For a breakdown of each subcategory use the buttons below:
If you’re new to growing or caring for houseplants this full and in depth guide takes you through light, watering, soil, feeding and the mistakes you’re likely to make.
Spider plants get taken for granted a bit. They don’t cost a lot, you find them everywhere, they’re famously easy to keep alive – and it’s that ease of keeping them alive that means how impressive they can be when given conditions they like rather than conditions they merely tolerate gets overlooked. A spider plant …
Snake plants are usually one thing or the other. Either very full and lush looking with extremely upright leaves or they’re looking a bit pathetic. They don’t seem to have much in between. My first one was sadly a bit pathetic looking. It was pretty much impossible to kill, I’ll give it that, but it …
Most spider plant owners have a certain way they want their spider plant to look. The mother plant up high on a shelf or in a hanging basket with long stems coming over the sides. Each one of those having its own little baby plant. And then there’s the reality. Which tends to be a …
Orchids are stubborn about telling you what they need. A lot of plants will make a big deal about showing you how they’re feeling. Peace lilies are the classic example of a plant that reacts very dramatically when it’s unhappy. Orchids though will sit in the same pot looking perfectly fine for years. That is …
A few years ago I nearly threw out a perfectly good orchid. The leaves had gone all wrinkled so I assumed it needing more water and so kept watering it. Unfortunately the leaves got worse. When I finally tipped it out of the pot the roots were brown and mushy. The plant hadn’t needed more …
The first time I saw thick roots growing out of the side of my monstera I was sure something had gone wrong with it. There they were, sticking out into the air, reaching for what seemed like nothing in particular, and they looked a bit alien being there next to all the green leaves. So …
A spider plant is, for the most part, supposed to look quite like a fountain. It should have long leaves that drape over the side of the pot looking like it doesn’t care what it does or where it grows. So when the leaves start curling in on themselves instead it can be a shock. …
A drooping spider plant looks scary but usually don’t panic because for the most part it isn’t. Yes, it might be looking fine and full one day and then the next it’s flat and seems pretty sorry for itself. And your first thought is probably that you’ve done something wrong and killed it. Well chances …
There are few things more frustrating when you’re growing and caring for an orchid than watching a spike get loads of buds, become excited about the bloom that’s coming and then watching those buds shrivel up and drop off before any of them open. This is called bud blast and if your orchid buds are …
Fertilizing orchids is trickier than you might think. Orchids in general can be difficult and when it comes to fertilizing it’s mostly justified. If you use the wrong fertilizer you can damage the roots. Feed at the wrong concentration and you burn a plant that was otherwise perfectly healthy. Feed at the wrong time and …