The Plant Room's Jungle Journal: A Journal into Plant Life

Ficus is a diverse genus of indoor plants cherished for their lush foliage and air-purifying qualities. Ficus plants have always been popular choices for indoor décor, adding a touch of nature to homes and offices alike. In this guide, we'll explore the dos and don'ts of caring for Ficus plants in our unique climate. Proper Watering: Finding the Balance Ficus plants thrive when their watering routine strikes a balance between moisture and allowing the soil to dry slightly between waterings. Our climate demands careful attention to watering. My general advice is to allow potted ficus to gently dry out 50-75% before waterings, using a wooden chopstick or dowel to check the moisture level.  Use a well-draining potting mix to prevent waterlogging and root rot.  I have seen many ficus be accidentally underwatered that is because potted ficus tend to have a fairly dense root ball. This makes it hard to get a thorough and even watering. To avoid this I recommend aerating the soil, us...

Introduction to Alocasia: Alocasia plants, commonly known as Elephant's Ears, are a stunning genus of rhizomatous or tuberous tropical foliage plants belonging to the Araceae family. Native to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, they are loved for their large, often textured leaves and unique patterns. There are about 90 accepted Alocasia varieties many of which are in constant rotation around the shop!  Caring for Alocasia in Denver: Proper Watering: Alocasia prefer consistently moist soil, that is never waterlogged. Water thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry, during the growing season. Usually in the fall and winter I prefer to let them GENTLY dry out throughout the entire pot. When in doubt, a good rule is to allow the plant to dry out at least 50% of the way. Like I always say, more often than not, too dry is preferable to too wet.  Use room temperature water and thoroughly water the soil directly, avoiding the leaves to prevent fungal issues. Using cold wa...

Winter Care for Plants in Colorado  Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash  One of the questions I receive from people most often lately is, "how do I care for my plants in the winter?" I decided that this was a good first topic to get the blog started! The information I am going to share with you here is based on my personal experience and research over the years.  Why is plant care more difficult in the fall/winter months?  I am not going to fully disagree with the fact that taking care of plants in the winter can be a bit challenging, but I am going to say that I think the problem is often times blown out of proportion. The main challenges in Colorado come from shorter days which leads to less light, colder temperatures, and even less humidity than we normally deal with.  First, it is important to address the topic of dormancy in house plants. In simple terms think of dormancy in house plants as being equivalent to an animal's hibernation season. This is a time of...

My plant story Hey there! My name is Victor and I am the owner of The Plant Room. We are a small Denver, CO based latinx plant shop. My love and appreciation for plants began when I was a child as I grew up in a house surrounded by them. My mom, to his day has the most amazing way with plants and I spent my childhood watching her resuscitate plants that she found in the trash, or half dead ones that people gave to her at work. I was always fascinated by my mother's ability to bring things that I was sure were dead back to life. To this day some of those second life plants still hang around her house.  My mom saw my childhood interest and began to share what she knew with me. She instilled in me that most plants could easily be taken care of if you started with and focused on the basics: water, soil, light, feeding. Of course, taking care of plants can be a very intense, time consuming, and sometimes expensive process but it doesn't have to necessarily be. The main thing my mom ...