Help with caring for houseplants

[ichthyogeek]

I bought some plants from Discount Hawaiian Gifts because my mom likes Hawaii + Houseplants, so what can go wrong with that? I forgot about one thing: me. I need to keep the plants a secret, but at the same time I know VERY little about plants so I have no idea how well I'll do keeping and sprouting them. Thankfully, my room has a south facing window and can get pretty warm during the day. Here's what I ordered, and can I get some plant help please? I have at least 3 days to prepare for them if not longer, and just need to care for them until Xmas day, when they will no longer be my responsibility.

Stephanotis floribunda (Madagascar Jasmine?): It comes in a 2.5" pot, so I assume it's dirted. Do I need to water it? and how much?

White Ginger Root: It's a root. I assume it's going to be similar to a rhizome that I can buy at the grocery store. But how do I sprout it? What type of soil? How big of a pot to start it? How often do I water it?

BOP seeds (Strelitzia reginae): I'm excited about these, but how do I assure that all of the seeds sprout? Do I need to scarify(?) them? Find a turkey and wait for the bird to digest the seeds? Take a knife and hack them apart like with mangoes?

White and Pink Plumeria Cuttings: They look like sticks. I do not know how to sprout them or care for them.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Did you ask google? haha ;p

 

[ichthyogeek]

Did you ask google? haha ;p

I did haha ;p

But some of this is a bit specific and aggregating as much information as possible before making a decision can never hurt

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

I did haha ;p

But some of this is a bit specific and aggregating as much information as possible before making a decision can never hurt

True on having as much info as possible not hurting, unless it is toooo much and becomes confusing haha ;)

I noticed the specific nature of your questions and figured google would give you what you were looking for easily. Guess google doesnt know it all lol

 

[blasterman]

Love houseplants but I kill them in the winter.

I live in a northern state, and have anti freeze for blood. I happily open my windows in january to stay at 60-65F. So much for the plants.

 

[Twink_w_a_Reef]

I bought some plants from Discount Hawaiian Gifts because my mom likes Hawaii + Houseplants, so what can go wrong with that? I forgot about one thing: me. I need to keep the plants a secret, but at the same time I know VERY little about plants so I have no idea how well I'll do keeping and sprouting them. Thankfully, my room has a south facing window and can get pretty warm during the day. Here's what I ordered, and can I get some plant help please? I have at least 3 days to prepare for them if not longer, and just need to care for them until Xmas day, when they will no longer be my responsibility.

Stephanotis floribunda (Madagascar Jasmine?): It comes in a 2.5" pot, so I assume it's dirted. Do I need to water it? and how much?

White Ginger Root: It's a root. I assume it's going to be similar to a rhizome that I can buy at the grocery store. But how do I sprout it? What type of soil? How big of a pot to start it? How often do I water it?

BOP seeds (Strelitzia reginae): I'm excited about these, but how do I assure that all of the seeds sprout? Do I need to scarify(?) them? Find a turkey and wait for the bird to digest the seeds? Take a knife and hack them apart like with mangoes?

White and Pink Plumeria Cuttings: They look like sticks. I do not know how to sprout them or care for them.

You’re freaking yourself out lolll it’ll be alright. I had all these plants in Florida and they thrived.
Ginger, Bird of Paradise and Plumeria like normal potting soil and water. Not saturated, but moist. These plants appreciate partial sun.
Jasmine likes a bit loamy or a bit sandy soil, sun and needs water but not as near as much as plumeria, bird of paradise and ginger. They can dry out between watering.
Typically all these plants have light browning on the leaves when they need water, then you’ll know to water more frequently. But make sure they have drainage or they’ll die. You can look up warning signs for each individual plant in the leaves... it’ll tell you if they have too much sun to little sun too much water not enough water et cetera. Most of these plants will do great as long as they’re kept warm. Pots just need to fit the plant. And soil buy one bag use it for all of them and add a little sand or loan for the jasmine.
I used to be extremely interested in botany so I know a thing or two and I’ve always had a green thumb. If you have any questions feel free to pm me anytime :)
Let us know when they arrive and send photographs of them, sometimes you’ve gotta help them recover from shipping. Good luck!

 

[wenliu51]

LOL

I love plants. I have over 50 potted plants and slowly giving them off as my passion turns from plants to corals.

Seedlings need a bit more warmth to sprout, dont pack the soil too tightly.

For the current ones you have.. a general indicator.. if the leaf turns brown -- too much water. If the leaf turns yellow, it can be normal/change of environment/too little water.

Don't over water and let the top of the soil dry out. slightly between waterings. Easy peasy. All I can say is that this is much easier than corals!

 

[TriggerFinger]

I had to google these specific plants; didn’t know it would take 3-5 years for a bird of paradise to flower! I would let her germinate the seeds if at all possible. Keep the seedlings moist and in a bright room but not hit with direct sunlight. If you keep the seeds for her to germinate; put the in a dark and cool place until you give them to her.

 

[Twink_w_a_Reef]

I had to google these specific plants; didn’t know it would take 3-5 years for a bird of paradise to flower! I would let her germinate the seeds if at all possible. Keep the seedlings moist and in a bright room but not hit with direct sunlight. If you keep the seeds for her to germinate; put the in a dark and cool place until you give them to her.

Seconded on that

 

[ichthyogeek]

Oh good. I bought some Miracle Gro Potting mix today. I have coco coir and basically oyster grit (shell fragments from an old reefing project). A lot of the plants seem to say "water thm well. But keep their roots dry." Should I mix the coir, grit, and potting mix together? I'm thinking a 1:1:1 ratio, or maybe a 1:1:2 ratio of coir:grit:potting mix, but I'm not sure.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Oh good. I bought some Miracle Gro Potting mix today. I have coco coir and basically oyster grit (shell fragments from an old reefing project). A lot of the plants seem to say "water thm well. But keep their roots dry." Should I mix the coir, grit, and potting mix together? I'm thinking a 1:1:1 ratio, or maybe a 1:1:2 ratio of coir:grit:potting mix, but I'm not sure.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Oh good. I bought some Miracle Gro Potting mix today. I have coco coir and basically oyster grit (shell fragments from an old reefing project). A lot of the plants seem to say "water thm well. But keep their roots dry." Should I mix the coir, grit, and potting mix together? I'm thinking a 1:1:1 ratio, or maybe a 1:1:2 ratio of coir:grit:potting mix, but I'm not sure.

Miracle grow is a pretty dense soil; I always mix pearlite in with my soil mixes. 1:1:1 is a good ratio. Do these pots have drainage holes?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Miracle grow is a pretty dense soil; I always mix pearlite in with my soil mixes. 1:1:1 is a good ratio. Do these pots have drainage holes?

They do, but I’m worried about root rot or otherwise drowning the plants.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Queen of overwatering here; That’s why I mix my own soils to make them less dense. So when watering; water them until you see it seeping out the bottom and then stop. I water when I notice the bottom leaves just starting to droop. You may not notice this if you’re not into house plants though. Being a little dry is way better than being constantly soggy.

 

[t5Nitro]

I've got two plumeria trees indoors right now. I keep it pretty simple with all the plants. No store bought potting soil is good enough. Any of your store bought soil needs amended. I usually mix at least 50:50 soil:reptibark (mini fir bark nuggets) since I can't find other mini fir bark sources locally. I also mix in a random amount of osmocote slow release fertilizer granules when I mix up the soil. Then it's mainly watering once weekly to every other week indoors, more often when outdoors in the summer. So far all houseplants should have the soil pretty much dry before thoroughly watering them again until it's fully saturated. Seems like this strategy works well.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

I would suggest terra cotta pots for sure. This will help in keeping the soil from getting soggy. Terra cotta breaths thus letting moisture and air escape the soil.

 

[ichthyogeek]

As an update: it took me a while, but I have finally obtained almost everything. I bought potting soil mix + cactus soil mix, since that's what the seller recommended and will mix it all up. I have some cool looking pots as well, and for the ginger I got a nice long trough thing that should grow it well. I set up a mini greenhouse as well.

The only thing I need is the plants...which are scheduled for...December 21...well at least I have all the materials.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Loose soil. water than allow 10-12 days between watering and use fertilizer occasionally

 

[terraincognita]

LOL

I love plants. I have over 50 potted plants and slowly giving them off as my passion turns from plants to corals.

Seedlings need a bit more warmth to sprout, dont pack the soil too tightly.

For the current ones you have.. a general indicator.. if the leaf turns brown -- too much water. If the leaf turns yellow, it can be normal/change of environment/too little water.

Don't over water and let the top of the soil dry out. slightly between waterings. Easy peasy. All I can say is that this is much easier than corals!

That was always the hardest part for me in house plants.

If it's brown it's too much water.

If its yellow it's dying, from thirst.

if it's brown yellow you're doing something wrong :P jk but you know what I mean.

I was always over watering or under watering, so I said, if it's not here, it's perfect. :P