Seems simple enough. We have lots of talented, educated, successful professionals at Sante Kildare. Surely, one of the doctors or nurses can nurture and sustain an office plant – after all, we treat acute and chronic illnesses all day.
Our challenge – to maintain an office plant for a month (or beyond)
The subject – The African Violet
According to Canadian Gardening, “the African violet may just be the perfect houseplant. It blooms readily and has no specific flowering season, so it can be in bloom year-round. And it’s easy to multiply and share with others. As a result, it’s found worldwide, from the Far North to the Antarctic, anywhere there’s a cozy windowsill for it to grow on.”
To help us succeed, we have selected a plant that “can also cope with less light than most other flowering plants.” Apparently, we should look for a spot that gets bright light most of the day with little full sun in the afternoon.
Here comes to tricky part: According to the Canadian Gardening website, we need to “ let the plant tell [us] what it needs: long, stretching petioles and leaves that bend toward the sun, or lack of bloom
indicate insufficient light, while dense, compact, hard growth with bleached-out leaves tells you the plant is getting too much light.” Yikes – medicine already seems simpler.
We should “keep the growing mix (peat-based houseplant mix is fine) slightly moist; wait until it feels dry, then water abundantly, drenching it. Wet leaves can result in leaf spot, so it’s best to water from below by pouring tepid water into the plant’s saucer and letting it soak up what it needs. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain any surplus.”
Finally, we should “fertilize” the young plant with a foliage-plant fertilizer rich in nitrogen.”
I wonder if pharmaceuticals will help! Maybe a little Cialis or testosterone?
