Hi, I'm Judy Mirro, an Extension Master Gardener
coming to you from the office
of UVMs Master Gardener Helpline.
And I'm here to help you become a houseplant hero
by providing some guidance on caring for your house plants.
Today we're doing something a little different.
It's called Keep or Compost.
As you can see, I've got some plants here.
This is pretty typical.
I often get plants left at my desk
with notes on them asking me what I can do with them.
This one right here, the Phalaenopsis orchid,
was just left at my desk by a coworker.
And well, he gave up on it,
but I don't think we should.
I think it's a keeper.
And the reason I think it is,
is because if you look at the roots,
well, there's actually one really good root left.
And right here, here it is.
So we're gonna re-pot this in a little bigger pot
and actually in an orchid pot, which this is not.
And we'll put it back in with new potty mix and let her go.
It's got good healthy aerial roots
which look great and definitely a keeper.
So moving along, right here in the middle
we've got a cactus, looks like it's lived
a pretty hard life.
Not sure what happened.
Maybe a little under watering, maybe a little overwatering.
Hmm, perhaps a little too much sunburn.
But you know what?
It's headed for the compost pile.
Over here, we have a succulent and it looks nice.
I think it's a zebra.
Hmm, looks like we can trim it up a little bit.
Pot looks a little too small,
so my thought is get a better pot, little bigger,
get some cactus soil for it,
re-pot it, prop it up, it's definitely a keeper.
I'm liking this plant.
And moving right along, we've got what used to be
a polka dot plant.
Not really sure what happened here, (chuckles)
but my guess is it was watered well,
left in a cold window, and those tender roots
next to a really cold window got a little frostbite.
There's no hope for this baby.
It's definitely headed for the compost pile.
And then here we go.
We've got a nice little coffee plant,
and no question, we're keeping this puppy.
It's got great new growth on the top.
It's got a nice couple of good leaves and yeah,
so we've got some yellowing over here.
You know what, we can take those leaves off
and we have a couple of options.
We can just take those yellowed leaves off and let her go.
Or we can actually, you know,
coffee trees are pretty resilient,
we can cut it right back, leave those bottom two leaves on
and then let it regrow again.
Or like I said, just cut back those yellow leaves
and leave it alone.
We'll monitor the watering,
we'll get it some nice filtered sunlight,
and it's definitely a keeper.
So I think we've got some keepers and some compost pile,
but I think we'll do good here.
So remember, by providing your plants
with the conditions and care they need
you too can be a houseplant hero.
For more information on house plants or home gardens,
visit the UVM Extension Master Gardener website
and see our garden resources page.
Or contact an Extension Master Gardener volunteer
at the helpline.
The phone number is on the screen.
This is Extension Master Gardener, Judy Mirro,
wishing you happy growing.