How to Houseplant: A Beginner's Guide to Making and Keeping Plant Friends

by Heather Rodino

Overview

A fun, gifty guide to growing and caring for the top 50 houseplants!
 
In this fun and accessible guide, you’ll learn how to care for 50 of the most popular houseplants, from the fiddle-leaf fig to the moth orchid.

The plant profiles outline care requirements, and an introduction to houseplant basics explains all you need to know about potting soil, watering, common pests, and more.

Houseplants are more popular than ever: as expert writer and gardening enthusiast Heather Rodino notes, “plants have demonstrated therapeutic value, clean the air, and are an affordable way of decorating, adding beauty to your home, and making even the smallest rented space feel like your own.” She offers a lighthearted, colorfully illustrated overview of caring for your indoor garden, profiling 50 of the most popular houseplants, from the Boston fern and the fiddle-leaf fig to the moth orchid. Her accessible advice on handling pests and diseases, troubleshooting problems, and assessing your growing conditions, will give novices the confidence they need to begin nurturing their own collection.

Tips and list detail everything from which plants are pet-friendly to the top five plants for frequent travelers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454932901
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Series:	How To
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	76,585
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Heather Rodino grew up in rural Pennsylvania surrounded by plants and gardens but has lived in urban locations for most of her adult life, making small-space and indoor gardening a necessity. A writer and editor, she is the author of several books and has worked for many years in the publishing industry. She lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 Plant Care Basics

The Path to Enlightenment: Understanding Light 2

Water World: The When, Where, How, and Why of Watering 9

Oh, the Humidity: Why It (Sometimes) Matters 16

Soiled Again: Understanding Potting Mixes 20

Let's Go Shopping! 24

Hey, Good Looking: How to Groom Your Plants 32

Moving On: Repotting Your Plants 35

Now What's Wrong? Common Plant Problems 38

Propagation: Or, How to Make More Plant Friends 49

Part 2 Plant Profiles

African Violet (Saintpaulia) 60

Air Plants (Tillandsia) 62

Aloe Vera 64

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) 66

Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum) 69

Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus) 71

Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis') 74

Braided Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) 75

Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior) 78

Chinese Evergreen (Agiaonema) 80

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides) 82

Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera buckleyi) 84

Dieffenbachia (Dieffenbachia seguine) 86

Donkey's Tail (Sedum morganianum) 88

Dwarf Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola) 90

Echeveria 92

English Ivy (Hedera helix) 94

Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus Iyrata) 96

Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) 98

Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) 101

Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum, syn. Philodendron scandens) 103

Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina) 106

Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) 108

Lady Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum) 110

Lemon-Lime Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Lemon Lime') 112

Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) 114

Meyer Lemon Tree (Citrus x meyeri) 116

Monstera (Monstera deliciosa) 118

Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis) 121

Nerve Plant (Fittonia) 124

Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) 126

Oxalis triangularis 128

Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomantosa) 130

Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans, syn. Neanthe bella) 132

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) 134

Polka Dot Plant (Hypoastes phyllostachya) 136

Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) 138

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) 140

Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura) 142

Rex Begonia (Begonia rex) 144

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) 146

Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) 148

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) 150

Staghorn Fern (Platycerium bifurcatum) 152

Tree Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn, Philodendron selloutm) 154

Urn Plant (Aechmea fasciata) 156

Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia) 158

Wax Plant (Hoya carnosa) 160

Zebra Plant (Haworthia fasciata) 162

ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) 164

Acknowledgments 167

Resources 168

Bibliography 170

Image Credits 173

Index 174