Plants at the Horseheads Free Library – Part 1

Pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets.

With this pandemic many people started hobbies to keep sanity and joy in a scary and uncertain world. Plants and learning about propagating plants became my new obsession.

First lesson in gardening is knowing your four directions, North, South, East and West. South facing windows give full sun, hot and warm, great for succulents. East windows are partial sun. They get the early morning hours of sun, but then shady in afternoons. West windows are the opposite. Partial light all morning then late afternoon gets the bright waning sun. North windows are the least to get light.

Horseheads Library has the perfect examples of the windows needed to grow amazing plants. Now if we could find an amazing gardener. Guess we will have to settle for me.

This blog post will be in multiple parts. First entry will be the plants that live in the East window and then moving to the South, West and indirect light windows, along with updates on plants progress.

Feel free to come visit the library and talk to the plants. Or to the keeper of these plants.

EAST Facing Window Plants

East Window

Propagations in water: The ‘wait and see’ what happens!

Hoya UmbrellaHoya Carnosa clipping—3/31/2021
These clippings came from the West Elmira Library. Originally this plant is native to Eastern Asia and Australia. Most widely known as the porcelain flower or wax plant. (pictured)

Umbrella Plant clipping—2/28/2021
These clippings are from the Steele Memorial Library. Originally the dwarf umbrella plant is native to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Known for flourishing with neglect, perfect!

Pothos

Bamboo clipping—4/19/2021
This very small clipping came off a bamboo shoot that was at my house and decided to turn yellow and die, but did have this small baby. We will see if it survives the trauma.

Propagation in water: I’m trying to kill you but you won’t die.

Pothos—3/5/2021
Testing the theory of this un-killable plant. I’ve put it in dirt, didn’t like that. I’ve put it in water, don’t think it likes that either. Attempts will continue until it either grows roots and becomes a super plant or dies. (pictured)
Bonsai
Starting from Seed: No hope for this.

Bonsai—4/1/2021
Came from a kit, says it takes months to sprout. (pictured)

Pea? Bush bean? Dragon bean?—4/8/2021
Probably should have labeled the pots…The seeds came from the Steele Memorial Library Seed Lending program. They are sprouting and doing well.

Four Seedlings
Sun Flowers?
—4/8/2021?
These will eventually go outside, so they can remain mysterious, for now.

Hoya Carnosa (just some Leaves in dirt): — 3/31/2021
Will this work? Who Knows? If Nature wants it to, then it will. If not, I will toss this experiment and re-use the tiny pots.

Plant Selfie

That completes the tour for now…Until I go to the plant store and find something new to take care of. Next post we will meet the south facing plants. They are the stars of the building.

Amanda Zell
Senior Library Clerk / Keeper of plants
Horseheads Library