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| gardener JANUARY IN THE GARDEN
n Trouble could be brewing with your houseplants. Watch for the appearance of such common pests as mealy bugs, whiteflies and spider mites, which can become active in the balmy, cozy conditions of a winter home.
BY L.A. JACKSON
n If you are looking to partake in some brisk exercise on a chilly morning, go out and turn your compost pile over. Also, enlist the able assistance of the sun to add extra heat to the heap—which will speed up decomposition—by covering the pile with a sheet of clear plastic.
VARIEGATED VARIETY The Spek‑tacular cultivar of
TIP OF THE MONTH Your winter garden doesn’t have to be a dull, barren place. Believe it or not, there are many ornamental plants that save their flower festivals for the coldest times of the year. Hellebores, pansies, winter daphne, sweetbox, edgeworthia, wintersweet, camellia, winter honeysuckle and witch hazel are prime examples of beautiful bloomers that light up in the chilled landscape. Since this month into early spring is their usual time to shine, consider stopping by your local friendly garden centers to see some of these cold-season beauties in full flaunt.
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cast iron plant will have you seeing spots before (Aspidistra sp.) is a poster child for truth in advertising. your eyes. A favorite houseplant since the dimly (plantdelights.com) and Nurseries lit parlor days of Victorian England in Caroliniana (nurcar.com) have many the 1800s, it is a toughie that can grow tempting possibilities. in almost any conditions indoors. With the cast iron plant being so Not much is needed to keep a cast easy to grow indoors, many gardeners iron plant happy. Keeping it out of think of it as simply a reliable housedirect sunlight and watering when the upper inch of soil feels dry to the touch plant, which it can be, of course, but are about all that is required, although there are several selections that will adding a diluted fertilizer solution every readily adapt to the great outdoors. A few months will encourage better leaf good chunk of these are cultivars from production. Repotting is the common species seldom necessary—this Aspidistra elatior, which There are many has been found to be slow-growing plant will variegated cultivars reliably hardy in South usually do just fine in Carolina landscapes. a midsize, 8- to 10-inch delightfully Dry areas in shade diameter pot. sprinkled, sprayed, or dappled sunlight If there is any knock ideal growing spots against the cast iron smeared or swiped are outside, while soggy, plant, it would be that it is green. Just plain in contrasting hues. constantly wet sites or locations in full sun green. Ho-hum green. Or so it would seem. Actually, there are just won’t do. Cast iron plant leaves can turn brown if they are exposed to arid, many variegated cultivars delightfully below-freezing winds in the winter, but sprinkled, sprayed, smeared or swiped a spring snipping of any desiccated vegin contrasting hues ranging from pale white to golden yellow. etation will quickly remove such ugliFor gardeners who like to see spots ness and even encourage a flush of new before their eyes, popular selections like foliage growth. Spek-tacular, Leopard, Milky Way and So, cast iron plants can be dependGolden Freckles will provide the right able additions to any gardener’s green twinkle, while lovers of streaked leaves world, either inside or out, but, as a can enjoy pretty picks such as Variegata, bonus, the many beautiful variegated Snow Cap, Gold Lancer and Lennon’s forms show that such reliability can also Song. be served with a side order of sassy! Quality local nurseries will probably offer some variegated cast iron plants, L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of and for online shopping from regional Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact sources, both Plant Delights Nursery him at lajackson1@gmail.com. THE CAST IRON PLANT
L . A . JAC KSO N
The beautiful hellebore is just one of many flowering plants that can light up the winter garden.
L . A . JAC KSO N
The case for cast iron plant
SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JANUARY 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP
