Your plant sits by the window with yellowing leaves, a slumped stem, and soil that looks either soggy or dusty dry. If you are wondering why your house plant is dying and how to save it, the cause is almost always visible once you know where to look. The short version: Most indoor plants decline … Read more >>
Your dieffenbachia has grown tall and leggy, with a long bare cane topped by a tuft of leaves leaning toward the window. If you are wondering how to propagate dieffenbachia from that awkward stem, you are in a good position, because this plant roots readily from almost every part of its cane. The short version: … Read more >>
You brush a hand past the windowsill and feel a leaf that is soft as felt, and suddenly you want more plants like it. A house plant with fuzzy leaves adds texture that glossy foliage can’t match, but that fuzz changes how you water, clean and position the plant. The short version: Fuzzy leaves are … Read more >>
You notice a dug-up crater in your fiddle leaf fig’s pot, soil scattered across the floor, and a smell that tells you exactly what happened. Learning how to keep cats from pooping in your house plants starts with understanding why that loose, soft soil looks so inviting to your cat. The short version: Cover the … Read more >>
You spot a cottony white fleck tucked into the spines of the cactus on your windowsill, or fine webbing near the top that wasn’t there last week. Your first instinct is to grab something that works fast without harsh chemicals, and neem oil is usually the first thing that comes to mind. The short version: … Read more >>
You have a cactus sharing a sunny windowsill or a mixed planter with other houseplants, and one of the neighbors is starting to yellow, droop, or rot. It is natural to wonder if the spiny plant is somehow responsible. The short version: A cactus will not attack or poison its neighbors in any meaningful way. … Read more >>
Your kentia palm sits in the corner of the living room, mostly green and graceful, but a few lower fronds have turned yellow, crispy, or brown at the tips. The short version: Learning how to prune a kentia palm plant comes down to cutting only fronds that are fully or mostly brown, using clean, sharp … Read more >>
A green, ribbed column of Peruvian apple cactus sits on your windowsill, and one arm has grown tall enough to lean toward the glass. That arm is a ready-made new plant, and learning how to grow Peruvian apple cactus from cutting is one of the easiest ways to multiply this fast, forgiving cactus. The short … Read more >>
A tall, blue-green column with neat ribs and short spines stands near your window, and you want it to keep growing straight and firm instead of leaning or going soft. Learning how to care for Peruvian apple cactus indoors comes down to a few habits you set once and adjust by season. The short version: … Read more >>
You glance at the ponytail palm on your windowsill and notice the swollen trunk looks thinner and wrinkled, the leaf tips have gone crispy, and the soil has shrunk away from the pot. The short version: An underwatered ponytail palm usually shows a shriveled or wrinkled trunk base, dry brown leaf tips, and bone-dry soil … Read more >>