Check out all our blog posts on Indoor gardening.
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 >>
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.
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.
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
You can grow a new ZZ plant from a stem cutting, a single leaflet, or a division of the underground rhizomes. All three work because Zamioculcas zamiifolia stores water and energy in thick rhizomes and swollen stem bases, so even a small piece can live for months while it forms roots. For most home gardeners, … Read more >>
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.
If you want a houseplant that stays green in a dim room and shrugs off missed waterings, the ZZ plant earns its reputation. Zamioculcas zamiifolia is an aroid from eastern Africa that stores water in thick underground rhizomes, so it handles drought and low light better than most indoor plants. The real ZZ plant benefits … Read more >>
Powdery mildew on indoor plants looks like someone dusted your leaves with flour, and it keeps spreading until you change the conditions that let it grow. The fix is to isolate the plant, cut off the worst leaves, spray the rest with potassium bicarbonate or neem oil, and then give the plant more space, steadier … Read more >>