Ficus pumila Cuttings & Calathea Flower

I love Ficus pumila. They have nice dense foliage which grows very quickly with little care. The only problem is that you can never let them dry out. I learned this the hard way with the first plant I purchased after forgetting to water once. It was in an extremely small pot and I should have transplanted it immediately after getting it. Instead I left it in the pot and took some cuttings. Within two weeks it was dead. It doesn't seem these plants ever recover from drying out.

Fortunately the cuttings survived. It seems I still hadn't learned my lesson. All the cuttings rooted and resumed with growth but within another two weeks I'd let two more dry out (in those little peat pockets). I immediately put the remaining three in a plastic container filled with water. They'll stay there until I find room for a permanent home. I'd recommend you always do this with the cuttings and put mature plants in a pot with a self-watering reservoir. If you're prone to letting plants dry out, this is NOT the plant for you.

My Calathea roseopicta 'Medallion' has sent up several flower spikes over the last few weeks. Nothing spectacular but interesting nonetheless.