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On the QT – March-June 2021
As Featured on NBCNews.com – How to Choose the Best Pots for Indoor Plants in 2021
Experts explain how to choose an indoor pot to keep your plants healthy.
By Zoe Malin, Shop TODAY
When buying a planter, there’s more to consider than just how it looks. The type of pot you use for your indoor plants can determine how healthy — or unhealthy — they are, according to EJ Kaga, CEO of HomeGrown Garden, an online retailer that sells heirloom seeds and gardening kits. The material a pot is made from, how large it is and its drainage features all impact the plant and its health. And you also need to keep the type of plant you’re potting in mind, as different plants require different growing environments.
“Finding the ideal type of planter will depend on what you are growing, since this will affect how warm the pot is, and how well it drains water,” Kaga said. Once you find the right type of pot for your indoor plant, you can experiment with “colors and shapes that harmonize with the foliage colors and texture of the plant,” added Carmen DeVito, founder of Garden Cult, a garden and landscape design company.
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Podcast: Native Tongue
As a podcaster and writer, I am usually the one asking the questions..… but on my dear friend Enrico Della’s podcast Life In the Garden, I am his guest and I am interviewed in Italian! It was fun and a little bit terrifying to be interviewed in another language… but once we got rolling it my native tongue came back to me. His new podcast is a wonderful mix of horticulture, nature, and poetry. Have a listen.
As Featured on NBCNews.com: 12 best raised garden beds in 2021, according to experts
By Zoe Malin, Shop TODAY
Expert gardeners share tips for planting in raised garden beds with recommendations from retailers like Amazon, Walmart and more.
Continue to NBC.com to read more.
Bringing Your Garden Indoors with Carmen DeVito
For Carmen’s final gardening video of 2020, she shows us some plants that bring color indoors. Pink poinsettias and paper whites (aka narcissus) are very easy to maintain through the winter and are ‘disposable’ come spring – Carmen suggests adding them to the compost pile.
If you’re up for more of a challenge, Carmen suggests cyclamen, a flowering plant that does well in a bright room with little water. They go dormant in the summer and can be brought back the following winter.
She also demonstrates how to plant two types of bulbs tat will grow beautiful flowers. Amaryllis is a large tropical bulb you can purchase to grow show-stopper flowers indoors. You want to search for the biggest bulb possible, for multiple stalks and flowers. Carmen shows us how to properly plant and support the bulb with pea gravel and stakes to ensure it grows successfully. They’ll bloom in about 8-10 weeks from planting.
An even more challenging bulb to grow is hyacinth. It needs a cold period after planting in order to bloom into colors like purple, pink, and white come early spring.
Finally, Carmen shows us a plant that’s new in her indoor rotation: ardisia crenata (aka spice berry). This festive looking indoor plant is perfect for the holidays!
Build a Winter Container Garden with Carmen DeVito
As the weather turns cold, Carmen heads out to her garden to show you how to prep your garden for winter. She cuts back plants and puts down a shredded hardwood mulch to ensure weed-free, fertile soil come spring.
Then, she builds a container garden, or window box, to enjoy some texture and color during the long winter. (Hot tip: Adding insulation and landscape fabric for drainage to your planting box ensures your plants stay healthy in the coldest months!) Carmen shows her selection of winter-hardy plants and how to arrange them artistically for maximum enjoyment.
Next week, for Carmen’s final video of the year, she’ll show you how to bring the garden indoors!
Spring Bulbs 101 with Carmen DeVito
It may seem far away, but spring is coming and the time to plan is now! Carmen shows you a mix of bulbs that she’s planting today, so that she can enjoy beautiful flowers in her backyard one winter’s over. Then, she shows you exactly how you get bulbs into the ground to ensure success.
Stay tuned for a preview of what Carmen has up her sleeve for future videos and projects!
