When I was a kid, my dad sometimes brought me bits of plant life from his work trips around the country. I was more interested in those kinds of souvenirs than anything from an airport gift shop. They were nothing ecologically-sensitive or fancy. Just nuts or seed pods from trees in a public park, or …
Continue reading “Botanical tourism: bringing plants from Hawaii to the mainland”
Plants don’t spring back vigorously after hard pruning because they so appreciate having been deadheaded or cropped. They do it as a survival strategy, because they need to get out of energy deficit as quickly as possible.
To know how much to water houseplants, it’s important to know how to read the signs a plant is getting too much or too little water.
Amaryllises are pretty simple plants to grow when put in the right spot, with rewarding repeat blooms.
After several posts on gardening science, it’s as good a time as any for some background on myself and how I came to starting this blog. From 2016-2019, I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. I worked as a copywriter and was experimenting in landscape design/installation with another designer who specializes in native California …
How to design and prepare your garden to coast through summer’s heat without becoming severely drought stressed.
When the weather is hot, water evaporates much more quickly from leaves and from the soil. This is especially true in low humidity, which is even harder on plants. Plant tissues that lose too much moisture will wilt, scorch or die back.
Succulent troubleshooting: understanding what succulents need so you can care for them properly
Turning a pineapple top into a houseplant is a fun and simple gardening project to do with kids, or an easy way to get a free, low-maintenance houseplant that actually looks pretty good in your home.
To get the cuttings to root, you need to control the environment a little more carefully.
