Croton, Codiaeum variegatum, is a small shrub with fantastically colorful leaves. As a houseplant it gets to 3 feet tall and wide. It needs very bright filtered light to maintain the foliage color but it won’t tolerate full sun. See page 56 in our newest book from Timber Press, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant.
Read more →Living Stones look more like pebbles than plants, until the surprisingly large flower pops out from between the two fleshy leaves. Give these tiny houseplants a half day of direct sun from an east window. Read all about them on page 227 of our newest book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant from Timber Press.
Read more →Urn Plant is a big Bromeliad houseplant to 2 feet tall and wide. The silver and green foliage is the perfect color balance for the frosty pink and purple flowers. Give it filtered light from an east window. It’s on page 197 of our newest book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant.
Read more →Orchids in the Cattleya alliance are called corsage orchids. The photo is Brassocattleya Pink Debutante with fragrant flowers 6 to 8 inches across. The plants get big too. Give them very bright light but no direct sun. See page 166 of our newest book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant.
Read more →Cottony cushion scale on a citrus houseplant doesn’t look like an insect because it has no legs or wings and doesn’t move. Nevertheless, it’s a bug and it’s reproducing like wildfire. Treat it with insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or rubbing alcohol; these are safe to use inside your home. Page 262 of our book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant?
Read more →Balloon cactus, Parodia magnifica, is an interesting houseplant for a south facing window but, unlike many cacti, it doesn’t prosper in full sun. It needs a full day of sunlight filtered through sheer curtains.
Read more →Lipstick plant, Aeschynanthus radicans, is a perfect flowering houseplant for hanging baskets. Give it bright filtered light (no direct sun), warm temperatures, and ample water. It’s on page 99 of our newest book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant?, from Timber Press.
Read more →This variegated weeping fig, Ficus benjamina, with its sparkling ivory foliage and crisp green patches is a beautiful variation of a beloved houseplant. It makes a very interesting living Christmas tree!
Read more →The flowers of Guzmania bromeliads come in a wide array of colors from flaming scarlet to red, pink, orange, lavender, and yellow. Excellent houseplants, give them bright filtered light but no direct sun.
Read more →Moth orchids, Phalaenopsis species and hybrids, are surprisingly abundant and inexpensive these days. Available everywhere in supermarkets and big box stores they thrive in the low light and warmth of our homes as nearly perfect houseplants.
Read more →