skip to main | skip to sidebar

Mini Manor Blog

    Tuesday, September 14, 2010

    Bath Time. . . . . . for the plants

    Once every couple months I like to give all the plant leaves in the house a quick wipe down. Get all the dust off!
    Instead of wiping each leaf with a damp cloth, which can be very time consuming :) We like to give them a bath.


    Dusty plant leaves are very bad for the plant! Dust clogs the plants pores and makes it hard for them to breathe. We like clean air and I would imagine it's hard for a dusty plant to clean the air.

    It couldn't be any easier, we plop the plant in the tub, turn the shower head to some gentle setting (this part is important, you don't want to blast the poor dusty thing), and rinse the plant off. A side bonus is that the plant will love the humidity (if it's a plant that loves humidity, hehe).


    Then we let him dry out in the tub for a couple hours before we take him back to his home.
    Most plants should have a good shower once a season (so like every 3 months) but Larry the Lemon Tree is in the kitchen and with all the added contaminants flying around we wash him once a month :) He also grows cobwebs, I don't know what that's all about, I should probably look that up.

      . . . . . .okay looked it up, eeeeewwwwww it's spider mites, but luckily the shower should have gotten rid of them. Also misting the plant should keep them away. If not, the site suggested to mist with alcohol, leave overnight and give a shower the next morning. Now the only question is, would Larry the Lemon Tree like a gin and tonic or vodka martini (with a lemon twist of coarse) . . . .  just kidding.



    As a recap here are some of the other air cleaning accessories we have around the house: 



    Our Button Fern Terrarium:

    And our Bonsai Tree:

     

     
    Posted by Maillardville Manor at 6:29 AM
    Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
    Labels: Green

    11 comments:

    1. UnknownSeptember 14, 2010 at 6:36 AM

      Great idea! What a lovely place you have.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    2. MelissaSeptember 14, 2010 at 8:51 AM

      What a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing it!

      Many Blessings,
      Melissa

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    3. momentumSeptember 14, 2010 at 9:14 AM

      Just wanted to say I love your blog. I just recently found it through another (maybe the Lettered Cottage...I can't remember). Anyway, looking at and reading your blog gives me this feeling of peace. I would so love to be organized and clutter free as your place is...but I have such a hard time. I get overwhelmed by all there is to do. It doesn't help that I'm a tad OCD and ADD!! :-)

      I can do it, right!?! Well, I'll keep checking in and thanks for the inspiration!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    4. LilPeach (aka Laura)September 14, 2010 at 11:18 AM

      Just a little note about your bonsai: My dad has done bonsai as a hobby for as long as I remember (he's now 85) and there are a lot of "rules" for successfully keeping a bonsai.
      1. It should be kept outdoors year round and moved to a sheltered outdoor spot if the temperature goes below freezing.
      2. It should be repotted annually with a root trim to keep it small.
      3. It should also be pruned and trained on a regular basis as well.

      Getting a good book on bonsai might be helpful to you. There are several out there and probably a few blogs on the subject as well.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    5. brockeySeptember 14, 2010 at 3:56 PM

      Love you helpful hints. Where did you get that gorgeous pillow on sofa ?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    6. UnknownSeptember 14, 2010 at 6:30 PM

      If Larry the Lemon doesn't like the cocktail, I suggest "Safers brand Insecticidal Soap" Although I know it's not the greenest solution, it sure worked on my lemons spider mite problem...

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    7. Maillardville ManorSeptember 14, 2010 at 8:41 PM

      Thanks for all the fabulous feedback!! I will definitely look up some blogs about bonsai keeping. We are lucky we bought our little guy from a specialty bonsai store and they provide you with free re-potting and trimming for life, but we will be moving farther away so I'll be needing to learn :)

      Brockey- Surprisingly, those are the pillows that came with the couch :) I was shocked! Usually the pillows that come with couches are ugly but this time I was pleasantly surprised!

      and thanks so much Sharon for the info. I'll let you know how it goes with the Lemon Cocktail (haha)
      But I'm not against using an insecticidal soap, I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the Info. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if the alcohol didn't work.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    8. JessiSeptember 15, 2010 at 7:37 AM

      I love reading your blog every day! We have so much in common. I'm sure if we lived closer (I live in southern US) that we would be great friends! Keep up the good work.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    9. hgermerSeptember 15, 2010 at 8:49 AM

      Love the idea! Put it to use yesterday in fact, sooo much easier than dusting hundreds of skinny palm leaves!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    10. Maillardville ManorSeptember 15, 2010 at 9:21 AM

      Thanks Jessi, I'm sure we would be too, Deep down I have the heart of a southern girl :)

      hgermer- I'm so glad it worked for you! Soooo much easier then wiping them down leaf by leaf, especially a skinny palm tree.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    11. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:29 AM

      I love your blog, I think you have a great way of describing how you get things done in your neck of the woods. I also love the green approach to your daily lives, and the fact that your better half is a participant as well. I shared the story of the recycled glasses with my daughter and it was an instant "OMG we do that all the time", we identified with the reuse, recycle. We will be giving a try to some container planting this year, we figure out that if we are going to have plants might as well be something we can eat. Thank you for the advice on containers and we wish you and your family a healthy and safe spring and summer.

      The girls from Dallas, TX.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
        Reply
    Add comment
    Load more...

    Home
    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

    LinkWithin

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
    Advertise with IZEA Media

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner



    stacey ann
    ~ ~ ~ ~ Open Floor Plan ~ ~ ~ ~
    For more Orthopaedic Mattresses
    ~~~~~Visit this website~~~~

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


    Cutlery Tray for Jewelry!
    I LOVE Jewelry, real jewelry, costume jewelry, all of it . . . almost as much as I love shoes! I have a small jewelry box for my "re...
    Homemade Cleaners: Green Cleaning Recipes
    Since we started making our own Laundry Soap it only seemed natural to start making our own cleaners too. Not only for the natural aspect o...
    Bookcase Tutorial
    I LOVE built ins. I Can't afford Built-ins. But, I do have a husband and he's willing to work for food :) Here's how we turned ...
    Billy Bookcase all trimmed out!
    I love to read and as soon as you enter our home you can tell. The first thing you see on our main floor is all of my books. We use Ikea Bi...
    Slow Cooker Asian Garlic Chicken
           Since the arrival of Hudson in our lives . . . I have been cooking with either the phone (i.e. takeout) or the slow cooker. :) I thin...
    Also Featured Here!

    Promotional Codes

    • Shop Top Brands
      • Murad Coupons
      • Aliexpress
      • Pottery Barn Coupon Code
      • etnies Online Coupons
      • Famous Footwear

    • ►  2014 (7)
      • March (7)
    • ►  2013 (99)
      • December (1)
      • November (2)
      • October (6)
      • August (4)
      • July (5)
      • June (9)
      • May (14)
      • April (19)
      • March (13)
      • February (13)
      • January (13)
    • ►  2012 (215)
      • December (14)
      • November (13)
      • October (18)
      • September (16)
      • August (17)
      • July (20)
      • June (20)
      • May (20)
      • April (18)
      • March (21)
      • February (19)
      • January (19)
    • ►  2011 (229)
      • December (11)
      • November (16)
      • October (18)
      • September (18)
      • August (22)
      • July (23)
      • June (16)
      • May (20)
      • April (20)
      • March (29)
      • February (19)
      • January (17)
    • ▼  2010 (155)
      • December (17)
      • November (8)
      • October (13)
      • September (27)
      • August (24)
      • July (26)
      • June (40)

     

    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Fish
    • Vegetarian
    • Dessert
    • Kitchen
    • Living
    • Office
    • Bedroom
    • Bathroom
    • Laundry
    • Garage
    • Flowers
    • Lawn
    • Vegetables
    • Valentine's
    • St. Patrick's
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • New Year's