My first hydroponic system was a 5-gallon bucket on a laundry room shelf in February. I filled it with water, dropped in a pepper seedling, and waited. Three months later, I had one sad, hand-pollinated pepper the size of a golf ball. Meanwhile, the lettuce I’d stuck in a leftover jar on the windowsill had … Read more >>
Every June I hang four baskets of calibrachoa and trailing petunias off the front porch rail, and every June, right around the Fourth of July, at least one of them starts going pale. First the inner leaves fade to a soft lime green. Then the lower ones turn straw-yellow and drop onto the porch boards. Meanwhile, the basket hanging … Read more >>
A hanging basket can look fantastic in May, then suddenly turn into a thin, tangled mop by mid-July. I have had this happen on my own back porch, especially with petunias and calibrachoa that started the season full enough to hide the basket rim. When hanging baskets go leggy, they usually stretch toward light, outgrow … Read more >>
A bag of cactus mix looks tempting when you are repotting a houseplant. It feels clean, drains fast, and may be the only unopened soil bag in the garage. I have faced that exact situation while repotting a droopy Dieffenbachia on a bright, covered patio in my Zone 7 backyard. So, can you use cactus … Read more >>
Few houseplant problems make my stomach drop faster than finding a black patch on a favorite jade plant stem. I’ve seen it happen after a wet winter week near a chilly window, and I’ve also caught it early on a jade that sat in a decorative pot holding leftover water. A black stem does not … Read more >>
A backyard lotus pot looks peaceful until your cat decides the floating leaves are a new snack bar. I have seen curious cats paw at water, chew a leaf edge, and investigate every new bloom in a sunny patio container. The good news is that lotus plants are generally considered non-toxic to cats. Still, that … Read more >>
The first time I grew basil in a countertop hydroponic setup, I loved the clean look and quick harvests. Then summer arrived, and my raised-bed tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers took off with almost no daily attention beyond watering and checking for pests. That experience taught me something important: asking “is hydroponic better than soil?” does … Read more >>
A jade plant can look perfectly fine one week, then suddenly seem darker, heavier, and a little less cheerful the next. I have seen this happen with jade plants on bright kitchen windowsills, covered patios, and sunny decks in Zones 9–11. The leaves shift from a soft medium green to a rich, deep green, and … Read more >>
A jade plant usually asks for very little: bright light, a thorough drink now and then, and plenty of time to dry out. That is why it feels so discouraging to spot tiny green, black, or gray insects packed around tender new leaves. I have found them most often on a jade plant that spent … Read more >>
A few years back, I brought home a full, feathery areca palm to soften the corner beside my kitchen window. It looked perfect until I caught my cat batting at the lower fronds and my rabbit sniffing the fallen leaf tips. That is the moment every pet-owning plant lover knows well: the plant looks lovely, … Read more >>
