A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Mother in law tongue has bloomed & still is

Wow I'm sooo excited as I has previously posted I never seen this I've waited since I first saw it begin to grow and it got taller and taller but no blooms .. Today Finally!! And it does indeed smell sweet!!


close up!!

VERY cool flowers!!!

i didn't know those produced flowers!!

Yes, those flowers have the nicest scent don't they? Not overpowering, just mmmmmm nice!

wow - I didn't know they flowered either!
My dad has several of these houseplants now for about 45 years, and they have never flowered!

Didnt know they flowered! What a beauty!!!

Only flower under stresses aka potbound is when I have seen one flower. At least this has been my observation.

It flowers only in summer,but mine have not flowered for me.It was mentioned being pot bound would help(yeah....I learned that AFTER I up-sized from a qt to a 3 gallon pot)
Angel,I have one just like that.Have you noticed sometimes that a leaf started does not have the yellow stripe on the new shoot?I don't know if its just missing the stripe or will gain it as it ages.

and its posionous& is deadly posionous to cats.

No I had never noticed the young start But I will keep an eye out for that,, I'll give it a look see and see if I do have any new leafs with out any stripes ,, I did know that it was poisonous tho.. here is a photo on completion of blooming I had everyone smell it that was in my house this week end,, Oh if there were only a way to proxy the smell on here to you all . It just a sutle sweet/ soft lovely scent,, My two daughter discribed it different but both agreed it sweet yet a soft scent.

Beautiful! I, like others here, didn't know they flowered! Thanks for the picture!

How much/ what kind of light does this one get?

I have it sitting about 3 feet away and to the side of french doors facing south and there is a over hang out side on the roof so I don't believe it gets any direct sun it may a little in the afternoons but I'm at work so I don't know. On week ends I've never really noticed direct sun on that side of the room but it is bright in this room all the time as there are no shades or curtains on the doors.. HMMMM I guess I could have just said indirect light all day Huh?
I water it well I water it well LOL hardly ever!
But every spring I give it a good wash of egg water and that starts it off then just distilled water every 6-8 weeks maybe.


Oh by the way I did look to see if I have any babies coming up and I do .. from what I can see they already have yellow stripes a couple of them that are just peeking up have yellow and green tips,, I couldn't get into the middle of the pot to see tho there are 4 or 5 that are about 6inches in growth already with stripes but I'll still keep an eye out for those w/out stripes and see if there is a change..

Shanbear.. your so welcome I've learned a lot from others pictures here and realize pictures really help you see what you can look forward to!

I think mine is in too little of light to ever bloom. : (
I actually have one like what you have here, and the yellow margins slowly faded away. Now the leaves are just that barred/striped green color.
Maybe one day I'll get it close enough to a window to bloom.....

Mine never flowered.
5 years old now.......Us mother in laws dont like the name of it........;o)
Sword would of been more fitting name. :mad
Dodge

Angelblossom........can you tell me what the egg wash is? Somebody just gave me a mother in law's tongue last night and this is the first one that I have ever had.

mo tongue..

requires nothing but water,,,,,,,,Soil

Shade.....
Mine is almost 5 and great.....

dodge

plant Queen...egg water is 6 egg shells baked in the oven @ 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes(don't let them get brown) crush and put into an empty milk jub(1Gallon) fill with very warm water,, put lid on, set out in sun for one(1)week and pour on all houseplants and outdoor plants I usually only do this once a year first feeding in the spring and again 6-8weeks later (sometimes) and shake out the remaining eggshells either into my compost or bury into the topsoil of tomatoes or roses.

However Dodge is right water is just fine for mother inlaw tongue and they like to be somewhat dry and potbound and can tolerate neglect.. you don't want to overwater.

In my part of the world, we also call them snake plants, for those that don't like MIL tongue. Mine bloomed for me and I was shocked because I never knew they would bloom. I missed out on the scent. Mine doesn't get that much light, but it was pot bound and I think that is the key. I've since repotted it so I don't expect it to bloom again for a long long time. Sue

Yep Sue your right potbound is the Key!

thanks dodge! I won't do the egg wash then!