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 ...
- 16.1k
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
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. ...
- 7,199
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 ...
- 51.7k
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 ...
- 58k
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 ...
- 2,379
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 ...
- 58k
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 ...
- 3,436
8
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 ...
- 16.1k
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 ...
- 132k
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 ...
- 51.7k
7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 301
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 ...
- 13k
7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 171
7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 132k
7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 58k
7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 58k
6
votes
Accepted
How do I care for grapefruit seedlings?
In the mid-ninties (probably '94), I planted several grapefruit seeds. Several germinated, and they all got some white fuzzy stuff on them that made them sticky, and all but one of them died (maybe it ...
- 17.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Can indoor mint grow all-year round?
Mint does this when constrained within a pot - its natural growth habit is to throw out long runners up to 18 inches under the ground and pop up a good distance away from the original clump, which is ...
- 132k
6
votes
Accepted
How much water do these hydroponic office plants need?
Plant number one is a Rhapis excelsa palm, a real beauty.They grow well in bright diffuse light but will tolerate periods of low light. The die back at the ends of the leaves is natural. Just take a ...
- 58k
6
votes
Accepted
Why are my limes taking a long time to ripen?
Citrus typically takes a long time to ripen. Valencia oranges, for example, will still be completing the ripening process even after the tree has flowered and set fruit for the next season.
You did ...
- 429
6
votes
Accepted
What are the best conditions for Peperomia caperata?
I would not recommend peperomia as a houseplant for someone new to plants. It is a nice looking plant from Brazil but requires a fairly exact watering regime and does not tolerate less than ideal ...
- 58k
6
votes
Accepted
How can I help this plant?
This is not hopeless.
You've lost a lot of leaves at some point. The stem will not fill back in with new leaves. It may get a new sprout or two, but it will always look sparse and droopy like it ...
- 9,464
6
votes
Accepted
Is sunlight from my window enough to grow cherry tomato seedlings indoors?
Seeds don't need light to germinate, they just need moisture and heat. But they need light to grow. Fruiting plants need the most light of all edible plants as the energy from sunlight is needed to ...
- 23.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Can I grow a bay tree (Laurus nobilis) indoors?
Yes, you can grow a bay tree indoors. It will need the sunniest spot available and plenty of fresh air (it doesn't mind draughts) so near a slightly open window would be good, and should be watered ...
- 132k
6
votes
Can carnivorous plants grow well indoors?
Carnivorous Plants like full sun generally though you could place your plant on a window sill with high levels of solar insolation if wanting to keep as a house plant. They live in nutrient poor ...
- 23.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Can carnivorous plants grow well indoors?
Graham is right. There are carnivorous plants that can be kept it inside. I wanted to add a few things, though. One is that some carnivorous plants will stay alive inside, but they might not do ...
- 5,092
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible