Combo Chef: Hip houseplant mix

Rita Randolph, owner of Randolph’s Greenhouses in Jackson, Tenn., is wild about mixed containers. She fashions exceptional designs effortlessly. She created the hip houseplant mix with Sansevieria trifasciata, rex begonia and button fern.

S. trifasciata grows best at 70°F-90°F. Do not allow temperatures to drop below 40°F. Keep light intensities between 1,000-6,000 footcandles. Overhead irrigation should be applied early in the day so foliage will dry quickly, which discourages Fusarium leaf spot.

Potted greenhouse-grown sansevieria should receive the equivalent of 1.7 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per month from a 3-1-2 or 2-1-2 ratio fertilizer. Maintain a growing medium pH of 5.5-7.5.

Rex begonia grows best in an acidic, well-drained mix.

Maximum day temperatures should be 90°F with minimum night temperatures of 60°F. Maintain light levels between 2,200-2,500 footcandles.

Feed with 100 ppm nitrogen from a 3-2-1 or 2-1-2 fertilizer. Begonias require constant moisture but do not keep the medium saturated.

Pellaea rotundifolia (button fern) requires filtered shade. Maintain temperatures of 60°F-82°F. Use a well-drained medium with peat and maintain a pH of 5.8-6.4.

Keep moist, but not saturated, and feed with 100 ppm nitrogen.

For more: Randolph’s Greenhouses, (731) 422-2768; www.randolphsgreenhouses.com.

- Kelli Rodda

Recipe

a. Sansevieria trifasciata

b. Rex begonia

c. Pellaea rotundifolia

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August 2008