Why Is My ZZ Plant Turning Yellow? Causes and Fixes
Yellow ZZ leaves almost always mean too much water. Here is how to tell the cause, fix rotting rhizomes and decide whether to cut yellow leaves off.
Brown Tips on Areca Palm Leaves: Causes and Fixes
Brown tips on areca palm leaves almost always mean the narrow leaflets are losing water faster than the roots can replace it, or that salts and fluoride are piling up at the very ends of the leaves. The fix is to find the specific cause (dry air, uneven watering, tap water minerals, too much fertilizer, … Read more >>
How to Keep Birds Out of Hanging Plants (Safely and Legally)
You hang a gorgeous basket by the front door, and two weeks later a house finch is sitting on a tidy little nest right in the middle of your petunias. It’s sweet, but it’s also a problem when you need to water. If you want to keep birds out of hanging plants, the trick is … Read more >>
ZZ Plant Varieties: Raven, Zenzi, Variegated and More
The main ZZ plant varieties are the classic green form, near-black ‘Raven’, compact ‘Zenzi’, dwarf ‘Zamicro’, round-leaved ‘Lucky Classic’, yellow-flushing ‘Chameleon’, and rare variegated forms. For most homes, I’d pick classic green or ‘Raven’ for a floor plant, and ‘Zenzi’ or ‘Zamicro’ for a desk or shelf, because all of them share the same tough, … Read more >>
Why Is My ZZ Plant Not Growing? How to Get New Shoots
ZZ plants are naturally slow, but low light, winter, crowded rhizomes and watering problems can stall them completely. Here is how to get new shoots.
Why Is My ZZ Plant Falling Over? Causes and How to Fix It
When a ZZ plant starts falling over, the most common culprit is wet soil that has started to rot the rhizomes and stalk bases. A ZZ plant falls over most often because overwatering has softened its rhizomes, followed by too little light, a top-heavy clump in a small or light pot, and less often thirst, … Read more >>
How to Keep Mosquitoes Away From Hanging Plants (What Works)
Hanging baskets make a porch feel finished. But if every evening out there turns into a swatting session, your plants might be part of the problem, though probably not in the way you think. The good news is that you can keep mosquitoes away from hanging plants without giving up your ferns, petunias, or trailing … Read more >>
Areca Palm Overwatering: Signs, Root Rot and How to Fix It
An overwatered areca palm shows yellow lower fronds, limp drooping growth, and soil that stays soggy for days. When soil stays that wet, the roots can’t get air, and they start to rot. To fix areca palm overwatering, stop watering, empty any standing water, check the roots, trim off any mushy brown ones, and repot … Read more >>
How to Trim Lemongrass: When, Where to Cut and How Much
Lemongrass needs two kinds of cutting each year: light tidying in summer and one hard cutback in late winter or early spring. To trim lemongrass, pull or snip off brown leaves as they show up, and once a year, just before new growth starts, cut the whole clump down to about 6 to 12 inches … Read more >>
How to Grow Lemongrass Indoors: Light, Pots and Winter Care
Yes, you can keep lemongrass alive and growing inside your home through the coldest US winter. To grow lemongrass indoors, give it a large pot with drainage, at least 6 hours of direct sun or an LED grow light, temperatures above 60°F, and soil that stays lightly moist. With that setup, you can cut fresh … Read more >>