Best Indoor Plants for Oxygen: Facts vs Myths

Best Indoor Plants for Oxygen

Healthy, leafy plants growing in bright light make the most oxygen indoors. If you want the best indoor plants for oxygen, I’d pick a large areca palm or a full pothos in a bright window, because more leaf area in good light means more photosynthesis. Even so, no houseplant will measurably raise the oxygen level … Read more >>

How Often Should You Water Hanging Plants? A Simple Guide

How Often Should You Water Your Hanging Plants

Hanging baskets are one of the easiest ways to add color to a porch, but they are also some of the thirstiest plants you will ever grow. If you have ever wondered how often should you water hanging plants, the short answer is more often than anything else in your yard. In summer, that usually … Read more >>

Why Is My Boston Fern Turning Light Green?

Why Is My Boston Fern Turning Light Green

If your Boston fern’s older fronds are fading to a washed-out lime color, the plant is usually reacting to too much light or a shortage of nitrogen. A Boston fern turning light green most often needs a shadier spot with bright indirect light, a light feeding, or both; pale new fronds alone are normal. The … Read more >>

Why Do Ferns Live in Damp Environments?

Why Do Ferns Live in Damp Environments

Ferns live in damp places because water runs almost every part of their lives. Their sperm has to swim through a film of water to reach an egg, their thin fronds lose moisture fast, and their shallow roots dry out quickly. A cool, shady, humid spot keeps all of those weak points covered. That’s why … Read more >>

What to Plant With Ferns in Pots

Plants to Plant with Ferns in Pots

The best plants to grow with ferns in pots are shade lovers that want the same steady moisture: impatiens, begonias, caladiums, coleus, coral bells, miniature hostas, torenia, fuchsia, and golden creeping jenny. For most American porches and patios, I’d pair a fern with begonias or impatiens for flowers and a coral bell or caladium for … Read more >>

Why Are Staghorn Ferns So Expensive?

Why Are Staghorn Ferns So Expensive

Staghorn ferns cost more than most houseplants because they grow slowly, take a year or more to propagate from spores, and need hands-on mounting before they look like the wall display you want to buy. A nursery has to water, feed, and protect each plant for 2 to 3 years after starting it from a … Read more >>

How Cold Can Ferns Tolerate? Hardy vs Tropical Ferns

How Cold Can Ferns Tolerate

Hardy garden ferns can ride out winters far below zero. Tropical ferns start to suffer in the 40s. Native hardy ferns like wood ferns, Christmas ferns, and ostrich ferns survive temperatures of -20°F to -40°F once they go dormant, while tropical ferns like the Boston fern get damaged below about 40 to 45°F and lose … Read more >>

Why Are My Ferns Turning Brown? Causes and Fixes

Why Are My Ferns Turning Brown

Most ferns turn brown because they’re losing water faster than they can take it in. Dry indoor air, soil that dries out between waterings, and too much direct sun cause most cases. Overwatering, fertilizer salts, cold snaps, pests and plain old age account for the rest. If your fern is turning brown, check the humidity … Read more >>

How to Repot a Money Tree Without Shocking It

Money Tree Plant Repotting

To repot a money tree without shocking it, move it in spring into a pot just 1 to 2 inches wider with drainage holes, use a fast-draining peat- or coir-based mix, keep it at the same soil depth, water once, and then leave its light and routine alone while it settles. Most of the stress … Read more >>