reviving the succulents

one of my new "at home" resolutions is to be a better plant keeper. in the past two years, allison & i have brought a lot of little plants into our home--especially succulents (and many from trader joe's, because we were charmed by their cute & colorful pots). we've only lost a few, but thanks to chronic pests and overdoses of sun/water, most of the survivors have been living at about 60%.

so in an attempt to save the succulents, i spent a long, messy morning last week cleaning and pruning and, in the end, cutting them up for parts. (check out this intro to propagating succulents for more step-by-steps.) currently, all the plant bits are drying on my windowsill. now i have to buy some rooting hormone (sounds a little scary) and special potting soil to get the new little plants started.

and to battle future pest attacks, i'm thinking of trying neem oil or food grade diatomaceous earth--or maybe a special plant spray from whole foods? not really sure about this. let me know if you have any ideas!

hopefully in a few weeks, our indoor plant colony will start growing again, and with some ongoing TLC, i can keep them thriving at 100%. fingers crossed...

listening to: somewhere over the rainbow by israel kamakawiwo'ole (listen)

:: image from lillieinthecity / flickr