41
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 15.5k
14
votes
Accepted
Can I use "distilled" water to water plants?
Provided that you are feeding the soil/plants the macro and micro nutrients they need there shouldn't be an issue. Epsom salt (1tbsp/gallon) every now and then helps with some of the micro nutrients. ...
- 611
12
votes
Accepted
How long can a bell pepper plant thrive while maintained indoors?
I'm revising my answer again, but this time with an opinion based on my observations of peppers (not bell types specifically):
My opinion is that they'll continue to live as long as they're healthy ...
- 17.4k
12
votes
Accepted
What is this plant with red-pink lines/veins on its big green rounded leaves?
This is the Prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura), named because the way the leaves fold up at night is reminiscent of hands held together in prayer. This particular plant is M. leuconeura var. ...
- 7,159
12
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 51.5k
11
votes
Accepted
What LED light should I choose for a specific PAR watt need?
My summary of the various information sources would go something like:
Light outside the range 400 to 700 nm is less useful.
As all the light shown below is in the 400-700 range you are not spoilt ...
- 246
10
votes
Accepted
Is there anything wrong with allowing moss to grow around herbs?
Moss on an indoor pot is a sign that the mix surface is constantly damp, and that isn't good. Use a fork or toothpick or something, and stir up the top layer to get rid of it. Always allow the top 1/2"...
- 51.5k
10
votes
Accepted
What is this plant with a thick woody stem and waxy leaves?
This is the rubber plant, Ficus elastica. It has white sticky sap and can grow into a tree (100 - 200 feet 30 - 60 M) tall when grown outdoors in the tropics.
This plant will tolerate shade, neglect ...
- 56.6k
9
votes
How long can a bell pepper plant thrive while maintained indoors?
For what it's worth we have a local greenhouse that grows bell peppers and tomatoes year round. They use plants for 2 years. I think they trash them after that because the amount of woody stems ...
- 2,369
9
votes
How do I keep "cat grass" alive?
I went to Tractor Supply, a farm store, I'm sure there are others, and bought a 50 Lb bag of oat seed (hull on) for about $14.00. Horses like it.
I put a 3/4 cup of seeds in wet dirt in a 12" clay or ...
- 2,339
9
votes
How big a lemon tree can I grow indoors?
We get a lot of questions about member of the citrus family. Some varieties will flower and set fruit indoors. So, yes, you can grow citrus indoors but they are challenging to keep looking nice at ...
- 56.6k
9
votes
Concerned about slow growth of my seedlings
I'm by no means an expert, however I am pretty sure that, at least for Zucchini, Cucumber and peppers 1% more light = 1% more growth. Thus in order to increase growth, maybe you should start moving ...
- 3,396
8
votes
Can plants have too much light, or do they need night/rest?
Actually.. Here's a study that shows tomatoes do pretty well in a 24 hour continuous, but they varied the temperature and they didn't get the spotting that had occurred with 24h lighting in the past. ...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
Why are my indoor strawberry's leaves turning brown?
You are overwatering. I can see a line on the pot, in the saucer, where the water level usually is. The soil also looks very wet. That is far too much water for a strawberry plant. The leaves are also ...
- 51.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it bad practice to leave dead roots in soil?
Is leaving them in there better or worse than taking them out?
In a pot, definitely take them out if you can. They will put out chemicals while decomposing (usually) that slow down the new plants (a ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Can I save this basil?
Does the basil on the left side have any chances of survival? It doesn't seem likely, but there is still some green on the leaves.
The plant on the left side is too far gone. It will never fully ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
What houseplants will best filter the air for a retirement home?
There are plants that improve air quality - some remove chemicals from the air, formaldehyde for example, but as for removing smells, I can't say I've noticed they're too good at that, though claims ...
- 130k
7
votes
Accepted
How do I water a desk plant at my office without making a mess?
I assume that you yourself will be the only one watering the plant.
Most people use a saucer under the pot (without gravel) and avoid too much water build up by watering the plant only as needed.
If ...
- 935
7
votes
Accepted
Which grass is best suited as an indoor perennial?
Firstly, most grasses won’t do well indoors, so you’ll probably have to go along with a look-alike. Secondly, I don’t have edibility info on the plants I will recommend. Do not ingest any parts of ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Is there a way I can keep my plant off of my desk?
Here's the solution I went with. A local plastic company custom-made this clear acrylic "display riser" for me. It's 12 inches high with an 8 inch square base. Cost about $20.
These display risers ...
- 241
7
votes
Accepted
How much water should I give a mung bean each day?
It's dangerous to use a set amount of water per day, when watering potted plants. This is because they may use different quantities as they get older, and also because it is very easy to overwater, ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to have an odorless/near odorless indoor vermicompost?
Yes. Decomposition smell comes from anaerobic decomposition. Keeping your compost oxygenated should eliminate odors. For my normal compost I do this by flipping it regularly, more at first (every 2 ...
- 749
7
votes
Accepted
What plants can grow in bathroom humidity with no direct sunlight?
The only plants that can live and grow without being directly watered are called epiphytes. Some common ones grown as houseplants include:
Ferns, especially Staghorn ferns
Bromeliads, especially ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Can leaves absorb light from below as easily as from above?
Lighting a plant from beneath will cause the plant to grow towards the light, ergo, downwards, if it grows at all. Phototropism is the name of the process induced by lighting or sunlight from above - ...
- 130k
7
votes
Accepted
How should I grow Moneymaker tomato plants in indoor containers?
Two in a 5 gallon pot is going to be pretty cramped. If they are going to live in the pot their whole lives they will choke each other and you'll potentially get less production than you would from a ...
- 1,043
7
votes
Accepted
Will my basil plant regrow without leaves?
Unlikely to recover - not impossible, but unlikely, and waiting to see if there's any regrowth will take some time. Given you might want some basil between now and Christmas, its probably best to get ...
- 130k
7
votes
Accepted
Camouflaged worms on indoor plants
Those probably aren't "worms", but inchworms or, more precisely caterpillars of geometer moths. This is a very large family of insects, found in many places of the world.
They are easily ...
- 15.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Care for an indoor hyacinth after blooming
Couple of things - when you bought your hyacinth bulb, was it a prepared, pre treated one, sold specially for growing indoors? Or was it just an ordinary outdoor one? It's usual to buy a prepared one ...
- 130k
7
votes
Accepted
Ropes as climbing support for English Ivy?
English Ivy (hedera helix) climbs by thin roots penetrating whatever it clings to. So if you want to use rope, it would be better to use natural fibre rather than nylon which may be too smooth for it ...
- 11.3k
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 ...
- 51.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible