The Complete Guide to Keeping Your Houseplants Alive and Thriving: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

by Baker, Sandy

• ISBN13: 9781601383495
• ISBN10: 1601383495
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-30
• Publisher: Atlantic Pub Co

Summary

This book was written to provide all plant owners and potential owners the needed steps to keeping their beloved green friends alive, no matter how finicky they can be. In this guide, you will learn all of the basics of houseplant care, starting with a thorough explanation and glossary of terms that are used to describe different plants and how they grow. You will learn what makes a houseplant different from other plants and how much water, sunlight, and food each plant needs to truly stay alive. Their specific needs are even more broken down by showing you all of the various houseplants known in existence and a guide for each type of houseplant with specific care instructions for how they best thrive in a myriad of conditions. Top houseplant experts and gardeners have contributed their insight through various interviews to further the knowledge you can gain from this book and to help you overcome particularly finicky houseplants, finding the right location in the home, avoiding meddling pests and pets, and making sure some unknown contagion is not interfering with the growth of your plants. This book, for anyone who has ever wanted to add a little green to their home, is the perfect path to understanding and keeping alive your favorite houseplants.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 13
Houseplant Care 101	p. 17
Water	p. 18
Water temperature	p. 22
Watering while away	p. 22
Case Study: Why Water Matters	p. 23
Light	p. 24
South-facing light	p. 24
East-facing light	p. 25
North-facing light	p. 25
West-facing light	p. 26
Dealing with over/underexposure of light	p. 26
Using artificial light	p. 27
Choosing Your Plant's Container	p. 29
Plastic	p. 30
Clay	p. 32
Terra cotta	p. 32
Ceramic or glazed pots	p. 33
Cachepots	p. 34
Metal pots	p. 35
Bamboo and wood containers	p. 35
Using urns, tubs, and boxes	p. 36
Plant stands	p. 37
Hanging Baskets and Pots	p. 38
How to choose the right plant container and display	p. 40
Soil and Fertilization	p. 43
Soil	p. 43
Peat moss	p. 46
Composted plant materials	p. 46
Sand	p. 47
Perlite	p. 48
Vermiculite	p. 48
Mineral nutrients	p. 49
Special Potting Mixtures	p. 50
Orchid mixes	p. 50
Fern mixes	p. 52
Bromeliad mixes	p. 52
Repotting	p. 52
Fertilizers	p. 55
Organic fertilizers	p. 56
Inorganic fertilizers	p. 56
Case Study: Info From an Industry Expert	p. 59
The Right Plant for Your Home	p. 63
How to Choose Your Plant	p. 64
Easy to Care for Houseplants	p. 68
Shade thriving plants	p. 84
Choosing Plants According to Location	p. 91
Plants for foyers and hallways	p. 91
Plants for a bathroom	p. 97
More plants that prefer humid environments	p. 102
Plants that thrive in sunny locations	p. 112
Plants to Purify Your Home or Office	p. 116
Air-filtering plants	p. 117
NASA-approved plants	p. 122
Case Study: Creating an Indoor Kitchen Garden	p. 127
Growing Herbs, Fruits, and Vegetables Indoors	p. 131
The Banana Family	p. 140
Citrus, Berries, and Other Fruits	p. 143
Vegetables	p. 151
Case Study: Basement Bananas	p. 160
All the Pretty Flowers	p. 163
Indoor Plants that Bloom	p. 164
Begonias	p. 165
Bromeliads	p. 166
Bulbs, corms, and tubers	p. 170
Orchids	p. 180
Pests, Insecticides, and Disease	p. 185
Bringing Plants Into Your Home	p. 185
Pests	p. 187
Ants	p. 187
Aphids	p. 187
Caterpillars	p. 188
Cyclamen mite	p. 189
Earwigs	p. 189
Scales	p. 189
Fungus gnats	p. 190
Leaf miner	p. 191
Mealy bug	p. 191
Thrips	p. 191
Vine weevil	p. 192
Whiteflies	p. 192
Spider mites	p. 192
Chemical Treatments	p. 193
Imidacloprid	p. 194
Neem/Azatrol	p. 194
Carbyl	p. 194
Orthene	p. 195
Homemade Remedies	p. 195
Insecticidal soap	p. 195
Hand picking	p. 196
Damp wiping	p. 196
Water spray	p. 196
Rubbing alcohol	p. 197
Tobacco tea	p. 198
Sticky traps	p. 193
Soap-oil treatment for spider mites	p. 198
Plant Diseases	p. 199
Fungal diseases	p. 199
Case Study: Important Houseplant Considerations	p. 201
Growing Plants Chemical Free	p. 203
The Best Soil Media for Organic Growers	p. 204
Soil as an organic growing media	p. 204
Amending Soil	p. 205
Humus: the best organic soil amendment	p. 205
Alternative organic soil amendments	p. 206
Making Your Own Compost	p. 209
Natural Fertilizers and Amendments	p. 212
Growing Fruits and Vegetables Organically	p. 215
Organic Pesticides for Houseplants	p. 218
Why never to use chemical-based pesticides	p. 219
Be careful buying organic pesticides	p. 219
The Basics of Organic Pesticides	p. 220
Prior to using organic pesticides	p. 221
Do You Have a Problem with Pests?	p. 222
Diatomaceous earth	p. 222
Garlic pesticides and fungicides	p. 223
Neem insecticidal spray	p. 224
Orange Guard	p. 225
Organic Lawn and Garden Bug Spray	p. 226
Other homemade pesticides and repellants	p. 227
Companion Planting	p. 228
Propagating Houseplants	p. 231
Propagating Methods	p. 232
Peat pots	p. 232
Seed pellets	p. 232
Sowing seeds in regular containers	p. 233
Stem cuttings/vegetative propagation	p. 234
Propagating leafy plants	p. 237
Propagating bulbs	p. 237
Forcing Winter Blooms	p. 238
Case Study: Caring for Your Houseplants-While at Home or Away	p. 244
Tabletop Gardens	p. 247
Tabletop Gardens Made with Glass Dishes, Jars, Lanterns, and Bowls	p. 249
Water Gardens	p. 252
Gravel/Japanese Gardenscape	p. 253
Tray and Dish Gardens	p. 254
Appendix A	p. 261
A	p. 261
B	p. 262
C	p. 263
G	p. 265
H	p. 265
J	p. 265
L	p. 266
M	p. 266
N	p. 267
P	p. 267
R	p. 269
S	p. 271
V	p. 272
W	p. 273
Z	p. 273
Glossary	p. 275
Bibliography	p. 279
Author Biography	p. 281
Index	p. 283
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