Indoor Plant Care - How to Houseplant Care

Question from Michele: P lease help, I just received a 25 year old Pothos with very long vines. I left it outside the first night I got it and it was very windy. Every leaf on the vines are gone. Will they grow back? Answer:  Thanks for your question, sorry to hear about your Pothos losing all of its leaves. However, as long as there was no tissue damage to roots or stems from excessively cold temperatures or the wind, your plant should regrow, if cared for properly. It may be a good idea to cut back some of the longer stem to help your plant fill out faster but it should regrow even if you don't prune it back.  Read more about Pothos plant care...

Question from Penny:     I have an Aechmea Fasciata. Arrived August as a single plant, has now thrown 3 offspring still in the same pot...help! I keep her in the conservatory, feed a little, water with rain water down the leaves and spray. Answer:  Your Aechmea has had triplets! Congratulations...you can leave them be until the "mother" plant starts to die. Then you pull the whole thing out of the grow pot, remove your babies and some roots with a sharp knife and replant in their own grow pots. Go with a small size grow pot (4 - 6" diameter) for each new plant. Water well, then it would be best to place them in a shaded spot for a little while as they recover from surgery. Then return to their usual spot and continue normal care. The last time I did this it took something in between 1-2 years for the new plant(s) to produce a flower. That was in a greenhouse. It may take less or more time depending on where you keep your bromeliad, but I would say you would be clo...

Question: Help! My finicky ficus has lost all of its leaves...What is going on? Answer: Ficus trees are fantastic plants and so very easy to care for ... that is if you can prevent them from dropping all of their pretty green leaves all over the floor when you first bring them home. Ficus are notorious for being difficult to acclimate to a new environment. In fact, I would have included it on the list of best house plants if it were not for the problems many people have bringing a Ficus tree successfully through its transition to a new and different environment. Even those of us that work in the interior landscape business know what a pain in the ivy a Ficus tree can be. However, on the positive side, if you know that it will most likely happen (some Ficus trees barely lose a leaf), you may be a little more prepared to deal with it when it does happen. As an indoor plant care professional for more than twenty years, I have found that houseplants are very adaptable as long a...

My Little Dracaena Marginata Question from Gilbert:   I have a marginata house plant, It's about 2 1/2 feet tall, my question is: can I cut it in half and if I do will It continue to grow or will it die? And can I replant the top half? Also, will the trunk grow in diameter?   Answer: Yes you can cut back the trunk of your Dracaena Marginata . It will put out at least one new shoot, if not three to four or more new shoots. It will not die as long as you are taking good care of it. You can re-plant the cut-off top, but Dracaena can be a little harder to root than say, a  Pothos  plant that you can just leave in water and it will grow forever. You can  air-layer your plant . Another option is to root in moist sand. You can lay the piece of Marginata trunk down on its side in moist sand and it should eventually root, although it may take some time. This has worked for me before. If you want to root it in its upright position, try some rooting hormon...

Question: What kind of houseplant is easy to care for and flowers too? Answer: One easy houseplant that many are familiar with is the  Peace Lily or Spathiphyllum . These are nice plants but they produce a white flower and it is not very colorful. If you are looking for a plant that will add some color to your interior decor, try an  Anthurium Andreanum . These nice little plants can double as flowering plants and foliage plants. The Anthurium can be found with a red flower, pink flower, orange flower or even white if that is what you like. They require more moisture and humidity than some plants but are generally fairly easy care.  Anthuriums are pretty, flowering indoor plants, read more about Anthuriums...

My English Ivy Question: I have a black thumb with plants, what am I doing wrong? Answer:  Without a healthy and vigorous root system no plant will do well. Roots hold the plant in the soil and absorb the necessary water and nutrients through the root hairs that are located on the root tips. Plants help clean the atmosphere by filtering air through the soil.  The  roots exchange gases and also store carbohydrates for use by the plant when needed. Learn  more about how to have healthy thriving houseplants...

Pretty Poinsettia Plant Care That pretty Poinsettia plant will need some great plant care. Yes! The holidays are here again, or almost anyway. It will soon be that time of year when the Poinsettias , Euphorbia Pulcherrima, are out and the Christmas trees and decorations start going up. Poinsettia is most commonly used at Christmas time, at least in the United States. It is a member of the Euphorbia family, a group of succulents. That tells you something about your beautiful Poinsettia. They are native plants from south of the border and do best with bright lighting , average room temperatures and common sense watering . Do not expose them to the cold as it will quickly damage the leaves and bracts. For information on re-blooming your Poinsettia  and for plant care for your Poinsettia flowers   read more... Have a Great Holiday Season! May God Bless Us All...

My Pothos Marble Queen Pothos plant is a household favorite and is on my list of the ten best houseplants , for their easy care and durability.  Also called Scindapsus Aureus or Epipremnum Aureum, they are known in some places as " Devil's Ivy ". The Golden Pothos is the most common varieties. It has a glossy green leaf "painted" with yellow. It should stay that way in bright light  but if kept in lower light it may start to lose some of the yellow in the leaf and show more of the green. Lower light will also mean less frequent watering  of indoor plants. Other common Pothos are the Marble Queen Pothos , which is marbled with white and green with picture at bottom of page and the all green Jade Pothos .  Read more...

A Living Holiday Tree If you are a Plant Person and you celebrate the holiday season, you might want to consider using a Norfolk Island Pine for your holiday tree this year. They are great little evergreen trees with strong branches that can hold some cherished ornaments, a silver strand of glittery garland or strings of popcorn! These great little trees can also double as an unusual houseplant throughout the remainder of the year and can also be used as an exterior patio plant in milder climates. Talk about reuse and recycle...no more old tree to throw away, pine needles in the carpet or sap on the floor. Norfolk Island Pine , or Araucaria heterophylla, is an evergreen tree native to Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean.  These plants can be found almost everywhere during the holidays, ranging in size from about 1 foot tall to 4 feet tall. If you purchase one make sure it is healthy looking and green. You can visit my website PlantAndFlowerInfo.com  for more information...