Window plants in winter

[BobVance]

Today is a great day to be indoors, with the nice sunbeams coming through the windows and 30F highs outside. So here’s a few pics of the plants I’m growing in various South facing windows.

I started this pineapple from the scraps of a pineapple I ate several years ago. It is finally producing, though I have no idea if it will ripen indoors. Or even how to tell that it is ripe. Maybe when the color changes…

This is the first time I’ve tried growing sweet potatoes indoors. I had a couple SP which were getting some big eyes and decided to try planing them in pots.

I didn’t even know that sweet potatoes could flower. So far, only the one in my office (which stays 5-10 degrees warmer than the ones in the other room) has any flowers.

I brought in a few figs which didn’t finish ripening outside. But, like usual, I did it too late and most of them were already going dormant and dropped their leaves. This Strawberry Verte still has a few leaves and is slowly ripening the fruit.

I had the first one a bit over a week ago and it was among the best figs I’ve had, which surprised me, given the growing conditions.

This pepper was dug up just before the first hard frost and plopped into a pot, mostly keeping the native soil. The one that I bare-rooted and put into potting soil died, so I guess the transplant was more traumatic, than having soil as a potting medium (not something normally recommended…).

Hot peppers aren’t something I would ever eat, but my wife brought the plant home from Chinatown for me to grow. Turns out that it is too hot for her as well. She can only use 1-2 of them for an entire batch of soup. At that rate, the amount I was able to dry could last for decades.

Not exactly a fruit or veggie, but this Aloe plant has grown pretty large. I should probably re-pot it soon, before it starts tipping over…

Here’s a Bryant Park fig which I recently rooted and transplanted. I’ve found the BP very tasty from the one I have in a pot, so I decided to make some copies that I could put in-ground (knowing they may not make it). Of everything pictured here, this is the only one not in a South window (it is West, but I may move it back and forth a bit).

Not everything is good with keeping plants indoors. I’ve had some small flies, probably both fruit flies and fungas gnats. I’ve started up electric bug zappers in a couple of the rooms. Here’s the results after about 24 hours.

[Poncho65]

All those look great @BobVance ! My wife and I have several plants inside. Mostly flowering types like African violets, some orchids and some aloe vera and succulents. I need to bring some edibles in and see how they do, as you have

We also tried a pineapple once and it died on us before rooting

[disc4tw]

Bob I am envious of the amount of brightly lit indoor window spaces you have available! Your plants seem to love it! I brought our pineapple guava inside in time this year (last year I left it out for one too many cold nights and it lost all of its leaves). I am hoping it will keep them into spring 2021 and produce some fruit next year.

[BobVance]

@Poncho65

We also tried a pineapple once and it died on us before rooting

It was enough years ago that I don’t remember exactly how I did it. But, I’m pretty sure it involved cutting the top off (maybe 1/2" plus the leafy part) and putting it into some sort of grow medium.

@disc4tw

Bob I am envious of the amount of brightly lit indoor window spaces you have available!

It is better than nothing, but I’m envious of those with greenhouses…

@disc4tw

Your plants seem to love it!

Nah- they get by during the winter, but most haven’t been all that productive. To really grow things well, you either need greenhouse or grow lights. Though I could probably do a better job of regular waterings (about weekly) and fertilization (rarely).

I’ve tried to grow fruit indoors during the winter, and have never gotten more than a few strawberries, blackberries, or figs. Even potatoes were quite non-productive. So, now it is mostly just puttering around. Though I would like to see the fig cuttings grow well so that I can plant them in the late spring.

I actually eliminated a few big potted plants this fall when bringing things inside. 2 of them were seedling citrus with big 4" thorns, which never produced, despite getting pretty big.

@disc4tw

last year I left it out for one too many cold nights and it lost all of its leaves). I am hoping it will keep them into spring 2021 and produce some fruit next year.

I’ve never grown guava, but as long as you water enough (and not too much) you’ve probably got a good chance to keep the leaves. From the picture, I can’t see how much window it has…If there isn’t much, maybe setup a few LED bulbs on it?

[elivings1]

I grew peppers inside as well. I found even the sugar rush cream to be almost too hot for me despite others saying it was a bit more mild. Some people have just built up a tolerance to that kind of stuff. I plan to grow some mandarin inside. I got a Owari mandarin on flying dragon rootstock so it should be ultra dwarfed. I also bought some gold nugget mandarin that should get 8-12 feet so it may require some pruning. Hoping just a random window will work as I hate how light my grow light is. Growing inside is so nice though because you get fruit when nothing else is fruiting and you can grow tropical species that would not grow otherwise in your area. Here in zone 5 citrus would be impossible to grow here regularly.

[IL847]

I have lots of potted indoor plants , citrus, mango, papaya, loquat … and orchids, seasonal flowers. I felt I need more windows, turn all the wall into windows would be perfect LoL.

[warmwxrules]

Do it in the heat of the summer. Just pop off the top, trim it some and put it in some sand. I had mine take easily that way. Keep the sand moist?wet and then repot once it starts growing. They grow quickly in the heat/humidity. I remember a S Florida grower saying down there you just put the top in the ground and in a couple of years you have a pineapple. I have 2 going from this past summer in the house.

[warmwxrules]

What citrus are those? I have some baby limes on my small tree that are growing, but they tiny still. I think they bloomed 2 months ago?

I have a kitchen full of plants. The hardest thing is to keep them watered. Not too much, but not too little. I have more issue with plants drying out.

[IL847]

I have Lemon, Budashand, and kumquat(in the picture). Keep plants alive is the hardest thing in winter. My Budashand keeps dropping leaves

[Poncho65]

I will try that this coming summer Thanks!

[swincher]

@Poncho65

We also tried a pineapple once and it died on us before rooting

They almost always sprout new pups when I stick the tops in the soil of my lizard terrarium (as food for the various bugs and snails living in there with the lizard). I thoroughly mist the terrarium about once a week and have an LED grow bulb on that side where I stick stuff like pineapple tops. Sometimes it takes a few months to sprout, and even does so after all the leaves look dead, but haven’t had one fail yet. I also haven’t grown one to the point of flowering yet! (killed a few planting them outside in Seattle, though)

Both of these were sprouted that way, and the pups emerged from further down the stalk, not the center, which appeared to have been intentionally damaged by the growers or packers. The second one is ready to be removed and placed in its own pot, but I’ve been putting it off.

I’m guessing patience, bright light, and consistent moisture would be enough to coax most pineapple tops to sprout pups, even when they start looking pretty dead.

[Poncho65]

Great to hear! I will for sure try again but we don’t buy pineapples that often. That first pic looks great. My in-laws have one that they have had for a while and let it outside for a while and thought it had died but brought it in and it started to sprout back out.

[poncirusguy]

window citrus with lights add