Paging Dr. Greenthumbs
Dear Ivy,
I wanted to ask you a plant question. I’ve inherited the responsibilities of caring for the dilapidated peacy lily at my mom’s taekwondo school. It’s about eight feet from the windows so I’m wondering what other problems I should tackle first.
The damage is pretty typical: tips and edges of the biggest leaves are crispy [...]
Nature creates the best planters :)
I will now attempt to use a picture that does not do Mother Nature justice to tell you how Mother Nature has it all figured out.
This was an outcropping I saw on my recent hiking trip. The picture above is of a rock over hang that was covered with lush forest plants. There were ferns [...]
Well Folks, I Believe It’s That Time Again…
Time to start bringing your patio plants inside! The first frost is just around the corner in my neck of the woods, and some of you may have already been hit. If you have a porch or patio full of plants that have been outside since the Spring, there are a few things you need [...]
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Sowing the Cosmos
This Summer, I ventured into flower gardening, which I had not really done before. I started my green gardening journey with house plants. Once I felt comfortable with those, I started noticing all the green space outside where I could expand. I forayed into vegetable gardening, then started a shade garden full of hostas. (Those [...]
ZZ Emergency
Dear Ivy,
I had 2 very healthy ZZ plants (several branches over 2 feet long), that I left outside for a few weeks in the Sydney winter. They were in a dry spot but when I brought them in side, most branches died off, lost their leaves and even fell off the plant; one has [...]
Special Ivy Plants
Dear Ivy,
I have two ivy plants from a family member’s funeral. They are turning brown and dying. What do I do? Please help!
Thank You
Dear Reader,
Let me start off by saying I am so very sorry for your loss. I know many people that have “funeral plants”. I personally have one. These are living plants used [...]
New Addition
Dear Ivy,
I just got a 6″ Celosia plant as a gift. How do I care for it? Where do I place it? How frequently do I need to water and fertilize it?
-Curious
Dear Curious,
I would say that whomever gave you this plant surely thinks you have good taste, and a green thumb! Celosia are beautiful [...]
Christmas Cactus Quandary
Dear Ivy,
How often should I water my Christmas cactus?
-Christmas Chris
Dear Chris,
Let’s explore some things about this interesting little exotic! First off, let’s get one thing out of the way… The “Christmas Cactus” Is not actually a cactus. In fact, it’s an epiphyte, like an orchid. CC’s and orchids share the same habitat in the wild. [...]
Give your plants a bath!
When the heat gets to be too much, set your plants in a few inches of water. This will allow them to fully absorb all the liquid they can hold, without you having to worry about over or under watering. You can spray or mist the top of the plant and get all the dust [...]
Reader Mail
Dear Ivy,
What would happen if you put a plant in an airtight container?
-Curious Carey
Dear Carey,
Here’s the short answer… It’ll die.
I’ve seen those enclosed containers that you can order from catalogs that say “TOTALLY ENCLOSED CONTAINER!!” “NO CARE NECESSARY!!” And I’m here to tell you that they are… well, they’re a crock, to be honest…
You see, [...]