How many of you have bought plants that have pebbles glued on top of the soil? It’s kind of annoying, to say the least. Why do plant companies put glued rocks on top of the plants, anyway? It is done for ease of shipping so the soil stays put, and the plant...
When I saw this plant in a conservatory, I thought there was an oak tree growing. I discovered it was the oakleaf basket fern (Dyanaria quercifolia). Quercus is the genus name of oak trees, so quercifolia means the foliage resembles oak leaves. The shield fronds of...
I can spot a houseplant problem “a mile away”. It’s true. Often people are perplexed by what is causing problems for their houseplants. I’d like to help identify the problems and the ways to solve them. Let’s start with insects that...
Other than green, my favorite color is orange. I love orange flowers, but did you know there is a houseplant with vibrant orange foliage? No, I’m not talking about the croton plant. Yes, it can have vibrant orange foliage, but I’m talking about a plant...
Oh, no! What are those tiny opaque dots on the back of my Cissus amazonica? Does it have bugs?! First Reaction My first reaction was bugs of course until I looked closer. I was immediately angry, thinking this newer plant had bugs from the greenhouse. You may think...
Did you know that a plant on the second floor may need different care than one on the first floor? This blog post is hard to write because I’m so mad at myself. I had (stress HAD) a beautiful Blechnum ‘Silver Lady’ fern. Here is a picture of it newly...