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HOME-SELLING TIP
Home
Put on a new coat of paint Painting your house is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase its value and likability, but don’t just paint every wall the same color, and stay away from white, which is dull and boring. Instead, use soft, muted colors like pale green or beige. -- FrontDoor.com
HOME HELP
Sensitive succulents Why these small potted plants can be deceiving By Maureen Gilmer ARA
Keeping cool As summer heats up, air conditioning bills can rapidly rise. As homeowners feel the heat, many are looking for ways to save and stay cool. Try these inexpensive, easy ways to help keep your house cool. ■ Provide shade for east and west windows. ■ When possible, delay heat-generating activities like baking or dishwashing until the evening on hot days. ■ Use ceiling fans to circulate air to help make the house more comfortable without over-using the air conditioning. ■ Seal air conditioning ducts and insulate ducts that run through unheated basements, crawl spaces and attics. ■ Install white window shades or miniblinds. Mini-blinds can reduce solar heat gain by 40 to 50 percent, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. — ARA
Scripps Howard News Service
I consider it a cruel hoax when succulents planted in weird containers adorn the pages of books and magazines. I find them planted in wood, recycled metals, seashells and just about any other item with a depression capable of holding a tiny seedling. Succulents don’t need much of a root zone because they hold moisture in their leaves and stems. This is why you can put one inside a shot glass and it won’t wilt. But when the stored moisture eventually runs out, how is it replaced with little or no root zone? Inevitably, they curl up and are tossed into the compost heap.
Sensitive things Succulents are highly variable and not nearly as cast-iron as you might think. Many are born in the moderate coastal conditions of South Africa. These adapt well to humidity in succulent epicenters such as San Diego with its mild maritime climate. Other succulents are found in the Namibian desert, where it hardly ever rains, surviving on little more than fogs that creep inland from the Atlantic coast. Add cactuses and agaves from the Americas, which are just as diverse in their preferences. With so much variability, how can we stuff succulent plants into super-small containers with impunity and expect them to thrive? If you’re ready to jump into the succulentplant melee this summer, beware of these un-
sustainable examples. Sure, they might work for party favors or garden shows, but this is not a long-term solution. Treat succulents like real plants if you want them to grow large, bloom and produce offset “pups” that yield endless new plants for free.
Underneath Succulents need a root zone. Dig up a mature field-grown succulent and you’ll find a rather large root system. Thick roots reach deep and travel far to gather what little moisture falls. Some types are vigorous rooters, filling a 6-inch pot in no time. Deny a plant enough root zone and it won’t grow larger. Plants have a remarkable ability to just sit there for a long time as they gradually lose interior moisture. The normally hard stems and leaves become more resilient to the touch, with slight surface wrinkles that tell you they’re almost out of gas. If the roots don’t dehydrate beyond function, they will absorb moisture when it returns. If they become so desiccated that the root cells die, adding water stimulates rot that travels rapidly through the tissues. The result is a soft, brown gooey thing where once a succulent grew.
The water system Succulents need drainage. In short, you can’t plant them in any container that lacks a drain hole. That means that most aren’t good terrarium candidates despite their popularity in these glass-enclosed environments that have little to no opportunity for
moisture evaporation. Sure, a layer of pebbles inside an undrained container can help keep the root zone drier, but when this reservoir becomes full, then what? While in theory the pebbles should work, this inevitably becomes an ugly bacterial soup of pathogens that love to attack succulents.
Let them breathe Succulents need oxygen. If you study most cactuses and other succulents in habitat, they tend to grow in extremely porous soils that are more like sand or gravel compared to typical ground. Often they’re found in dry stream and lakebeds of southern Africa where the soil is so coarse no other plant can survive there. The gaps between soil particles should never fill with water because it replaces oxygen to create anaerobic conditions. This is not uncommon when the wrong potting soils are used for succulent plants. It also occurs when drainage holes are too small or clog with organic matter. Succulents are easy, but don’t fall for decorator ideas that aren’t rooted in plant science. Give them the right home with a root zone, well-drained soil and long periods between watering. Do it right and your plants will grow and bloom as nature intended. Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at www.MoPlants.com. Contact her at
[email protected] or P.O. Box 891, Morongo Valley, CA 92256.
DECORATING TIP
Color trends Green may have taken over the nation in its eco-friendly form, but the color green is still going strong. Pair a green glass tile backsplash and cabinetry with stainless-steel appliances and hardware. While brown has been the favorite goto shade during the past few years, its fellow neutral, gray, is starting to take center stage. — Scripps Howard News Service Your succulents won’t reach these larger sizes without a well-drained, sizable root zone.
GARDEN GUIDE
Bring your flowers inside Cutting gardens, which were a normal part of Victorian gardens, are made up of a variety of annuals and perennials, both flowering and foliage, that can be used in flower arrangements. Today, they can fill the need for fresh-cut flowers, either for the home or to offer as a gift. Most cutting flowers grow best in a fullsun location. Just about any type of annual, perennial, and some woody shrubs can be cut and brought indoors. — University of Illinois Extension
SHNS PHOTO COURTESY MAUREEN GILMER
Keeping your home safe while you travel Leaving home for the summer? If so, here’s how to prepare and protect your place so you can enjoy your travels and rest peacefully all summer without worrying that something went wrong at home. Here are some suggestions. ■ Bring in any outside furniture, especially anything that has cloth on it, because the fabric is susceptible to mold. The constant heat will damage plastic or wood furniture if you leave it outside all summer. ■ Non-refrigerated foods should be placed in airtight containers so bugs don’t think your house is a
ROSEMARY SADEZ FRIEDMANN
free-for-all buffet. Clean out your refrigerator. Condiments and water will survive in the fridge, but not much else. Empty the ice tray and turn off the automatic icemaker. If you intend to turn the refrigerator off, leave the doors open for circulation. If you intend on leaving the refrigerator on, then fill it with water bottles because
Replace the batteries in fire alarms, automatic watering systems and any other battery-operated items, such as thermostats and security systems. it will use less energy full than empty. ■ If you have propane tanks in the garage, get rid of them, because they are flammable. Any other combustible chemicals in the garage should also be removed. ■ Replace the batteries in fire alarms, automatic watering systems and any
other battery-operated items, such as thermostats and security systems. Turn the water heater off. Leave all the doors inside the house open for circulation. Unplug any appliances, computers and entertainment units to prevent damage in the event of an electrical storm. ■ It is wise to close all the drapes so the heat stays out. Hire a trustworthy company to maintain the yard and pool. Houseplants need care, so if you have any, put them outside by the sprinkling system or give them away before you leave. ■ Be sure to notify the local authorities that you
will be leaving for the summer so they can keep an eye on the place. If you have a trustworthy neighbor, you might leave him/her a key in case of an emergency. If you can afford it, hire a company to stop by every couple of weeks to check the premises to be sure all is well inside and out. Have a wonderful summer. Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of “Mystery of Color.” For design inquiries, write to Rosemary at
[email protected]. Scripps Howard News Service