Coffee Time! #9 Plants, Part 1.

Hello everyone! Well, we are quickly getting towards the end of February and it is finally beginning to get a bit milder. By the weekend we should be back to normal temperatures, and maybe even a bit above freezing, which would mean above normal temperatures. I don’t mind that. February usually does give us a few days of milder temperatures.

Although, checking through 35 years of records, if those mild temperatures arrive later in the month, like this year, about 75% of the time it will mean a late spring. That is not a good thought. But, that still leaves room for an early spring. I will admit, these long winters can be hard on a person. I speak from personal experience on that. It seems the older I get, the more long winters affect me.

One of my African violets.

And not being able to feed the birds in winter made it a lot worse too. I’m not complaining though, really I’m not. Just chattering. I have found something to help though. Plants. This apartment is nice and bright since it faces south with a nice large living room window. That is great for sun loving plants, or plants that like a bright room, but not direct sunshine.

A couple of my geraniums, they are thriving quite nicely now.

So, it’s easy to place the plants where they like it the best. And for plants that do well with less light, there is always the bedroom. So, I have purchased some new plants over the winter, adding to the ones I already had. Plus, a friend of mine who works in this apartment building, gave me a cutting from her hoya plant. It is now starting to grow, pushing out new leaves!

I had one of these years ago, but it died on me one time when I moved to an apartment with very little natural light. However, it might also have died of old age, since that variety usually lives about 25 years and mine was 22 years old. They have beautiful waxy flowers, giving it the common name of wax plant. The flowers also have a wonderful scent, which is strongest at night. I love that scent.

One of my calathea plants.

But, I will have to wait quite a while before mine is mature enough to produce flowers. Generally that time is 3 to 5 years. They are a vine type of plant and mine had one branch that was 45 feet long. It also had a branch that was 32 feet long, plus a couple of shorter branches. I have 3 different calathea plants now. They have amazingly patterned leaves and they will get flowers too.

A new plant that I just added is called peperomia and it too has nicely colored patterns on it’s leaves. Several of my geraniums died on me this winter, due to some kind of bug infestation. But four managed to survive and are thriving, with three of them blooming now. Two of my African violets are also blooming.

And my newest addition, a peperomia.

I have other plants as well. They give lots of nice greenery for a long, dull winter, and that brings lots of cheerfulness which is important, especially if a person, like me, that doesn’t get out much in winter. I will give some care tips for plants another time. Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2025 Steve McLeod.