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40 votes
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What house plants or flowers act like a dehumidifier

With plants, you would be doing yourself a disservice. The average potted plant takes up moisture (water, salts and other substances from the soil) from the soil with their roots and a significant ...
Stephie's user avatar
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12 votes
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Can rice be used as a potting medium?

The aloe is not growing in that medium. Sugar dissolves, rice and coffee decompose, when exposed to the conditions required for a healthy root zone. They would sour and kill the plant roots. Not ...
J. Musser's user avatar
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10 votes
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What is this plant with green-pink leaves called?

You have a small Hypoestes phyllostachya, also known as polka dot plant. This native of Madagascar comes in different cultivars with green leaves dotted with a contrasting color. Yours is pink, there ...
Stephie's user avatar
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8 votes
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This plant doesn’t want to stay alive

It's a Fittonia, common name Nerve plant. These can be difficult to keep healthy because they require high humidity, draught free conditions and steady, warm temperatures. They do not appreciate ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
8 votes

Please help me with some ideas

The lankiness is straightforward - the plant is etiolated because it isn't getting as much light as it wants. It is stretching out looking for sunlight, and falling over from the weight. Otherwise, ...
MackM's user avatar
  • 1,270
7 votes

How can I promote new growth on a section of my Jade cutting?

Like many plants, Jade plant stems are comprised of 'nodes and internodes' (the nodes containing the concentrated meristem tissue): The nodes hold one or more leaves, as well as buds which can grow ...
J. Musser's user avatar
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7 votes
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What is damaging my pepper plant?

I checked both options provided by cr0 and Alina (Thank you both very very much). During the process of comparing the symptoms of glasshouse whitefly and spider mites to my plant's situation i ...
Michał Górecki's user avatar
7 votes

Planting too many seeds in small pot

Your plants will have to compete with each other for light, and root space. Because they are so packed and crowded, none of the plants will grow optimal this way. If you just want basil cress, you can ...
benn's user avatar
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7 votes
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Should I account for seasons when growing inside only?

Stormy has a nice answer (especially on fertilizer part), but I am going to add some general concepts. Temperate plants usually needs different seasons to grow naturally. But we don't cultivate them ...
Giacomo Catenazzi's user avatar
7 votes

What house plants or flowers act like a dehumidifier

While you may not get the de-humidifier action from them most cacti, many tropical leaf plants and some blooming tropical plants can live off nothing more then the water in the air in a humid ...
coteyr's user avatar
  • 171
7 votes

What house plants or flowers act like a dehumidifier

A technical version of @Stephanie's answer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as ...
RonJohn's user avatar
  • 171
7 votes
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Unidentified indoor insects in my Click & Grow garden

These are aphids, soft bodied insects that suck plant fluids and spread plant diseases. Control is easily done with soap and water and persistence. Create a solution of 5 ml dish soap to 1 liter of ...
kevinskio's user avatar
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7 votes
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Does it make a pure utilitarian sense to have indoor plants for dark rooms solely for the purpose of purifying the air?

The air purifying meme is based on a study by Nasa in 1989 and has been enthusiastically promoted by anyone who likes or sells plants. Other studies have found that when you do not put the plants in ...
kevinskio's user avatar
  • 61k
7 votes

Why are all my indoor plants dying?

Plants grown in containers can quickly fill their pots, and in doing so seem very healthy and happy until they hit the brick wall by filling the pot with roots and having nowhere else to go. Attempts ...
Colin Beckingham's user avatar
6 votes

Why is this years-old vine dying and showing strange beige spots?

The plant is Rhoicissus rhomboidea 'Ellen Danica', common name Mermaid Vine, though its often referred to as grape ivy. At first glance, rust infection springs to mind, but a closer examination ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
6 votes
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Ficus lost 80% of leaves over the course of November

I suspect its been going short of water - you've not said what size pot its in, and a photograph would have been extremely useful, but 2 cups (unless each cup is a litre or so) every fortnight doesn't ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
6 votes
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Should I cut off some banana leaves before flowering?

I'm not sure if what you've been told is entirely true - what is true is that the new leaves and fruiting stems emerge from the centre of the plant, pushing their way up through existing leaves, so ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
6 votes
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Does anyone recognise this plant?

It is most likely Dracaena fragrans, in my humble opinion it's the classical office plant. It's interesting that it started to flourish as it almost always just dies over time.
Stephan Otto's user avatar
6 votes
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Are these plants Aloe or Gasteraloe?

They do look very much like Gasteraloe beguinii
benn's user avatar
  • 13.2k
6 votes

My Areca Palm is dying

First thing to do is correct your watering regime - little and often is not a good idea, it's better to let the plant dry out slightly between waterings, and water thoroughly when you do water. If the ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
6 votes
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Is it safe to put drinks near snake plants?

Sansevieria is only toxic if eaten - and then you'll only get an upset stomach because it's not that poisonous. There's no danger from placing it near food or drink.
Jurp's user avatar
  • 20.4k
5 votes

What are some low maintenance plant choices for apartment (indoor) living?

Philodendron Cordatum and Philodendron Hederaceum. Massively leafy. Small footprint (pot size relative to amount of leaves). Great for cleaning air in city apartments. Thrive in diffused (indirect ...
Nick Charney Kaye's user avatar
5 votes

How can I automatically water my mushrooms?

The easiest answer is to buy a mister like for dart from and set it on a timer. You'd simply keep the reservoir filled and set the timer to come on multiple times a day to keep whatever consistency of ...
Dalton's user avatar
  • 5,122
5 votes
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Are grow lights bad for lemon trees?

I think it is just over-watering. It takes some time for the plant to find its equilibrium again. Keep it dry and possibly on a cold and shadow place, to simulate winter, to let it restore the roots ...
Giacomo Catenazzi's user avatar
5 votes

It is possible to keep blueberry bushes as a house plant?

It's possible to grow them indoors, provided you can stand the pot somewhere that gets 6 hours of sunlight a day, which can be hard to ensure, depending where you live. The other difficulty is ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
5 votes
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Will these roses bloom this year?

Roses supplied in the condition you describe are known as 'bare root' in the UK, so 'nude root' is just another way of saying the same thing. Both these roses need to be planted in the ground, ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k
5 votes
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Lemon tree transplantation

Who told you that a plant should get no light after being transplanted? Yes, it is probably not a good idea to put a freshly transplanted plant in direct sunlight outdoors, especially if its a small ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 16.9k
5 votes

Could I grow a fruiting plant in my office?

If the lights are extremely close to the plants, you could do a lot more kinds of plants, but I imagine they're on the ceiling, which is very far away. You might experiment with a Grandpa's Home ...
Brōtsyorfuzthrāx's user avatar
5 votes
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Orange and White thing in my new house plant soil

Well it looks like a fruiting body from a fungus, but not one I recognise. First, let's just clarify, when you water a houseplant, you should always empty out the tray beneath after 30 minutes, so ...
Bamboo's user avatar
  • 135k

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