near a bright east or west-facing window. Or a south-facing window with some shade during the hot midday sun. Generally, a north-facing window does not provide enough bright light.

If it goes outdoors, a bright location with morning sun would be ideal. Provide regular waterings and plant food. After it has adjusted itself, which may take a few weeks, new leaves and possibly new flowers will emerge.

Flowering plants usually need more waterings than nonflowering plants. If a flowering plant dries out to the point where it loses the water pressure in its stems, the stems will collapse and the flowers will suffer most. If this collapse happens, the remedy is to haul the plant to the kitchen sink and submerge the pot to its rim in tepid water for at least half an hour. Soon foliage and flowers will be up again, but some flowers may not revive. Just snip those off.

A blooming plant also needs more food than a foliage plant -- I guess because it is working harder. I like to use a formula that is specially designed for blooming plants. You may dilute the doses and give more frequently. Read the instructions on your food product.

I recommend changing the potting soil after the plant quits flowering, transferring it to the next-size pot. So if your plant is in a 6-inch pot, move up to an 8-inch pot. If the roots are pretty tight and voluminous, you could even go to a 10-incher. Use a pre-packed well-balanced potting soil.

Now, some potted blooming beauties are intentionally grown (by commercial growers) not to carry on for many seasons. They are specifically grown as a "disposable" plant to last for one season, so there is a guaranteed ongoing market. Otherwise, they would be out of business. But some smart gardeners know just what to do to keep the plant growing and blooming -- and this is why you read this column!

Another view: Not everyone is a fan of palm trees, nor are they appropriate in all locales. After my two recent columns about palm trees, I received this note from Janet K. Shelton, Lake Hodges:

"Palms are non-native weeds that expand into parks, open spaces, private property. I am constantly fighting off volunteer palms seeded from palms my neighbors thoughtlessly put in. Some neighbors' palms are torches that threaten my property. Someone put a palm in my front yard before I bought it and it will cost $700 to remove this torch before it burns or falls on my neighbor's roof. I live above Lake Hodges, which is one of the reasons I am sensitive to this. Palms escape from yards into the preserve. I am also sensitive because I paid around $1,500 this year to take out palms. They are not green waste and can't be recycled. I don't think people realize when they put them in how expensive they are to keep trimmed."

Tineke Wilders is a freelance writer. Send questions to: