reviving the succulents

one of my new “at home” resolutions is to be a better plant keeper. in the past two years, allison & i have brought a lot of little plants into our home–especially succulents (and many from trader joe’s, because we were charmed by their cute & colorful pots). we’ve only lost a few, but thanks to chronic pests and overdoses of sun/water, most of the survivors have been living at about 60%.

so in an attempt to save the succulents, i spent a long, messy morning last week cleaning and pruning and, in the end, cutting them up for parts. (check out this intro to propagating succulents for more step-by-steps.) currently, all the plant bits are drying on my windowsill. now i have to buy some rooting hormone (sounds a little scary) and special potting soil to get the new little plants started.

and to battle future pest attacks, i’m thinking of trying neem oil or food grade diatomaceous earth–or maybe a special plant spray from whole foods? not really sure about this. let me know if you have any ideas!

hopefully in a few weeks, our indoor plant colony will start growing again, and with some ongoing TLC, i can keep them thriving at 100%. fingers crossed…

listening to: somewhere over the rainbow by israel kamakawiwo’ole (listen)

:: image from lillieinthecity / flickr