ZZ Plant Care: How to Grow a Nearly Unkillable Houseplant
ZZ plants need bright indirect light, water only when the soil is dry, and fast-draining soil. Here is how to care for one, plus fixes for common problems.
Buy Areca Palm Online: How to Choose and Inspect Your Plant
Yes, you can buy a healthy areca palm online, and I’d do it in spring or early fall from a seller that shows the actual plant, lists its height, pot diameter and cane count, and offers a written arrival guarantee. Those details tell you what you’re getting before it ships, and the guarantee protects you … Read more >>
Can an Areca Palm Grow in Low Light? How to Help It Thrive
An areca palm can live in a dim room for months, sometimes longer, but it won’t stay full and lush there. An areca palm in low light survives by slowly using up its stored energy, so it grows thin, drops lower fronds, and stays wet at the roots until you give it brighter indirect light … Read more >>
Areca Palm Leaves Turning Yellow: Causes and Fixes
Areca palm leaves turning yellow almost always point to a watering problem, most often soggy soil, followed by light that’s too strong or too weak, a magnesium or potassium shortage, cold drafts, pests, or salty tap water. One old frond yellowing at the base of a cane is normal aging. Several fronds fading at once … Read more >>
Is a ZZ Plant Toxic to Cats? Symptoms, First Aid and Safer Options
A ZZ plant is mildly toxic to cats. It contains needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals that sting a cat’s mouth when chewed, causing drooling, pawing and sometimes vomiting, but it isn’t considered deadly. So if your cat just took a bite, take a breath. Most cats get a painful mouthful and back off fast. You still … Read more >>
Best Potting Soil for a ZZ Plant (and Can You Use Cactus Mix?)
ZZ plants need fast-draining soil. Cactus mix works well, or add perlite to regular potting mix. Here is a DIY recipe and pot advice.
ZZ Plant Light Requirements: How Much Light Does It Need?
ZZ plants grow best in bright, indirect light and survive low light. Here is how to find the right spot and spot signs of too much or too little.
Pot Size for Areca Palm: How to Choose the Right Container
The right pot size for areca palm roots is a container just 1 to 2 inches wider than the current root ball, with drainage holes in the bottom. A palm in a 10-inch nursery pot, for example, should move into an 11- or 12-inch pot, never straight into a 16-inch planter. Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens, … Read more >>
How Often to Water a ZZ Plant (Season by Season)
Water a ZZ plant only when the soil is fully dry: about every 2 weeks in summer and once a month in winter. Here is how to tell, plus signs of trouble.
Do Air-Purifying Plants Work? What the Research Really Says
Houseplants don’t clean the air in a typical American home in any way you’d notice. Air purifying plants absorb tiny amounts of chemicals in sealed lab chambers, but in a real house, normal air leaking in and out does far more cleaning than any number of pots you’d want on your shelves. I still think … Read more >>