This page provides some information about the techniques I use for growing my plants. Please note that I'm very far from being an expert in gardening, and my theoritical skills about botany are highly limited, as well as my practices, which are really "traditional" and may not appear up to date for many visitors. Most plants of my collection come from garden centers, meaning that I have no control at all about growing conditions in their early stages. Only a few samples were taken from wildlife, along my various journeys in tropical countries.

 

soil & containers Soil composition has a more or less big importance, depending upon the species ; some plants get most of their resources from the soil, as some others just use it to ensure their stability.   However, experience hardly demonstrates any noticeable difference in plants' growth, upon the soil composition which is used, if the above principle is respected for each species.   As an easy and fast solution, soil can be prepared with a high quality compost found in most garden centers, to which various elements can be added, according to plant's requirements.   Containers I use are mainly standard plastic pots or water tanks. Only for some large, old plants, clay pots are used (euphorbia, cactae, and a few dracaena).

The following table provides examples of soil composition I use for some particular species.   philodendron, scindapsus, syngonium, rhoeo, monstera 50% compost + 20% peat moss + 20% sand + 10% bark or clay balls ficus, aglaonema, asparagus 60% compost + 10% fertilizer (manure) + 20% sand + 10% bark or clay balls euphorbia, sanseveria 50% compost + 50% sand dracaena, pandanus 50% compost + 20% peat moss + 30% sand chlorophytum, begonia, tradescantia, aspidistra 90% compost + 10% fertilizer (manure)

 

watering & general care During vegetative growth, all plants are watered weekly with tap water, in which I add some additive against hard water. In winter, waterings are reduced drastically in quantity, but a weekly frequency is kept. This allows to keep an eye every week to each plant and thus to proceed with regular maintenance.   General care mainly consists in removing old leaves and flowers, cleaning the soil's surface, and, above all, removing the dust from large leaves like philodendron's. For this, some specific disposable towels, soaked with a cleaning and feeding mixture, are very efficient, but a piece of towel and water and a soap solution does also well. Dust does not only affect the plant's appeareance, but also decreases its photosynthesis capabilities. Thus it is essential to do this cleaning in winter, especially if the plant cannot rest and "must" produce new leaves anyhow.   Regular maintenance also includes the binding of new stems on bamboo or other types of supports. It is important, to ensure a nice shape of plants, that they are tied regularly to their support.

 

fertilizing Fertilizing is wether a strange or a highly complex thing. I will not say long about it, as I could hardly ever notice any difference between before and after fertilizing a plant... I use both organic and chemical fertilizers (not at the same time), which I distribute with half of the quantity recommended by the vendor, once a month during vegetative growth (may be it's too few, or not frequent enough ?).

 

pruning Pruning is mandatory if you want to keep your plants with a good, balanced shape. It is also a very good way to produce cuttings, which can be grown with success. Once again, I could never see a (big) difference between a plant that is pruned in the middle of winter and in spring or summer... The only principle I try to follow strictly is not to prune during peaks of vegetative growth.