Ficus trees are great house plants and very easy to care for after the initial trauma of being moved to a new location. They have a tendency to drop all of their pretty green leaves on the floor when you first bring them home as they seem to despise moving to a new environment. This is the Ficus benjamina or Weeping Fig.

This type of Ficus tree is notorious for being difficult to acclimate to a new environment. In fact, I would have included it on the list of best house plants if it were not for the problems many people have bringing a Ficus tree successfully through its transition to a new home.

Even those that work in the interior landscape business know the trouble that a new Ficus tree can be. However, on the positive side, if you know that it will most likely happen (some Ficus trees barely lose a leaf), you may be a little more prepared to deal with it when it does happen.

I find that most indoor plants are very adaptable as long as changes are made slowly, whether it is a change in location, lighting, or watering. This even applies to the Ficus tree. Ficus trees are often difficult to acclimate because they are quite sensitive to environmental changes and will often react by dropping most of their still green leaves quite suddenly.

Read more about the Weeping Fig Tree or Ficus benjamina acclimation and plant care…

The Peace Lily plant can be anywhere from 12 inches tall to over 5 feet tall, depending on the variety. It has an upright, clumping growth and, with the right care, will produce white flowers, or spathes, throughout much of the year. Additionally, when not in bloom, the Peace Lily makes a fantastic foliage plant and is an easy to care for indoor houseplant.

I have included the Peace Lily plant in my list of the best indoor houseplants and the Peace Lily is a great plant for indoor use. Peace Lily often requires a little more attention than other houseplants on my list and it is prone to dramatic wilting if the soil is allowed to become too dry.

Place Peace Lily in the brightest, indirect light you have available. It should not be positioned in hot, direct sunlight for extended periods of time as your Peace Lily will most likely fade and scorch. Some morning sun would not be harmful and provide bright light throughout the rest of the day.

The more light you can provide the Peace Lily the more likely it is to continue flowering. You can keep a Peace Lily in lower light but it will require less frequent watering and it will also be unlikely to flower much, if it flowers at all.

To help keep your Peace Lily flowering, keep it a bit pot bound. Removing older foliage and flowers as they begin to fade is also beneficial. Occasionally allowing it to dry out almost completely is going to help keep the root system and the plant healthy. A healthy plant is going to produce more new growth, including flowers.

An occasional application of water soluble plant food will also aid in flower production. Use sparingly as it is easy to damage a plant, especially a potted plant, with too much fertilizer. Never apply fertilizer to a dry plant, always water first then feed. I always use less than recommended amounts.

How to Water Peace Lily

Peace Lily plant should be watered thoroughly and then allowed to dry down at least 1/4 to 1/2 of the soil depth. Do not allow to dry completely. It will wilt dramatically if allowed to do so. Keep your Peace Lily’s potting mix more moist in the spring and summer, allowing to dry somewhat more in the fall and winter. Please see the sections on watering and lighting for important care information.

Other Care Ideas for Peace Lily Houseplant

Remove flowers from your Peace Lily as they begin to discolor, fade or spot. The older leaves of the Peace Lily tend to yellow and get black or brown tips over time, so I make it a habit to remove a few of these older leaves every month. Removing older growth on most plants will help promote new growth and will help keep your plant pretty, green and gorgeous. Keep the wide leaves clean and dust free by wiping them gently with a dry cloth.

Removing the pollen producing spike in the center of the flower will prolong flowering. It will also eliminate the messy pollen that would otherwise fall. This is one of the few flowers that makes me sneeze and I am not allergic to anything else. So if you have allergic reactions, you should cut this part of the flower out before it begins to release pollen.

Like any other plant, the Peace Lily can have insect problems. I have seen them with fungus gnats, mealybugs, mites, scale, thrips, aphids and white fly. A mild solution of water and dish soap to wash off the pests should be effective. You can even put your houseplant in the shower and wash it off.

It is a good idea to quarantine any new additions to your house plant family for a few weeks just to be sure there are not any insects that were not noticed at first. Wash down your new house plant with a mixture of water and mild dish detergent. I like to add a few drops of Eucalyptus essential oil or Orange essential oil to my houseplant cleaning solution. Just my preference, and the citrus and Eucalyptus oil may help to repel insects.

Apply to top and lower leaf and stem surfaces of your houseplants, being careful not to saturate the soil. You can clean by hand or use a spray bottle to apply your houseplant cleaning solution to the leaves of your Peace Lily plant. I use a sponge moistened with my cleaning solution to gently wipe the top and lower leaf surfaces. Cleaning of your houseplants should be a regular part of your houseplant care.

Peace Lily Houseplant Question?

Peace Lily houseplant care questions or problems? You can send a houseplant question but before you do, please read this information on watering your indoor houseplants, how to help keep your house plant’s root system healthy and lighting for your houseplants. These are most important for your houseplant’s health and this is some of the information I will refer you to if you send an email.

If you have questions about your indoor houseplants, you can send an indoor house plant question and be sure to visit the PlantAndFlowerInfo.com Facebook Page, a great place to find a compilation of plant, flower, gardening, growing, and landscape information, trivia and even humor! Thanks for visiting PlantAndFlowerInfo.com – Happy gardening and growing!

Indoor House Plants Care

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The Sanseveria Laurentii is the most common variety of Snake Plant, with a broad, yellow edge on the thick, sword shaped leaves. The center of the leaf is cross-banded with pale markings. There are different varieties of Snake Plants with shorter, wider leaves, some with thin, long leaves and many with varied color combinations.

Snake Plant is great for cleaning the air, converting carbon dioxide to oxygen during the night and is often recommended as a houseplant for use in the bedroom.

Watering Your Snake Plant

Watering Snake Plant – Snake Plant has rhizomes that store water, so stay more to the dry side with this plant. In low to medium light, allow pot media to dry down 3/4 of the way or more. In higher lighting, allow to dry down 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot depth. You may need some type of soil probe or moisture meter in a really full plant to check for water needs.

When you do water your Snake Plant it is best that you do not pour the water in the leaf rosette as it may cause them to rot. Water the soil only and use room temperature water.

Other Snake Plant Care

Snake Plant is a durable plant and high light is best to keep the foliage full. It will survive in lower light provided it is allowed to dry but will become thin and leggy over time. Temperatures should be kept above 50°F.

Snake plant has upright growth and a shallow root system and is best kept somewhat pot bound. It has thick rhizomes that store water for a long time. While you may be able to keep a Snake Plant that is in high-light slightly moist, in low light the roots will rot and the leaves will turn mushy and smelly. Low light will also lead to a thin, weak plant. You should err on the side of less water with this house plant. In winter months, you can allow to dry completely.

Snake Plant can be found in different sizes and colors. Some are shorter, with a rosette type of growth such as the Sansevieria ‘Hahnii’. Sansevieria ‘Superba’ is somewhat larger but with wider leaves than the taller varieties. The Sansevieria ‘Laurentii’ is the most common coloration. Snake Plant can be found with pale silver-green foliage as with Sansevieria ‘Moonshine’. The ‘Black Gold’ has a dark leaf center, almost black, with a gold leaf edge. The Sansevieria ‘Zeylanica’ is more of a light silver-green with darker cross bands or mottling of the leaf.

With the different growth types and unusual and beautiful colors, the Snake Plant has something for everyone who enjoys indoor tropical plants. And they are easy care, too! Keep your Snake Plant pot bound, don’t over water and place them in adequate light and they should be relatively trouble free.

If your Snake Plant does become root bound you can remove it from the grow pot and divide the plant to make smaller individual plants. Make sure when you do divide your Snake Plant that you plant the smaller plants into pots that fit them. Remember, Snake Plant is better pot bound. You can often place a cut leaf into moist sand or rooting media and get it to root and start a new plant that way. Have fun with your Snake plant.

While Snake Plant is usually about 2 to 3 feet tall, I have seen them at a height of 5 feet or more. This was a Snake Plant potted in a 14″ diameter grow pot in a very good light situation. It is unusual to see them that size indoors but it is possible to grow them that large.

Houseplant Care Question?

If you have questions about your indoor plants, you can send an indoor house plant question.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon as indoor house plant care information, pictures and more are being added all of the time. I hope that your tropical indoor house plants and all of your plants and flowers are happy, green and growing because that is why I started this site PlantAndFlowerInfo.com.

Indoor House Plants Care

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It can be hard to diagnose every indoor plant problem when you do not have access to the plant itself. So, I generally find myself asking them questions about how they care for their plants. Most often, the problems are solved by changing watering habits or by moving the plant to a better light situation. Often doing both of those things makes a big difference.

In almost every instance, changing the way people look at watering and lighting for their indoor plants gives them positive results with their houseplants.

I care for indoor plants as my job and I know that there are not many plants that I care for that always use the same amount of water or need watering on a rigid schedule. Many different things influence a plants water use.

Customers turn off the lights, leave the lights on, turn off the air conditioning, turn up the heat, close the blinds, open the blinds, and sometimes move the plant to some undisclosed location! All of these things, and many other things, influence the way you need to water an indoor plant. But hopefully, most of these things won’t happen to the houseplants in your home.

There are many things to consider when you are watering your house plants. Read more about watering properly for good results with your indoor house plants… 

Indoor House Plants Care

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