Nomenclature & Container Gardening

Nomenclature:

Although common names are generally easier to remember, scientific names are unique to each plant. A large reason for knowing the scientific name for a plant is that there are often numerous common names for the same plant as well as common names that are used for multiple plants. Black-eyed Susan—Rudbeckia hirta & Thunbergia alata. Dusty Miller—Centaurea cineraria, Senecio cineraria, Senecio vira-vira & Lychnis coronaria. Spanish broom–Genista hispanica (tidy 2-ft shrub) & Spartium junceum (6-10-ft weedy shrub that can run wild). Heuchera is most commonly called coral bells, but can also be known as alum root.

Names can be regional as well as only used in one family.

In one book I referred to, there were 42 plants with the genus Eucalyptus. How many lilies are there? What lilies do you know of? Would you want a calla lily, if you were looking for a day lily? They are very different plants.

Names are usually derived from Latin, but can also come from Greek, or names of people. They are all Latinized. Genus names are usually nouns and species names are usually adjectives.

If you know the meanings of these words, you may be able to know something about the plant and be able to remember its name better. For example: Lilac, Syringa vulgaris–Syringa is from the Greek word syrinx meaning ‘a pipe’. This refers to its hollow stems. And vulgaris refers to it being common.

Colors:

albus-white
cearuleus-dark blue
luteus-yellow
purpureus-purple

Leaf Form:

angustifolius-narrow
parvifolius-small
acerifolius-maplelike

Plant Shape:

altus-tall
arboreus-treelike
compactus-compact, dense
repens-creeping

Origin:

campestris-of the fields or plains
chinensis-of China
montanus-of the mountains
Then, just to make it tricky, botanists change the names of plants once in a while to place them in the groups that they believe they now belong.

The Genus name is always capitalized and the species name is always lowercase and both should be italicized or underlined, since they are a foreign language.



Container Gardening: Indoor and Outdoor

Any container can be used to garden outdoors. The soil should be replaced every year, so that the nutrient levels can be higher. Many times the plants used in them, are treated as annuals and replaced as well.


Choosing a container—This is mostly your own choice, although plants grown in clay pots with generally need more water than those in plastic containers, since water can be absorbed and lost through the clay.

Drainage—Probably the single most important quality a container should have (indoor or out) is excellent drainage. If you like a container that has no drainage holes you can either cut some, or use it with the plant potted in another pot that does have drainage holes inside it.

Selecting plants—Just select for your tastes and make sure you have enough light for the plants that you choose. There are some that need next to no light and could thrive in a closet for most of their lives. Others need quite a bit of light or they will stretch or wither.

Light levels—-Just because it seems light to you, does not mean there is enough light for the plants

Artificial lighting—Halogen, florescent, incandescent–Florescent lights are the best for growing plants indoors–cooler; it gives off the right kind of light (more closely approximates sunlight)

Watering—Poor watering is responsible for killing more houseplants than anything else. Water when the soil 1 inch from the top is dry but not powdery.

Acclimatizing plants—House plants are grown in a high light environment to maximize growth. When you buy them, they have most likely been recently removed from that or they are at least in a really low light store. When you take them home you must easy them into your conditions so that they don’t go into shock.

Soilless media—Don’t use garden soil. It won’t have enough drainage capability for a plant grown indoors.

Air circulation—If plants grown indoors don’t have enough air circulation, there will be problems with fungal growth

Humidity issues—Plants require more humidity than we have in our homes here in Utah, especially in the winter with the heaters running. If you can have a humidifier in the home, your plants, and you, will be much healthier.

Filtering air—House plants can remove pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, Formaldehyde, and benzene.

Repotting—Only repot when a plant is healthy. If you repot when it is doing poorly, you may put it into shock and cause more problems than the plant had in the first place.