Notes from a north-facing flat, mostly about not overwatering things.
I have killed a great many plants. Some of it was bad luck. Most of it was watering on a schedule instead of watching the plant. This is where I write down what worked, so I stop relearning the same lesson every spring.
Eighteen months of dropping leaves every time I looked at it sideways. What changed was nothing clever: I stopped moving it. Same corner, same quarter-turn every fortnight, water only when the top five centimetres are properly dry. It has put out four new leaves since June.
Read the whole thingA drooping plant looks like it wants more room. Nine times out of ten it wants less water, or a brighter spot, or simply time. Roots circling the drainage holes are the signal to size up — not sad leaves.
Read the whole thingThey arrived on a bargain calathea and spread to everything within a metre. What eventually worked: isolating the lot, rinsing every leaf underside in the shower weekly, and raising the humidity. Sprays alone did nothing.
Read the whole thingNot much that flowers, but a surprising amount of foliage. Aspidistra, most ferns, pothos, ZZ plant and the tougher philodendrons are all perfectly happy. Anything sold as “full sun” will slowly stretch and sulk.
Read the whole thingA plant that is slightly too dry recovers in an afternoon. A plant that has been slightly too wet for a month is often already gone.
Fern & Fig is written by one person with roughly forty plants, a watering can that holds slightly too little, and no professional horticultural training whatsoever. Entries go up when there is something worth reporting, which works out at two or three a month.
Corrections are welcome and usually deserved.