Staying Alive
The Go-To Guide for Houseplants
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A handy Q&A guide by the authors of the Prairie Gardener series, Staying Alive: The Go-To Guide for Houseplants provides expert advice to ensure your houseplants thrive, wherever you call home.
Whether you have one tiny succulent on your desk at work or a massive collection of tropical plants in your home, caring for houseplants can be a real source of joy—and the occasional moment of wild frustration.
In this Q&A guide to happy, healthy houseplants, lifelong gardeners Sheryl Normandeau and Janet Melrose are here with the insight you need to take you from perusing the plant shop to the dreaded repotting to splitting your mama spider into little spidies to share with friends. Learn:
How to choose the right plants for your space (from aloe to ZZ)How to train vinesHow to create and care for a terrariumWhen to repot your plantsAll about tap water, rainwater, distilled water, too much water, and not enoughPerfecting your potting soilDividing, repotting, and growing plants from seedHow to tackle problems like flies, fungus, spots, and even general malaise
Opening with a chapter on setting up a houseplant-friendly home, the pair talk containers, lighting, watering, soil and nutrients, propagation, pests and other problems, and offer a final grab bag of tips to help you satisfy some of those trickier plant pals in your midst (calling all orchids).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Melrose and Normandeau follow up The Prairie Gardener's Go-to Guide for Grasses with a hit-or-miss manual on sprucing up one's home with plants. Following a q&a format, the authors weigh in on such topics as deterring pests, choosing where to place plants, and ensuring they're watered properly. The authors affirmatively answer the question "Can I mix different houseplants together in a container?" with the caveat that readers should only group plants with similar humidity, soil, and water needs. Discussing how to protect flora from harmful insects, Melrose and Normandeau recommend preventing fungus gnats from laying eggs in the pots of moisture-loving plants by covering the soil with a layer of sand. There are plenty of useful tips, as when the authors suggest that "watering from the bottom" (leaving a potted plant in a water-filled saucer to absorb moisture through the container's drainage holes) decreases the risk of root rot. Unfortunately, other guidance is overly broad. For instance, a section purporting to answer "How do I know which types of indoor plants are suitable for my home?" does little more than restate the question, suggesting readers buy plants that thrive at the average temperature and humidity levels in one's abode. Additionally, the amateurish quality of the photographs disappoints. Readers would be better off with A People's Guide to Houseplants.
