In late spring of this year, while I was transferring my work sansevieria into a new pot, I broke off relatively new leaf and was unsure what to do with it. I had done some research into how to propagate sansevieria's and came to the conclusion that only the larger and more mature leaves would be able to send out rhizomes and eventually a new leaf. Ignoring this bit of research, I decided just to try propagating this young leaf and see what happened. 
I watered approximately every 7-10 days for the past five to six months and it had been in my office at work getting fluorescent lighting and temperatures around 70. About a month ago I decided to bring it home and place it on a sunny windowsill. Basically I just let it get some real sunshine for a couple of weeks and I pretty much forgot about it and didn't really closely examine the plant. Well, today at lunch I decided to go water it and low and behold there was some new leaf sprouting out of the ground. Hopefully this will develop into a mature and tall leaf to help make this plant look better.
There will be an update on this plant in the future.
Showing posts with label Sansevieria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sansevieria. Show all posts
This is the second post regarding my office plants. This post will look at the plants which grow on the windowsill in my office.
Ardisia japonica 'variegata'
I had written about my Ardisia japonica 'variegata' plant in January of this year. Since that time it has grown quite a bit but it still remains in the same pot as it was in at that time and is probably due for a new pot. It receives both fluorescent light and light reflected off some of the metal siding of the office building where I work. It normally gets watered about once a week and has only once started to wilt due to lack of watering on time. In the previous post I had written about it I envisioned this plant being able to produce some berries or small fruit, which I had read about while researching the plant, but thus far it has not produced anything beyond new growth. It obviously does not have the appropriate conditions to produce such fruit. The most likely reason for the lack of fruit is inadequate sunlight. Regardless, it still adds a little variety to my office plants with the variegation on the leaves. I had previously recommended it as an office plant and this recommendation still holds true. Go out and buy one for yourself!
Hedera helix "Ivy"
This Ivy plant was purchased back in January and you may have seen a picture of it in another post I did recently regarding an anniversary present, but this plant is another plant that provides a nice variety of color with it's variegated leaves. This plant has been doing well since I purchased it. The one thing that the plant seems to dislike is the amount of light it receives since it wants to grow towards the light outside and this has resulted in all of the leaves facing toward the window. This is not really a problem or anything, since I still like the plant, but I might have changed the location of the plant if I had known that it would grow like that.
Crassula ovata "Jade"
This Jade plant was purchased at Wal-Mart, which is not really known for their plants, but it sometimes offers somewhat decent plants. The plant has been growing well for the past year, although the speed of growth has never been all that impressive. The plant does not receive any actual sunlight in my office, once again only receiving reflective light off the metal of the building, but it does receive about eight hours of sunlight per weekday. It gets watered about once every seven to ten days, and since it is a succulent this watering schedules seems to be adequate. The plant itself is about ready for a new pot, but like my other plants needing a larger pot, I just haven't had enough time to get around to moving them. Also, you may notice that the plant has googly eyes on it and for more information as to why this is the case, you can read about it in this post. This plant is great if your office receives enough light or will have an adequate amount of fluorescent lighting. For only a few dollars to buy one of these plants, go ahead and try to grow one of these in your office!
Schlumbergera "Christmas Cactus"
My Schlumbergera or Christmas cactus (Thanksgiving Cactus, Holiday Cactus, whatever you want to call it...) has been doing fine in the office. I have had it in the office since last December. For a while this plant did not really do anything at all, but since May it has pushed out some new growth and looks relatively healthy. Hopefully I will be able to get this plant (or any of my other schlums) to bloom this year. This is also an easy plant that I would recommend for someone looking for a plant to have in their office.
Ficus retusa "Ginseng Ficus"
This is another plant that was written about previously. This Ficus retusa is still alive and has been doing rather well, although from looking at the picture of it in the previous post, which was taken back in January, I can tell that the leaves have thinned out a bit. This is likely due to slight changes in lighting or temperature which have occurred over the months. Additionally, there was one time for this plant where it may not have been correctly watered. Another change I made to this plant, on the great advice from readers, was to remove the rocks which had been glued on top of the soil. This has made it easier to tell when to water it and I think it has made the plant healthier. At the same time, however, I think it resulted in some temporary leaf loss, although the plant has since stabilized if it was indeed a result of moving the glued rock layer. This plant also, like the Jade plant, has two googly eyes on it. This is a nice plant, although it is sometimes fussy, so be aware of that if you want to buy one.
Fittonia argyroneura 'Pink Vein'
My Fittonia argyroneura 'Pink Vein', which is just one of many of my fittonia's, is a plant that adds more color to my office. This plant is one of my favorite office plants and it has been very easy to take care of. It does very well with the fluorescent lighting in my office and it also enjoys getting the reflected light from outside. The most difficult aspect of taking care of this plant is being able to tell when it needs to be watered. If I do not water it exactly at the right time, the plant gets very fussy and will wilt, which basically makes the plant look like it has passed out. It is a beautiful plant and I recommend it if you are looking for a nice office plant.
Sansevieria
One of the non-windowsill plants, which I forgot to include in the first part of the Office Plant posts, is my Sansevieria. The reason why I forgot to include it in the other post is because it is located at the other end of the building and I normally only see if when I go to water it. I had written a post in July about how the plant was blooming, and the plant has not done anything else since then. It is still alive and doing well. Sansevieria plants are great for the office because they do not require all that much light, so they are yet another recommended plant for your office.
I was quite surprised last week when I noticed my Sansevieria at work was sending up new growth. I thought someone had placed some sort of fake plant in between some of the flowers, but upon further inspection I noticed that it was indeed part of my sansevieria. The flowers themselves are delicate and definitely add a bit of zest to a otherwise somewhat bland plant. If you look at the picture above you might think that the office setting is too dark for this plant, but it is just the flash of my camera that made the office appear quite a bit darker than it actually is. Take a look at the pictures further down in the post to get a better idea of the lighting in the office.
This specific plant was purchased back in January at Lowe's with on of their $10 off any houseplant coupon, which was distributed by Learn2Grow, which in the end I only owed the tax for the plant. Unfortunately, on the drive from the store to my work some of the tips were exposed to the harsh winter cold air, since some of the tips were closed in the door and I did not realize this until we arrived back at the office.
Out of the three Sansevierias that we own, this is the only plant that is flowering. All of the plants receive about 14-16 hours of fluorescent light per day and each are watered once per week. The humidity at work is most likely a little lower than the humidity at the house where the other two are growing, so it is unclear what condition specifically allowed for this Sansevieria to bloom and not the others. In any case, these flowers are pretty and we hope to see the other Sansevierias bloom someday!
This past weekend Annah and I traveled up to the Twin Cities once again and stopped by Linder's Garden Center where we purchased a few more plants. We purchased a new and very vibrant Ficus elastica ("Rubber plant").
We bought this Philodendron 'Moonlight', although I'm not positive of this ID since the tag only said "Philodendron Hybrid", so if any of your readers can help us verify or correctly identify this plant, we would be very thankful. Edit: Numerous people have confirmed that it is indeed a 'Moonlight'. Thanks!
We also purchased a new Sansevieria, which according to the helpful folks at the Sansevieria forum at Gardenweb, and this link, this plant appears to be a Sansevieria zeylanica and it is a very delightful plant.
We were also able to purchase some sprouting seeds, including alfalfa, chickpeas, adzuki, and mung beans. We enjoy these sprouting seeds because they only take a few days to grow and they provide a tasty and nutritious addition to any type of food we are eating! The first batch of seeds that we sprouted were left to grow maybe a day or two longer than they should have, as you can see in the picture below, but the new seeds should turn out better and taste even greater!
Photo Credits: Annah and Jordan
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