Easy to care for house plant

Botanical Name: Plectranthus species

Swedish ivy house plants are ideal for beginners. Nearly foolproof, this is one of the easiest types of ivy to grow indoors. In fact, it needs little attention to thrive.

This bushy plant has thick stems that grow upright at first, then trail over the sides of a container. Put it in a hanging basket to show off its thickly leaved cascading stems.

Swedish ivy has rounded leaves that are deeply veined with scalloped edges. P. australis is a variety with solid green foliage. The variegated types are more commonly grown as house plants. You can expect pale lavender or white flowers to appear in spring or summer, but they're not nearly as showy as the foliage.

 

Swedish Ivy Plant Care Tips

Keep it moist, not soggy. This plant grows best with evenly moist soil during the growing season. Take care not to allow the soil to become soggy, which can cause root rot. If your plant wilts despite regular watering, it is probably suffering from root rot. If this happens, take a few stem cuttings from the healthiest stems and propagate them. Get rid of the parent plant -- it won't recover. Cut back on water in the winter, when growth has slowed. But don't allow it to dry out completely.

Pinch and prune. This vigorous grower needs regular pruning to keep it in shape. After the flowers fade, pinch back stem tips to encourage branching. You'll get a fuller, bushier plant this way. Propagate the stem tips, if you like. They'll root easily and you'll have new plants. You can prune your plant back by as much as half at a time -- you won't hurt this robust plant at all.

Origin: Northern Australia, Pacific Islands

Height: To 3 ft (90 cm)

Light: Bright, indirect light. Some morning sun is fine.

Water: Keep soil moist spring through fall when plant is actively growing. Water sparingly in winter.

Humidity: Moderate humidity. This plant loves to be misted with room-temperature water.

Temperature: Average room temperatures (60-75°F, 16-24°C) year-round.

Soil: Peat moss-based potting mix.

Fertilizer: Feed monthly spring through fall with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted by half. Do not feed in winter.

Propagation: Take stem cuttings in spring or summer. They'll root easily in water or moist potting mix.

Easy to care for house plant

Botanical Name: Chlorophytum comosum

Spider Plant is an impressive house plant for beginners. It's easy to care for, tolerates average room conditions, and is easy to propagate.

The slender, arching leaves are dark green with a creamy white stripe. Leaves grow from a central crown and can reach up to 1 ft (30 cm) long. Give this plant plenty of light for the best leaf color. Plants grown in low light may lose their variegation.

When less than a year old, the plant produces small, white flowers on the tips of wiry, upright stems, called runners.

The runners are soon weighted down with plantlets giving it a spidery appearance.

These plantlets -- often called "babies" -- are easy to propagate, giving you an ongoing supply of plants.

Repot in spring when the plant has outgrown its pot. Move up to a slightly larger pot. These plants like to be slightly root-bound and will flower and produce plantlets best when grown in a smallish container.

Spider plants look best in hanging baskets or on tall stands or pedestals to show off their trailing foliage. Their variegated leaves and graceful, fountain-like growing habit add a beautiful contrast and texture when grouped with other house plants.
Origin: South Pacific and South Africa

Height: Stems grow to 3 ft (90 cm) or more in length.

Light: Bright light.

Water: Keep soil evenly moist. If your tap water contains fluoride, use distilled or rainwater.

Humidity: Average indoor humidity.

Temperature: Average room temperatures 65-75°F, 18-24°C

Soil: Any good potting mix.

Fertilizer: Feed every 2 weeks spring through summer with a liquid fertilizer diluted by half.

Propagation: Plantlets. Set a small pot filled with damp potting mix next to the plant. Sink a new plantlet into the soil of the small pot, so that the root buds are barely covered. You may need to place a small rock to hold the plantlet in place. It should root in 2-3 weeks. After that time, sever it from the parent plant.

Easy to care for house plant

Botanical Name: Haworthia species

If you like small house plants, you'll want to add at least one of these succulents to your collection. This genus offers more than 80 species to choose from and they're all easy to grow.
This stemless succulent grows in a rosette of fleshy, upright green leaves with sharp, pointed tips. The markings vary by species and may be striped or spotted. Some species may flower. The blooms are small and grow in clusters on long stems.

What these succulent house plants have in common is a tolerance for neglect. Put them in indirect light and water occasionally and you'll keep them happy for several years.

When watering, avoid getting the leaves wet. Like other succulents, it is prone to rot if its leaves get too wet.

It's a good idea to repot them every year or two because they shed their old roots each spring, and giving them fresh potting mix will keep the plants healthy. You'll probably want to propagate offsets at that time anyway.

Origin: South Africa

Height: 3-6 inches (7.5-15 cm) tall depending on species.

Light: Bright light. Keep out of direct sun, which can cause its leaves to shrivel.

Water: Allow soil to almost dry out between waterings.

Humidity: Average room humidity.

Temperature: Normal room temperatures (65-75°F/18-24°C) spring through fall. In winter, keep haworthia cooler (around 60°F/16°C) if possible.

Soil: Cactus mix works well. Or combine 2 parts peat-moss based potting mix and 1 part sharp sand.

Fertilizer: Feed monthly in spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted by half.

Propagation: Remove offsets in spring and plant in their own containers

Easy to care for house plants

It is always a good idea to be surrounded with living plants to keep the air purified. Trees and shrubs are very good to plant around the house if you have enough space in your yard. Their flowers can enliven your garden with a profusion of colors, hovering insects in different colors and singing and chirping birds. But what if you have limited space and do not have the time to tend to a full garden but still want to have some plants around? The solution can be a dish garden planted with succulents that will tolerate the heat and little water. Some succulents also bear beautiful, exotic looking flowers although these are not as prolific as other flowering plants. But it can be a sight to behold. Below are some tips on how to make a dish garden from succulents.

• Decide where you are going to place the dish garden. There are succulents that will grow well indoors while there are succulents that will thrive better outdoors. Some of the succulents that can grow well indoors include Haworthia cymbiformis, Haworthia fasciata, Crassula “Hobit,” Gasteria batesiana, Echeveria runyonii and Echeveria dondo.
• Choose a large shallow dish which is at least four inches deep for the garden. Fill the bottom with pea gravel to help improve the drainage and keep the plant roots from rotting.
• Choose whether you are going to use several potted and established succulents or if you are starting the dish garden from cuttings. Using potted succulents will help to make you enjoy the dish garden immediately. It will take time before you can view the full result of the dish garden if you start it from several cuttings, although this method is more cost efficient.
• If you are going to use cuttings, fill the container with a potting mixture that is specially mixed for succulents and cacti. Moisten the soil before you start planting.
• Know the characteristics of each succulent that you plant so you can better plan the layout of your dish garden and provide space for those plants that will grow bigger when mature. Do not overcrowd the garden. It will be easy to fill the gaps later as the plants continue to grow.
• After you have finished planting the succulent cuttings, move the dish garden to a shady spot and ensure that the soil is kept moist. If you used established plants, make sure that the soil is moist before planting the succulents, move the dish into a shady location and do not water the dish for a week. The moisture from the soil will be enough to keep the succulents hydrated. Water the plants when the soil has dried. Keep the dish garden in the shady location until the leaves are plump again and you can bring the dish garden in sunny location for several hours before moving it back to the shady spot during peak hours until the plants are acclimatized to the hot conditions.
• If you are going to take the dish garden indoors make sure that it is placed near a sunny window to take advantage of the sunlight. This is more beneficial to the plants although succulents can thrive under artificial light. Indoor plants will require less watering too. Periodically check the soil around the plants. If the soil has become dry and crumbly, it is time to water the plants again. You can use a plastic spray bottle to mist the succulents once in a while to remove the dust. You can also use a small paintbrush to clean the leaves of the plants.
  Choose succulents carefully so that the dish garden can show different colors and textures. Add a few decorative items to a dish garden that has been planted with cuttings to fill in some gaps. Succulents are very tolerant of warm weather but are not resistant to the cold.
Most importantly, have fun and experiment with different dishes and succulants!
 

My Water Plant area and rock work I did for displays