Aloe Care: Simple Tips On How To Care For Aloe Plants
And now, for a brief break from our usual anthurium related fare, here is a post on aloe care…
There are many different varieties of Aloe plants. They range in size from one inch to two feet across. Most species are from Africa and the most popular variety is Aloe Vera, which is often used for treating sunburns. Aloe plants are almost 95% water so freezing weather is very harmful for them. If you live in an area that freezes, you will have to grow your plant indoors. Here are my simple guidelines for aloe care. If you follow them, you should have little trouble keeping your plant alive.
Pot your aloe in a loose soil that drains well. A good soil to use is a cactus mix or you can use a regular potting soil by adding extra sand or perlite to it. You don’t need a huge pot to grow an aloe. An eight inch plant should have little problem growing in a four inch pot.
Put your plant in a place that receives a lot of sun. It is somewhat of a desert plant and it can handle all of the sun that you can throw at it. Either put it near a sunny window or put it outside. But if you put it outside make sure that the temperature never falls below freezing. Frost can kill your plant.
Make sure you don’t over-water it. It should go about two weeks between waterings and the soil should be allowed to dry out. During the winter, your plant’s metabolism will slow and you should reduce the amount of water that is provided. Fertilize it once or twice a year, but use half of the recommended dose on the label. These plants don’t need as much nutrition as other plants.
When it is time to repot, use a wider, rather than a deeper, pot. The roots of an aloe tend to spread out rather than go deeper. If your plant has produced offshoots, you can also use repotting as an opportunity to propagate your aloe by planting the offshoots into pots of their own.
Tips On Growing Anthuriums Indoors
Anthurium Plants
In many parts of the world, weather and climate conditions dictate that anthuriums must be grown indoors. Anthurium plants simply can not handle cold winters or hot summers. When exposed to temperatures outside of 55 to 95 degrees they can be harmed or even die. Furthermore, anthuriums are very sensitive to direct sunlight and low humidity levels. If you live in an arid, desert region, both of these conditions are in great abundance. Obviously the ideal solution is to grow your anthuriums inside your home, so here are my tips for growing anthuriums indoors.
If at all possible place your plant in the bathroom. The reason that the bathroom is the ideal place for these types of plants is the humidity that is generated when you take a bath. These plants love high humidity and the bathroom is the room with the highest humidity in your house.
Next, put your plant near a window, but away from direct sunlight. These plants require a lot of light, but they can be burned by direct sunlight. They will be stunted if you don’t give them enough light, but direct sunlight can harm them. If you must place them in a locate that the sun strikes directly, use a thin curtain between your plant and the window to filter out a portion of the light.
Set your thermostat to 65 to 80 degrees. This is probably a comfortable range for you and a great range for your plants. These plants can handle a temperature range of 55 to 95 degrees, but it is better to keep them at the temperature that I have recommended.
Finally, don’t forget to water them. Anthuriums come from rain forests where they receive rain everyday. So ideally you should water them everyday. But the main caveat is that you should never allow their roots to sit in water. Make sure that their potting soil is porous and drains well, and make sure that you empty the drip tray that you have set their pot in.
Anthurium Arrangements: A Few Tips
Red Anthurium
Anthurium flowers are excellent flowers to use in floral arrangements. They look great and they last a long time. They will outlast just about any other flower that is in the arrangement. Here are my thoughts on anthurium arrangements.
These flower arrangements are great for many different types of occasions. I have seen them used for holidays, birthdays and office parties. In Hawaii, they are commonly used for weddings, funerals and, of course, for luaus. And if you are having a tiki party, you have to have them; I think that they are almost mandatory.
These flowers work well with other tropical flowers and foliage. White or blush colored ones work well with green ti leaves. Red ones blend nicely with red ti leaves. They also look great when arranged with ginger or orchid flowers. And larger anthuriums look great with bird of paradise flowers.
There are two ways to buy anthurium arrangements. You can get them through your local flower shop, either by visiting them in person or by buying through a cooperative that works with local flower shops like FTD. Or you can buy them online directly from where they are grown. If you choose the former, you will usually receive a fully assembled arrangement. While if you choose the latter, you will typically receive loose flowers that you will have to arrange by yourself.
It’s actually very easy to arrange these flowers by yourself. When you receive them, clip off half an inch from the end of their stems. This will clear any blockages and allow them to absorb water. Then place them in a container of water and mist them with water from a spray bottle. Next set a block of floral foam in the container that you are going to display them in and add water. Take the tallest flower and press it into the foam near the center and work your way outward with smaller flowers, so that the tallest flowers are in the center and the smallest are on the sides.
Hawaii Treats: Snacks From Hawaii
One of the really cool things about Hawaii that I don’t see people writing about much is its incredible snack foods. People from all over the world have made Hawaii their home and this cultural diversity, coupled with Hawaii’s amazing environment for agriculture has produced some incredible snacks: here are some of my favorites.
Chinese immigrants brought a tasty snack originally called cha siu bao to Hawaii. Here they are called manapua, which means “pork cake” in the local dialect of Hawaiian pidgin. In Hawaii, they have been modified with many local twists. For instance, instead of the typical char siu filling, in Hawaii, they may be filled with local foods like kalua pig or curry chicken.
One of my favorite snacks is chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Chocolate is made from the cacao tree which originated in South America, while Macadamia Nuts grow on Macadamia trees which are originally from Australia. Both types of trees are grown in Hawaii, but Hawaii is, of course, better known for Macadamia Nuts. When you put the two of these together you get a signature Hawaiian snack.
Shave ice is another excellent treat that is perfect for a sunny place like Hawaii. It consists of finely shaved ice that is topped with sweet fruit flavored syrups. The syrups are brightly colored and come in all of the colors of the rainbow. Just about the only downside to them is that they can turn your tongue blue, or green, or whatever color you happen to be eating. But fortunately the effect is not permanent.
Pineapples are neither pine nor apples. How they got their name was a complete mystery to me for the longest time, until I learned that pine cones used to be called pineapples a few centuries ago. When Europeans saw their first pineapple they gave it its name because they resembled pine cones. Pineapples come in white and yellow varieties and, for me, they have the perfect blend of sweet and acid flavors that make a perfect snack on a hot day.
As you can see, Hawaii offers a wide range of tasty treats. But there is much more to Hawaii than these yummy snacks. In Hawaii, you can swim with the dolphins or even see a live volcano up close. Hawaii is also home to a number of beautiful flowers like ginger and anthurium flowers. And it has many special animals like the Monk Seal and the Nene Goose. I hope that you get a chance to visit and see some of these amazing things for yourself.
How To Take Care Of Anthurium Plants
Pink Anthurium Plants
Water them regularly. You never want to let their soil get bone dry, but you also do not want to drown them either. If you let their soil get too dry, when you water them again they will have a difficult time absorbing water again. But if you do not allow the water to drain fully, they can suffer from root rot. Another component of proper drainage comes from the soil that your plants are potted in. If the soil doesn’t drain well, you should repot your plants into a potting soil that drains better.
Give them the correct amount of light. Direct sun light is bad for these plants, it can burn their leaves and flowers. Bright, indirect sun shine is best. If they do not get enough light, they will stop flowering and their growth will slow. Often you will see their leaves getting elongated and turning dark green if they aren’t getting enough light. So make sure that you give them the right amount of light.
To ensure that they grow evenly, turn the pot that they are planted in a little bit, once a week. These plants grow towards the sun and this will ensure even growth. If you watch them closely, you will see that they will orient their leaves and flowers to face the sun.
Clean your plants periodically. Spray a little water on the top and bottom of their leaves and use a soft cloth to wipe off the water. This will remove any pests and dust from your plants. This will help to keep them healthy and make their leaves look nice and shiny too.
Hawaii Beaches: A Guide to Hawaii’s Best Beaches
Hawaii is home to all sorts of wonderful things. It has beautiful flowers like: hibiscus, orchids, plumeria, heliconia and anthurium flowers. It has interesting animals like the nene, hawaiian owl and the monk seal. It is also home to a number of wonderful beaches like Barking Sands, Waikiki Beach, Hapuna and Green Sands.
One of the most majestic white sand beaches in the world is Hapuna Beach. It is probably the most popular beach on the island of Hawaii and it tops many lists of the world’s best beaches. Its sapphire water and powdery white sand make it a favorite of both tourists and locals. When the waves are small it is the perfect beach for snorkeling and swimming. But when the waves are big its wide berth of soft, white sand make it the perfect place for catching some rays.
Barking Sands beach is located on the island of Kauai. It is hard to get to this beach because it is located on a military installation. It possesses incredible white sands and is generally not crowded at all. No one really knows how it got its name. Some say that it received its name because a barking sound could be heard from the friction of running on its sands, but this is only a myth. Others say that the waves crashing on the shore sounds like barking. But no one really knows.
Now for something way out of the ordinary, Hawaii even has a green sand beach. What makes the sand green is a mineral called olivine, which is common in volanic rocks. Very few people get to see Green Sand Beach, because it takes an arduous five mile hike to get there unless you have an off-road vehicle. But, once you get there, you will be greeted with bright green sand and a beach that is almost never crowded.
Waikiki Beach is the beach that everyone thinks of when they think of beaches in Hawaii. It is probably the most famous beach in Hawaii. It has awesome white sand and it is a favorite of everyone who visits. It is the beach where the great Duke Kahanomoku taught many celebrities how to surf. You simply should not visit Hawaii without checking out Waikiki Beach. Sure, its crowded, but you just have to visit to get a taste of history.
A Short Guide to Hawaii’s Modern Cuisine
Hawaii is famous for a number of things like volcanoes, surfing and anthurium flowers. One thing that it should be even more famous for is its food. It is fusion cuisine at its finest. You can taste the Hawaiian, Asian, European and American influences in many local dishes. Here are some of my favorite dishes.
Sashimi is just about the simplest local dish. It is thinly sliced raw fish that is usually flavored with soy sauce and wasabi. This dish has a very subtle flavor and if properly prepared doesn’t taste fishy at all. Sashimi is incredibly tender and when made from tuna with a high fat content can be as smooth as butter. This dish was introduced to Hawaii by Japanese immigrants.
A Lau Lau is a Hawaiian dish that consists of salted pork, fish and taro all wrapped in a taro leaf and then in a ti leaf and cooked in a traditional earth oven called an imu. The imu is used to slow cook and steam the Lau Lau all day, so the meat comes out incredibly tender and it has an appealing smoky flavor.
Malasadas are a donut like creation introduced by Portuguese immigrants. They look almost like donuts, except they usually do not have holes. The immigrants would make them before Lent to use up all the leaven in their house and they would often share them with their neighbors. This is how the malasada spread beyond the Portuguese community to become a favorite of all of Hawaii’s people.
Poke is a Hawaiian dish that resembles sashimi, but it was in fact a native dish. It consists of raw fish mixed with sea salt, kukui nuts and a special type of seaweed. Even though it and sashimi are both made from raw fish, they taste quite different due to the different ingredients. And if you are at all adventurous enough to try raw fish, I recommend that you try both and you will definitely taste the difference.
Hawaii’s Signature Exports
Hawaii is a unique place. It is located in the middle of the Pacific and is as far from a continent as a place can be. It is home to many unique plants and animals, and it also produces a number of unique products.
Would you believe that one of Hawaii’s biggest exports is bottled water? Well it’s true. But this bottled water is unlike any bottled water in the world. It doesn’t come from a pristine mountain stream. Instead is comes from the bottom of the ocean. Water, from melting glaciers in Alaska, travels in an undersea current to Hawaii. This trip takes over a thousand years. Several companies extract this water, remove the salt and bottle it. Much of this unique bottled water is sold in Japan, but people from the U.S. are beginning to buy it too.
Another product that Hawaii is known for is anthurium flowers. These South American plants were brought here in the 1800s and have become an established part of the local economy. Many new varieties were developed by local growers and the university and they are shipped from Hawaii to many different parts of the world.
Hawaii is also known for Macadamia Nuts, especially chocolate covered ones. The Macadamia Nut is originally from Australia, but like the Anthurium it has become a big part of the local economy. They taste amazing when dry roasted and sprinkled with salt or when coated in chocolate.
Kona Coffee is yet another superb product from Hawaii. Only coffee that is grown in the districts of North and South Kona can be called Kona coffee. Several factors make Kona Coffee special. The first is the rich volcanic soil that it is grown in. This gives the coffee a distinctive aroma. The second is the specialized micro-climate of the Kona region. Sunny days and afternoon rains give the coffee a very smooth flavor.
Vase Life: Ways To Prolong The Vase Life Of Anthurium Flowers
Anthurium flowers happen to be some of the longest lasting blooms in the globe, however there are a number of things that you’ll be able to do to make them last even longer. Additionally, you may come across quite a few elements that can dramatically decrease how long they last. In this write-up, I am about to discuss what you’ll be able to do to get them to last longer and everything you must beware of in the event you wish to avoid unintentionally reducing their life.
Many scientists think that the key factor that restricts the vase life of these types of blossoms is the ability to take in water. As these blossoms lose the ability to absorb water they start to wither and expire. Exactly what happens is that the water transporting tissue of the flower gets clogged up and as soon as the flower is deprived of water it shrivels and perishes.
The initial thing that you should do when you receive brand new flowers is cut about half an inch off the bottom of their stems. This will clear any obstructions that have developed while they were being shipped. Then place them inside a clean flower vase with pure water. Any pollutants within the water may plug up the water carrying cells inside your blossoms.
The next thing that you can do would be to add a commercial bloom preservative to the water in your vase. This will prevent microbial growth, which may also plug up the pores of your blossoms.
Pay attention to the heat range of the room where you keep your flowers. Exposure to temperatures that are below 50 degrees or over 90 degrees will reduce their vase life considerably. Ideally you ought to keep them at a temperature range of 65 degrees to 75 degrees.
Ethylene gas is infamously harmful for flowers and it could significantly decrease the vase life of your blooms. So you should try really hard to keep your blooms away from it. Sources of ethylene consist of: injured plants, ripening fruit and car exhaust. Try your best to maintain your blossoms far away from these things.
To conclude, that is all there is to it. Stick to the straightforward guidelines that i have offered above and your anthurium flowers will last significantly longer.