Caring for your gerbera
Gerberas are also referred to as African daisy, Transvaal daisy or Barbeton daisy and are named after Traugott Gerber, a German doctor who collected plants on the Danish peninsula.
Just follow the simple care guidelines for a happy, healthy plant.
Simple care instructions
You should treat your gerbera rather liked a long-lived bouquet or as you would an annual outdoor plant, as it will only live for one season.
Gerberas enjoy a brightly lit position with some direct sun and should be kept moist at all times using warm water. Do not alow the plant become waterlooged. Mist leaves occasionally and feed once a week during flowering.
Your gerbera can be placed outside in temperatures above 10°C.
Caring for your germini heart basket
Position
Keep in a well lit position but avoid draughts and direct sunlight.
Flowering period
Your rose will flower for approximately three weeks before needing to be pruned back. Your gerbera will also flower for 3 weeks. You can place it outside if temperatures are over 10°C.
Watering
Keep moist at all times but do not over water. Remove any dead flowers and foliage to allow new growth. After flowering, the roses and ivy can be planted outdoors but the roses will need protection from frost.
Please note: Ivy is harmful if eaten and may cause skin allergies. Handle with care and use gloves if preferred.
Keep upright at all times. Protect all surfaces to prevent scratching or staining.
Caring for your herbs
With a little care and attention, these herbs will grow well and make a lovely display in the half-watering can.
Watering and feeding
You’ll need to keep a close eye on how damp your herbs are. Plants in containers dry out faster than those in the ground. It’s tempting to soak them but as the half-watering can has no drainage holes, you might cause a build-up of water and kill the roots. Little and often is best.
Herbs taste better if they grow quite slowly so there’s no need to fertilise them as often as you would other flowers or houseplants in pots.
Summer herb care
Pinch out some of the new leaves – this will keep the herbs dense and bushy, stopping them from growing too tall and straggly. Adding a layer of mulch at least 3 inches deep will help to prevent excess water loss and make it harder for weeds to grow near your herbs. Keep an eye to make sure the soil doesn’t get too dry in the warm weather. If you want to prune your herbs to keep them in shape, spring or summer is the time to do it.
Winter herb care
It’s really important not to leave your herbs standing in water all winter so make sure not to over water. You might like to make holes in the bottom of the can if you’re worried about the roots rotting in wet soil. Let the herbs rest in winter – don’t feed or prune them at this time of year.
Caring for your house plants
Our special selection of house plants are all easy to care for. There’s a variegated fittonia, commonly known as the nerve plant, an African violet and a Phalaenopsis orchid. See johnlewis.com for more detailed guidance on caring for your orchid.
Position
All 3 plants will enjoy a sunny windowsill but do be careful in the summer months. Both the fittonia and African violet will prefer to be kept out of midday and afternoon sun and the orchid may develop red spots on its foliage if it gets too much light.
The fittonia will be happy with artificial light from, say, a reading lamp but make sure it gets at least 6 hours a day.
Temperature and ventilation
These plants will grow best if you keep the temperature within 15-23°C. Warmer than this and they’ll go spindly and their flowers won’t last as long so try to keep them away from hot – and cold – drafts and heating appliances.
Most homes have more than enough fresh air to keep plants happy but remember to guard against any fumes from gas appliances or furnaces. Tobacco smoke is really damaging to orchids.
Watering
If possible, use rainwater to water your houseplants – the orchid will especially appreciate this. Tap water will do though.
Your fittonia prefers to dry out slightly between each watering. You’ll need to water every 5 days or so, taking care to check that any excess water is tipped away and not left sitting in the bottom of the pot. Give it an all-purpose plant feed once a fortnight.
Your African violet also needs to dry out between waterings. Stick your finger into the top inch of soil and only water if it feels dry. Don’t ever water from above the plant because water droplets can cause dead spots on the leaves. The best method is to add a layer of fine shingle or gravel to the bottom of the outer ceramic pot, cover it with water and then put the plastic pot back inside. Leave it for 2 or 3 hours – longer may damage the roots – and then pour away any water that’s left.
Your orchid will need watering anything from every 5 days to 2 weeks, depending on the season. Again, let it dry out a little between waterings. In summer, give it an orchid feed every fourth watering.
Humidity
Most plants prefer a higher humidity than that of the average home. If your heating system has a humidifier, make sure it’s kept full of water. Your fittonia and orchid will both enjoy being misted with water, especially during the summer months. Just sprinkling water isn’t effective as it will evaporate too quickly.
Avoiding pests
If you take good care of your plants, they’re less likely to suffer with pests. Remember to keep the pots clear of dead leaves and so on – these can harbour pests. If your plants do become infested, use an insect spray. Before you use it all over, though, test it on a tiny area to make sure it’s not too strong or harmful to the plant.
Caring for your hydrangea
Native to southern and eastern Asia, there are many different kinds of hydrangea. Yours has been grown in a glasshouse for you to use as an indoor plant at first before planting it outside.
Indoor care
Your hydrangea will prefer a south-facing window sill or other bright spot. Water the plant ‘little but often’ – it prefers moist compost but as the container it’s in doesn’t have drainage holes, you’ll need to be careful not to give it too much.
Avoid feeding it when it’s flowering – this shortens the life of the flowers. When the flower heads turn dark green, carefully snip them off.
Planting outside
Once your hydrangea has finished flowering indoors, it’s time to plant it outside. It’s best to position it against or near north- or west-facing walls to protect it from bright sunlight. They don’t like cold winds so try to choose a sheltered spot.
Leave the old flowers and leaves on your plant during winter – don’t worry if some drop or look scruffy, they’re doing the important job of protecting the new growth.
To keep your hydrangea in good shape for years to come, prune in spring. Remove about a third of the older stems and cut back the old flowering stems to the point where there’s a strong, new, emerging bud on either side.
Caring for your lavender
Strongly scented with an instantly recognisable fragrance, lavender makes a great landscape plant. Its name comes from the Latin ‘lavare’ which means ‘to wash’ – the Romans would’ve used it to scent their bath water.
Outdoor care
This lavender is best grown in a warm position, sheltered from cold winds and frost. It’s not completely hardy but will survive well in a sunny corner, against a warm wall or as a container plant that can be brought under cover in winter.
Lavender hates dampness. It needs to be planted with space around it for good air flow even in humid conditions. And in winter, it doesn’t like to have wet roots. If you’re planting your lavender in an area that tends to freeze and thaw throughout winter, try putting down a layer of bark or gravel on top of the compost to protect the plant.
Pruning
This kind of lavender grows strongly in the spring and summer but needs a good prune to stop it getting straggly. You can either prune it back after it has flowered or give it a heavier prune by cutting at least one third of its height in late summer or early autumn. It’s fine to prune in spring, too, though this will delay flowering.
If your lavender seems to die back in winter, delay pruning until you can see some fresh new growth coming from the base.
Caring for your Miltonia orchid
Native to South America, your Miltonia orchid will reward a little care and attention with lots of beautiful, pansy-like flowers.
We send our orchids when they are still in bud to prevent petals being damaged in transit. The buds will develop and open gradually. You can expect the orchid to be in full bloom within a couple of weeks of arrival.
Temperatures
Night temperatures of 16-18°C and day temperatures of 18-24°C are ideal. In winter, try to keep the temperature above 14°C – water less if this is not possible – and in summer, aim for below 27°C. Any higher and the plant might not flower.
Position
Miltonias have small, fragile foliage so give them good ventilation so air can get between the leaves. They enjoy bright winter sunlight but in summer, you might need to move your plant to a north-facing windowsill or shield it with a net curtain. If you let it have too much direct summer sun, you’ll see red pigmentation developing on the leaves.
Make sure you keep your orchid away from tobacco smoke. If you smoke near it, you put it at risk of the tobacco mosaic virus which will damage it, stopping it from flowering.
Watering and feeding
Miltonia orchids grow throughout the year and appreciate regular watering. Once a week in winter and twice a week in summer should be fine. Drench the plant in the morning to give it chance to dry out by the evening. If you let your plant get too dry, you’ll see accordion-like pleating on the leaves.
In summer, try to remember to give it a specialist orchid feed every other time you water.
Humidity
The Miltonia responds well to humid conditions so mist it once a week in winter and daily in summer.
Flowering
Controlling the temperature is the best way to encourage flowering. Try to make sure there’s a 10°C difference between day and night temperatures and that the average temperature over a 24-hour period is 18-24°C.
Dividing
When orchid lovers see their plant flowering, they often try to divide it into two smaller plants, getting another plant from the original. Please don’t attempt this until your orchid has grown to full size. When re-potting or planting an orchid, use a specialist compost, usually bark-based, from a garden centre.
Avoiding pests
If you take good care of your orchid, it’s less likely to suffer with pests. Remember to keep the pot clear of dead leaves and so on – these can harbour pests. If your orchid does become infested, use an insect spray. Before you use it all over, though, test it on a tiny area to make sure it’s not too strong or harmful to your orchid.
Looking forward
What you should do after the flowers drop depends on how healthy your orchid is looking. If the leaves are thick and green – not wrinkled or droopy – cut the old flower stem just below where the lowest flower was. Usually, a new flowering branch will develop from this point.
If your plant has thin, wilted leaves or they’re less than 4? in length, it’s best to cut the flower stem off at the bottom so the plant doesn’t weaken itself by flowering again straight away. Water and feed your plant to prepare it for flowering on a new stem.
Caring for your outside arch window box
Position
Place in a well lit position but avoid harsh winds and direct sunlight, if possible.
Watering
Keep moist at all times but do not over water. Remove any dead flowers and foliage as this will allow the new growth. With protection from the worst of the frost, your window box should last through the winter.
Caring for your peace lily
The peace lily, or spathiphyllum, is a clump-growing herbaceous perennial which produces white or green-white spathes during the warmer months. It’s perfect as an indoor house plant because it can cope with low light conditions and also absorbs chemicals in the air released by paint, cleaning fluids, varnishes, cigarette smoke and even car fumes.
Remember to keep pets and children away from this plant – it’s one of many poisonous houseplants.
Position
The peace lily thrives pretty much anywhere but keep it within 1.5 to 2.4m of a window, out of direct sun, for best results. If the leaves begin to yellow, it’s probably getting too much light so move it somewhere a little darker.
As peace lilies are a tropical plant, they prefer a warm environment. Daytime temperatures between 20 and 30°C plus night-time temperatures between 14 and 23°C are ideal. Try to keep your plant away from cold drafts and bear in mind that if the room temperature falls below 4°C, your peace lily might die.
Watering
Your peace lily will need lots of water but it also needs to dry out slightly between waterings. It’s best to let your plant tell you when to water – its leaves will droop very slightly. This drooping between waterings is not harmful to the plant. As long as you water as soon as you notice it happening, the foliage will spring back up. If you let it get too dry, some leaves might turn yellow and will need to be removed.
If your peace lily is in a bright and warm position, it might show a droop in its foliage late in the day even if its compost is moist. If this keeps happening, some of the leaves might develop brown tips or edges so move your plant to a more protected or cooler area. It’s also important to remember to feed it with a normal houseplant feed once a month.
Humidity
Peace lilies are fond of highly humid conditions so they’re a great plant to keep in the bathroom. They appreciate a daily misting except for on cold, dark days. If it’s especially hot and sunny, up to three sprays a day will go down well – it really helps to stop the leaf tips drying out.
Avoiding pests
Taking good care of your peace lily will mean it’s less likely to suffer from pests. Following the guidance above is important, as is keeping the pot free of dead leaves and debris. Wipe the leaves – upper and lower sides – from time to time with a damp cloth to help the plant breathe and remove spider mites, mealy bugs and scale.
Looking ahead
You’ll need to re-pot your plant every 2 to 3 years. Spring is the best time of year to do this. Use a high quality commercial soil blend to ensure good drainage.
Caring for your Phalaenopsis orchid
Many people think orchids are difficult to look after but this isn’t really the case. Your orchid, a Phalaenopsis orchid, will thank you for a little care and attention with fabulous displays of exotic blooms.
We send our orchids when they are still in bud to prevent petals being damaged in transit. The buds will develop and open gradually. You can expect the orchid to be in full bloom within a couple of weeks of arrival.
Position
Orchids like to have enough light but be careful not to leave yours in the window for too long when the sun is out. If you notice the green leaves are fading, move your plant to a more shaded area before it starts to develop dark spots.
Make sure you keep your orchid away from tobacco smoke. If you smoke near it, you put it at risk of the tobacco mosaic virus which will damage it, stopping it from flowering.
Watering and feeding
This species of orchid prefers to be left to dry between each watering. In general, you’ll need to water anything from every 5 days to every fortnight, depending on the time of year. Never let its pot get waterlogged.
During the summer, try to remember to give your plant an orchid feed with every fourth watering.
Avoiding pests
If you take good care of your orchid, it’s less likely to suffer with pests. Remember to keep the pot clear of dead leaves and so on – these can harbour pests. If your orchid does become infested, use an insect spray. Before you use it all over, though, test it on a tiny area to make sure it’s not too strong or harmful to your orchid.
Flowering
No flowers? If your orchid looks healthy but doesn’t seem to want to flower, it might need more light. Move your orchid to direct light but not in one step – let it sit for a while in a slightly lighter area, then move it to another, even lighter area. Making the transition gradually helps your orchid to cope with the change.
Controlling the temperature can speed up the flowering process. Dropping the temperature by 10°C at night and taking it back up in the daytime will help.
Dividing
When orchid lovers see their plant flowering, they often try to divide it into two smaller plants, getting another plant from the original. Please don’t attempt this until your orchid has grown to full size. When re-potting or planting an orchid, use a specialist compost, usually bark-based, from a garden centre.
After flowering
What you should do after the flowers drop depends on how healthy your orchid is looking. If the leaves are thick and green – not wrinkled or droopy – cut the old flower stem just below where the lowest flower was. Usually, a new flowering branch will develop from this point.
If your plant has thin, wilted leaves or they’re less than 4? in length, it’s best to cut the flower stem off at the bottom so the plant doesn’t weaken itself by flowering again straight away. Water and feed your plant to prepare it for flowering on a new stem. This might take up to a year. Phalaenopsis, like most orchids, grows quite slowly.
Caring for your pink planter
Position
Keep in a well lit position but avoid draughts and direct sunlight, if possible.
Flowering period
Your roses will flower for approximately three weeks before they require pruning back. Your cyclamen will flower during the autumn and winter before going into dormancy in preparation for next year’s colourful display. Protect your heather from the coldest winds and frosts.
Watering
Keep moist at all times but do not over water. Remove any dead flowers and foliage as this will allow new growth. After flowering, the roses, heather and cyclamen can be planted outdoors but the rose plants will need protection from frost.
Please note: Keep upright at all times. Protect all surfaces to prevent scratching or staining.
Caring for your rose plant
For just a little care and attention, your rose plant will reward you with lots of beautiful flowers in spring and summer.
Planting
We’ll deliver your rose bush in a container but please plant it outside as soon as you can. You might need to keep it in if the ground is waterlogged but as soon as the danger of frost has passed, it’s time to plant out.
Make a hole that’s slightly larger than the size of the container, giving the roots space to spread out evenly. If they look at all dry, immerse the roots in a bucket of water for an hour before planting.
Make up a mixture that’s half peat, half soil and add a couple of handfuls of bone meal. Put this all around the roots and firm it in by treading around the plant. If you have any well-rotted farm manure, add a layer over the firm soil. Then sprinkle a loose layer of soil over the top.
When you’ve finished, the point where the rootstock has been grafted onto the main stem should be level with or just below the surface of the soil.
Watering and feeding
For the first fortnight after planting, try to water your rose every day to help it settle in. After that, keep an eye on it and don’t ever let it get too dry.
Professional rose gardens are fed four times a year, with bone meal in October and January and Vitax Q4 in April and June. A healthy, well-fed plant is less likely to become diseased so it makes sense to do this.
Spraying
To protect your plant, you’ll need to treat it as soon as the leaves are well formed – usually at the end of April or so – with a multiple spray to combat black spot, mildew and rust. Be sure to spray the top and the undersides of the leaves.
Deadheading
Throughout the summer season, use secateurs to snip off dead flowers at the second leaf break below the flower.
Pruning
Make sure you cut out dead wood and any spindly shoots from the bush. Invest in some high quality secateurs – roses need the snips you make to be clean and tidy. Make sloping cuts, angled downwards towards you. Wipe the secateurs with methylated spirits between varieties if possible.
Caring for your stephanotis
Stephanotis has white, waxy flowers with a rich scent that will spread throughout the house. It smells quite like jasmine – hence its nickname ‘Madagascar jasmine’ – but it actually belongs to the milkweed family. It’s a traditional choice for a bridal bouquet, partly for its gorgeous scent and partly because it’s thought to be a symbol of marital happiness.
Position and temperature
Stephanotis thrives in bright but indirect light and prefers temperatures between 16 and 28°C.
Watering and feeding
The best way to tell if your stephanotis needs watering is to push your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle. If it feels dry, it’s time. Make sure any excess runs out of the drainage holes – stephanotis doesn’t like to sit in water. You’ll get to know how often to water – it could be anything from once a week to once a fortnight. They prefer rainwater or mineral water. Stephanotis comes from the tropics and enjoys humidity, responding well to occasional misting.
During the growing season, feed your stephanotis with a fertiliser suitable for tropical plants. Reduce or stop feeding in the flowering season to make the flowers last longer.
Resting
If your stephanotis is to flower each year, you need to give your plant a rest from October to February. Try to keep the temperature nearer to 16 than 28°C at this time and don’t worry if some of the larger, tender shoots die down.
Pruning
Prune back soft wood in spring to encourage flowering. This is also a good time to remove dead or damaged stems, straighten up any tangles in the branches and give them a helping hand to twine the right way. Stephanotis always needs a support to grow on. Eventually, you might need to replace the one we send with the plant with a larger one – never do this in the flowering season as it’s very easy to knock buds off.
Caring for your vine
The UK is on the northern edge of the area in which vines can successfully be grown. The climate is fine for them, though they tend to fare better in the more southerly counties. If the weather is dry and warm enough at flowering – from late June to July – you should get grapes that year. The grapes also need plenty of light to ripen well.
Positioning
Growing your vine in a pot is a good idea because you can move it to control the temperatures the plant is exposed to. Put the pot outside when the grapes are dormant to chill the vines to stimulate flower growth. In very cold weather, protect the pots with fleece or sacking. As the flowers develop, move the pots inside to keep them warm while the fruit ripens.
If you prefer, you can plant your vine outside. Choose an open area with good drainage that’s sheltered from frost but not shaded by plants or buildings. Individual vines grow well against a house wall or along a fence or trellis.
Traditionally, vines were planted outside a greenhouse and the main stem trained through a hole low down in the greenhouse when the plant is still young. There are good examples of this at Hampton Court, London and West Dean Gardens, West Sussex.
Re-potting
If you’re growing your vine in a container, you’ll need to re-pot it in a larger pot every year, up to a maximum diameter of 30 – 45cm. Use a loam-based growing medium and make sure you leave a good gap between the top of the soil and the top of the pot for watering.
Pruning
Good pruning is essential if you want a good grape harvest. The Royal Horticultural Society has a detailed guide.
Grape disorders
Powdery mildew or oidium is the most common problem in the UK. It can affect the fruit just before harvesting, giving them a faint grey ‘dusty’ appearance.
Caring for your winter-to-spring basket
Position
Place in a well lit position but avoid harsh winds and direct sunlight, if possible.
Watering
Keep moist at all times but do not over water. Remove any dead flowers and foliage as this will allow the new bulb growth to break through.
Please note: Ivy is harmful if eaten and may cause skin allergies. Handle with care and use gloves if preferred.