• Nguồn: [Ebook] The Houseplant Handbook: Basic Growing Techniques and a Directory of 300 Everyday Houseplants – David Squire
• Biên tập: Dũng Cá Xinh (Tháng 02/2022)
• Dịch: Team Codai.net 

English 

Grooming and Supporting (Chải chuốt và Hỗ trợ)

Grooming keeps houseplants attractive throughout their lives. Flowering houseplants need to have dead flowers removed, while others need to be supported or have their leaves cleaned. When removing dead flowers and leaves, put them into a bag and throw them away; do not scatter them around a plant, because decaying pieces of plants are unsightly and encourage the presence of diseases.

Top-Dressing Large Houseplants

Instead of being repotted, large plants are usually top-dressed.

Cleaning Leaves

Houseplants with large leaves, such as the Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica), benefit from having them cleaned. Dust and dirt left on leaves impairs their appearance and prevents sunlight from activating growth processes.

• Use a soft, damp cloth to clean large, shiny leaves. Support the leaf with one hand and carefully wipe the surface. To avoid burning, never do this when the plant is in strong sunlight.
• If a plant has a large number of small, shiny leaves, gently swirl them in a bowl filled with slightly warm water. When clean, remove the plant and stand it away from direct sunlight until dry, or it might burn.
• Use a soft brush to gently remove dust from hairy leaves. Blowing on leaves while brushing them helps to remove dust.

Tidying Stems and Shoots

• Some plants become untidy and benefit from having stems and shoots removed. Where a stem or shoot spoils a plant’s symmetry, use sharp scissors to cut it back to just above a leaf-joint. Avoid leaving small stubs, which are unsightly and will die back.
• Young foliage plants often need to have a shoot tip removed to encourage bushiness. Use sharp scissors to cut back the stem to a leaf-joint, or hold the shoot between your fingers and snap it sideways.
• Some variegated plants occasionally produce all-green stems; cut these off.

Removing Dead Flowers

Dead flowers are unsightly and encourage the presence of diseases if left on a plant. Most dead flowers are removed by pinching them off between a finger and thumb. For houseplants such as cyclamen, remove the complete flower stem and dead flower; leaving short pieces of stem encourages the presence of diseases. Gently tug the stem so it parts from the plant’s base.

Staking and Supporting

When plants need to be supported, it is essential that this is unobtrusive, whether you use traditional materials (raffia, green string, and split canes) or more recent introductions (plastic frameworks and metal rings).

• Most houseplants need little support, but if it becomes necessary, use a thin split cane and soft green string. First tie the string to the support, then loop it around the stem just below a leaf-joint. Metal plant rings can also be used.
• Some climbing plants, such as Jasminum polyanthum (Pink Jasmine), benefit from a supporting hoop formed of pliable canes. When the plant is young and has shoots about 12in (30cm) long, insert pliable canes into the compost and train the stems around the canes.
• Climbing plants with aerial roots benefit from being given a moss pole as support (this is a stiff stake covered with several layers of moss). Use spirals of green string to hold it in position. Tie the plant’s stems to the pole and keep the moss damp.

Vacation Care

Invariably, there are times when plants are left unattended for several days. This is not a problem in winter, when most are not very active, but arrangements need to be made to look after them in summer.

Helping plants survive

1. If you are going away for only a few days, place a plastic sheet on the floor in the center of a room and stand your plants on it. Fill their saucers with water.
2. Keep small plants moist by standing them in a shallow tray packed with moist peat.
3. Place a piece of capillary matting on a draining board and trail the other end into a sink full of water. Stand plants directly on it, not in their saucers. This works well for plants growing in peat-based compost in plastic pots, without crocks in their base.
4. Use wicks to keep compost moist in small pots. Push a wick into the compost and trail the other end into a pot filled with water.
5. Shallowly fill a wide basin with clean water and place one or more plants in it. This is ideal for houseplants that like plenty of moisture, such as some ferns.
6. Fill a shallow container with expanded, light-weight clay particles (which resemble small, hard, ceramic, shell-like pebbles with porous cores), add water to just below their surface, and stand plants on top.

Before leaving home

1. Close the door of the room to prevent drafts from drying plants or from pets from knocking them over.
2. Draw the curtains in summer, especially those that face strong, direct sunlight.
3. A week before leaving home, check that plants are not infested with pests and diseases. Spray immediately if they are.
4. Remove faded flowers and those that will be past their prime by the time you return. Remove dead leaves.

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Dũng Cá Xinh

Có những ngày mưa gió, ngày nắng chói chang nhưng khi mở cửa ra hàng hoa dại vẫn nằm đó dưới bậc thềm. Không nhạt không úa mà vẫn còn vẻ tươi trong như ngày nào.

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