acque Janssen, arts/features editor
University Daily Kansan / Thursday. April 14. 1986
or as
Leisure
11
Thumbing it green
Brighten indoors with blossoms Grow grub in close quarters
By Rebecca J. Cisek
ansan staff writer
The redbud trees, tulips and ilias blooming on Jayhawk Boulevard and all over Lawrence can provide a cheerful contrast to the dull interior of many residence hall rooms and apartments.
But students can bring the springtime atmosphere of the outdoors into their temporary homes and make it ast if they buy the right plants.
A remedy for the stale air of a room is a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. But students should think twice about the traditional purchase of red roses.
Sylvia Lawton, manager of University Floral, 2103 W. 28th St. Terrace, laid roses were the most fragile and expensive flowers. Tulips and irises also last only a short time.
Hardy substitutes for these flowers are daisies, daisy mums, carnations and heather.
The alstroemeria lily is a hardy, pretty new flower, Lawton said. It is available in a variety of colors, is suitable for formal or informal purposes and can be teamed with daisies in a bouquet.
This spring flower has a wonderful
environment that will fill a room. Lawn
[pnl.gov]
For students who care as much about the smell of a flower as the appearance, the freesia is a good choice.
The flower also will last a long time because of a series of blooms along the stem that open from the bottom of the stem to the top. The freesia is available in colors including bright yellow, white and lavender.
Cut flowers need special care. Mary Shepard, assistant manager of
Lawrence Floral and, gifts 939 Massachusetts St., said that the first thing students needed for their cut flowers was a vase. It can be as simple as an empty beer bottle, but it should be cleaned thoroughly.
To help cut flowers last longer, one should recut them at a slant under water and then immediately place them in warm water. The pores of flowers seal themselves in seconds out of water. Shepard said. Placing the flower on a flat surface covers the water to the head of the flower and perks up sagging buds.
If students change the water of cut flowers regularly, fragile flowers such as roses can last as long as a week, Shepard said.
Students who don't want their investment given a temporary
Lawton recommended the kalanchoe, a member of the cactus family, for offices and residence hall rooms. The plant has star-shaped blossoms the size of a person's little fingernail.
Pruning after the plant blooms will provide more blossoms later.
In addition to being beautiful, the kalanchoe is easy to care for. Lawton said it didn't require much water. And because the plant stores water in the leaves, it doesn't have to worry if they leave the kalanchoe for a weekend or even a week.
Betty Dougan, owner of Floral Fantasies, 826 Iowa St., recommended the African violet, a blooming plant, because it is long lasting. But it needs regular watering from the bottom of the pot.
Difffenbachias are tall, stalky plants with green and white leaves. They come in several varieties. Philodendrons have pointed leaves that may be green, gold, or green and white. Both plants require little light and should be watered about once a week.
Three green plants that make good additions to rooms are diffenbachias, philodendrons and cacti.
Cacti also make good additions to rooms, Dougan said, but care must be taken needed to avoid overwatering them.
Students whose rooms lack direct sunlight should consider plans that need only a little light, Shepard said. The peace lily, mother-in-law's tongue and shefflera are all low-light potted plants.
To make sure that plants actually brighten the room and don't become a nuisance, preventive maintenance is necessary.
Using an indoor plant spray every two to three weeks should keep away dust and pesticides.
Dougan said that students should monitor the light that plants receive and be sure not to place plants near a furnace or television.
Through watering on a bright day is especially important, Shepard said.
Excess water should be drained off plants after 15 minutes, she said. Otherwise, plants become susceptible to root rot. Overwatering can also attract a cloud of gnats that hover over the plants.
Students who want to avoid all the hassle of real flowers but still enjoy the beauty they can provide have yet another option.
If good light isn't available and a student doesn't have a green thumb, he should try silk flowers, Shepard said.
By Rebecca J. Cisek
Residence hall life and apartment living doesn't have to mean eating a lot of fast food or even the less-than-fresh produce that grocery stores sometimes sell.
Kansan staff writer
With a little time, creativity and space, students can be eating their own home-grown vegetables.
But before running out and buying a carload of plants, students should consider several factors.
Marcia Henry, owner of Henry's Plant Farm, Rt. 1, Lecompont, said that vegetable plants first needed a good light source. The container is
also vital. It should be at least the size of a 12-inch pot, although a whiskey barrel is preferable for tomatoes. The container also should have adequate holes for water drainage.
A third factor is the soil. Regular gardening soil works well but should be mixed with peat moss or sand to loosen the soil.
limited space grew herbs in stadium cups, styrofoam cups or something similar.
Chives, parsley and cilantro are three herbs students can grow in a window sill that usually won't be available as fresh in a store.
Daryl Webb, garden center manager of Pence Garden Center and Greenhouse, 15th and New York streets, said that most people with
In terms of fresh vegetables, Webb said, there are many miniature or bush varieties of plants that can be grown in small containers or large pots.
The Patio Pik tomato is an example. It grows in a bush about two feet high and produces tomatoes that are larger than the tomatoes but smaller than regular tomatoes.
Another tomato variety is the Sweet 100, grown in hanging baskets. The plant produces sweet cherry tomatoes similar to groups similar to bunches of groups.
Henry said that a tomato variety designed especially for the indoors was the Red Robin, which grows to a height of 10 inches.
When buying tomato plants, however, students should consider their growth habits, she said. Some variate sizes of tomato plants sizes while others have maximum size.
Green onions also can be grown in containers on window sills. Carrots grown in coffee cans are about 10 inches tall. Carrots made of carrots from stores, Webb said.
The Better Bush or President varieties grow to a height of two to three feet.
Students can even grow watermelons. The Sugar Baby variety is about the size of a basketball and fits nicely in a refrigerator.
Almost all vegetables come in bush varieties. Henry said
For foods that grow on vines, such
as cantaloupes and cucumbers, students might try vertical gardening.
The vines can be trained to grow up a trellis placed in a five gallon pickle bucket.
Any vegetable except for corn can be grown in a limited space, Webb said.
"The only limitations are imagination and creativity." Webb said
But the vegetables won't appear without care and work.
Henry said that all vegetables were susceptible to frost and shouldn't be placed outside until May 1. Plants need as much light as possible, and regular plant food or fertilizer also helps.
The limited amount of gardening that students are able to do even has its advantages for the health of plants.
"One great advantage of container gardening is that it's not susceptible to the kinds of disease that it would suffer from," she said. "Shoulder to shoulder." Webb said.
Since container plants are not close to other plants, controlling the spread of pests and diseases is easier. The earlier diseases and pests are treated, the easier they are to control, he said.
Henry said that tomatoes often were bothered by worms and that cucumbers could be damaged by beetles or squash bugs.
Most pests could be controlled with a spray available at garden stores, she said.
If all goes well, students can expect vegetables 75 to 80 days from the date of planting.
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