----- Original Message -----

From: K J Gray

To: Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 2:55 PM

Subject: Re: [Sansevierias] cleaning plants

on 8/31/04 4:56 PM, Joe Flaherty at joeflaherty <at> usa.net wrote:

Speakjing of cleaning up plants, Is there anything you can use on sans to
clean hardwater yuch off the leaves? Some of my Walmart buys are streaky, and
not in a good way.

joe flaherty
Have you tried just wiping with a soft cloth and water? I find a lot of whitish marks come off a lot of leaves that way, If the stains are really minerals from hard water, I've heard ordinary household vinegar mentioned as a possible cleaning agent on leaves.  Haven't actually tried it myself, but it sounds like it ought to work. Maybe start on one leaf that's already in not so great shape just to be safe. If there is a lot of mineral buildup, you might have to wipe a leaf off a few times to get it all, but it should work on a hard surfaced leaf like so many Sans have.

Then there are those descaling liquids you can get to clean coffee pots and humidifiers. I sure haven't tried any on plants, but I've certainly gotten it on my fingers numerous times when using it for the intended purpose and it only stings in an open cut, certainly no worse than vineger does.  Possibly one of them might be worth a try too, perhaps diluted a bit and then wiped off right away with fresh water?  Just tossing out ideas here. Good luck.

Karen

To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com




To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

At 04:09 PM 8/31/04, Norma Lewis wrote:

Mine don't get that stuff on them, but you can use a little viniagar in the water and a Q bud.  I have also use milk. Work gently.  I used this mentod before I showed a Sansevieria.  Sorry Joe I didn't even bother to read your post below.  I shoud have noticed and read it first.   Read the label on the coffee pot stuff before using it, and try it on a plant that you don't care if it gets damaged further,  and let us know how all the suggestions work.  Norma

i have suspended plants upside down in a mild  solution of dishwashing liquid for a short time, and given them a forcible spraying, in bright dry days, so they did not have water left in the crowns. But i am a VIOLENT WOMAN. our water makes stalactites on the emitters of the watering system. Milk will make the thin white crust coating transparent, at least for a while. i have on some huge Euphorbias, things like white crust high tide marks.

it is possible i no longer see these marks, i know that there are large white crusty scabs around the drainholes of all of our pots. i have to chisel this stuff off the inside of the toilet and use harsh chemicals around the faucets, wherever i can get away with it, i use pumice stones on it, but, i would not do any of this to a plant, of course.

How do the bromeliad people manage, or do they use other than hard tapwater in the vase of the plant?

hermine


To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

----- Original Message -----

From: Joe Flaherty

To: Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 5:09 PM

Subject: Re: [Sansevierias] Re: cleaning plants

I'm not sure what the commercial growers watered them with, but the stuff they
had them planted in was blech. Yuch. Maybe it's mineral deposits and
fertilizer crud from them.

I'll try water first then viniger, and I'm not sure abvout the CLR or lime
away.... I'll report back later.

I remember wiping leaves with milk in the old days!

joe



"dale_sans_sans" <laforestd <at> hotmail.com> wrote:

Yah . .  inquiring minds want to know. <g>  Our water is hard here in
S,Calif too, so long ago I learned not to water the leaves. I either
use a watering can with a spout or a tray (not with Sans).
Dale

--- In Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com, Joe Flaherty <joeflaherty <at> u...>
wrote:
> Speakjing of cleaning up plants, Is there anything you can use on
sans to
> clean hardwater yuch off the leaves? Some of my Walmart buys are
streaky, and
> not in a good way.
>
> joe flaherty







To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com




To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

----- Original Message -----

From: hermine

To: Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com ; Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 5:06 PM

Subject: Re: [Sansevierias] cleaning plants

At 04:09 PM 8/31/04, Norma Lewis wrote:

Mine don't get that stuff on them, but you can use a little viniagar in the water and a Q bud.  I have also use milk. Work gently.  I used this mentod before I showed a Sansevieria.  Sorry Joe I didn't even bother to read your post below.  I shoud have noticed and read it first.   Read the label on the coffee pot stuff before using it, and try it on a plant that you don't care if it gets damaged further,  and let us know how all the suggestions work.  Norma

i have suspended plants upside down in a mild  solution of dishwashing liquid for a short time, and given them a forcible spraying, in bright dry days, so they did not have water left in the crowns. But i am a VIOLENT WOMAN. our water makes stalactites on the emitters of the watering system. Milk will make the thin white crust coating transparent, at least for a while. i have on some huge Euphorbias, things like white crust high tide marks.

it is possible i no longer see these marks, i know that there are large white crusty scabs around the drainholes of all of our pots. i have to chisel this stuff off the inside of the toilet and use harsh chemicals around the faucets, wherever i can get away with it, i use pumice stones on it, but, i would not do any of this to a plant, of course.

How do the bromeliad people manage, or do they use other than hard tapwater in the vase of the plant?

hermine


To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com




To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

----- Original Message -----

From: Joe Flaherty

To: Sansevierias <at> yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 5:20 PM

Subject: Re: [Sansevierias] cleaning plants

I don't think I've ever had this trouble with bromeliads. It just was raised
rough. Probably sprinkled with unpotable water and potted in muck.

In Brom-l land we clean by laying them side ways and spraying a jet in the
tank. Then taking a soft tooth brush to anything that isn't suppossed to be
there. Lemon joy in water if there are bugs to get rid of.

I try really hard not to bring in frogs if I'm soaking them in the sink.
But sometimes they hide deep in the vase and I only find them later on a
kitchen counter looking greenly at me.

joe


hermine <hermine <at> endangeredspecies.com> wrote:

At 04:09 PM 8/31/04, Norma Lewis wrote:

>Mine don't get that stuff on them, but you can use a little viniagar in
>the water and a Q bud.  I have also use milk. Work gently.  I used this
>mentod before I showed a Sansevieria.  Sorry Joe I didn't even bother to
>read your post below.  I shoud have noticed and read it first.   Read the
>label on the coffee pot stuff before using it, and try it on a plant that
>you don't care if it gets damaged further,  and let us know how all the
>suggestions work.  Norma


i have suspended plants upside down in a mild  solution of dishwashing
liquid for a short time, and given them a forcible spraying, in bright dry
days, so they did not have water left in the crowns. But i am a VIOLENT
WOMAN. our water makes stalactites on the emitters of the watering system.
Milk will make the thin white crust coating transparent, at least for a
while. i have on some huge Euphorbias, things like white crust high tide
marks.

it is possible i no longer see these marks, i know that there are large
white crusty scabs around the drainholes of all of our pots. i have to
chisel this stuff off the inside of the toilet and use harsh chemicals
around the faucets, wherever i can get away with it, i use pumice stones on
it, but, i would not do any of this to a plant, of course.

How do the bromeliad people manage, or do they use other than hard tapwater
in the vase of the plant?

hermine






To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com




To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

on 8/31/04 8:27 PM, Norma Lewis at crasulady2 <at> adelphia.net wrote:

Growers usually use peat moss, which packs down when dry, and is hard to get wet again.  This also holds water for shipping , so they don't dry out until they reach the stores,  the stores personal are really not trained on how to take care of them once they arrive, nor could care less.  Most don't know anything about plants and can't be bothered to learn.  I wish you much luck with your new plant and it will reward you with the love and care that you give it.   They may have put in crystals to hold the moisture.  I clean my clay pots off with WD- 40 and a stiff brush,  of course I take the plant out first.   
snip

Ugh,, wd40 for pot cleaning.  I put mine in the dishwasher after I scrape off the worst of the crud.  Then again, I haven't nearly as many of the darn things as I suspect you do!

Doesn't anyone use coir instead of peat?  Eventually there won't be any more peat, and coir seems to be an ideal substitute, and it doesn't repel water even after prolonged drying.  I know there were problems with coir when it was first introduced, but I believe most of the old stockpiles that varied in quality have been used up, so that most of what gets shipped now is pretty good.  Certainly I've had good luck with the few brands I've been able to get my hands on.  I believe a number of commerical nurseries down south are using it now, as it does not have to be removed from roots like soil does to conform with various import rules.  Holds water well, drains well too. And it's sooooo much easier to work with than dry peat, because it wets so easily. Just me being curious.

Thanks Russ for the ID on my new Sans. I'll try to get a pic one of these days.

Karen

To Post a message, send it to:   Sansevierias <at> eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> eGroups.com



Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sansevierias/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Sansevierias-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.