Check out all our blog posts on Indoor gardening.
Houseplants live in a small pot of soil that rain never refreshes. Every nutrient they get comes from you. Liquid fertilizer for indoor plants is the easiest way to give them a measured dose, and the easiest to stop when the season changes. In this guide, I’ll walk you through choosing a formula, reading the … Read more >>
To get rid of spider mites on indoor plants, isolate the plant, rinse both sides of every leaf, then spray insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on the leaf undersides every 5 to 7 days for 2 to 3 weeks. That repeat schedule is the part most people skip, and it’s why mites seem to come … Read more >>
For most homes, my pick is the parlor palm or the kentia palm, because both handle the dimmer light of a typical American living room better than almost any other true palm. If you have a bright window and steady humidity, the areca palm is the classic feathery choice, and the lady palm is a … Read more >>
To get rid of aphids for good, isolate the plant, rinse or wipe off the colonies, then spray insecticidal soap on every stem and leaf underside every 5 to 7 days for 2 to 3 weeks. That schedule works because aphids breed fast indoors, so you have to keep treating until no new young are … Read more >>
The best indoor plants for asthma are low-pollen foliage plants that are easy to wipe clean, like snake plant, ZZ plant, pothos, spider plant, and parlor palm, because they rarely flower indoors and their smooth leaves don’t trap much dust. They won’t treat asthma, and they won’t clean your air in any way you’d notice. … Read more >>
An areca palm (Dypsis lutescens, once sold as Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) is a tough clumping palm from Madagascar. Indoors, it’s also a magnet for a few sap-sucking bugs. The most common areca palm pests are spider mites, mealybugs, and scale, and the most common diseases are fungal leaf spot and root rot from soggy soil. Nearly … Read more >>
To water air plants that are glued, mist the leaves thoroughly two to three times a week, or dunk the whole piece if the mount and glue can handle water, then tilt or flip it so the plant dries within about 4 hours. The goal is soaking-wet leaves and a base that never stays damp … Read more >>
Most of the time, a red air plant is a healthy one. An air plant turning red is usually blushing before it blooms, or it’s reacting to strong, bright light, and neither one means the plant is sick. Many Tillandsia species shift from silvery green to red, pink, or orange right before they flower. The … Read more >>
If you or someone in your home has allergies, the worst indoor plants for allergies are the ones that shed pollen, release spores, or carry allergens in their sap. The plants I’d skip first are weeping fig (Ficus benjamina), chrysanthemums, African violets, ferns, and strongly scented bloomers like jasmine and hyacinth, because each one puts … Read more >>
A dracaena that looks like it’s dying can often be saved, because these plants store a lot of energy in their thick canes. As long as part of the cane is firm and some roots are white or tan, the plant can push out new leaves once you fix the cause. To save a dying … Read more >>