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Scenario: You go to your favourite garden centre, pick out a gorgeous plant you've wanted for ages -- but wait! You just got a new baby kitten, so it's time to start checking toxicity, right? You look it up, and -- damn, that's listed as toxic! ... What does toxic mean, exactly? Short version: Most houseplants that are considered "toxic to cats" (or to pets in general) are very, very mildly toxic. Medium-length version: For most houseplants, they're toxic because they contain sharp, microscopic crystals that tear into flesh -- starting with the gums when the pet chews on the...

Have you found some delicate webbing -- usually at corners of leaves, or where the leaf meets the petiole? Do you see tiny white, red, or black dots on the undersides of your leaves that shouldn't be there?

Found a white, mealy substance on your leaves -- or worse, found a big white oval with legs on the underside of a leaf?

When you’re potting -- or repotting -- your plants, you likely use a bag of potting soil. That’s completely fine, especially for a beginner -- but it’s kind of like “one size fits all” clothing: it might technically fit each plant, but it’s not going to fit each plant well. 

So how do you fix it?

I getcha. One of the first things that everyone thinks of when they think of "caring for your plants" is giving them a nice mist -- the spray bottle is right up there with a watering can. What's more, you probably know by now that most tropicals prefer higher-than-average humidity -- and every single houseplant site suggests misting a few times a week as a remedy!

So why SHOULDN'T you mist your houseplants?

 First, let's look at the purported benefits. Then, we'll explore the potential drawbacks -- and, finally, I'll mention the one time I do suggest misting!