I am not very good at taking care of indoor houseplants. While I have a pretty good green thumb for outdoor gardening, my indoor garden skills are practically non-existent. Even keeping Christmas poinsettias is a major feat for me. However this year I think I have finally figured out what I have been doing wrong — loving them to death. Apparently the number one way to kill a houseplant is to over water it. Yep, I can attest to that. I found a great resource that identifies watering needs for different types of houseplants. A quick review and it recommends that a poinsettia be allowed to dry out completely between waterings and as such may only need to be watered every 1 to 2 weeks. More proof that at twice a week I was loving my indoor plants to death. Here’s hoping I do better this year.

Miraculously I have only lost 3 leaves on my poinsettia this year. By now the bottom is usually pretty leggy and it ends up on the patio for a day then in the compost pile.

A white campanula in a red pot added Christmas cheer and is still blooming and green 3 weeks later. Hopefully I can nurse it until spring when I can transplant it as groundcover into the garden.

I bought two bright green Wilma Goldcrest cypress to flank our mantle this year. I hope to transplant them into bigger pots to be placed in our front urns for the summer then bring them indoors again next fall. It will be my first foray into gardening with indoor plants.

Visit my plants blog for more information on Wilma Goldcrest Monterey Cypress.