This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Over the years, your little plants have become large, sometimes even giant, and now you have to provide them with XXL care!
Getting to know your plants
To have a positive and successful experience, you need to know your plants well. As they grow, should they dry out a little, a lot, between waterings, or keep the soil slightly moist all the time? Are they more hungry for fertilizer than before? All these questions are legitimate since the needs of your plants change over time and with the seasons.
Water: a little, a lot…
It’s not easy to know if your oversized plant needs water. A hygrometer can be a useful tool given the size of the pot. Simply insert the probe deeply if your plant needs to dry out between waterings, or more on the surface if it likes wetter soil. All watering should be deep and the water temperature temperate. To prevent excess water, place gravel in the saucer, which will collect excess water and create a halo of humidity around the plant.
More greedy?
Are larger plants more greedy? Not particularly ! Houseplants, large or small, should only be fertilized during the period of active growth, from March to September. However, this excludes those grown in a solarium or greenhouse all year round. The use of natural fertilizers can be wise, since these fertilizers are gentler and assimilated over a longer period. And, as a general rule, three applications of fertilizer are more than enough to obtain healthy plants.
Repotting
Water the plant the day before. Remove the clump from the pot using a large knife. Lay the plant down and carefully unpot it. To prevent your plant from becoming a monster, subtract an inch from the circumference of the root ball with the knife and cut off the base of the roots. Add good houseplant potting soil to the bottom of the old pot, place the plant in it and add potting soil around the edge. Water. Note that it is not necessary to prune the houseplant since it grows more quickly than a shrub.
Surfacing
Scratch the surface of the soil to a depth of 5 cm without damaging the roots and remove as much soil as possible. Add new potting soil enriched with compost and level. Tamp lightly and water. Surfacing can be done every two years because, although it is quicker and easier than repotting, it does not replace it.
My thing
No more back pain thanks to wheeled saucers! What a great invention for moving large plants! I also use them on the terrace in summer.
Three giant plants to adopt
An… easy plant: philodendron “Monstera deliciosa”
We love this plant with its huge leaves perforated like gruyere cheese. It can reach a height of two meters. It is so easy to grow that we tend to forget about it.
A… rare plant: bird of paradise “Strelitzia reginae”
Bird of paradise: what an inspiring name! With its leaves similar to those of the banana tree and its colorful and unique flowers, this plant has everything to charm. A word of advice: make sure you have at least one flower bud when purchasing, as this species can take several years before flowering.
A plant… tree: lyre fig “Ficus lyrata”
This ornamental fig tree can reach a height of three meters. With its lyre-shaped leaves and its erect habit, it leaves no one indifferent. Make sure you provide him with enough humidity by misting him regularly…he’ll be happy with it!
What is air layering?
This propagation technique is practiced on certain plants with an erect habit and rigid stems which, over time, have become bare at the base or which have simply become too large. This will allow you to get a new plant from the one you don’t want to keep.
1. Make a shallow parallel incision in the stem you wish to remove and apply a hormone-based powder to the wound. You will find this powder in garden centers.
2. Place two handfuls of damp sphagnum moss on the wound. It is in this environment that the new roots will grow.
3. Cover the sphagnum moss with polyethylene film and secure it with ties. After several months, when new roots are visible, remove the sphagnum moss, cut the stem below the new roots and repot the stem.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.