FAQs RSS
Good things to include when you're trying to get a plant ID
Good things to include when you're trying to get a plant ID:
- A picture of the entire plant to show its overall growth habit and maturity (zoomed out)
- A close-up of at least one leaf filling the photo (multiple if there's variegation, or if immature leaves are differently-shaped than mature leaves)
- A picture or description of the petioles, or leaf stems -- for some IDs, especially philodendrons, it can make the ID very simple.
- Any new growth on the plant
- Anything else remarkable about the plant
- A description of whether the leaves are thin, papery, leathery, waxy, etc
My Monstera has three plants in one pot! Should I separate them, or leave them in one pot?
Short answer:
You can do either, depending entirely on what you'd like!
Do I need to let water sit out overnight?
No! It used to be that if you let water sit out in a jug overnight, the chlorine would dissipate, saving your sensitive plants from absorbing it. Two things are wrong with this now, though! First: As far as I'm able to tell in my research on the topic, chlorine does not adversely affect even "sensitive" plants". The acceptable level of chlorine in drinking water in any developed country I've found is an order of magnitude too low to adversely affect any plants, even so-called sensitive ones like spider plants or calatheas. (In those plants, generally brown tips are caused by watering...
When do you need to bring your plants indoors for the winter?
Short answer: it depends on the plant, but generally when the nighttime temps start dipping below 10ºC/50ºF or so is a good benchmark. Longer answer: Check out our care guides for each plant that you have outside -- one of the entries on the beginning table is how hardy they are! Most houseplants are tropical plants, which means that they need to come inside over winter or they'll sustain cold damage, and eventually die due to cold. For most common houseplants, the generally-accepted "safe" cutoff is about 10ºC/50ºF -- for the YQG/Windsor area, nighttime temps start hitting around there mid-September or...
Bottom Watering: Why or why not?
Bottom watering is one of the most common suggestions you'll encounter online -- but what is it, and is it actually as helpful as everyone claims? Bottom watering (or, hilariously, "butt chugging") is where you place a pot with drainage holes into a larger container that has water in it, and leave it for a while -- generally about 10-15 minutes. Because of capillary action, the water gets drawn up into the soil. Once the top is moist to the touch, you remove the pot, since the soil is equally and thoroughly saturated. It's often suggested for specific plants with leaves...