For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
a plant you can keep alive for 100 years! (for reals)
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Let's talk about a type of winter gardening I love. (And no, it doesn't require you to brave the cold outside. 😆) This time of year, a lot of people—maybe even you, too—start shifting their attention to greening up the inside of their homes with houseplants. And it's no surprise why we're drawn to these verdant displays. Indoor plants have been proven to boost mental and emotional well-being and help with Seasonal Affective Disorder. There's even a plant that can make you more alert and even smarter—just by smelling it. But back to the point of this email, and likely the reason you opened it: What plant actually lives 100 years? The answer is a common houseplant that's showing up in abundance this time of year at stores and garden centers all over the Northern Hemisphere: Christmas cactus. (It also goes by Thanksgiving cactus, Easter cactus, or just holiday cactus, depending on when it blooms.) As you can guess by the name, Christmas cactus is a type of succulent. But unlike its arid desert-dwelling cousins, a Christmas cactus is a jungle (tropical) cactus. Most people treat Christmas cacti like they do poinsettias: as one-time holiday houseplants. But given the right care, Christmas cacti can thrive year-round and bloom every fall and winter. Google "Christmas cactus 100 years" and you'll find several articles mentioning heirloom plants that are 100, 111, even 145 years old! (And that 145-year-old one was reported back in 2009, so it's possibly even older now.) I'm going to be writing a lot more about houseplants this winter, so stay tuned. 🌱 Speaking of houseplants...In my last email I mentioned a small victory against the pests on my indoor potted citrus (using this natural insecticide). And I got a lot of questions about the WHY of when these pests show up. They're quite pervasive in winter. And one of the main reasons they seem to multiply out of nowhere is because there's much less light available. Lower light conditions are stressful on plants and make them more vulnerable to pests of all kinds. So one easy way to control pests in your house is to give your plants more light. If you can't move your plants to a brighter spot in the house that gets a few more hours of sun, consider using artificial lights (especially in winter). Here's what I recommend:
Without a south-facing window, your houseplants are probably not getting enough light right now, so it's worth investing in a few grow lights for the plants you care about. P.S. Create a fantastic family heirloom this season by bringing home a Christmas cactus. I'll show you how to care for it so it can live for 100 years or more. |
Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."