You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Laceleaf, or Anthurium, are popular plants for offices and are especially popular around the holidays. This is due mainly to the bold and striking coloring of its “flowers” and the fact that it can survive in lower lighting situations. Laceleaf is comprised of bright green spade-shaped and shiny leaves and a stand-out “flower” of bright red, yellow, or pink. This flower is not technically a flower, but part of the spathe. Also known as Flamingo Flower, Tail Flower, and Painted Tongue Plant, this plant will grow to be around 12-15 inches in height, and grows in a habit much like a standard garden flowering plant – leaves and spathes grow vertically from the ground on stems.
Laceleaf is not pet or people safe (they are poisonous to both, so keep them out of reach of curious paws and tiny hands), but it is said to aid in purifying the air around it. Laceleaf will only “flower” if placed in bright, indirect sunlight, but it can survive in lower levels of light as well. For this reason, plant companies will often place these plants already “flowering” in offices and remove them once the “flower” is spent. Watch the leaves for leaf burn (crispy brown spots on the leaves in or near the center) as direct sunlight can cause these burns.
Laceleaf needs a balanced watering schedule. Take care not to overwater the plant, but don’t go too long without watering either, as the root ball can be difficult to re-wet if it becomes too dry. Laceleaf does prefer some humidity, and loves a lot of humidity. If you see the edges of the leaves begin to brown, this is usually an indication that the plant needs more humidity. Try placing a humidifier near the plant, or putting it in a bathroom where it will benefit from regular shower steam.
To water Laceleaf, wait until the top two inches of the soil are dry and then use the “Drench and Drain” method of watering by soaking the soil until the water runs through the bottom of the pot, and then letting all excess water drain out before putting the plant back in a secondary pot, or on a tray or saucer. Never let a houseplant sit in water as this can cause root rot for many indoor plants. A pot containing a mixture of orchid soil and houseplant soil will work well for this plant, and any well-draining pot should do nicely. Keep Laceleaf in surroundings that maintain a steady temperature between 70 and 90 degrees for best results, and keep it away from heating vents.
Laceleaf can be pickier than some, so we would suggest this plant for Plant Parents who are already somewhat familiar with basic houseplant care.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Golden Barrel Cactus is one of the rare natural plants that grows in a near perfectly rounded shape. Beginning at a size as small as a golf ball in nurseries, this plump golden cactus can grow to enormous sizes of three feet in diameter. With its golden spines spaced evenly around its ridges, it’s a truly beautiful and orderly plant. As a houseplant, which is what Golden Barrel, also known as Mother In Law’s Cushion and Golden Ball, this cactus will not get as big as it might outdoors, but a smaller size will not take away from the stuffing look of this cactus.
Golden Barrel, Echinocactus Grusonii in scientific and horticultural circles, is perfect for beginners, as most cacti are. They are drought tolerant and they have no humidity needs. The biggest danger with cacti is over watering them as they are susceptible to root rot. Root rot is caused when the base of the soil is soaked and the roots become suffocated or bacteria grow in the wet soil. To help avoid root rot, use a cacti and succulent soil which is well-aerated and helps water to flow out freely. If you begin to see the base of the cactus becoming soft, dark brown, and squishy it’s likely that root rot is setting in. One it begins, there’s usually nothing to be done to save the plant. At best, you can try to dry out the base and roots of the plant. Water Golden Barrel when the soil is completely dry, at the top as well as the bottom. Since this plant is rather prickly, a Moisture Meter can help you to determine the moisture level at the bottom of the pot without risking getting poked. (Pro Tip: Use regular kitchen or BBQ tongs when you do find yourself needing to grip a cactus!)
While most cacti, including Golden Barrel, grow best in bright, indirect sunlight (full sun windows are great!), they will usually survive even in low light – they just won’t grow much. So if you prefer to keep your cacti at a smaller size, keep them in more shaded areas. They prefer temperatures between 50 and 75 degrees, so watch those window seats when the temperatures turn colder as the windows often will as well. Unlike many houseplants, cacti are not bothered when the heating vents turn on in the winter, so no need to avoid those. Just keep them clear of cold drafts. Golden Barrel Cactus is not known to be poisonous, but it’s spines are very sharp and can cause harm to curious noses and hands. Keeping them out of reach of children and pets is a good idea.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Maybe the cutest airplant that ever lived, Tectorum Ecuador is covered in fuzzy green fur called Trichomes. This fur acts as a sponge when wet, soaking up water to help hydrate the plant. This air plant is unique from most air plants in other ways too. For one thing, it doesn’t grow on other plants like many air plants. Native to the West Indies and Peru, this air plant grows on rocks and gets its moisture from low clouds that float around thy mountains they grow on. These little spongy hairs help Tectorum Ecuador to survive in areas with high sunlight and low humidity, which also sets it apart from many other air plants.
Because they don’t require soil, air plants can be placed just about anywhere. They are often mounted with craft glue on decorative wood, placed in the crooks of deep frames, or used in terrariums. However, these air plants store their own water like succulents, so they shouldn’t be used in enclosed terrariums where they will be kept in a moist environment.
Most air plants are watered by soaking them in water once a week or so, but because Tectorum Ecuador stores its own water, it only needs a misting, or at the most a quick dip, every couple of weeks. If your climate or environment is dry or very hot you may want to water the plant more often.
With their wispy furry light green rounded leaves and their purple and pale pink flowers (in the right conditions) these air plants are a sophisticated addition to any Plant Parent’s collection. Plus, they’re the easiest air plant to care for since they can survive some neglect, making them great for any Plant Parent who is new to air plants, busy and likely to not have time to water, or travels often. The possibilities for placing this plant are almost endless. Christmas ornaments, sea urchin shells, maybe even a headband or a barette? Get creative with yours and make living art!
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Fairy Castle Cactus looks just like it sounds. This delicate cactus, Acanthocereus Tetragonus (formerly Cereus Tetragonus), grows vertical stalks close together, and turret-like arms grow off of these “towers.” These towers and turrets are five-sided. The ribs are packed with tiny white thorns. It is also commonly known as Barbed Wire Cactus, Triangle Cactus, Night-blooming Cereus, and Sword Pear. It’s a great plant for beginners as cacti are very forgiving and drought tolerant.
This is a slow growing cactus, so you can expect it to remain fairy-like in size for quite some time. In fact, it can take up to a decade for this cactus to reach its approximate full height of six feet. Typically you’ll see these little guys around 3-4 inches in height at nurseries. It’s great for shelves or window sills that are tight on space and have plenty of bright sunlight as it can handle direct window light (windows filter out a significant amount of UV rays, making direct light from behind a window less intense than true direct light). While it will grow best with bright light, Fairy Castle Cactus and other cacti will survive quite easily even in low light. Fairy Castle Cactus will only flower very rarely, but when it does the flowers are white or yellow.
Place Fairy Castle Cactus in a spot that will receive bright indirect sunlight. It likes temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees. It’s not air cleaning, and while it’s not poisonous to pets or children, it is very poky and should be kept away from curious noses and tiny hands. Use a cacti and succulent soil, and plant in a well-draining pot. Water Fairy Castle Cactus when the soil is completely dry. Use the drench and drain method of watering – run water over the soil until it runs through the bottom of your pot, and then let the water finish running completely before placing it back in a tray or saucer. If your pot does not have good drainage, use a moisture meter to check the moisture levels at the bottom of the pot before and during watering. Like other cacti, Fairy Castle is susceptible to root rot, which happens when the bottom of the plant gets too wet and suffocates the roots or causes bacteria to grow.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Crown of Thorns is the perfect combination of beauty and strength. With a combination of delicate pink, yellow, or red flowers and long sharp spines, this succulent is beautiful to behold, but painful to be held! It’s even believed in some places that the luck of the plant owner is reflected in the amount of flowers the succulent produces.
Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia milii, is easy to care for and can handle moderate levels of neglect, so it’s perfect for beginners. Crown of Thorns can be expected to grow up to 3 feet tall, but more commonly can be found between 4 and 6 inches in height. Like other Euphorbia plants, Crown of Thorns grows tear shaped leaves from its ridges. Specifically for Crown of Thorns these leaves are bright green in color. It’s neither pet safe nor air cleaning, but it’s easy to stow on a high shelf away from little fingers or paws (which you’ll definitely want to do because this plant is considered poisonous to both pets and people).
An ideal placement for Crown of Thorns is a location that will get bright indirect sunlight and has a temperature range of between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit. However, Crown of Thorns isn’t picky and will make itself at home in a wide range of conditions. Water Crown of Thorns in Spring through Fall when the top inch is dry. In Winter, water less often, waiting for the top 3 inches to be dry. Use a cacti and succulent soil and make sure that your pot is well draining. Use the “drench and drain” method of water – flood the soil and let it completely drain out of the bottom of the pot. If your pot does not have good drainage, use a moisture meter to determine the moisture levels both before and while watering. Because Crown of Thorns is a succulent, it’s very susceptible to root rot. If you have to err, err on the side of under watering. If you do over water your Crown of Thorns, gently tip the pot to the side so that the excess water can run out. Be careful not to dislodge the soil. Crown of Thorns will also benefit from having its leaves misted.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
With its silvery and dark green textured foliage, it’s no wonder that Alocasia Silver Dragon is a plant that is greatly prized by Plant Parents. This member of the Araceae family is not only beautiful, it’s also relatively easy to care for once you learn how to properly water it. Alocasia wants to be kept in bright light, but it is not as thirsty as most houseplants. This is due to the fact that its roots are rhizomes, which hold water in their bulb-shaped roots much like a succulent holds its water in its leaves.
Where other plants’ roots draw their water directly from the soil as it is needed, plants with rhizomes actually soak up the water in the soil all at once and the plant uses the water stored in the rhizomes as needed. However, rhizomes are (again, like succulents) very susceptible to root rot. For this reason, it’s important to let the soil completely dry out before giving the plant another drink. Try to keep Alocasia Silver Dragon’s leaves dry as well.
When watering houseplants, it’s important to allow the soil in the bottom of the pot to dry out. This is most easily done when the pot has proper drainage holes. Simply run water over the soil and allow it to run through the bottom of the pot. Once the plant has had a good drink, allow any remaining water to completely run out of the drainage hole. Never let your houseplants sit in pools of water as this can cause root rot and other problems. If your pot does not have good drainage, use a Moisture Meter to test the soil at the bottom of the pot. For the Alocasia Silver Dragon, you want the meter to read completely dry (remember, those rhizomes are storing water for the plant to use). Take care when watering plants in pots that have no drainage as it’s easy to add too much water. If this happens, tip the pot sideways and let extra water drain out, but try to avoid this altogether.
Alocasia Silver Dragon, or Alocasia Baginda, is not pet safe, but it is air cleaning. Keep this plant out of the reach of chewers – be they four legged or two legged as it is considered to be toxic. You won’t see flowers growing on Alocasia Silver Dragon, but it can grow to be a nice size at around 20 inches tall. Keep its silver and green heart shaped leaves happy with temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees, and keep its atmosphere as consistent as possible by keeping it away from vents, drafts, and cold or hot windows. As long as they are not over-watered, Alocasia should be fairly easy to take care of, but since it can be difficult to learn how to properly water a plant with rhizomes, we’re calling this one a good plant for Intermediate Plant Parents.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Aloe Vera might be the best-known of the succulent family. You have probably seen it listed as an ingredient in many skin care products – especially after-sun lotions used to help soothe burns. For this reason, and because they are very easy to care for, Aloe Vera is a great plant to keep around the house. To use Aloe Vera for mild skin irritations, trim a leaf close to the base of the plant. Split the leaf down the center, rinse away the “latex” (a yellow substance that can cause skin irritation), and rub the gel over inflamed or irritated skin. Unused portions of the leave can be frozen and thawed for later use. Aloe Vera is said to have soothing qualities for mild burns, and some have even used it as an acne or psoriasis treatment with effective results (but always consult a physician!). Aloe Vera can be harmful if ingested, so only use topically and keep away from pets and children (and anyone else in your family that likes to gnaw on plants). As long as only a small portion of the plant is removed at a time, a healthy Aloe Vera plant will continue to produce new leaves.
Aloe Vera is the common name of Aloe barbadensis, but “Aloe” is a common name used to refer to over 400 types of the Aloe plant. Part of the Asphodelaceae family, Aloe Vera is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Aloe plants have either small or non-existent above ground stalks, and its leaves grow up to two feet long and high in a rosette fashion. Aloe will sometimes produce small bell shaped flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and pink, but they are rare. Aloe prefers medium to indirect sunlight (Aloe can be grown using artificial sunlight, too), and can actually get a tan in too much sun! If your aloe plant starts to brown and the leaves are still firm, just move in further away from its light source and it will return to its minty green shade. Aloe Vera prefers temperature between 65 and 85 degrees, and is perfectly happy in dry climates.
Plant Aloe Vera in Cacti and Succulent soil, and water it very sparingly. Aloe is a succulent and therefore needs very infrequent waterings. As with most succulents, Aloe stores its water in its thick leaves. The best way to tell whether or not Aloe needs water is to give the leaves a little squeeze. If they are nice and firm, no water is needed. If the leaf is still green and gives a little, go ahead and water it. The leaf gets a bit squishy when it’s low on water, much like an air mattress when it’s low on air. Be sure that your pot is well-draining as succulents who sit with their roots in soggy soil will most likely fall prey to root rot. If your pot does not have good drainage, buy a Moisture Meter and take care when watering to avoid soggy roots.
Happy Plant Parenting!
You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!
Another member of the Marantaceae family (the “Prayer Plant” family), Calathea Ornata is unique due to the pale pink and delicate pinstripes running through its dark green oval leaves (hence its nickname of “Pinstripe Plant”). Much like other Calathea plants, Ornata can be a bit finicky, so we recommend this plant be taken in by Plant Parents who have some existing experience with tropical houseplants. Calathea Ornata is native to Africa, the West Indies, Thailand, Central America, and South America. As a result, and like its cousins, Ornata prefers and needs a humid place to live. If you live in a dry climate like the one we have here in Colorado, the bathroom is a great place for Calathea plants as long as it’s well-lit. If you don’t have good light in your bathroom (or if you already have too many ferns and calathea and other humidity-loving houseplants in there), place a humidifier near the plant, or put the entire pot (including the tray) on a dish of pebbles, and keep the dish filled with water. As the water evaporates out of the dish, it will rise as humidity to help quench the plant’s thirst. You can also give the leaves a good spritz often to help combat dryness. Your Calathea Ornata will help you out by letting you know that it’s not getting enough humidity by developing brown edges around the outside of the leaves. Just carefully trim these brown edges and add some more moisture for your thirsty plant.
Calathea Ornata likes bright, indirect sunlight. If left too long in sunlight that is too bright, Calathea Ornata’s leaves will lose their trademark colors and can develop brown burns or sunspots (though Calathea Ornata’s stripes will change from pink to white as the plant ages). The movement of the sun will cause your Calathea Ornata (and other Calatheas, as well) to open and close its leaves. They open in sunlight, and close in darkness. When your Calathea plant’s leaves are closed, you’ll be able to see the trademark dark purple undersides of the leaves.
Like many houseplants, Calathea needs to be watered when the top inch of soil is dry, but not allowed to dry out completely. While Calathea Ornata can handle over-watering, it can’t handle sitting in puddles of water, so make sure to pour out any remaining water left in the pot’s tray. Avoiding watering until the first inch of soil is dry will cut down on the amount of tiny gnats you have flying around your house, as they nest in wet soil surfaces. Plant Calathea Ornata in soil that retains moisture well but is also going to drain off excess water – consider bark or moss as additions to the soil to achieve this goal. Use a pot that has good drainage to avoid root rot. If your pot has no drainage, use a Moisture Meter to check the soil in the bottom of the pot. If the soil in the bottom is still showing as “Wet,” it’s not time to water yet. Also take care with how much water you use to avoid too much water pooling at the bottom.
Keep Calthea Ornata at a temperate between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep it away from drafts and vents. Not only does this disrupt the preferably consistent atmosphere around the plant, but it can also add to drying out the air around it. Calathea Ornata is considered to be an air-cleaning plant, and is also pet-safe, so no need to worry about keeping it away from pets or children who might decide to snack on the plant as you consider the best place for it.
Happy Plant Parenting!
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