Care & Growing

You know how you bought those jeans and they were your absolute favorite jeans and you wore them to everything 10 years ago so you saved them because one day you just KNOW you’ll be able to get back into them. But now, when you put them on, you have to lie down on the bed and use a coat hanger to zip them up, then you stand up looking like an overstuffed sausage? That’s root bound.

First, you have to have a great best friend. My SO, being the wonderful, thoughtful human that he is, runs marinas for a living. Lake life and all that good stuff. Then you just...build a trellis.

Why is it my brain automagically pops to "let's plant something" every time the temp drops? I spent the January ice storm and subsequent snow storm re-potting every plant in the house, much to my SO's chagrin. I set up tables in the other half of the living room, flung Not Dirt everywhere, and had an absolute blast while he watched TV and the dogs looked on boredly.

Picture a tropical paradise. Lush greenery, birds chirping (or squawking if you, too, think modern dinosaurs are super creepy), bugs humming, it's hot, and maybe there's an ocean nearby. Now, in your mind's eye, look down. Do you see rich, black soil that is dense and moist?

Conversationally with a plant person, I would absolutely NEVER tell you what's in that tub. The water looks like someone pulled a blue baby out of it, and we are not going to discuss why. I dropped a felt-tip pen in there. It looks blue now. Moving on.

Let me be upfront about something: there is no such thing as a bug-free greenhouse. Anyone telling you otherwise is either lying or has one plant on a windowsill and is calling it a collection.

You've walked the entire house looking for the PERFECT spot for your new baby. Bright, indirect lighting from an East-facing window. ✅ Not directly in a 'high-traffic' zone, shielding it from your kids/pets. ✅ Visible from your FAVORITE seat, so you can admire his/her beauty. ✅ But did you look up? If the perfect spot is directly below your heating vent, especially in and around Flowery Branch GA, then it is most definitely NOT the perfect spot.

Most people buy a $100 Thai Constellation and put it in $10 "All-Purpose" soil. That’s a recipe for root rot in Georgia’s humidity. Standard soil holds too much water. Aroids (Monsteras, Philos) need "breathable" feet.

So, I did a thing. I saw Monstera Albo cuttings on Etsy and thought... YES! The photos looked incredible, the seller had glowing reviews, and the "Add to Cart" finger took over. But almost immediately after hitting 'confirm,' the remorse set in.

Last Friday, I was out plant shopping like it was full on spring! 75 degrees, sun shining, birds chirping...and then, it changed. For the last two nights, we've had a fire in the fireplace, the gas furnace kicking on incessantly (GNG, you're killing me with the therm pricing this year), and we're putting on lotion like it's our JOB.

Blind panic sets in and I immediately start thinking about how in the world I'm going to quarantine this ONE plant (or has it spread already) when I only have JUST ENOUGH grow lights for everyone in the current setup. I definitely don't want this plant to wither away without enough light, but I also don't want every other plant to "catch" whatever it is this one has...

Harry was a Ficus who had been with his family for three decades. Unfortunately, a 40° Georgia night was too much for him, even under a cover. When the leaves stay brown and crispy after a few weeks, it’s usually a sign the internal plumbing has failed. We performed a "Scratch Test," but the stems were dry. Harry’s journey had come to an end.

I’ve been buying house plants for years now, and as my collection has grown, so have my planting ‘supplies’. When I first got started, I didn’t know what sort of substrate would work best, so I did what a lot of people do – I bought a big bag of Miracle Gro soil and started repotting in it. Looking back, I must have gotten really lucky. It took me a while to start seeing gnats, and even when I did start seeing them, there weren’t that many. I controlled them with the usual su