How to Maintain Grocery Store Tender Plants
This time of year you may be purchasing azalea, hydrangea, or cyclamen plants. Or maybe you’re receiving them as gifts. I recently bought a kalanchoe plant, which sits on my dining room table. (Sometimes I’ll move it over by the kitchen sink.)
It’s bright and cheery, and … well … for next week, it’s GREEN for St. Patty’s Day!
I love to buy plants at the Grocery Outlet and give them away. They are inexpensive, yet you can find some beautiful ones.
These plants are tender, and unless you live in a warmer climate (I do not), they are best preserved if you keep them inside.
Here’s a few ideas where you can place them in your house:
-Kitchen windowsill
-Table or counter
-Living room or entry way
-Even a lighted bathroom
-Dining room table.
For me, early plants in the house are inspiration to what’s ahead … the upcoming garden season. Which I cannot wait for. :)
Do you live in a warmer or cooler climate, and what is your favorite way to display a tender plant in your home?
(Here’s an informative site that shows how to care for a kalanchoe plant, if you happen to pick one up at the grocery store this week.)
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I have a big bay window and it’s perfect for the grocery store plants. Once they’ve adjusted, they generally do well when planted outdoors, if they are made to take the heat.
i love to get plants from the grocery rather than the nursery. i figure if they can live in the grocery store and the lack of attention the grocery clerks give them, they will flourish if they go live with someone who will give them some attention!
My favorite way to enjoy a grocery store plant is to put it in the powder room, that we use all the time, right next to the sink. Whenever we wash our hands in that bathroom, we get to enjoy it and if we have guests in they think I’ve “spruced” it up just for them!!
Carol
Lovely! I received one of these as a hostess gift over the weekend, in PINK. Super cheerful. Thanks for the growing tips! Also over the moon excited for gardening this year, looking forward to a milder growing season than 2011. xoxo
my green thumb is brown. I was given a gorgeous peace lily last week and my husband promptly stuck it in the ground outside – i was so sad. I was like – WHY??? and he just looked at me and said quietly, ‘to give it a fighting chance, Sheri’. Sad, but true.
Hi Sandy
One of my favorite things, especially at this time of year, is to buy a potted plant at the grocery store. Usually they will bloom for a few weeks before going into dormancy – this is when most people get disheartened and let them die. If you cut back the blooms, keep it watered and given enough light, many of these plants (like African violets, kalanchoe and even orchids) will rebloom. Best to keep bulbs to plant in the garden in the fall – just dump out the soil, shake the bulbs off and keep them in a cool plac over the summer (like a basement closet or cold storage).
This time of year I love bringing plants into our home. Our weather has been quite the tease this year. It was almost 80 the other day prior to the terrible storms that rolled through, then dropped to the 40s-50s again. Things are already blooming outdoors, but are threatened by the change in weather. I love to display plants in similar ways to you, especially by the kitchen sink as that is where I spend a lot of time.