How to Care for Violets With Ivy Houseplants
The easy-to-grow African violet is a common houseplant with fuzzy leaves and bright blooms. It carries tiny blue, lavender or pink flowers that are consistently produced when the plant is well taken care of. Small ivy plants are a dime a dozen and are grown indoors with reckless ease. Ivies exhibit a trailing habit; they…
How to Propagate & Care for African Violets
African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) has a reputation as a fussy plant that can be difficult to grow, but this blooming plant with dark green, fuzzy leaves is actually a cinch to grow as long as a few basic requirements are met. African violets, available in a variety of shades ranging from blue-violet and pink to…
How to Care for Butterfly Weed
The primary food source for the caterpillar larvae of the Monarch butterfly, the butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), grows as a hardy perennial. A native plant of North America, it grows to a height of up to 2 feet. The plant has strong, hairy stems that display lance-shaped leaves that measure up to 6 inches in…
How to Care for a Hawaiian Hoya Houseplant
The hoya plant — native to China, Burma and India — is a tropical succulent well-suited to indoor pots and hanging baskets. Also called the "wax" plant because of its waxy leaves and star-shaped white flowers, the hoya thrives and flowers best when kept in the same spot all year long. When caring for a…
How to Care for Hoya Lanceolata Plants
Hoya lanceolata, also called miniature wax plant, is a perennial evergreen native to India. It has shiny, lance-shaped leaves and small white blooms that are fragrant in some varieties. The plant will attach itself to a small trellis or other structure and gradually climb, much like an ivy. Hoya lanceolata cannot survive temperatures that drop…
How to Care for a Water Hyacinth in Winter
The common water hyacinth, Eichornia crassipes, is a confirmed sun-worshiper that has absolutely zero tolerance for freezing, and performs best in temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. While Floridians and Africans disparage this beauty, many water gardeners adore the plant for its exotic blooms, rapid growth rate and ability to compete with algae in backyard ponds.…
Care of a Water Hyacinth
Water hyacinths are one of the easiest to care for aquatic plants. They thrive in any body of fresh water and are hardy to 40 degrees F. In fact they are so indestructible they are classified as noxious weeds in many southern states, and it is illegal to import them to or export them from…
How to Care for Blooming Orchid Plants
Orchids are beautiful plants, and they can brighten up any room with their graceful stems and bright, colorful flowers. According to the American Orchid Society (AOS), phalaenopsis orchids are the most popular for indoor growing, although there are nearly 20,000 recorded species of orchids around the world. Taking care of your blooming orchid is not…
Orchid Plant Care
Orchids are a unique and unusual family of plants, and one of the oldest and most diverse in the world. They are luscious, mysterious flowering plants with beautiful colors, shapes, sizes, and fragrances that make them an enchanting species to grow and collect. Orchids grow all over the world in many different environments, and some…
How to Care for Moth Orchid Plants
Known botanically as phalaenopsis, moth orchids are exotic-looking, flowering plants native to tropical Asia. Moth orchids earned their odd name due to the shape of their flowers, which resemble a colorful moth with its wings spread. Despite their showy appearance, moth orchids are the easiest orchid cultivar to grow at home. Because moth orchids tend…