Indoor Plant Care - How to Houseplant Care

Watering for Healthy Plants Watering Rules, House Plant Care Working in the interior landscape business for more than 20 years has gotten me lots of questions about how to care for indoor potted plants. Customers ask about their own plants at home...why does my plant have yellow leaves... what causes brown leaf tips...how come the new growth on my plant is dying...I water my plant every day but it still isn't doing well...how much should I water my house plant? It can be hard to diagnose every indoor plant problem when you do not have access to the plant itself. So I generally find myself asking them questions about how they care for their plants. Most often, the problems are solved by changing watering habits.  In almost every instance, changing the way they look at watering their indoor plants gives them positive results with their house plants. I care for indoor plants as my job and I know that there are not many plants that I care for that always us...

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.

All plants require light to produce food. Outdoors that is not a problem but for houseplants light can be quite limited. I recently did a search for "houseplant care" and was surprised to see that the top, non-paid search result defined high light for an indoor plant as any light for more than six hours a day. Here is a quote from that result - "Houseplants typically require high light (six or more hours a day), medium light (four to six hours a day), or low light (less than thre e hours a day)." That is not accurate and I hope if you find that website you will go on to other results or visit my website on Houseplant Care. Dieffenbachia Houseplant Light is measured in intensity using a light meter and we use foot candles as a measure of light for interior landscaping. Low light, medium light and high light fall between 25 foot candles to 250+ foot candles. Low light is at the lower end of that measurement and high light at the upper end. The amount ...

Indoor House Plants Pictures Names Neanthe Bella Palm Plant Do you have indoor house plants that you would like to identify? There are many indoor plants that we use to grow indoors. Many of those are only available at a greenhouse or from a tropical house plant grower but some of them are sold at your local home improvement store or local grocery store. There are a few house plants that most people have had if they ever tried to keep and grow an indoor potted house plant. Pothos is a very common indoor plant and I see them everywhere as I am out taking care of plants in commercial interior landscape accounts. Peace Lily is another plant that many people have in their home or office. If you have an indoor house plant that you would like to learn the name of and how to care for it, I have created a page on my website that shows pictures of common indoor house plants for identification, their names and links to care pages for each plant. Check out my page of indoor house plan...

House Plants - You Have Questions, I Have Answers, But... Rhapis Excelsa Palm on My Model Home Account Hi Plant People, hope you all had a nice October. Hard to believe it is already November 2016. Just realized that since I started working as an interior landscape technician in 1986 and it is now 2016, I have been taking care of, installing, warehousing, replacing, selling or unloading indoor tropical plants and flowers for just about 30 years. Most of that was direct, day to day care of different types of tropical plants in many different locations, from the west coast to the east coast. There has been a break here or there for a year or two but for most of the past 30 years I have been involved in all aspects of the interior landscape industry. That's a lot of plants! On my website, I offer simple, straight forward advice on caring for your indoor plants. As you can tell from the first few paragraphs, I have had lots of experience to work from. ...

How to Combat Those Little Flying Bugs - GNATS! Although fungus gnats can be a problem with indoor plants at anytime of year, they can be a bigger problem during the warmer months as they are also outside in greater numbers and, no doubt, plotting an invasion of your home...  :) Not a Fungus Gnat-Just One of My Plants Here is a little information about fungus gnats: Fungus gnats are small flies, about 1/8" long, black or dark colored. Adult females may lay up to a few hundred eggs in a 7-10 day period. And they will lay them in the moist topsoil of your indoor plants, if they get a chance. Fungus gnat eggs hatch in about six days, producing small, white maggots. Larvae will grow to about 1/4" in two weeks and then form pupae. Then adults will emerge from plant media in a week or less. And the cycle begins again! While adult fungus gnats do not damage your indoor plants, they can be very annoying. You may see numbers of them about your plants, if they are...

Dracaena marginata plant Dracaena Marginata Plant Care The marginata plant is one of the most popular houseplants. It is one of my favorites and I get so many emails asking questions about Dracaena marginata that I have to think it is one of everyones favorite indoor potted plants. One of the care questions that I get most often about this beautiful, indoor plant is about pruning. Is it alright to cut it back if it is too tall? Where should I cut the stem? The answer to the question is yes, you can cut back the stems or canes of dracaena marginata. You should cut the stem just above the height that you want new growth to start. It is best to do this in the spring time when most plants do much of their growing. If you look closely at the stem you will see rings that encircle the stem. This is where the leaf nodes are and where your dracaena marginata will push out some new growth. You will most likely get a few new "heads" starting before you know it. ...

Snake Plant - Houseplant As an interior landscape technician , I get a lot of questions from people during the work day. Some want to know why their plant is not doing well. Others ask what the little bugs on their plant are and how to get rid of them. Some people want to know the best way to prune or propagate their houseplants. Another common houseplant question is: What is the best houseplant to get if I have never had an indoor plant before? That is one of the easiest questions to answer as it doesn't require finding out alot of other information. The answer to this question is undoubtably... The Snake Plant! Snake plants are great indoor plants as they will tolerate an owner that doesn't pay them much attention. They will live in lower light but they will become thin and leggy over time if the light is not sufficient. However, if you are one of those people that likes to water their plants everyday, you should not get a Snake plant! There are not many in...

House Plants at Gate C7 - Airport Adventures Sure a lot of people that really like to  ‪#‎ grow‬   ‪#‎ houseplants‬ !  I was at the local international airport on Friday, taking care of plants and replacing some #Pothos with Hoyas. The new plants were so full that I had to drastically prune them to fit in their new containers.  I left all of the cuttings on my cart on the concourse and when I came back there was a woman stuffing all of the  ‪#‎ Hoya‬  cuttings into one of her pieces of luggage. I just had to laugh.  Nice to know that so many people  ‪#‎ love‬  #houseplants.  Hope she made it to her flight on time!

National Orchid Garden-Singapore If you live in or are travelling in Southeast Asia and you are a plant lover, you might want to take in the wonderful flora and fauna at the Singapore Botanic Gardens . The botanic garden, an oasis in the highly urbanized Republic of Singapore, boasts a diversity of plant life for visitors to enjoy. There are many sections of the garden including the Rain Forest, the National Orchid Garden, Bonsai Garden, The Healing Garden and the Fragrant Garden. The  National Orchid Garden has over 1000 orchid species and 2000 orchid hybrids on display. Orchids have been associated with the gardens since 1859 and many of the Orchids are products of their orchid breeding program, which began in 1928. Showcasing over 400 medicinal plants, the Healing Gardens was designed as a tranquil respite. The main focus is on medicinal plants used traditionally in Southeast Asia. Come in and enjoy the peaceful serenity of the garden. Located near the Healing Gar...

Crystal's New Peace Lily & Container Hi There Plant People The PlantAndFlowerInfo.com contest ended July 31, 2014. The grand prize was a new, beautiful houseplant and container, delivered by a local florist. The winner of the Grand Prize was Crystal G., University Place, Washington. She posted a picture of the gorgeous Peace Lily and container that she received on our Facebook Page . Here it is! The picture of her new plant. ------>>>> There were 2 other winners, Emily M. of Pittsburg, PA and Joshua P., from Dorchester, MA. They each won a botanical themed art print to help decorate their homes. Unlike Crystal, they will not have to water their prizes! Thanks to you guys that entered and I hope the winners enjoy their prizes. Have a great Labor Day holiday everyone!

Hi Plant People, The PlantAndFlowerInfo.com sweepstakes/contest ended on July 31, 2014. Thanks to all of you that entered the contest to win a beautiful, new interior houseplant and container. The winners have been drawn and notified. They include two runner-up winners who will receive a botanical themed decorative art print for their home. I am so happy to be able to send a few of our readers these great prizes. Winners will be announced as soon as their eligibility has been verified. Thanks again to everyone! Visit the website if you need some assistance with your indoor houseplants!

Orchids - Tropical Houseplants and their Care Orchid Flowers Orchids are beautiful  and unique flowering plants that you can keep in your home. Often considered difficult to care for, there are varieties that can be grown in the home. They do require good light , some humidity and proper temperatures but most anyone can keep one of these gorgeous tropical house plants with a little care, proper watering and some patience. There are thousands of types of Orchids  but only a few can be kept successfully in the average home. These include Phalaenopsis , Cattleya, Cymbidium and  Dendrobium orchids . You will find one or more of these types of Orchid available at most stores that sell indoor plants.  Phalaenopsis Orchids , or Moth Orchids, are the type generally found in local stores that do not specialize in plants and flowers, such as your neighborhood grocery store. That is because they are one of the easiest to care for Orchids. Read more about Orchids an...

Creative Container Ideas It can be difficult to find that perfect container for your #indoor plants and even your #outdoor #plants. Some of us like to use the old standards such as terracotta, ceramic and plastic or even those old oak barrel containers. However, sometimes it is fun to be really creative . I have seen plant enthusiasts use an old porcelain toilet or tub to display their pretty plants and flowers in the front yard. Recycling old items is a great way to avoid waste and creatively contain your houseplants and exterior plants. Just be aware of concerns with water leakage. You may need to line some items to avoid drips, leaks and water damage. Here are some cute and creative ideas for planting that you may not have thought about before. Take a look at these interesting ideas and pictures for planting succulents and cactus from LagunaDirt.com ... One of the favorite succulents for use as an indoor houseplant is the Sanseveiria  or Snake Plant . Come read more a...

It is just about a week since the first official day of  Suzy's www.WorthingCourtBlog.com spring but, as usual, the weather tends to be quite fickle during March and April. It still feels  like winter in so many places. Check out this blog with some cute ideas for bringing some spring into your indoor space. Even when it is still a little chilly outside,  you can enjoy your lovely indoor plants. Thanks for the great blog Suzy! If you need some help with your houseplants or are trying to find one that is just right for a certain spot in your home, come on over to PlantAndFlowerInfo.com for #houseplant ideas that can help brighten up your indoors and for some great houseplant care help and advice. Have a great Spring!

Do you love  #houseplants  but you're not really sure how to place them in your home? Take a peek at this blog for some interesting ideas for different containers and interesting placement ideas. http://www.designsponge.com/2013/04/sneak-peek-best-of-indoor-plants.html  Then come take a look at  www.PlantAndFlowerInfo.com  for help in deciding which plants you are going to use...

Arboricola is a common houseplant and is sometimes referred to as an 'Umbrella Plant'. The Schefflera Arboricola and Amate are the two types most commonly used as interior houseplants. They are most often grown in a bush form but sometimes can be found in a standard or braided trunk form. Pictured to the right is the Schefflera Arboricola. Arboricola is also known as Dwarf Umbrella tree or Parasol Plant. In some plant information it is named as Heptapleurum arboricola but it is usually sold as Schefflera arboricola. Schefflera is best in bright, indirect light but can be acclimated to medium light placements. Very low light is not recommended. Read more about Schefflera Arboricola plants and their care...

Healthy Houseplant If you want your houseplants looking great, you need to know that the available light and how you water your  indoor plants relative to that lighting is more important than any other factor. Forget the fertilizers , the re-potting, pinching and pruning and concentrate on learning how to water your plants properly . This alone, if done right, will make more difference than anything else you can do for your houseplants. Watering indoor plants correctly can be tricky. Improper watering is the main cause of death with indoor plants. Usually this would be from over-watering but if you are not caring for your plants on a regular schedule, under-watering can be a problem. Advice that give you watering intervals, amount of water, etc. are really not reliable. Having cared for thousands of plants as a Plant Lady, I know that the only way to determine if a plant needs water is to check the moisture level in the soil at regular intervals. Every plant is differ...

Houseplant Eater! Meow! Being an animal lover as well as a plant lover, as many people are, I thought it would be helpful to add this link for those with pets.  The ASPCA list of toxic and non-toxic plants ...I also put a link to the list on the homepage of my website  Plant And Flower Info.com  for future reference, if needed. A few emails have come to me with questions about pets and pets that eat houseplants. I have had many animals and plants, all in the same house, for many years and have not had too many problems. The houseplants usually seem to be the worse off if any close encounters do happen. They often end up on the floor with broken leaves and dirt everywhere! The cat somewhere nearby, licking his paw and giving me that, ' You need to tell your plants to quit jumping off the windowsill' look! I always make my best effort to keep houseplants out of the reach of pets. That can be difficult, especially with cats, as they seem to be able to get just about...

Healthy Houseplant When caring for your indoor potted plants it is helpful to have a basic knowledge of plant functions. This can aid in determining what is needed to help keep your houseplants green, growing and gorgeous. The root system is an important part, really the most important part, of the functioning of your indoor houseplants. Unlike an exterior landscape plant, your potted plants rely on you to provide the correct amount of water to the root system. The leaves, stems and flowers are the most obvious parts of a plant. They are above the soil level and it is what we see when we look at a plant. I have been in the interior plant care industry for a few decades and have cared for and maintained thousands of interior plants in almost any kind of environment that you can imagine and I know that the most important part of any plant is the root system. The way that your plant looks above ground is determined by the health of the root system, the part of a plant that...