Houseplants & Succulents For Dummies

Steven A. Frowine is a noted professional horticulturist and a longtime avid gardener and communicator. He has co-authored many titles in the For Dummies gardening collection, including Orchids For Dummies and Gardening Basics For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond This Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started with Houseplants 5

Chapter 1: Discovering the World of Houseplants 7

Getting to Know Houseplants 7

Houseplant history 8

Species houseplant names 9

Cultivar names 10

Hybrid plant names 10

Understanding the Benefits of Growing Houseplants 11

Growing Houseplants: A Month-by-Month Guide 13

January 13

February 14

March 15

April 16

May 16

June, July, and August 17

September 18

October 19

November and December 20

Chapter 2: Choosing the Perfect Houseplants 21

Figuring Out Where to Shop 21

Specialist houseplant growers or suppliers 22

Your local garden center 22

Home centers, groceries, and discount stores 22

Plant and home shows 23

Online houseplant suppliers 23

Considering Your Environment 24

Taking temperature readings 25

Measuring your light intensity 26

Asking yourself a few other questions 28

Knowing What to Look for in a Houseplant 29

Choosing a healthy plant 29

Deciding between a mature blooming plant and a young plant 30

Understanding how houseplants are produced 32

Selecting houseplants with a sweet scent 33

Introducing Your New Houseplant to Your Home 33

Chapter 3: Having the Right Tools on Hand 35

Focusing on Pruning and Cutting Tools 35

Pruners 36

Knives and blades 37

Considering Potting Tools and Supplies 37

Potting tools and supplies 38

Identifying Watering Accessories 41

Water breakers 41

Water-flow regulators 42

Hoses 42

Watering cans 43

Sprayers and misters 44

Fertilizer injectors and siphon mixers 44

Deionization and reverse osmosis units 44

Modifying Your Environment with Humidifiers, Ventilation Equipment, and Heaters 46

Humidifiers 47

Ventilation equipment 48

Heaters 49

Thermometers and hygrometers 49

Chapter 4: Houseplant Appreciation and Display 51

Caring for Houseplants in Their New Home 51

If the plant is in bloom 52

If the plant is not in bloom 52

Staking and Grooming Your Blooming Houseplants 53

Figuring out how to stake 53

Helping your houseplants look their best 55

Displaying Houseplants in Your Home 56

Knowing some tips to best display your houseplants 57

Arranging Houseplant Flowers 59

Understanding the three basic flower-design elements 59

Supporting houseplant stems in arrangements 61

Making your houseplant arrangement last longer 61

Part 2: Keeping Your Houseplants Alive and Thriving 63

Chapter 5: Providing the Right Growing Environment 65

Knowing How Much Light Your Houseplants Need 66

Let There Be Light! Recognizing Natural Light Sources 67

Greenhouses: Your high light source 67

Windowsills: Not all are created equal 68

Clues your houseplants want different lighting 71

Comparing Artificial Light Sources 73

Fluorescent lights 73

High-intensity discharge lights and commercial-grade LED lights 77

LEDs: The new kids on the block 78

Choosing the best lighting option 79

Knowing Some Tricks for Growing Houseplants Under Lights 80

Creating Humidity 81

Providing Ventilation: Fresh Air, Please! 83

Ceiling fans 83

Oscillating fans 84

Muffin fans 84

Considering Houseplant Temperature Requirements 84

Too-low temperatures 85

Too-high temperatures 85

Choosing and Planting a Terrarium 85

Giving Your Houseplants a Summer Vacation 88

Growing plants in a shade house 88

Summering houseplants in a portable greenhouse 90

Letting your plants hang around 91

Chapter 6: Watering and Fertilizing Your Plants 93

Water, Water Everywhere: Understanding the Art of Watering Houseplants 94

The type of houseplant 94

The type of pot 94

The type and age of the potting material 95

The roominess of the pot 95

The humidity, temperature, and ventilation of the growing environment 96

The growing stage 96

Quenching Your Houseplants’ Thirst 96

Using the pot-weighting method 96

Knowing some tips and tricks for watering your houseplants 97

Over- or Underwatering: Roots Tell the Story 98

Houseplant ER: Rescuing and Resuscitating a Dehydrated Houseplant 101

Realizing Fertilizers Are Plant Boosters — Not Magic Potions 103

Knowing what to look for in houseplant fertilizers 103

Identifying types of fertilizers and knowing how to use them 106

Chapter 7: Getting the Skinny on Containers, Potting Mixes, and Repotting 109

Exploring Different Kinds of Containers 110

Examining standard container materials 111

Getting creative with containers 113

Growing houseplants hydroponically in self-watering containers 114

Getting the Right Potting Mix 115

Comparing potting mix to soil 115

Understanding components of potting mixes 116

Figuring out which potting materials are best 118

Whipping up your own mix 119

Repotting Houseplants without Fear 120

Playing the Matching Game — the Right Plants for the Right Pots 121

Up-close-and-personal displays 122

Tucked-in attention-grabbers 123

Containers of mixed company 123

Chapter 8: Multiplying Your Favorite Houseplants 125

Cloning Your Plants through Vegetative Reproduction 125

Cutting and rooting stems 126

Reproducing with leaf cuttings 128

Propagating by air layering 130

Growing Plants from Seeds: Sexual Reproduction 131

Recognizing the different kinds of seeds 132

Knowing the benefits of sowing seeds 133

Buying seeds: What to keep in mind 134

Testing seeds 135

Getting better results from sowing seed 136

Thinning seedlings 138

Hardening off seedlings 139

Transplanting seedlings 139

Chapter 9: Keeping Your Houseplants Pest- and Disease-Free 141

Preventing Problems before They Start 142

Besting the Bugs 143

Identifying common houseplant pests 143

Finding safe and effective pest-control measures 148

Applying pest-control treatments 150

Identifying Fungal and Bacterial Infections 151

Noticing when your houseplant has a virus 152

Handling a sick plant 153

Part 3: the Best of the Houseplants 155

Chapter 10: Succulents and Cacti: Easy-Care Plants 157

Caring for Houseplant Succulents and Cacti 158

Potting 158

Watering 159

Lighting 160

Other maintenance tips 160

Meeting the Succulents 161

Genus: Adromischus 162

Genus: Aeonium 163

Genus: Agave 164

Genus: Aloe 165

Genus: Anacampseros 167

Genus: Bryophyllum 167

Genus: Ceropegia 167

Genus: Cotyledon 168

Genus: Crassula 168

Genus: Echeveria 171

Genus: Euphorbia 173

Genus: Faucaria 175

Genus: Gasteria 176

Genus: Graptopetalum 176

Genus: Graptosedum 177

Genus: Graptoveria 178

Genus: Haworthia 178

Genus: Kalanchoe 181

Genus: Lithops 181

Genus: Pachyphytum 184

Genus: Pachyveria 185

Genus: Pleiospilos 186

Genus: Portulacaria 186

Genus: Sedum 186

Genus: Sempervivum 189

Genus: Senecio 191

Saying Hi to Houseplant Cacti 193

Getting to the point: Cactus spines and prickers 194

Two can tango: Grafted cacti 194

Genus: Astrophytum 195

Genus: Cephalocereus 195

Genus: Cereus 196

Genus: Disocactus 197

Genus: Echinocactus 198

Genus: Echinocereus 199

Genus: Echinopsis 199

Genus: Epiphyllum 200

Genus: Ferocactus 201

Genus: Gymnocalycium 202

Genus: Mammillaria 202

Genus: Opuntia 203

Genus: Oreocereus 204

Genus: Parodia or Notocactus 205

Genus: Rhipsalis 206

Genus: Tephrocactus 206

Chapter 11: Easy Orchids: Don’t Pass Up These Beauties 209

Becoming Familiar with the Basics of Orchid Culture 210

Repotting Orchids without Fear 211

Knowing when to repot 211

Orchid potting — step by step 212

Understanding Orchid Names 214

Meeting the Moth Orchids 214

Examining the popularity of moth orchids 215

Deconstructing the beauty of moth orchids 216

Checking Out the Cattleyas 224

The queens of the ball: Cattleya hybrids 225

Exploring the miniatures 229

A few other cattleya relatives of note 230

Trying On the Slipper Orchids 232

Giving your lady’s slipper a good home 233

Admiring marvelous Maudiae 234

Going big with modern lady’s slippers hybrids 234

Taking a spin with the dancing ladies: Onicidiums 235

Growing miniature oncidiums or tolumnias 236

Chapter 12: Foliage Plants: Create an Indoor Tropical Paradise 237

Examining Why People Grow Foliage Plants 238

Introducing an Assortment of Foliage Plants 238

Large-growing foliage plants 239

Small-growing foliage plants 254

Vines and climbers for foliage and flowers 273

Chapter 13: Flowering Plants: Dazzling Additions to Your Indoor Garden 285

Understanding the Conditions Flowering Plants Need to Thrive 286

Introducing a Parade of Flowering Plants 286

Genus: Abutilon 286

Genus: Acalypha 287

Genus: Alpinia 288

Genus: Anthurium 289

Genus: Aphelandra 289

Genus: Beloperone 290

Genus: Bougainvillea 290

Genus: Brugmansia 292

Genus: Brunfelsia 292

Genus: Burbidgea 293

Genus: Canna 294

Genus: Cestrum 294

Genus: Clerodendrum 295

Genus: Clivia 295

Genus: Costus 297

Genus: Crossandra 297

Genus: Curcuma 298

Genus: Duranta 299

Genus: Euphorbia 299

Genus: Fuchsia 301

Genus: Gardenia 302

Genus: Globba 303

Genus: Heliconia 304

Genus: Hibiscus 305

Genus: Ixora 305

Genus: Jatropha 307

Genus: Justicia 307

Genus: Medinilla 308

Genus: Mussaenda 308

Genus: Nerium 309

Genus: Pachystachys 310

Genus: Pentas 310

Genus: Plumbago 311

Genus: Plumeria 312

Genus: Rosa 313

Genus: Ruellia 313

Genus: Spathiphyllum 314

Genus: Tabernaemontana 314

Genus: Tibouchina 316

Genus: Zantedeschia 316

Genus: Zingiber 317

Chapter 14: African Violets and Their Kin: Almost Always in Flower 319

Understanding Why Gesneriads Should Be More Popular 320

Introducing the Main Players in This Genus 320

Genus: Achimenes 321

Genus: Aeschynanthus 321

Genus: Chirita 322

Genus: Chrysothemis 323

Genus: Columnea 324

Genus: Corytoplectus 325

Genus: Episcia 326

Genus: Kohleria 326

Genus: Nematanthus 328

Genus: Pearcea 329

Genus: Saintpaulia 329

Genus: Seemannia 333

Genus: Sinningia 335

Genus: Smithiantha 339

Genus: Streptocarpus 340

Chapter 15: Begonias: Brilliant Flowers, Gorgeous Foliage 343

Examining Why People Grow Begonias 344

Understanding Basic Care of Begonias 345

Potting your begonias 345

Regulating humidity 345

Watering correctly 345

Providing light 346

Managing temperature requirements 346

Meeting the Begonias 347

Foliage begonias 347

Flowering begonias 351

Shrub or cane begonias 354

Part 4: the Part of Tens 357

Chapter 16: Ten Common Reasons Houseplants Die (and How to Avoid ’em) 359

Overwatering 359

Underwatering 360

Too Much Light or Heat 360

Leaving Houseplant Foliage Wet Overnight 361

Too Much Fertilizer 361

Insect Infestation 361

Improper Use of Pesticides 362

Purchasing Sick Plants 362

Poor Water Quality 362

Inadequate Ventilation 363

Chapter 17: The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Houseplants 365

Are Houseplants Difficult to Grow? 365

Why Should I Grow Houseplants? 366

Do I Need a Greenhouse to Grow Houseplants? 366

Are Houseplants Expensive? 366

How Long Will Houseplants Live? 367

What Makes a Plant a Houseplant? 367

Are Any Houseplants Cold-Hardy? 367

Are Houseplants Fragrant? 367

Where Can I See the Best Collections of Houseplants? 368

What Are the Best Materials to Use to Repot or Transplant My Houseplants? 369

Appendix 371

Index 375