Trailing and hanging plants provide visual interest in the interiorscape. They draw the eye into an open space at tree level without sacrificing precious floor space. Composed of a wide variety of plant species, hanging planters, trailers on top of half-walls and filing cabinets are lush and full when first installed on accounts but can quickly [...]
Did you know? There are more kinds of trees (plants with woody stems) in a tropical rainforest than in any other area of the world. In one section of the rainforest in South America, scientists counted 179 different species of trees in a 500 square foot section. That's a lot of trees! Plant life in the [...]
Ming Aralia What is it about Aralias that make us love them and hate them? They are absolutely beautiful columnar plants with long-lasting growth patterns. They are also a bit temperamental when it comes to being sensitive to temperature and water changes. Despite their fussy nature, they are getting more attention during recent years [...]
Sometimes we have trouble being able to keep many of the plants at the right moisture level. Too wet? No. it must be too dry. I've been going back and forth with supplying moisture, but we can't seem to be able to get it right. The new growth is spotting, and one of the plants is [...]
No wonder we all use the common name of croton! Hard to get your tongue wrapped around all those vowels. Yet even if it's hard to say we love to use Codiaeums in all their many varieties. Crotons can be used in so many ways and so many locations that they are one of the staples [...]
When the seasons change it time to be on the lookout for surprise pest attacks. This can especially happen on plants you have come to know well and trust to be pest-free. They can sneak up on us at any time and give us a surprise attack. It's just a pest-filled world, and we have to [...]
About palms in general Rhapis To help you share my passion for Rhapis, also known as the lady palm, a bit of knowledge about its family relations is important. It is a member of the Palmae family. This ancient family is made up of a large group of evergreen monocotyledons. Palms were first defined [...]
How do I prune a Ficus? Where should I start to prune? How can I cut it without asking permission? Is someone watching me? What if I make a mistake? We get personal satisfaction from pruning by improving the appearance and making great-looking trees. Over the years we have developed the "courage to cut". We are [...]
The word Ficus is Latin for "fig", which is appropriate for these fig bearing fruit trees. There are over 900 species of Ficus (in the form of trees, shrubs, and vines) but the most common to the interiorscpaing world are F. lyrata (fiddle-leaf), F. benjamina, and F. amstel. Light These trees prefer medium to bright light [...]
Belonging to the Gesneriaceae family, Aeschynanthus (also called the Lipstick plant) have brightly colored flowers, which differ from most other flowers in that the petals are joined at their base to form a tubular corolla. So many to enjoy There are more than 100 species of the genus Aeschynanthus and they are all long-stemmed trailers with [...]
