Neanthe Bella/ Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea Elegans)

I want to start off by saying if you absolutely love palms but don't want one that will quickly outgrow your home this is the plant for you. I came across this beauty while I was shopping around at Walmart  for another green baby. It caught my eyes just sitting there so graceful looking and its foliage was drop dead gorgeous in my opinion. Needless to say I decided to buy it and bring it into my home I knew nothing about this plant but I was definitely excited to learn. This Palm absoulely thrives in a home or workplace versus other palms that may struggle to thrive. Another great addition to that is this plant is known as being one of the cheapest palms you can buy. I picked mines up for $2.98 that's a huge bargain in my eyes and it was very healthy when I picked it up. This plant has been very popular as a indoor plant because it can adapt to low light and humidity levels indoors. This is another plant that made NASA list for being a great indoor air cleaner. Now let's talk about the light requirements, this plant will tolerate low light but having it in deep shade will stress this plant. I always say just because it's low light don't men no light so always keep that in mind with any house plant. Avoid putting this plant in direct sunlight for long periods of time this will possibly cause leaf burn to the plant leaving it to look sickly. Now let's move on to watering the Bella Palm I would say it's better to underwater this plant versus overwatering. I never water on a tight schedule I always let the top dry out and then I'll stick a light colored stick down in the soil to check for any type of moisture. It's important to check the soil before watering. You want to avoid overwatering and having a possible root rot case on your hands. If this plant is in a low light setting it will always take less water so please be mindful of where you store your plant. I will now talk a little bit about humidity for this plant. Luckily this plant can adapt to low humidity but I will highly recommended that you spray the foliage often and keep it on a tray of wet pebbles to help with the humidity to avoid any pest. The Bella Palm is actually made up of several single plants so having enough nutrients is very important for this plant to thrive in your home. Just keep in mind this is a small slow growing plant so you still don't want to over feed it, I always feed mines about once a month but never in the winter months. Speaking of winter months it's important to keep this plant on the warmer side this plant will do well with temperatures 50 degrees Fahrenheit and above. Now so far as repotting goes for this beautiful plant it really don't like its roots to be disturbed to much. They have a very weak root system so you want to avoid repotting this plant to much. I brought mine in a 4 inch pot and waited a few weeks before I repotted it into a 6 inch pot and it's very happy and popping up new shoots like crazy. I must say that my plant was seriously root bound so it was definitely time for a new home. They say you should repot every year until it's mature but I recommend that you pop it out of its pot every now and again and check the root system. If the roots are going in a circular motion with more roots then soil it's definitely time to repot into a bigger pot. Always go up one pot size never ever overpot any house plant you can easily overwater your plant which can cause serious problems with your plant. So far as the height and spread of this plant I never seen one indoors taller then 3ft tall. One thing to remember is this plant spread as wide as it will get tall so if your plant grows up to 3ft tall it will spread 3ft wide. I never propagated my plant and never will but if you want to do this you can by dividing this plant. Just remember it's made up of several small plants so if you do that your plant will not look as full. Before I forget I want to mention that mealy bugs and spider mites love to attack this plant but I haven't had any problems with any pest. A couple of things I do is wash the foliage off often, spray it down with regular dawn dish soap, and wipes the foliage down with a damp cloth. Just remember when you spray it wish dish soap (only use 1-3 drops in a spray bottle filled with water) spray until it starts to drip off the foliage. Let it sit for 1-2 hours and make sure you rinse the foliage off very well and then sit it in a place with indirect sunlight. The last couple of things I want to say about this plant is use a very good draining soil and this is considered a non poisonous plant. This is a very easy plant to grow with little cafe requirements as you can tell I highly recommend this plant as a first timer plant. As always if you have any further questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back with you asap and remember to always do your part to keep this world green.

Golden Pothos (Epipremnum Aureum)

Let me start off  by saying this is one of my favorite vine plants! Please don't tell my other green babies I said that (lol). Seriously this plant is the ultimate beginner plant and I'm going to tell you why. Epipremnum Aureum have many different common names such as golden pothos, hunter's rope, ivy arum, money plant, silver vine, taro vine, Solomon Islands ivy, and my personally least favorite name devil's ivy. Whatever you want to call this plant it's an amazing plant and a very nice indoor plant especially for those who feel like they don't have a green thumb. The golden pothos is known for it's long trailing stems that can get very long if you let it. This plant have beautiful glossy heart-shaped leaves and some are variegated with yellow or white. I personally have the golden and the marble queen pothos plants. I said that to say even though this plant is consider a low light plant if it don't get enough light the leaves will lose that variegation and the leaves will grow smaller. Of course this also means if you keep this plant in low light it will also grow slower so be very mindful of that. Like I do most of my plants I let both my marble and golden pothos get some direct sunlight but I also so this in moderation. The last thing you want to do is keep your pothos in direct sunlight all the time you may risk your pothos plant getting sunburn! If you don't have enough natural sunlight coming in this plant will still do well under fluorescent lights. Golden Pothos will look great just about anywhere one of my favorite looks is when this plant is in a hanging basket. However some people like to train this plant to climb up a moss stick or some type of treliss. Because of it's aerial roots this plant will easy attached to whatever you want to train it to climb. Some like this plant to trail for days but some will control the growth by simply cutting the vines back to keep the plant looking fuller and less leggy. I'm proud to say this is another plant that made the list of top plants to clean the air. It's known for removing formaldehyde that's commonly found in carpets and other materials in our homes. So who wouldn't want a beautiful, inexpensive, low-maintenance, air cleaning plant like this in their home? Oh one thing I really want to mention before I continue is a lot of people mistake the pothos plant as a philodendron. All though they look very similar these plants are not the same and many times the stores will mislabel these plants. A difference I found between these plants are the leaves the pothos have a slightly thicker leaf and is more drought tolerant then the philodendron I just wanted to point that out. Anyway... I always use a well draining soil and a pot with drainage holes with all of my green babies. You also want to let the soil dry out a little between waterings because the pothos can't take soggy soil. A sure sign that you're overwatering this plant is yellow leaves so please be very careful not to overwater. Also if you keep this plant in a lower light setting you will want to water it less because it's not getting as much light which means the soil will stay wet longer. I do this to all of my plants and I highly recommend that you don't water on a tight schedule instead do the stick or finger test. Take a light colored stick push it down about 2-3 inches in the soil. If it's moist check again in a few days of course if it's on the dryer side water it until the water comes out of the drainage holes. So far as feeding I always use miracle gro foam or liquid plant food every 2-4 weeks on this plant. I always get soil that have slow release fertilizer in it so I try not to do to much so far as that go.  Now let's talk about something annoying to us growers inside and out pest problems! The one thing I hate is pest on plants and sadly this plant is susceptible to some house plant pest. Now I am glad to say I've never had a problem with any of these pest and I'll tell you why in a minute. Some pest that may attack this plant however are mealybugs, spider mites, and scale insects. If you have any of these pest attacking your plant you can use alcohol on a cotton swab, an insecticidal soap, or removing them by hand. Now I mentioned before that I haven't had this problem with any pest on my plants because I simply give my plants a "shower" and keep their foliage clean. This really help the plant breathe as it cleans the air but it also helps to keep those nasty pest away from your plant. Another measure you can take is take a spray bottle filling it up with water and putting a couple of drops of dawn (the very basic one that only cause about 97 cents at Wal-Mart) in the water shaking it up and spray your plant. Let this sit on the plant for about a 1-2 hours and rinse off and wipe the foliage off. Now lets talk about propagation the golden pothos is so easy to propagate. Just take any steam you feel like cutting and make sure you cut under a "nod" this will look like a little bump on the plant. You can take that cutting and stick it in slightly moist soil OR stick it in a cup of water. Within 3 weeks or so you should see some roots popping up once that happens you have the option to leave it in water (if that's how you rooted it) or stick it in a pot with good draining soil. Before you know it you will have a brand new plant in no time! Another tip I always like to give is never over pot your plant especially the pothos plant. They have a shallow root system so if you over pot this plant you risk root rot setting in. The soil will stay wet for a long period of time which is not a good thing for this plant so only go up the next size when it's time to repot. It's always recommended to repot late winter early spring but I repotted mine in the summer and haven't had a problem thus far. It's also good for your plant if you pop it out of it's container and check on the root system every now and again. Another thing I want to mention is the humidity this plant can take average household humidity but I still mist mines and or put it on a tray with wet pebbles. You can also group your house plants together (assuming you have enough) to create more humidity for your plants. As always if you have any more questions about this plant feel free to leave a comment on this post or you can contact me on my Google+ page and remember to always do your part to keep this world green.

Sansevieria Trifasciata (Snake Plant)

Today I'm going to share with you my thoughts and experience on taking care of a Sansevieria aka the Snake Plant or even Mother's in law tongue. I personally call it a snake plant it just suits the plant better to me because of its unique but beautiful foliage. It actually reminds me of snake skin with it's dark green marked wavy cross stripes. One of the biggest mistakes I made was over potting my plant and let me tell you if this wasn't a "plant of steel" I would have been one of the rare people who killed a snake plant lol. So needless to say I took the time to realize the mistake and corrected it ASAP!. I said all that to say PLEASE don't over pot this plant. Much like a spider plant it like to be root bound just a little bit. Of course you want to check the roots from time to time and if things starting to get crowed and it's more roots then soil then you would want to repot your plant. Another important tip to remember is always use a good potting soil with great drainage. NEVER EVER use garden soil on a potted plant that's a  huge mistake. Garden soil is a lot heavier then potting soil so that means it will stay wet longer and can cause root rot to your plant which can kill it and you don't want that to happen. Two soils that I use are Miracle Gro and Baccto honestly I think Baccto is a little lighter then the Miracle Gro which means better drainage. With that said I'm only speaking on the Miracle Gro soil for cactus,palms, and citrus plants. I'm going to test out the Miracle Gro potting soil to see what's that like and I'll compare all three in a future blog post. Now the snake plant is consider a low light plant which is perfect for those spaces that don't get a lot of light. Remember LOW light don't mean NO light so make sure your plant getting some type of light or it may die slowly from lack of light. I honestly give my plant both direct and indirect sunlight of course it gets more indirect because I don't want to use harm to my plant with to much direct sunlight. Every other day I'll sit it in my windowsill which is facing south I believe and let it soak up some direct sun no more then 4 hours at a time and I'm seeing great results. The more light you give it I believe it will grow just a little faster so try to keep that in mind even though its a low light plant. If you don't have a space with a lot of indirect sunlight try to give it as much fluorescent light as possible and that should be enough for this plant to continue to grow. Another thing I like to do is rotate my plant weekly so it's getting even exposure of light. Snake seems to thrive in temperatures between 40-85f it's said they will take lower and higher temps for a short period of time but you don't want to stress the plant so try to keep it between those temperatures. Snake plants are also known for their low water requirements which is great for the forgetful gardener or if you travel a lot. When you water (ALWAYS USE A POT WITH DRAINAGE HOLES) make sure the water runs out the drainage holes. You don't want you plant having "wet feet" root rot can set in and cause major problems. Like I do with every plant I own I always check the soil with a light colored stick or stick my finger down to the first knuckle. If my snake plant have any moisture at all I will not water it until it's almost bone dry to be honest. The first time I water my snake plant it took two weeks before it needed to be water again so please keep that in mind. However if the plant goes to long without water it will start to droop so of course use room temperature water to water it. I personally use distilled water OR I will use tap water that's been sitting in a jug for about a week. I never use water straight from the sink because of the chlorine and fluorides in the water which can cause salt buildups in the soil. Try to water the plant from the sides to keep water out of the leaf clumps which can hold water which you don't want at all. If you have a pot with cache try at the bottom dump the excess water out promptly. You never want this plant sitting in water because once again root rot can set in. So far as fertilizer go 99% of the time the soil I use have some type of slow release fertilizer so I really don't give it anything but Miracle Gro foam or liquid plant food maybe once a month but never in the winter months because the plants grow slower or taking a rest however you want to look at it. Another wonderful thing about this plant is it's a wonder air cleaner and it made NASA list of top air cleaners. With that being said as it cleans the air the foliage will get very dusty so you will have to clean it. What I like to do is when I see my plant getting dusty I will spray it down with water and use a soft damp cloth to wipe its tuff waxy feeling leaves. WARNING WARNING WARNING! please be VERY careful with the tips of this plant as tuff as this plant is it do have a weakness. If a tip break off a leaf that leaf WILL NOT grow any longer sad but true. So you really have to be extra careful with that now if you want the plant to stay a certain length then that's the way to go it's all up to you. As these plants get taller since they do grow up right they will get a little top heavy so always take measures to keep your plant from falling over. One thing I almost forgot to mention is snake plants do come in several color variations. Some have gold colored edges or cream stripes. I haven't seen it yet but I may see it in the future but these plants can flower! They can flower tiny white flowers who some say have a very powerful fragrant smell to them. Of course to see this happen the snake plant must be well taking care of and getting enough light and proper watering. My guess is much like the spider plant it will flower when it's root bound so I'm going to test this out and keep my snake plant in a smaller pot. If you do need to repot your plant make sure you do it before winter set in. Most people will say late winter early spring but I'm still seeing growth and I repot mine the first week of fall. I have yet to try to propagation on this plant but I've seen videos of leaf cuttings and plant dividing. If you take leaf cuttings make sure you remember which side goes in the soil or it will not root at all. I plan on taking leaf cuttings on mine and I will personally cut a leaf on which a tip as broken off since it won't grow any more anyway. As always of you have any questions about this plant please leave a comment or send me a message on Google+ and remember always do your part to keep this world green!

Draceana Marginata (Dragon Tree)

Draceana  Marginata also known as a dragon tree have beautiful green red-edge almost ribbon like stiff leaves. It's complimented by graceful curving stalks for trunks. I find this a perfect house plant because it's a slow grow which in my opinion make it perfect for those who don't have a lot of living space for fast growing plants. Draceana's are said to thrive in full sun as well as shaded areas but I find that my plants benefit from both. I often move my plants to my windowsill for a few hours of direct sun and move them back to a indirect sun light spot so the foliage won't burn from being in direct sunlight all day long. Draceana's are pretty drought tolerant which is perfect for those of us with forgetful minds or for those who travel a lot. Like many of my plants I let them dry out a bit before I water them again. I found that sticking a light colored stick in the soil works best for me. If soil come out on the stick I don't water at all. Another way to tell is when the soil dark in color it's clearly still moist so I also wait until it's looking a little light in color before I even check it. Another important thing to remember is when you water it make sure you water it until the water runs out of the drainage holes. I made a mistake and was giving my dragon tree little sips of water when I first got it. Needless to say I almost killed it I'm so glad I realize what I was doing wrong and corrected the problem in time. I had to feed it some plant food and good watering and in no time the leaves were lifting up and the trunk it's self harden up again. I only feed my dragon tree with miracle gro liquid plant food in the spring and summer because plants need to rest in the fall and winter so you don't want to over fertilizer it during it's resting period. Now lets talk about pruning I don't prune this tree at all! Now if you notice any brown tips I don't see no harm in trimming them off to give the plant a better look. Before I forget to mention this please remember that it's normal for a dracaena to loose their bottom leaves. Mature plants will have a spindly looking trunk with tufts of leaves at the top. It's also normal to see multiply trunks and some people even "braid" the trunks. I like the look but I personally won't do it to my tree. Now if you want to make the tree look more bushy, cut the tallest cane down if you wish and from the cut you will see new sprouts which will grow new leaves eventually. I haven't notice much issues with this tree but there are a few like leaf spot diseases which can occur during warm weather and being wet for a prolong time period. If you notice this issue you want to cut the affect area so the other leaves won't get affected. Some of the pest that can affect this tree are thrips, and mites but that can be controlled by giving this tree a nice shower once in a while and keeping the humidity up around this tree. I keep my tree on a tray of wet pebbles and it seem to be doing my plant some good. This plant also help clean the air but don't forget to wipe the foliage down with a microfiber cloth so the plant can continue to thrive and breathe. Cleaning the foliage also help with keeping pest away from your plant which is always a great thing. The ideal temperature for this plant is between 60-75 degrees. So far as repotting go you only need to repot when the plant is very congested and showing clear signs that it's suffering. So don't be afraid to pop it out the pot and check the root system every once in a while. It's been said that indoors this plant can grow up to 6ft tall with proper care of course. I also forgot to mention that these are fairly inexpensive plants. I wanted to watch mines mature and grow so I brought a very small one from Ikea for $1.99! Now of course you can buy them bigger but they will cause a little more still not to expensive though. If there's any questions you may have for me leave a comment on this blog or you can follow me on my Google+ page and remember to do your part to keep this world green.

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)

Let me start off by saying after years of not buying any plant life at all. This was the plant which started my plant journey. I started off with a "baby" spider plant that was rooted in water for two weeks. I wasn't surprised that I saw roots popping out very quickly. Let me start off by giving you some basic information about this plant. The most common name I've seen for this plant is "Spider Plant". I can see why it's called such a name... when this beautiful plant starts growing it hangs gracefully giving off a "spider leg" look in my opinion. Some people also call it the "airplane" plant and of course the botanical name for this beauty is "Chlorophytum Comosum". No matter what you want to call it it's a very easy beginners house plant. Now here's some of the plant features the spider plant has been around for years and years and withstood many test over time. It's been a popular house plant for many years and still is a popular plant today. It's a very easy to grow house plant and as I stated before a very nice beginner friendly plant. It's thrives in bright light but not to much direct sun but it also do well in low light conditions. So far as watering in my opinion it don't mind being water frequently but will also go a while without water making it a very good plant for those of us who live a very busy lifestyle and those who travel often. Here's a few growing instructions to help you on a nice spider plant journey. You can grow a spider plant in just about any room in your home or office. This plant does a wonderful job at filtering out indoor air pollution which can be rewarding to our health. This plant thrives on regular watering maybe like once a week or so but I will say watering any plant will depend on the environment. What I personally do is check my soil with a light colored stick. I stick my stick in the soil and if any soil comes out on the stick I personally won't water my spider plant. Now of course if the stick comes out bone dry I take my spider plant over my sink or tub and give it a good watering. From my personal experience you should ALWAYS use a planter that have drainage holes in it. If you got to have that beautiful planter (one without drainage holes) use it has a cache pot. You want all the water to drain out the bottom of the pot (never allow this plant to sit in water) to prevent root rot which can lead to the death of your plant. You always want to invest in a good draining potting soil I don't recommend garden soil because that's a lot heavier and just not a good fit for indoor house plants. I personally use Miracle Gro potting mix for cactus,palm, and citrus plants for all of my house plants. Spider plants also love to be a little pot bound so don't be so quick to hop from pot to pot but if you must repot only take it up a size or two bigger then the current pot. I made a mistake of putting a spider plant in a bigger pot to soon and I almost over watered my plant! Another thing that I found my plant love is regular misting. I've done a lot of research and misting your house plants on the regular increase the humidity which is good for your plants. Spider plants also are prone to brown leaf tips which I find to be kinda normal for this plant. I deal with that by trimming them off which makes the plant look much better. If you find that the leaf tips are turning brown more often try to increase the humidity and make sure you're not over fertilizing your plant. Speaking of fertilizing the only thing I do is feed my plant Miracle Gro liquid or foam plant food at least once a month during the spring and summer and none at all in the fall and winter. All in all these are super easy plants to grow and take little care and they can thrive for years to come. Also remember only mature plants will flower and eventually most of those flowers will turn into "babies" that you can later on root. To root babies from the mother plant I've found it easier to pluck the babies off when you see little nubs or roots starting to form. Stick those babies into some water and within two weeks or so you should see roots popping out. From there you can get a container with drainage holes add some soil and create a whole new plant. Propagating these plants is as easy as it come and they take off growing with little care. Bottom line is it don't matter if you have a green or brown thumb growing this plant can't get any easier and anyone can grow it successfully. If there's any questions you still may have about this plant please feel free to contact me on here or my Google+ plus page and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for visiting my blog and remember do your part to keep this world green!

The Beginning

Hello my name is Tamara Adams and I wanted to start off by telling you just a little bit about myself. I've been married for 6 1/2 years and I have a beautiful, funny, and smart 3 year old daughter. I work at a child development center on a military base. I love working with children even though some days are much more challenging then others. Nonetheless it's a very rewarding job at the end of the day. Another thing I enjoy is nature this I must blame on my mom I guess she taught me to be thankful for all of God's creations. It didn't matter what it was as long as you remain humble and be thankful for everything around you. Seeing that I love nature so much I really enjoy looking at the clouds in the sky, trees blowing in the wind, I love hearing the rain drops fall outside. I love seeing snow fall in the winter time while I snuggle up with a blanket and a cup of coffee. Now that I think about it nature relaxes me when I'm feeling down and out. I'm also a Leo so it's something about the sun that just wake me up and give me so much energy especially on a cold and blistering day. Life is such a gift that so many people loose every day so why not take advantage and enjoy the little things that so many people take for granted? That's why I wanted to start my own blog to help as many people as I can when it comes to plants. I'm far from a "expert" but I take my time and do so much research on the plants that I take care of in my home. I've always been a plant person and I'm what you called a self taught gardener. I remember when I was just a teen and had no idea what I was doing but I manage to grow a garden in my mom's backyard and planted flowers that popped up each year. My garden did very well for me just digging up dirt, planting seeds, and water. That's all I did and to my surprised the few greens and wild onions I planted popped up like crazy. My first indoor plant was a cactus I brought from home depot which grew really well! What happened to it still saddens me until this day... I came home one day and to my surprise someone stab my cactus with what I don't know but I was so beat about that I didn't buy another plant for years and years. Now I'm a proud owner of quite a few indoor plants and look forward to sharing any information I can. I'm one of those weird people that can't stand to see a plant stuff so I also take pride in doing what I call rescue missions. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and to read my first post and I'm excited to share many more with you!