Growing Healthy Houseplants

This concise Storey BASICS® guide teaches novice gardeners how to successfully keep indoor plants beautiful and healthy. Learn how to choose the best plants for your home and what each species needs in terms of location, water, sunlight, and fertilizer. Covering the basics of repotting, pruning, and dealing with pests, Ellen Zachos shows you how to keep your houseplants looking vibrant for years to come. Soon, you'll be watching over a collection of thriving plants that add a lively dose of color to your home. Keeping houseplants is easy with this fool-proof guide to selecting and caring for the right plants for any room and every growing condition.
Ellen Zachos is an expert forager and longtime foraging instructor. She is the author of six books, including The Wildcrafted Cocktail and Backyard Foraging. She is co-host of the Plantrama podcast and can be found online at backyardforager.com. EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW



Discover the key to maintaining beautiful, vibrant houseplants throughout your home. Thriving plants improve the air, reflect your decorating style, and lift your mood. Even if you're a novice with houseplants, Ellen Zachos's friendly guidance will make you a confident grower in no time. It's as simple as evaluating your light and choosing plants that work with it, watering correctly, and then enjoying the plants you nurture. Complete care instructions include survey of useful tools, advice for combating pests and disease, information on repotting and propagating, and profiles of 31 plants. Preface



Introduction: Learn to Speak Plant



Part One:  Essentials
• Light: How Much is Enough?
• Water and Humidity: Getting It Right
• The Growing Medium
• Fertilization: More Isn't Always BetterPart Two:  Daily Care


• Cool Tools You'll Need
• Repotting: It Has to Happen Sometime
• Good Grooming
• Propagation: Making More Plants
• Vacation for You, Vacation for Your Plants
• Managing Pests
• Diseases

Part Three:  Designing the Indoor Garden


• It's All in the Display
• Foilage
• Flowering Plants
• Trees
• Cacti

Index