Spring is a great time to spruce up your space with some new houseplants (also a good time to dust and generally care for the ones you already have). Jump below for a guide to houseplants:
The blog Houseplant Care breaks down the best easy to grow houseplants as well as houseplants that might be poisonous to pets and top plants for the bathroom. If you've been confused about how much light a plant needs or how much you should be watering it, the blog is really helpful for that too. Although it doesn't look like it hasn't been updated recently, there's a wealth of information in it!
[image courtesy of wisecraft flickr set]
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thanks for sharing! i'm definitely going to head over for a read.
Beautiful McCoy pottery!
I was just thinking about how to get houseplants into my lower light living space. I hate leggy, yellowed plants. thanks!
UGH! duped! this is just a page of links funded by ads. Very little useful content.
McCoy...swoon!!!
Of course, houseplants in Southern California don't need much special care. Gardenweb is a more useful site and has very lively forums.
What about that great indoor houseplant video posted on AT a few weeks ago where the host recommended adding googley eyes to plants?
The site isn't necessarily the best advice. I have a staghorn fern that is planted in regular potting soil and it is a fast grower. It has doubled in size in less than a year. It is a beautiful unusual plant that isn't hard to keep green and thriving. (Like the article, I do recommend misting it a couple times of week.)
Houseplants should be placed outside during warm days. This increase there growth.
Any suggestions that are Cashmere-the-Cat-proof? She woke me up this AM jumping on the vanity to munch on the African Violets. I heard it and scolded her--she jumped down, but Sat when I was out, she munched on all three, even with the barricade.
Kaanswfm:
Get your kitty some of the organic wheat grass that is now available in many grocery stores for about $2.00 a container in the produce section with the other organic produce.
It looks like little pots of grass. And it's about half the price at the grocery than it is at the pet supply store.
I place the square containers in a round pot that they fit in (square peg, round hole, sometimes this works!) and place the little pots on the floor.
They can be clustered in with your other larger floor plants. Replace weekly, or as needed.
I swear I have a cat that flosses his teeth with the grass. And if the cats have their OWN plants to chew on, that are always fresh and good for them, then you won't have to worry about your own plants.
Try it!
kaanswfm, I second True Blue, but I go even cheaper. I got a pack of oat seeds and plant a new batch every 2-3 weeks. My cat loves them and leaves my pretty plants alone.
OK, thanks--Cashmere killed off 11 orchids when I lived in NYC. 5 at one time, then 6 the other.
She's a little brat sometimes, but damn, she's cute! She's smart, too. She let's me know by looking at me straight in the eyes when she needs to pee or poop or right after she's done it if I wasn't paying attention, so I go clean up so it's not stinky--a lot of times, she holds it until I get home and then does it several times before we go to bed. My other cat, Macchiato, meows when she needs to go, so if I'm home, I can clean up right after her, too.
They have me trained--it's only in the past couple of months since AT that I've even attempted plants in the house.
thanks for the lead! finally need to learn about houseplants alive :)