Ask The Plant Expert:

I received this plant a few years ago.  It's now twice as tall as it is in the picture (hitting my ceiling).  Can you please tell me what kind of plant/tree it is and if I can get a new start from it?  Thanks! -Shannon

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

Shannon,

It looks like a type of Dieffenbachia, most likely a Dieffenbachia picta or Dieffenbachia seguine. These types of dieffenbachia can grow to a height of 10ft.

They can be propagated several different ways:

1. Root tip cuttings
2. Stem cuttings
3. Tip cuttings

I recommend stem cutting or tip cutting as your method of propagation. To do this you will need the following:

1. Sharp knife
2. Rooting hormone (I like the powder kind – you should be able to purchase it at your local garden center and nursery)
3. Potting soil (you can simply stick the cutting in your current pot, but I like to place my cutting in a new pot with fresh potting soil.)

To take a tip cutting, go about three or four inches from the tip end and cut the plant right below a joint. Dip the cut end into the rooting hormone and place in the potting soil about an inch deep. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Roots should appear in the next couple of weeks. New shoots should also appear on the parent plant where the tip was removed.

As for stems cuttings, you will cut the stems in section 4 to 5 inches long and dip the bottom- end that has been cut in rooting hormone and place in potting soil and care for it the same way as a tip cutting.

Hope this information was helpful. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.

Ask The Plant Expert:

I planted 4 ranunculus bulbs, in a 3 inch plastic pot 10 weeks ago. I had germination signs after 3 weeks; leaves are getting taller, now 4-5 inches tall. Only a couple of days ago they started to wilt, and now they are completely hanging from the sides of the container. I keep the pot in a sunny room, and I water them once weekly from beneath!!!!!!! -Amjad

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

Sounds like you're doing a good job. Let's go over the basic ranunculus care and growing information and see if there is a step you may be missing.

Your new ranunculus plant should be placed in a sunny location with well-drained soil. This plant likes to live in slightly cooler temperatures. Although they can be planted in containers, the ranunculus produces a large root system.

I would say the problem is either:

• It's possible your plant has already out-grown it's container.
• It is too warm.

Try adjusting these and see if it helps! Let us know if you have any more questions.

Ask The Plant Expert:

I have an elephant foot plant and I was wondering, can you snip off the leaves growing out the sides of the trunk to grow new plants? Mine is about 4ft. tall. I did slice one off, put it in water, the leaves grew well, but no roots or signs of a trunk developing. Should I just plant it? Thank you for speaking with me, Diane

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

The Elephant foot plant (Beaucarnea recurvata, also know as ponytail plant) can be started from an offshoot of the plant. However, a leaf by itself will not form roots. What you need is a true sucker from the plant. These will have a thicker base attached to the trunk of the plant. You can snap these off at the trunk and stick the sucker in soil to root. A rooting hormone, found at any garden center or nursery, can be used to help start your sucker roots. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. If the soil is too wet the sucker will rot and not form roots.

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Ask The Plant Expert:

This flower was part of a bouquet and dropped a lot of very small round black seeds. What is the name of this plant? – Shirley

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply: Shirley, the name of flower is Celosia.

This interesting pink flower is commonly called cockscomb because it resembles the comb of a rooster. The genus name is Celosia. The perennial cockscomb is Celosia argentea and the annual types fall under Celosia spicata.

Celosia History

Celosia's name is derived from the Greek word for "burning." It grows widespread across Mexico, where it is known as "Velvet flower." In northern South America, tropical Africa, the West Indies, South, East and Southeast Asia where it is grown as a native or naturalized wildflower, and is cultivated as a nutritious leafy green vegetable. It is traditional fare in the countries of Central and West Africa, and is one of the leading leafy green vegetables in Nigeria, where it is known as ‘soko yokoto’, meaning "make husbands fat and happy".

Celosia Flower

An interesting addition to the garden, Celosia is also a versatile flower for decorating. Florists use it both as a cut flower in fresh arrangements and as a dried flower in permanent arrangements.  So enjoy this wonderful flower while you can – a killing frost will put them to rest for the winter.

Click To Learn More About Celosia Flowers

Ask The Plant Expert:

My Cahaba lilies have so many seed pods. I would like to use the seeds properly to grow more lilies. Can anyone tell me the best way to go about it? Thank you

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

Terry

The Cahaba lily (Hymenocallis coronaria) is a little tricky when it comes to propagation. In nature this plant drops it's seed in the water where the plant is growing. These seeds then wash up on the banks of the river or water way. On the bank, they germinate and grow into new plants. Captive propagation has a very low success rate, but since the seeds are free I would give it a try.  I recommend:

• Soak the seeds for 24 to 48 hrs.
• Place them on top of a moist sandy-loam mixture.  I would try to emulate the soil on a river bank where the lilies are native. I am assuming this is more mucky than sandy. So try a 1/3 sandy, 1/3 top soil and 1/3 organic matter. (This is a estimation on my part since I have not actually propagated these seeds my self.)
• Keep the seeds very moist until the seeds sprout.
• Once the seeds have sprouted you can transplant them into the area where they will live permanently.

Good luck and please let me know how it turns out. Hope this information was helpful.

Ask The Plant Expert: I seem to have a mystery plant which I think is a Globe Thistle, but I did not plant it.  It is turning into a clump and has tall lavender flowers.  Sorry, I don't have a photo.  Can I divide this free stranger or plant seeds from the dried flower head? -Nancy

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply: From what you describe, propagating by seeds would be your best option. It takes 14 to 21 days for Globe Thistle seed to germinate. You can sow your seeds directly in the ground or in germination cells packs or flats. If you are going to sow directly into your flower beds, make sure the temperatures are at least 65 to 70  degrees. Sow the seeds directly on the ground and do not coil with soil. I recommend planting the seeds in the spring since they normally bloom July through September.

Hope this information was helpful.

Ask The Expert: What kind of plant is this? I would like to know what kind of plant this is and how I should take care of it please. My mother got it as a gift when her mother died. So i would like to keep it alive as long as possible..

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply: Crystal,
It looks like a dish garden with multiple plants. The tallest plants seems to be a type of parlor palm. However, to identify the other plants I need a close up picture of each one. If you intend to keep all the plants together in the dish garden, I would place it in a medium light location and keep it moderately moist but not soggy.

If you send me pictures of the other plants and want to separate them into multiple containers, I will tell you how to take care of each one.

Ask The Expert: Thank you for your prompt reply and help. These are the best photos I think I'm going to get… Using a crappy laptop webcam, LOL. But I took several, so I hope that helps. And again, thank you so much for your knowledge! :-D Also, the last picture I've attached shows what I hope you can see as something eating the plant??? What could that be, at what should I do? Oh, my mom DID mention something about wanting to split the plants up so they can grow more. Thank you, oh Flower Swami. LOL. :-D Continue reading "What Are These Plants In My Mother's Dish Garden?" »

Ask The Expert: I've got I believe is a dragon tree that has grown a baby from its trunk. I would like to know if I can cut that baby and grow it as a separate tree and how, please, thank you. -Tito

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply: Yes, this plant should be easily propagated by cutting off the shoot at the trunk. Remove about 6 inches of leaves at the base, and place the cutting in well-drained potting mix, preferably cactus/succulent mix.  It will probably take 4-6 months to start rooting.  Due to the size of the cutting I would recommend an 8" pot minimum.  It will be a year before the plant can be transplanted.

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Ask the Expert: How do you propagate a chocolate soldier plant? I have tried water. Dolores

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert:

Chocolate Soldier is the common name for Episcia cupreata. It can be propagated in the following ways:

1. From Seed
2. By Division
3. By Rooting Stem Cuttings
4. Layering

My favorite form of propagation is rooting stem cuttings. To propagate stem cuttings you will need:

1. Sharpe Knife
2. Rooting Hormone
3. Peat Based soil

I like tip cuttings the best. Find a nice side shoot and from the top of the shoot go down about 3". Cut the plant at an angle and dip into the rooting hormone. Immediately stick the cutting in the soil. Keep the soil moist. In a few weeks the plant should start to form roots. Once the plant has formed roots, you will take care of it the same way you took care of the parent plant.

One of the few things that I remember most about my grandmother, though still alive, is that she loves houseplants. Her favorite is one that reminds me of the Heartleaf Philodendron plant, though the name of the other escapes me.

Heartleaf Philodendron Houseplant

Grammie's favorite plant is very similar to heartleaf philodendron plants (Philodendron scandens oxycardium). Both have distinctly shaped leaves, are easy to care for, and are a beautiful shade of light green. Both make her smile when she receives one as a surprise gift from one of her family members. Both lighten the atmosphere in her dark house, made so by the architecture.

Grammie is a fun woman to be around. She always has a story of something that happened as far from my birth as today is only that many decades before it. I can't tell you how many times I've sat her dining room table while she sat in her personal chair and regaled her grandkids (my brother, sister, myself) with stories from her vague memories of the Great Depression, picking cotton as a young woman, marrying a sailor during the second World War, raising three kids and carrying for a physically disabled but mentally functional husband, and then raising her grandchild as her son when he was born just after my mother.

She's a very strong woman and something about her makes me want to give back but I don't usually know how. I've tried a lot of different gifts and she loves them all because she adores the giver (*smile*) but her favorites by far are houseplants. They cheer up her dreary days and give her something to tend that will occupy her mind. After 70 years of caring for other people, now she has only herself and her houseplants. It's not as depressing as it sounds. She deserves the break and keeping her hands busy is what she prefers.

My gram is something of a trooper. I know that this year she'll be getting a brand new houseplant from me as we transplant the bigger ones to her garden or give them to a neighbor. I couldn't help but think of her and smile when I saw the heartleaf philodendron plant in the houseplant gallery. I smiled and I hope she'll smile too when she receives her fresh, green houseplant. No–I know she will.