LADYBUG: IT'S TIME GARDENERS TURN ATTENTION INSIDE

House plant season has arrived.

When the leaves have turned color and the air gets nippy, everyone turns their attention indoors. Many outdoor plants will flourish indoors during the fall and winter months if proper care is provided them for growing conditions.

All plants that have summered outside need proper grooming and careful inspection before returning inside. One needs to be ruthless with the shears to give them a good haircut before they begin their long winter voyage of inside.

It is most difficult to decide which plants go inside and which will be left to the elements. Each year I promise there will be fewer to care for inside, but when the time comes it is so difficult to choose what more come inside than should. If a plant is looking sad or is too old, the best course is to thank it for its years of service and give it the old "heave-ho", but it is a difficult decision, sort of like leaving some children behind when going on a trip.

Sometimes a plant has sentimental value, such as the coral geraniums that have been toted back and forth these past five years, just because they belonged to a dear friend. Starting new ones is not a problem, but for some reason those that belonged to her are special.

Food, water and light, as well as some chopping, aren't always enough to make plants happy inside. Plants, like people, respond in growth to their food intake. Some food is obtained from air and water, while other food is obtained from the soil.

Just because information on fertilizing suggests occasionally adding a small amount of soluble fertilizer to water does not mean a double dose will be better.

A puny plant may mean too much soluable fertilizer salts are in the soil. These salts come from potassium, calcium, ammonium nitrate, sulphates and chlorides that make up soluable fertilizer. All plant need these minerals to grow. However, when concentrations get too high the plant roots are injured and cannot absorb enough water for normal growth.

Excessive fertilizing, which may lead to the accumulation of fertilizer elements, may cause tip burn of the leaf, a condition when tip ends of the leaves become brown and die.

Often plants drop leaves simply because the leaf is suffering from old age or the plant is so full that some particular leaves are not getting sufficient light. It does not always indicate a sick plant.

During wintertime, most homes have a relative humidity which is about the same as the Mohave Desert. Since most of our house plants come originally from humid climates, the low humidity can be most destructive to plants. It causes buds to drop and tips to turn brown. To make a growing area more humid, one can group plants together on a tray containing sphagnum moss or pebbles. A room humidifier will also help, and some are fortunate to have a central furnace humidifier.

Flowering New Guinea impatiens, Red Riding Hood mandevilla, begonias, bougainvillea, bridal wreath and ferns are now hanging in our garden room. How could this be when repeatedly the Ladybug has stated there were no hanging baskets outside this summer? Have you ever heard the adage, "If you do not cultivate flowers, cultivate friends who do." Friends who could not take hanging baskets inside have been generous.

Holiday cacti, both Thanksgiving and Christmas, are setting buds at this time. These plants have an internal clock that is set to produce blooms when the temperature and day length reach the correct combination. Plants that have night temperatures of 55 degrees or below, will form buds regardless of day length. If night temperatures remain 70 or over, the cacti might not bloom at all.

These plants do require a well drained, porous soil. It seems they grow and flower best when a little root bound. They also resent being moved about during this critical time of setting buds. Allow the plant to dry out thoroughly between waterings. Once the buds have formed water more generously.

Failure to bloom can also result from too hot location, exposure to artificial light in the evening or too much moisture. These plants are easily propagated by leaf cuttings.

Food, water, light, moisture, and a little chopin' here and there, will help make house plants happy and productive inside this winter.