Ahhh, the month of love is upon us. Even if you’re not spending that time with a person, you know that your plants could do with some canoodling right? And I promise they’ll love you back!
With that in mind. We went all out with red.
The plants
The Classic box had a rather bizarre looking plant that you’re unlikely to find at your local nursery: The Red Star Bromeliad. This plant captivated me in the way it actually looks like a star and the fact that it was such an unusual colour.
Some of the Bromeliads came with lots of pups (a whole host of smaller plants attached to one). And one or two might have popped off the mother plant in the journey to your home, so I’ve created a video about what these guys are all about, and how you can propagate them.
I’ve found that because the Bromeliad is quite a flat plant without its pups, it can be hard to style. But here’s where I think you can get super creative, I popped mine in a cat planter from Grey Malkins and I think it’s made a huge difference.
For the Collector’s box, we added a true-to-its-name Caladium Sizzle. I’ve got a few Caladiums, but battled to find this species, but boy oh boy, when I did- I was not disappointed. With bright red centres and green edges it makes for a striking plant. Some reports of the watering needs of Caladiums is that they DO like their roots wet, unlike what we stated on the care guide. This is something you will need to play around with. I’d advise to start off with the recommended schedule of watering your plant just enough so that the top soil is slightly moist. If your plant is not doing well on this schedule then try deprive it of water for a few days – if it does worse, then drench the hell out of it. My Caladiums sit on my porch with a lot of indirect sunlight and wind (which aid in evaporation) so I tend to water them 2-3 times a week.
The Gifts
The first gift was a fantastic chino cap from I.Fig.U.Not with the slogan “I Dig Plants”. I love this subtle way of being able to wear something that hints at a growing hobby. We also had many people showing off their caps on social media. I joined the party!
The second gift was a basket from Ilala Products, Local, Fair-Trade and Sustainability are the cornerstones of their business. The cute basket that is included in this month’s box is testament to this, and it’s great to be able to appreciate something beautiful knowing that it is ethical too.
In the collector’s box we popped in an additional two prezzies: a bag of propagation soil from Michell Farms and a stunning bubble pot that is handmade in Portugal.
I love the Bubble pot and have put a Calathea Green Lipstick in mine.
Although the Michells Planting mix is labeled as a Propagation mix, it can be used as an all rounder planting mix. I try and put my smaller plants that battle with root rot into this mix, because it is airy and provides space for the roots to do their thing.
I had so much fun putting these boxes together and I can’t wait until next month when I get to do it all again. If you’d like to be part of the next Plant Club box, you can purchase a subscription here.
