Repotting Funeral Arrangements

Some might ask, "why?" Why repot funeral plants?  Who wants them?  Not many.  Most of the time people don't like to keep plants that are sent to funeral homes.  Mainly because I think there are more people who don't like houseplants than those who do.  I happen to be one of those who can't say no.  That doesn't mean to shove a basket of plants in my arms if I visit the funeral home. 

Please don't.  I have enough to keep up with.  

 

This summer, I repotted three arrangements that wound up having sixteen different plants between them.  I found up as many empty pots and planting vessels as I could, placed driveway gravel in the bottom, then dirt and got to work.  I separated each little plant with care and gave each a new home.  Sadly, I was able to let a couple of them go... somehow... and I wound up with fourteen plants that happily graced our porch with greenery for the rest of the summer.  Even outside, the plants didn't need a whole lot of water and those tropical ones love the shaded warmth that our porch offers.  Now when cold temperatures arrive I will decide what to do because I don't have my greenhouse yet.  Some will go to the DC and some will be brought inside our home for the winter.  I'd like to say and have said that I will only bring a few in and let the cold take the rest.  But who am I kidding?!?!

 

 

Baby Tears

I am a plant girl with a pretty green thumb.  I like having plants indoors and out of doors.  I like bringing outdoor plants indoors for the winter and to see how happy they are when placed back outside.  Recently I found a plant that I had never seen while looking through a home decorating book and the more I saw it used throughout the book the more I wanted it.  I looked and looked online and at local nurseries and finally bought a plant from a dealer on Amazon. 

 

I have also, this Spring, been scouring yard sales in search of the perfect pot to house my new friend.  I first thought that I could place it in something that would fit in a crystal cake stand with lid that I have but have decided, after reading reviews, that it needs oxygen.  I wound up with four different vessels for my plant and couldn't decide which one to use.  This past Saturday it occurred to me that maybe I could divide the plant.  So I looked up videos on youtube and found one that made it look very simple.  Simple enough for me to roust up the courage to do it. 

 

I gathered my four dishes on a tray along with my plant, dirt, rocks, gloves and water bottle and headed out to the picnic table to give it a whirl.  After all, if it didn't work I might cry a little but all I could do was order another one.  I gave it my best shot and it actually was pretty easy.  I placed rocks for drainage in the bottom of my pots then potting soil on top of that.  I then pulled my Baby Tears plant apart with utmost ease and care and placed each piece in it's new home.  They are all doing great so far.  I am keeping them semi-moist and out of full window sun until they settle in good. 

 

I absolutely cannot wait to see the little plants with tiny leaves spilling over the sides and up the glass of my chosen homes. 

 

 The first four pics shown are the images from the decor book that inspired my new found desire for this precious little plant.

And this is my repotting station.  At this point my stomach was in knots.  I get a tinch nervous when repotting plants I've never dealt with before.  But it gives me a good feeling when I've done it.

My old style sprinkler and bottle.

Hard to believe it was all in that one pot! 
 

 

I bought my plant HERE.

 

 

The helpful video I found is here.
 

 

The fabulous home decor book I found this plant displayed in is HERE.

Repotting My Orchid

I received an orchid from a working friend when I left a job about seven years ago.  Wow has it been that long?  I guess so.  Anyway, this was and is still my first orchid.  When I first got it, of course, it was in full bloom.  For the first year of it's life with me it lived in the house and seemed... just ok. 

The summer after I got it I decided to put it in a shady spot on my patio outside and to my surprise it bloomed!  That Fall I brought it back inside for the winter and each summer have set it outside to enjoy the fresh air.  It has bloomed for me four times now but has chosen not to for the last two summers.  Which makes me sad because it is a sure sign that something is wrong. 

Since it was placed in the same spot on the porch where it had once bloomed and receives water from the plant hanging above it, I knew it had to be that the poor thing needed more room.  I will be honest... I have been scared to death to repot this thing.  Orchids are just different.  There's no dirt.  Their natural habitat is a crevasse in a rock amidst a misty waterfall.  (Ahhh what a lovely thought) 

Yesterday, I bit the bullet and bought some orchid bark and simply tried to follow the directions on the package.  I picked a larger pot for it's new home but when I tried to pry it out of it's tiny home it wouldn't budge.  Roots where everywhere, old and new.  I trimmed and pried and wound up getting out a hammer and breaking the pot it was in. I trimmed more brown roots off and dug as much as I could of the old bark from it's base.  I placed some rocks in the bottom of the new pot and filled it the rest of the way with the new bark.  I placed the orchid inside and it sort of just fell over.  So I got out some wooden skewers and staked it.  It will receive a daily misting and will hopefully root into it's new home for a couple more years.  Hopefully!  It sure does look better and much healthier.  I think it is smiling now.   Maybe next summer it will bloom once again.

 The good, healthy roots are white with green tips.

Yeah.. not too many here huh. :(

 And to my surprise an even smaller pot inside.  This made me feel even better about what I was doing.  Even though my stomach was in knots the whole time.

 I also trimmed off some of the shoots.  Don't know it I was supposed to or not once they were still green inside.  But it cleaned it up more.

 It said to leave it out of the sunlight until it takes hold again.

I imagine it's spreading around as I type.

So much better!

 

This is what her blooms look like.  This pic was in 2008.

 And this was the last time she bloomed in 2010.