Friday, August 18, 2017

You Might Call Me Crazy!

1 Corinthians 3:6 
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 

I love plants. Seriously love plants. Now that I don't have small children at home or indoor animals, I can have as many plants as I want. Thankfully, my husband loves them too.  :-) 

I found a great deal on some large tropical house plants at my local grocery store so I bought several to place around our living room. The problem was that two of them had super dull looking leaves with what looked to be dried water residue and dirt all over them. I sprayed them down outside with the water hose but they still looked dirty and dull. Sooo, I went looking for solutions and found the perfect one on Chemistry Cachet.


Alexis, the chemist @ Chemistry Cachet, recommends cleaning house plants with a solution of milk and water mixed together in a spray bottle. Super simple to make and if you follow the link, you can get exact measurements and read all about why milk is good for your plants. She also recommends an Epsom Salt solution as a natural fertilizer. I'll be trying that in a few days. 

By the way, I read an article that said it's good talk to your house plants because as you talk to them you are breathing out carbon monoxide and that's beneficial to them too! I felt a little odd at first but once I got going, I had all kinds of things to say to Spike (above) and *Optimus Prime (below). Actually, that's when I decided on their names. Spike is obvious. He's spikey and I had to keep telling him not to cut my fingers! 

*Optimus Prime, on the other hand, has leathery like leaves that are absolutely gorgeous! He reminded me of a transformer toy with how his leaves transform from solid green to display striking streaks of red, orange, and yellow.


 *Optimus Prime (he's a Codiaeum variegatum, aka Croton plant) had the most dramatic 'transformation' in the cleaning too! See what I did there? hehe :-)
He has a lot of leaves! And they are fragile despite being leathery in feel. I found that if I bent one too far while trying to get into the ridges to get all the dirt out, the leaf would 'snap'. He calls for a gentle touch. It took me about an hour to water and clean these two plants but in the end it was well worth it!

Do you have any indoor plants? Have you named them? Do you talk to them? 

I would love to chat about your plants and any successes or failures you've experienced. 

~Happy Gardening~


*no copyright infringement intended - just naming my plants after a toy that my boys loved playing with when they were young.

10 comments:

  1. I'm horrible at maintaining house plants. Philodendron is the only living thing I haven't managed to kill off and even that isn't doing too well. Maybe if I gave them names...

    Fortunately, things are doing better outside.

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    1. Hey Joey, I have a couple of plants that are finicky about where they are placed in the home. I've had to switch them from one area to another in order to find their comfort zone. :)
      I'm glad your outside plants are doing well. Some of mine are good, some not. I did buy some Silver Sage this year and it is loving the coastal heat and brackish waters.
      Thanks for coming by and chatting!

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  2. Your plants look amazing! So happy you got to try my tip out, it makes them look so shiny and healthy :)

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    1. Thanks, Alexis! I enjoyed finding a way to make them shine. I'm looking forward to cleaning another one that seems to be a little spotty looking. And soon I'm going to try the Epsom Salt spray. Thanks for commenting! Always good to see you. :)

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  3. What a difference you made to your plants. I'm sure they were thankful! I talk to all my plants in the garden, but only have herbs indoors, such as Basil.

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    1. Hey Barbara, That must be why your flower garden is so lovely!!! I always sigh over how gorgeous your photos are. The only herb I have that's doing any good is Rosemary and that's a first for me. Sweet of you to stop and comment, my friend! {{hugs}}

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  4. I don't do well with houseplants either. Maybe I should try again, then again, maybe not. :-)

    What a great tip for using milk to clean plant leaves.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Rainey!!! Hello, my friend! I've sure had my share of dud plants but right now I'm managing to keep them happy and healthy. :) Blessings to you!!!

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  5. I do not have a green thumb, my husband on the other hand does seem to... We only have three house plants (all given to us at one point) and he manages to keep them alive. If it were up to me I'm sure they would all be dead by now!

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    1. Hey Patty, Glad to hear your plants are alive and thriving thanks to your husbands green thumb. I'm not sure mine is green, I just try super hard to learn all I can about my plants so they don't die. I'm not always successful though. :-) Thanks for commenting! Have a blessed week~

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I am so delighted that you've taken time to come by and comment. Blessings for a joy-filled day!

1 Corinthians 1:3 ~ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.