Category House Plants

While running some errands recently, I noticed a Chlorophytum – “spider plant” in a hanging basket. More on spider plant care indoors here From a distance it looked great. Lots of foliage and “pups” hanging down. Looking at it closer I noticed a lot of spider plant brown tips on the leaves.Why Do Plant Leaves Turn Brown?

One of my favorite groups of plants is the aroid family Araceae. This family has brought us so many great and wonderful indoor plants.Everything from Philodendrons, Spathiphyllum (aka Peace Lily), Anthurium, Pothos (Epipremnum) plants, Alocasia, Dieffenbachia plant and Aglaonema Chinese evergreen plant, with dozens of others.

Question: I am moving in about 2 weeks to Wisconsin from Michigan. How can I best protect my plants during this move?The last time I moved, it was about 2 miles, but during the winter and my houseplants were traumatized. Although they didn’t die, it took them a long time to recover. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Recently, we’ve received some questions on house plants which stayed outside in the cold and what to do? The questions go something like this!Question: Our Ficus tree or Dragon Tree Dracaena got really cold when I forgot to bring the plant indoors.The leaves turned brown and now the Ficus tree is losing a lot of leaves, is it dead?

Do you remember the African Violet care your grandma gave the plants sitting on her kitchen windowsill? Don’t feel bad I don’t either.I do remember they always had flowers and Grandma never seemed to spend any time caring for her African violets.Though miniature African violet varieties exist, Grandma didn’t grow any.

Aeschynanthus radicans es-kee-NAN-thus, RAD-ee-kans is also known as the Lipstick Plant because it’s bright red or coral colored blossoms resemble a tube of lipstick.The lipstick plants genus name is derived from the Greek word for “shame,” aischune, and is in reference to the blushing color of the flowers.

With the holiday season approaching, one will undoubtedly experience an increase in stress. There is good news, though. Something as simple as an indoor plant reduce this stress.Research has proven that simply being able to look at greenery will bring down stress levels… so really you can have them year round.

Have you ever woke up in the morning to see your plants – crying teardrops (guttation) – or dripping water from the ends of their leaves?Rest assured this is not an uncommon phenomena in plants. Let’s look at those drops from crying leaves and try to stay away from being too technical.What Is Guttation?

The boston fern (Nephrolepis exalta), so lush and green in the spring and summer… how do you overwinter a Boston fern?Boston ferns need good bright outdoors light for starters, a bright unblocked south window is ideal.Hot temperatures and dry, little moisture, home will allow your fern to be messy.Here are a few tips for overwintering your growing garden Boston…Leave the fern in its container, prune all the leaves except for the new growthMove the plant to its new “winter” locationKeep the plant on the dry side and hold off on fertilizer during winter monthsWhen it’s time to move the plant outside, move your Boston outside… begin increasing water, resume fertilizing (liquid feeding) and acclimate it slowly to new lighting.

The idea of indoor citrus trees and growing them, it’s not something many of us think of. We never think of citrus like and orange tree, Meyer lemon tree or lime as an indoor plant.As a Florida native, citrus has always been a common sight, growing up and still is to this day.From using orange juice in smoothies, eating grapefruits, putting lime juice on tacos (try it) or adding lemons and limes to my guacamole, citrus is a staple fruit around our house.

How many times have you admired a beautiful spike of gladiolus, or an eye popping arrangement of glads, and wished you too could grow similar flowers?Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants. Due to its flower stalks, it got the name sword lily. The genus comes from Asia, Mediterranean region of Europe, South Africa, and tropical Africa.

The Alocasia plant is also known as the African Mask plant is an attractive foliage plant and houseplant capable of growing quite large if given enough humidity and extra light during the winter months.Its unique foliage make it an interesting houseplant and even more interesting in a landscape.The African Mask plant calls the South Pacific home, and many species in particular come from the Philippines, India, southeast Asia and and New Guinea.

The “goldfish plant” or Columnea and its many hybrids are an attractive hanging houseplant.The Columnea goldfish plant has long, trailing stems, small oval leaves and pretty, ever-blooming flowers in yellow, orange or red.The beautiful flowers are often said to look like goldfish or lipstick, so you may hear this plant referred to as a goldfish plant or lipstick plant.

Grape Ivy (aka Cissus rhombifolia) so called because its leaves resemble those of grapevines and its small, dark berries resemble grapes.Cissus grape Ivy is not a real ivy at all. Instead, it is a member of the Vitus (Vitaceae) family, as are actual grapes. source These plants are very easy to grow, make excellent potted houseplant and hanging plants indoors.

Summary: EPISCIA (e-pish’-i-ah) – A genus trailing greenhouse plants from Tropical America, related to the African violet family – Gesneriaceae. Small, showy, often hairy leaves with small white, red or purple flowers. A favorite for hanging-baskets. Propagation by division and cuttings.The Episcia plant is related to the African Violet, easy to grow, their foliage and colorful trumpet-shaped flowers add brightness to any room.

People seem to love the idea of stepping up or repotting houseplants. Some people even downsize their plants. I guess it is just the idea of repotting plants makes people think things are going to grow like crazy.Let me give you a word of advice, and if you follow it, your plants will probably do well.

Polyscias fruticosa (pol-ISS-ee-us frew-tih-KOH-suh) better known as the Ming Aralia is an evergreen shrub from the family Araliaceae (Aralia plant).Ming Aralia is a highly decorative, elegant foliage plant for the home. Its slow, compact growth makes it a plant you can enjoy for many years.The perennial plant is native to India and is widely distributed in the Pacific islands such as Polynesia and many South Asian countries.

The black Bat flower plant – with the botanical name of Tacca Chantrieri has a wild, unusual looking flower. As exotic as it may look, the Bat Plant is not a difficult plant to grow. In fact, it is very hardy. I have found Tacca available in some garden centers. It is available online.TACCA (tak’-ah) – A genus of tropical, tuberous-rooted perennial herbs having large leaves at the base of stems which are surmounted by brown or greenish flowers in dense, round-topped clusters.

The Zebra plant – Alphelandra af-el-AN-druh is a genus containing about 170 different species.These flowering plants often have broad leaves with thick white veins.Native to the tropical regions of South America, such as Brazil, the zebra plant belongs to the Acanthaceae family of tropical plants that includes over 2,500 species.

I’ve been growing all my plants indoors (except one) using what many call – SIP’s – sub irrigated planter. The ones I use are like the image above, all from milk or soda bottles.Using these simple to make self-watering planters, you’ll eliminate over watering your plants. They also make great seed starter planters.