How Well Do You Know
Your House Plants?

Have you ever despaired over crispy ivy? Or wondered what it takes to get a cactus to bloom?

House plants can seem like a mystery if you don't know how to care for them.

With information now at your fingertips, it's easy to find out about your plant, discover what it needs, and get the most out of it.

I promise you'll be rewarded with a healthy, thriving house plant that's a source of pride and joy for years to come.

Everything you need is here in this
user-friendly house plant guide:

• House plant care tips that will make your plant thrive like never before.


• Suggestions for easy house plants -- including 10 House Plants You Can't Kill.


• Need help identifying house plants? Encyclopedia A-Z with pictures makes it easy.


• Check out Pests and Diseases and find out what to do about spider mites, fungus, powdery mildew, aphids and other things that are bugging your plants.


• Take a look at this list of poisonous house plants and keep your family and pets safe.


• Bring the beauty of the tropics to you. Enjoy these tropical house plants at home.

What's Hot

Ravishing Reds

No other color clamors for attention like this one. Just a bit of can't-miss-me crimson among your house plant collection makes a bold statement. Combine a few red flowering plants and they're sure to stir up some excitement in any room.

Red, velvety flowers of Gloxinia are dramatic when you display a few together on a table.

Kalanchoe Plant and Crown of Thorns are two easy-care succulents with long-lasting fiery flowers.

Love bromes? Tropical Scarlet Star offers months of knockout color. Add in a pot of Anthurium (shown at left) and the big, bright, ruffled blooms of Hibiscus and you've got a tropical paradise to come home to.

5 Winter Survival Tips (Not for you...your plants!)

1. Keep house plants away from cold drafts. Blasts of frigid air near doors and windows does damage to tropical plants and will likely make flowering plants drop their buds. It's a good idea to move your plants out of the entry way and off the windowsills.


2. Give them more light. Shorter daylight hours -- and many overcast days -- will slow plant growth during the winter months. That's okay for some. But, if you want to keep flowers blooming and herbs thriving, give them a boost with an indoor grow light.


3. Maintain humidity. Furnaces, fireplaces and closed windows can make indoor air as dry as the desert. Seriously. Relative humidity levels can drop drastically in winter, causing brown leaf tips and dropped leaves. Using a room- humidifier is the best way to raise moisture in the air (and it's good for you, too!).


4. Cut back on food and water. Slower growth makes it easy to over-water and over-fertilize. Plants will drink up less water in winter and may get root rot if the potting mix is constantly wet. Too much fertilizer will cause more damage than too little. That's true any time, especially now.


5. Check for bugs. Dry air and a closed-up house may draw unwanted guests to your house plants. Spider mites are more of a problem this time of year because they love the dry conditions of a heated home. Watch out for webbing between stems -- often the first tell-tale sign of these pests.

Office Plants

Did you know that office plants are good for you?

Okay, they won't bring your coffee, but they will boost your mood and create an instant garden ambience right there on your desk. Many of them even clean the air.

Check these out. It's never been easier to find a few good candidates to share your office space.