House Plants for Beginners - This Plant is Not For You

My New Variegated English Ivy

Thinking About Getting a New House Plant?

If you are thinking about getting a new house plant, you should consider carefully before you purchase a new one, especially if you are a little new to house plant care.

Pictured here is one of my new plants, a Hedera helix or English Ivy. Looks nice and healthy, right?

For the most part, it is. However, before I bought it I made sure to check for spider mites.

I found what I expected to find...Spider mites!

I have been caring for indoor plants for over 20 years and I can't remember any time that I had a new English Ivy that did NOT have spider mites.

English Ivy usually come from the growers looking pretty clean and spider mites are hard to detect at first unless you know what to look for (and where to look). But they reproduce rapidly, especially in hot, dry places and can do quite a lot of damage to your house plants. Before you know it your English Ivy will be looking pretty bad and you will wonder what you did wrong.

List of best indoor plants for just about everyone...

As soon as I got this one home, I put it in my bathtub, turned on the shower and used the hand-held sprayer to give it a good shower, especially on the undersides of the leaves.

A few days later those pesky little bugs were showing up again. (I knew they would) Truthfully, I intended to plant this plant in a clay container and put it out on my patio and leave it there. I got it for the photo with the intention to use it as an outdoor container plant.

My outdoor English Ivy always does so well, it needs minimal care and spider mites never seem to trouble it.

I like trouble free indoor plants and, although some may disagree with me, English Ivy is not my idea of a trouble free indoor plant.

English Ivy can be great indoor plants if you can get one that has no spider mites. Problem is, that is uncommon (but not impossible).

Anyway, this is just some information for people new to indoor plants, to let you know you may want to avoid English Ivy.

Here is a list of some of the best indoor house plants, especially for beginners...

Dracaena Marginata Plant Care

Plant Care for Dracaena Marginata Potted Dracaena Marginata Plant My last post was about the Mother-In-Law Tongue plant, the most searched and researched indoor plant and its care, at least on my website. This post is about Dracaena marginata, the second most searched for indoor plant. The dracaena marginata is sometimes called Dragon Tree. We just call her Marginata or Marg... Marginata is my favorite Dracaena, I just love the thinner, long, delicate and arching leaves of the marginata. If your Marginata has been growing in really good light in a nursery, the leaves may be thicker and stiff. As it grows in new foliage acclimated to the lower light in your home (or office), the leaves will thin and become more graceful and arching. That is the way I like them best! Dracaenas in general are really easy to care for once you get them settled in and learn how to water them properly. Many of the plants that we use in our interior landscapes are dracaena varieties.

Rhapis Palm House Plant Care Rhapis Excelsa Palm, or Lady Palm, is a great indoor house plant. The fan-like fronds are a shiny, glossy green when healthy. Rhapis Palms will tolerate lower light and temperatures than many other palms, making it a good choice for the home or office. Rhapis excelsa is a fan palm. Although most fan palms are seldom sold as house plants and will mostly be found in large, indoor landscapes because of their size and spread, the Rhapis Palm is well suited to life in the average home or in the office. The Rhapis palm plant has more of an upright growth habit than many other fan palms. This elegant palm plant has a fairly tough constitution. Read more about the fantastic palm plant that can be used as a potted, indoor plant.

Help-My Indoor Palm Has Problems!

Rhapis Palm with Insect Problem Indoor Potted Palm Problem A recent email from Ernestine about a plant problem that needs a solution... My Rhapis Palm has mealy bugs as there are white masses on leaves and stems. I have sprayed with Confidor two or three times, but, the palm still has white areas on leaves and stems. Could you suggest a better solution for me to attack this pesty little beast!!! Thank you for reading my notation. Ernstine, It sure looks like mealy bug but could possibly be some kind of scale. I personally would just wipe this off with a sponge or rag with some water/alcohol mixture or water/soap mixture. Another option is a hard spray from a hose to just rinse them off. This is best done outside, of course and must be repeated. Mealybugs are hard to get rid of and the only other things I might use would be Safers Insecticidal Soap or 1600 X-clude. Don’t know if they are available where you live but if you do use them, make sure to always re

AnonymousJuly 7, 2015 at 4:12 AM
If it is outdoors, then we cannot control the humidity, would it also spread / attract spider mites to/ from other plants? I am confused. What if I put it in the shower every day, would that help to keep it indoors?
I used to grow ivy in a jar of water and for years never noticed any problems. Only from reading your blog and searching online, did I discover it is attractive to spider mites.
Laura G.July 23, 2015 at 9:56 PM
I never have a spider mite problem on my outdoor ivy. The rain, cold and other insects seem to keep them under control. Of course, they can spread if they are present.
Washing English Ivy everyday or every few days is a good idea indoors.
My intention was only to warn unsuspecting NEW plant owners that English Ivy is especially prone to mites. They can ruin your indoor ivy very quickly.

Indoor Plant Care - How to Houseplant Care

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