Fertilizing house plants

QuestionIs it true that dirty dishwater is a good fertilizer? I read an article about a lady that only used dirty dish water to fertilize her plants and she is convinced that all of the nutrients that plants n

artemisia silver mound

QuestionI got the divisions(roots), they look ok in the pots (I could see the growing) but now in NJ is winter time and I keep them indoors ... are they going to be ok the whole winter indoors or what should I do?

bad smell from soil in hpuse plant

QuestionSomeone recently gave me a rather nice house plant, a Dracaena fragrans...but the soil it is potted in has a horrible earthy, composty smell...I thought the smell would go away but it seems to be getting w

gardenias when to trim

QuestionWhen should I trim the plant? The shoots are now very long, but it is indoors for the winter and may be setting buds. AnswerLisa, Pruning gardenias keeps plants shapely and in scale. Pruning should b

orange & brown spots on Alocasia

QuestionHello Will, Ive been growing an alocasia for about a year. This week the largest leaves have gotten orange & brown spots on the edges. Each day the damaged area grows a bit larger. Whats th

Soil critters

QuestionI have a orange tree in my home. The soil was soil that I purchased at a store. Today when I was cleaning up the leaves that had fallen on the top soil. I found a worm of some kind-it was l

potted palm tree

QuestionI have a potted palm tree and its lower leaves are starting to brown and look dry. I water it about once a week. It gets sun, but not a lot of direct light. I had another palm and it did th

Mold and mildew on indoor plants

QuestionHi Tracy, One of my plants, and Im sorry, but Im not sure the name of it, has a bad case of powdery mildew. It is a hard leaf plant that flowers beautiful tiny bright pink blossoms. I remember th

Ficus Problem

QuestionI have has a ficus for several years. Over the past couple of months, it began to lose a lot of leaves on one side, and dry out. Now the other side with green leaves is becoming dry, and both gre

Mother in-laws tounge

QuestionIs a mother-in-laws plant poisnous to pets i.e. Golden Retriever puppies???? AnswerHi Becky Yes, I think that mother-in-law tongue plants are poisonous. In general, it is best to assume that all houseplants

My ZiZi Plant

QuestionSo is the yellowing of the leaves due to improper planting technique or lack of water? I believe the ceramic pot it was planted in does have drainage holes but unsure it is very heavy. AnswerHi Michelle, Mo

Dwarf Schefflera

QuestionHi, I have a Dwarf Schefflera that has been growing outside in a clay pot on the patio. I live in central Florida. It receives good sun and is showing good growth. My question is could there be something wr

Please help me identify my houseplant

QuestionHi - I dont think my plant looks anything like a china doll. I tried to figure out how to send pictures but need some instructions. ------------------------------------------- The text above is

Mock Orchid

QuestionI am sorry, but i do not have the means to email you a photo. Let me see if I can be more desciptive: it has very long flat green leaves about 1-1/2 inches wide. It grows from the center ou

poisonous houseplants

Questionare spider plants poisonous to dogs? AnswerHi Iris, I dont believe that Spider plants are listed as poisonous but you never know how an animal will react to even a plant not known to be poisonous. To be on

pregnant onion toxic to other plants?

QuestionI brought in my new pregnant onion plant for the winter and set it on the shelf with my 15 year old peace lily. I just noticed that a MASS amount of the leaves on the lily have shriveled up and turn br

Frozen Plants

QuestionI recently moved, and it did not seem to cold outside, I only moved 5 minutes away so I figured my plants would be ok in the box of my truck...wrong... once i got them inside the leaves were all whilted and

what have we got??

QuestionI dont not have a scanner or a digital camera, but will this may help I looked further at the books at work - the term whorl may be the wrong term. the small leaves (or spikes) all start from a center point

how to save a massangeana cane

QuestionI have a massangeana cane and no matter what I try to do it still looks to me as if its dying. Its brown on the leaves some on the end and some on the whole leaf. Also my plants are turning yellow and

rubber tree pruning

QuestionI have a large rubber tree (about 5 ft. with many stems) When I prune it white sap pours out of the cut end. Does this harm the plant? Is there anything I should do to protect the cut area? Answ