houseplants

With all the recent rains, a lot of us are doing more indoor gardening and houseplant collecting. Here are our top houseplant how-to’s to help keep them happy inside.

Light is Good, A/C is Bad

Placement is a key factor in growing plants indoors. Some plants can handle less light than others, but we know that plants need light. Start with a sunny window, then move the plant closer/farther from the window to adjust the amount of light. Keep in mind that most houseplants prefer a humid environment, so make sure they are not in the path of an A/C vent, which will dry plants out.

HastaGro: Liquid Organic Plant Food

HastaGro is our favorite food for houseplants. So simple and so nutritious – just mix 1oz to a gallon of water and use every 2-3 weeks. Or you can mix lighter (1/2oz to a gallon) and use it every time you water.

Water Matters

Tap water is OK, but it contains a lot of additives that can affect plant health. If you are confident that you are watering and feeding properly, but still not getting good results, try using rainwater. Distilled water or condensate from an air conditioner or dehumidifier is also excellent for plants.

Repot or Not?

If you can remove the plant from the pot and the roots are tangled, wrapped, and/or growing in the shape of the pot without much soil left, then its probably time to repot. Choose a slightly larger pot, but not too big, and be sure it has good drainage. Use a good quality potting mix and fertilize when you repot (see HastaGro!).

Still Not happy – Take it Outside!

Plants that can thrive indoors are generally referred to as ‘houseplants’, and they may be grown in greenhouses, but their natural habitat is outside. A breath of fresh air can often help bring houseplants back to life. Try moving them to a shaded patio for a few days. Keep in mind that their watering needs will change when moved outdoors, so keep an eye on watering.

B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Container) Party

Do you have an empty pot begging to be planted? Or an interesting container you’d like to repurpose as a planter?? Bring it to Gill’s this Saturday for our B.Y.O.C. party! Bring your container, choose your plants, and plant it up! Use our potting shed and potting stations – we’ll provide the potting soil + potting tips, and we’ll clean up the mess. Here are a few ideas and things to consider.

Think Drainage!

All container gardens need drainage holes. This is a must. Either find something that already has holes, like this partially rusted-out iron kettle, or find something that you can easily cut or drill some holes in, like an old cooler!

Similar Watering Needs = Compatible Combinations

Combine plants in your container gardens that have similar watering needs. For example, you wouldn’t want to pair a cactus with a tropical houseplant in the same container. But you could do a desert bowl with different cacti + succulents or a jungle container with different houseplants. We also love combining flowers with veggies and herbs – similar watering needs and they look great together.

Think Contrasting Sizes + Textures + Colors

This is where you can really make things pop. Find something low-growing that spills and hangs to pair with plants that stand taller as a backdrop. Color, size, and texture combinations are endless.

*Houseplant combo: Crocodile fern, pilea, calathea, and Airplane plant*

Re-watch James’ Container Gardening Video for more tips and inspiration:

See you this Saturday! We’ll be potting all day 9 am to 5:30 pm – come by anytime.

Making your list, checking it twice, hoping the gardeners in your life, have been very nice! Come take a stroll through our garden and do a little stress-free shopping. Here are 10 gift ideas that gardeners will love.

North Spore Mushroom Grow Kits

Grow your own Shitake, Blue Oyster, Pink Oyster, Golden Oyster, and Lion’s Mane mushrooms. Indoor spray and grow kits are easy and produce a lot. If you’re more adventurous, try a log kit. Comes with instructions and spawn to inoculate a log and grow tons of Shitakes outside!

Flower and Herb Hang Dryer

Great gift for those who like to cook with fresh herbs or make homemade tea blends or pressed flowers.

Mossify Bendable Moss Pole

Great option for houseplant lovers. These bendable moss poles allow you to stake up your favorite climbing plants in any fun shape you like.

Wind Chimes

Lots of different tones for relaxation. Our favorites are Music of the Spheres chimes made in Austin, TX and hand tuned to various musical scales. Or these new iron bell chimes imported from Japan.

Custom Planted Pottery

Creative combinations of flowers and herbs, succulents, or tropical houseplants. So many possibilities. Grab one that we have ready to go or create your own!

Something for the Birds

Birdbaths, feeders, houses, seed, and native plants to attract birds to your loved one’s yard. Watching birds is better than TV!

Natural Stone Planters

Hand-carved boulders with space to plant something nice and a hole drilled for drainage! Peaceful and dramatic at the same time. Yes, they’re heavy but we can deliver.

Poinsettias

THE classic holiday décor and centerpiece for holiday meals.

Plant a Tree

You will remember this holiday as you watch your tree grow. You’ll remember it even more vividly if you dig the hole yourself! Or we can take care of that part for you.

When in Doubt – Gift Cards!

Fits nicely into a stocking 🙂

We’ve been out traveling this January and February, looking for the best plants to bring to Gill’s this Spring. There’s lots to be excited about!

Debbie, Kelsie, and Jesse attended the Tropical Plants International Expo in Tampa, Florida. They came back with new sources for blooming outdoor tropical plants, new varieties of houseplants, and rare and unusual plants. Kelsie even brought a variegated Philodendron “Jose Buono” back with her on the plane – somehow NOT against TSA rules!

James and I have been driving around Texas, finding pretty plants AND reminding our vendors how important it is that we get the best of the crop. We always bring them cookies – that makes them smile! We were excited to see our Texas growers recovering nicely from last year’s freeze with beautiful and plentiful crops of perennials and shrubs.

An interesting fact about Gill’s…

If a grower shows up with plants we don’t like, we send them back. They have learned over the years to only send us #1 grade!! ☺

-Sally Gill

Join us this Saturday, 5/14 at 10:00 am for our first May talk – Houseplant Care Tips! Ori Roldan, houseplant collector/researcher here at Gill’s, will share and demonstrate her best indoor jungle care tips. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card AND all houseplants are 15% off! Here’s a preview from Ori of some topics she’ll cover.

Different Plants/Different Light

Classic houseplants like Monsteras, Fiddle Leaf Figs, and Money Trees require bright indirect light to thrive. “Bright indirect” typically means near a window but not directly receiving sun. Think ‘bright overall’ in the room.

Other plants like Dracaenas, Prayer Plants, and African Violets prefer medium light. Think dappled sunlight, a little farther from the window. A sheer curtain can help control brightness.

Pothos ivy varieties, Peace Lilies, most Hoyas, and Sansevieria can thrive in low light. Low light does not mean no light! Place them several feet away from the light source/window, but where it’s still bright enough to read small print and cast a fuzzy shadow.

More Roots = More Water

Potted plants that have more roots than soil in the pot will require more water (a heavy soaking at each watering). Let plants dry between waterings, for the most part. Some plants will prefer to be watered when they are still lightly moist (ferns, Peace Lilies) while others would like to dry out completely between waterings (Sansevieria, Cordyline glauca).

Repot When Your Plant is Ready

Plants will usually tell us when they need to go into a larger pot. If you notice that you’re needing to water daily (or a lot more than usual), your plant might be getting root-bound in its pot. Roots may start to grow out of the drainage holes and eventually create a tight “root basket” at the bottom of the pot.

Its time to repot into a slightly larger container, 2 to 4 inches wider in diameter than previous pot. And loosen/unwind any bound roots when you repot.

Houseplants Need Food Too!

Fertilize your houseplants when they are actively growing. This usually means when they are putting on new leaves or growing noticeably. We love liquid organic Hasta Gro for houseplants – all the nutrients without the fertilizer smell. You can use Hasta Gro as often as every 2 weeks while you’re noticing growth.

Are you interested in houseplants, but worried about keeping them looking their best? Or maybe you’d love to give a houseplant as a gift, but you’re concerned about the recipient’s not-so-green thumb? We’ve got you covered. Here are 3 groups of houseplants (with lots of different varieties) that don’t need much TLC to be happy.

Sansevieria (aka Snake Plant)

Excellent 1^st plant for new indoor gardeners. They can thrive in a variety of light conditions including low indoor light. Dislikes too much water, so only water once the soil is dry. There are about 70 species of Sansevieria, including this variegated Whale’s Fin.

Aglaonema (aka Chinese Evergreen)

Most tropical houseplants like humidity (think jungle), but Aglaonema can handle dry indoor conditions well. They do great in medium indirect light but can tolerate low light too. And if you occasionally forget to water, Aglaonema will forgive you.

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (aka ZZ plant)

Planning a long vacation? You won’t need a plant-sitter for your ZZ plant. They can easily go a while between waterings. Water well, then be sure the soil is dry before watering again. You can use a soil probe (or a chopstick) to check soil moisture and to create aeration holes to help funnel water to the roots when it’s time to water.

December is here! These last few weeks of 2022 are sure to fly by. Our advice: make sure you spend some time in the garden to balance out the hectic holiday season. Here are our top to-do’s this month: what to plant, gift ideas, holiday plant care, and more.

Check out our December Garden Guide for more tips and remember that trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted 12 months out of the year! The only difference is the amount of water they need depending on temperatures and wind!

1. Plant These in December

There’s always the BEST time to get plants growing and here’s a few that LOVE this season as much as we do!

Strawberries…who could resist picking these sweet jewels in the Spring?

Onions…we grow short-day onion varieties here in South Texas. Lucky for us the 1015 Texas Supersweet is one of those along with tasty Texas Early White & Southern Belle Red.

Roses…our mild winters are perfect for big, beautiful roses & the cooler temps will only make them prettier and the flower color richer.

Trees…shade, flowering, small, big, they all benefit from planting now. Good root development during the cooler months of winter gives them better growth in spring and a deeper, stronger root system to withstand the summer heat.

Ornamental Cabbage…these winter classics need to be planted early this month and enjoyed through the season! Easy care, vibrant colors, and unique texture in the garden.

Alyssum…gorgeous white blooms all winter long. Did you know Alyssum flowers and leaves are edible? They have a pungent horseradish-y flavor.

2. Tips for Holiday Plants

Fresh-cut Christmas Trees…we give all of our trees a fresh cut and get them in water immediately to preserve their freshness. Many customers ask us for another fresh cut before they take the tree home. If you decide to have us do another fresh cut, or if you do it yourself, keep in mind that you have 10 minutes to get the tree in water before that cut seals over! Check water in your tree stand daily and keep it full. If you have pets who like to drink or splash the water, try covering with a piece of foil.

Poinsettias…Think of poinsettias as succulents – because they are! They are a type of euphorbia. That means give them a good drink, but let them dry out between waterings. Also, the leaves bruise and break easily, so avoid touching them as much as possible. So tempting to touch!

Christmas Cactus…Probably the easiest of all holiday plants, and they can last a LONG time! There are stories of Christmas Cacti that have been gifted and passed down through families for 100+ years. They like well-lit areas, but not direct sunlight. Let dry between waterings, then mist the leaves as well as water the soil when its time to water.

Living Holiday Trees…Junipers, Norfolk Pines, Loblolly Pines, Magnolias and Ficus trees all make great Christmas trees that can be planted outside after the holidays. If you bring these in for decorating, be sure they have good bright natural light. Keep watered but not too much, and as soon as the holidays are done…take them outdoors for a breath of fresh air and get them in the ground.

3. Think Gifts for Gardeners!

If you have gardeners on your list this year, we’ve got you covered! Quality tools like these classic French pruning sets, plant-able Christmas cards with wildflowers seeds embedded in them, self-watering ceramic mushrooms, and lots more unique garden gifts. And of course, plants!! If they’re picky, you can’t go wrong with a Gill’s gift card.

4. Plant, Feed, Water Winter Flowers

Winter flowers are AMAZING right now! Violas and Pansies are breathtaking and Geraniums are full of buds and blooms. All that blooming makes them hungry, so take a moment and fertilize your beauties. We love Plant Tone and or Hasta Gro. Both are organic and give you big results. Have that “one more empty pot” to fill?

5. Adjust Your Houseplant Care for Winter

Most houseplants will not experience a complete dormancy period during winter, but they will slow down growth and react to climatic changes like drier conditions inside the house. Give your houseplants more light and less water as temperatures and the amount of daylight hours drop. Dust/shine leaves regularly to ward off insects. Cooler temps = drier conditions and less of the humidity that houseplants love. Try grouping them together to create more humidity, or use a humidifier.

1. Proper Watering

This is the most important of all. Water slow and deep to make sure at least one inch of water is applied to all established lawn and landscape plants for our long hot summers. Smaller bedding plants such as annual color and perennial beds will require a second supplemental watering since they have a smaller root system.

2. Mulching

Use hardwood mulch three to four inches deep in planting beds to help conserve moisture as well as control weeds. Most mulch is applied too thin, only two inches rather than three to four. Do not bury crown of plant or trunk of shrubs.

3. Top Dress The Lawn

A thin layer of Nature’s Blend Compost applied several times a year helps to enrich the soil and will cut watering demands.

4. Insect Controls

Many insects are seasonal. Chinch bugs attack lawns in the hot summer months, so watch the edges of your lawn for the first signs. Spider mites also love the hot dry summer season. Keep an eye on junipers, pittosporums and houseplants for signs of mottling on the leaves or leaf drop and treat as soon as possible. Mealy bugs are also a hot weather insect and leave white cotton along the stems and undersides of many plants. More than one application may be needed to control some of these insects.

5. Fungus Control

This is not always an issue in the summer, but can be if we are getting periods of heavy rain. Proper year round watering and adding Nature’s Blend several times a year will help minimize fungal issues.

6. Fertilizing

Keeping your plants fed for the summer is very important, but applying at a lower rate may help to keep them healthy without encouraging too much new growth. Using organic fertilizers keep the plants healthy which minimizes insect attacks, Milorganite Fertilizer for instance.

7. Pruning

Some plants will need to be pruned in the summer to keep them more compact and not overgrown. Be careful, though, since some plants can sunburn easily when removing the upper leaves which have been shading the rest of the plant.

8. Weed Control

Some weeds burn off in the summer heat. Pre-emergents, such as Green Light Amaze and Hi Yield Weed & Grass Stopper can be applied year round in landscape beds to prevent weeds. Organic weed killers, such as Nature’s Guide Horticultural Vinegar, for landscape beds, are most effective in hot summer temperatures. But broadleaf lawn weed killers cannot be used in your grass once temperatures get above 85 degrees due to burning. Keep the grass mowed to remove seed heads of weeds. Mechanical means is always the best.

9. Proper Mowing Height

Proper mowing height will shade the ground and cause less water evaporation from the soil, reducing water needs. St. Augustine is best at three inches, so raise the mower. Also a sharp mower blade helps the grass look fresh and green, while a dull blade leaves ragged edges that turn brown and cause the lawn to look somewhat dead and dull.

10. Proper Plant – Proper Place

With any landscape make sure you have thought out the full mature height and width of plants, sun requirements and water needs before planting. You should never be constantly pruning a plant because it is too large for the space. That is the wrong plant for the spot. Also group like water need plants together. The most drought tolerant plants should be those furthest from the water source.

Now that you have worked hard at planting and maintaining the landscape, take the time to kick back, relax and admire the beauty you created. Gardening is great therapy! it not only burns calories, it also reduces stress from a hard day’s work and helps to lower blood pressure. Colleges are even offering courses in horticultural therapy. Gardeners live longer lives; plants give you reason to get up and get moving!

-DeAnna