Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond This Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Houseplants 5
Chapter 1: Discovering the World of Houseplants 7
Getting to Know Houseplants 7
Houseplant history 8
Species houseplant names 9
Cultivar names 10
Hybrid plant names 10
Understanding the Benefits of Growing Houseplants 11
Growing Houseplants: A Month-by-Month Guide 13
January 13
February 14
March 15
April 16
May 16
June, July, and August 17
September 18
October 19
November and December 20
Chapter 2: Choosing the Perfect Houseplants 21
Figuring Out Where to Shop 21
Specialist houseplant growers or suppliers 22
Your local garden center 22
Home centers, groceries, and discount stores 22
Plant and home shows 23
Online houseplant suppliers 23
Considering Your Environment 24
Taking temperature readings 25
Measuring your light intensity 26
Asking yourself a few other questions 28
Knowing What to Look for in a Houseplant 29
Choosing a healthy plant 29
Deciding between a mature blooming plant and a young plant 30
Understanding how houseplants are produced 32
Selecting houseplants with a sweet scent 33
Introducing Your New Houseplant to Your Home 33
Chapter 3: Having the Right Tools on Hand 35
Focusing on Pruning and Cutting Tools 35
Pruners 36
Knives and blades 37
Considering Potting Tools and Supplies 37
Potting tools and supplies 38
Identifying Watering Accessories 41
Water breakers 41
Water-flow regulators 42
Hoses 42
Watering cans 43
Sprayers and misters 44
Fertilizer injectors and siphon mixers 44
Deionization and reverse osmosis units 44
Modifying Your Environment with Humidifiers, Ventilation Equipment, and Heaters 46
Humidifiers 47
Ventilation equipment 48
Heaters 49
Thermometers and hygrometers 49
Chapter 4: Houseplant Appreciation and Display 51
Caring for Houseplants in Their New Home 51
If the plant is in bloom 52
If the plant is not in bloom 52
Staking and Grooming Your Blooming Houseplants 53
Figuring out how to stake 53
Helping your houseplants look their best 55
Displaying Houseplants in Your Home 56
Knowing some tips to best display your houseplants 57
Arranging Houseplant Flowers 59
Understanding the three basic flower-design elements 59
Supporting houseplant stems in arrangements 61
Making your houseplant arrangement last longer 61
Part 2: Keeping Your Houseplants Alive and Thriving 63
Chapter 5: Providing the Right Growing Environment 65
Knowing How Much Light Your Houseplants Need 66
Let There Be Light! Recognizing Natural Light Sources 67
Greenhouses: Your high light source 67
Windowsills: Not all are created equal 68
Clues your houseplants want different lighting 71
Comparing Artificial Light Sources 73
Fluorescent lights 73
High-intensity discharge lights and commercial-grade LED lights 77
LEDs: The new kids on the block 78
Choosing the best lighting option 79
Knowing Some Tricks for Growing Houseplants Under Lights 80
Creating Humidity 81
Providing Ventilation: Fresh Air, Please! 83
Ceiling fans 83
Oscillating fans 84
Muffin fans 84
Considering Houseplant Temperature Requirements 84
Too-low temperatures 85
Too-high temperatures 85
Choosing and Planting a Terrarium 85
Giving Your Houseplants a Summer Vacation 88
Growing plants in a shade house 88
Summering houseplants in a portable greenhouse 90
Letting your plants hang around 91
Chapter 6: Watering and Fertilizing Your Plants 93
Water, Water Everywhere: Understanding the Art of Watering Houseplants 94
The type of houseplant 94
The type of pot 94
The type and age of the potting material 95
The roominess of the pot 95
The humidity, temperature, and ventilation of the growing environment 96
The growing stage 96
Quenching Your Houseplants Thirst 96
Using the pot-weighting method 96
Knowing some tips and tricks for watering your houseplants 97
Over- or Underwatering: Roots Tell the Story 98
Houseplant ER: Rescuing and Resuscitating a Dehydrated Houseplant 101
Realizing Fertilizers Are Plant Boosters Not Magic Potions 103
Knowing what to look for in houseplant fertilizers 103
Identifying types of fertilizers and knowing how to use them 106
Chapter 7: Getting the Skinny on Containers, Potting Mixes, and Repotting 109
Exploring Different Kinds of Containers 110
Examining standard container materials 111
Getting creative with containers 113
Growing houseplants hydroponically in self-watering containers 114
Getting the Right Potting Mix 115
Comparing potting mix to soil 115
Understanding components of potting mixes 116
Figuring out which potting materials are best 118
Whipping up your own mix 119
Repotting Houseplants without Fear 120
Playing the Matching Game the Right Plants for the Right Pots 121
Up-close-and-personal displays 122
Tucked-in attention-grabbers 123
Containers of mixed company 123
Chapter 8: Multiplying Your Favorite Houseplants 125
Cloning Your Plants through Vegetative Reproduction 125
Cutting and rooting stems 126
Reproducing with leaf cuttings 128
Propagating by air layering 130
Growing Plants from Seeds: Sexual Reproduction 131
Recognizing the different kinds of seeds 132
Knowing the benefits of sowing seeds 133
Buying seeds: What to keep in mind 134
Testing seeds 135
Getting better results from sowing seed 136
Thinning seedlings 138
Hardening off seedlings 139
Transplanting seedlings 139
Chapter 9: Keeping Your Houseplants Pest- and Disease-Free 141
Preventing Problems before They Start 142
Besting the Bugs 143
Identifying common houseplant pests 143
Finding safe and effective pest-control measures 148
Applying pest-control treatments 150
Identifying Fungal and Bacterial Infections 151
Noticing when your houseplant has a virus 152
Handling a sick plant 153
Part 3: the Best of the Houseplants 155
Chapter 10: Succulents and Cacti: Easy-Care Plants 157
Caring for Houseplant Succulents and Cacti 158
Potting 158
Watering 159
Lighting 160
Other maintenance tips 160
Meeting the Succulents 161
Genus: Adromischus 162
Genus: Aeonium 163
Genus: Agave 164
Genus: Aloe 165
Genus: Anacampseros 167
Genus: Bryophyllum 167
Genus: Ceropegia 167
Genus: Cotyledon 168
Genus: Crassula 168
Genus: Echeveria 171
Genus: Euphorbia 173
Genus: Faucaria 175
Genus: Gasteria 176
Genus: Graptopetalum 176
Genus: Graptosedum 177
Genus: Graptoveria 178
Genus: Haworthia 178
Genus: Kalanchoe 181
Genus: Lithops 181
Genus: Pachyphytum 184
Genus: Pachyveria 185
Genus: Pleiospilos 186
Genus: Portulacaria 186
Genus: Sedum 186
Genus: Sempervivum 189
Genus: Senecio 191
Saying Hi to Houseplant Cacti 193
Getting to the point: Cactus spines and prickers 194
Two can tango: Grafted cacti 194
Genus: Astrophytum 195
Genus: Cephalocereus 195
Genus: Cereus 196
Genus: Disocactus 197
Genus: Echinocactus 198
Genus: Echinocereus 199
Genus: Echinopsis 199
Genus: Epiphyllum 200
Genus: Ferocactus 201
Genus: Gymnocalycium 202
Genus: Mammillaria 202
Genus: Opuntia 203
Genus: Oreocereus 204
Genus: Parodia or Notocactus 205
Genus: Rhipsalis 206
Genus: Tephrocactus 206
Chapter 11: Easy Orchids: Dont Pass Up These Beauties 209
Becoming Familiar with the Basics of Orchid Culture 210
Repotting Orchids without Fear 211
Knowing when to repot 211
Orchid potting step by step 212
Understanding Orchid Names 214
Meeting the Moth Orchids 214
Examining the popularity of moth orchids 215
Deconstructing the beauty of moth orchids 216
Checking Out the Cattleyas 224
The queens of the ball: Cattleya hybrids 225
Exploring the miniatures 229
A few other cattleya relatives of note 230
Trying On the Slipper Orchids 232
Giving your ladys slipper a good home 233
Admiring marvelous Maudiae 234
Going big with modern ladys slippers hybrids 234
Taking a spin with the dancing ladies: Onicidiums 235
Growing miniature oncidiums or tolumnias 236
Chapter 12: Foliage Plants: Create an Indoor Tropical Paradise 237
Examining Why People Grow Foliage Plants 238
Introducing an Assortment of Foliage Plants 238
Large-growing foliage plants 239
Small-growing foliage plants 254
Vines and climbers for foliage and flowers 273
Chapter 13: Flowering Plants: Dazzling Additions to Your Indoor Garden 285
Understanding the Conditions Flowering Plants Need to Thrive 286
Introducing a Parade of Flowering Plants 286
Genus: Abutilon 286
Genus: Acalypha 287
Genus: Alpinia 288
Genus: Anthurium 289
Genus: Aphelandra 289
Genus: Beloperone 290
Genus: Bougainvillea 290
Genus: Brugmansia 292
Genus: Brunfelsia 292
Genus: Burbidgea 293
Genus: Canna 294
Genus: Cestrum 294
Genus: Clerodendrum 295
Genus: Clivia 295
Genus: Costus 297
Genus: Crossandra 297
Genus: Curcuma 298
Genus: Duranta 299
Genus: Euphorbia 299
Genus: Fuchsia 301
Genus: Gardenia 302
Genus: Globba 303
Genus: Heliconia 304
Genus: Hibiscus 305
Genus: Ixora 305
Genus: Jatropha 307
Genus: Justicia 307
Genus: Medinilla 308
Genus: Mussaenda 308
Genus: Nerium 309
Genus: Pachystachys 310
Genus: Pentas 310
Genus: Plumbago 311
Genus: Plumeria 312
Genus: Rosa 313
Genus: Ruellia 313
Genus: Spathiphyllum 314
Genus: Tabernaemontana 314
Genus: Tibouchina 316
Genus: Zantedeschia 316
Genus: Zingiber 317
Chapter 14: African Violets and Their Kin: Almost Always in Flower 319
Understanding Why Gesneriads Should Be More Popular 320
Introducing the Main Players in This Genus 320
Genus: Achimenes 321
Genus: Aeschynanthus 321
Genus: Chirita 322
Genus: Chrysothemis 323
Genus: Columnea 324
Genus: Corytoplectus 325
Genus: Episcia 326
Genus: Kohleria 326
Genus: Nematanthus 328
Genus: Pearcea 329
Genus: Saintpaulia 329
Genus: Seemannia 333
Genus: Sinningia 335
Genus: Smithiantha 339
Genus: Streptocarpus 340
Chapter 15: Begonias: Brilliant Flowers, Gorgeous Foliage 343
Examining Why People Grow Begonias 344
Understanding Basic Care of Begonias 345
Potting your begonias 345
Regulating humidity 345
Watering correctly 345
Providing light 346
Managing temperature requirements 346
Meeting the Begonias 347
Foliage begonias 347
Flowering begonias 351
Shrub or cane begonias 354
Part 4: the Part of Tens 357
Chapter 16: Ten Common Reasons Houseplants Die (and How to Avoid em) 359
Overwatering 359
Underwatering 360
Too Much Light or Heat 360
Leaving Houseplant Foliage Wet Overnight 361
Too Much Fertilizer 361
Insect Infestation 361
Improper Use of Pesticides 362
Purchasing Sick Plants 362
Poor Water Quality 362
Inadequate Ventilation 363
Chapter 17: The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Houseplants 365
Are Houseplants Difficult to Grow? 365
Why Should I Grow Houseplants? 366
Do I Need a Greenhouse to Grow Houseplants? 366
Are Houseplants Expensive? 366
How Long Will Houseplants Live? 367
What Makes a Plant a Houseplant? 367
Are Any Houseplants Cold-Hardy? 367
Are Houseplants Fragrant? 367
Where Can I See the Best Collections of Houseplants? 368
What Are the Best Materials to Use to Repot or Transplant My Houseplants? 369
Appendix 371
Index 375
