Journal
Why does my FLF (Fiddle leaf fig or ficus) hate me?
Ficus Lyrata, or Fiddle Leaf Ficus (or Fig) has become one of the most popular houseplants and people are really excited to own one. One of the most common questions we get from our clients that we help with plant care is: Why does my FLF hate me? Well, first lets start by saying - mostly, they hate everyone. But the more that you can mimic their natural environment - the LESS they'll hate you. They love well-drained tropical and coastal areas with consistent temps and humid air.
How to take care of airplants in Colorado's dry climate
Air plants - or tillandsia - are plants that, in their native environments, live on the bark of trees in tropical climates. Plants like tillandsia are called epiphytic - which means they grow on the surfaces of other plants without harming them. They don't depend on the trees for food - they collect nutrients and water from humidity and rainfall. An Epiphyte lives on the surface of the tree, and needs no soil. There is a myth that airplants just live on air, but that's certainly not the case - they need humidity and moisture! Colorado has a very arid, dry climate. It's...
Everyone's favorite houseplant - The Pothos (see below for better taxonomy!!)
plant history plant identification pothos rare plants
Here we will discuss the different varieties of Epipremnum aureum or 'Pothos'. This will not include varieties of scindapsus pictus - Those will be discussed HERE. Please know that "pothos" used in this article is the common name of plants in the Epipremnum aureum species. Looking a little deeper, you'll find that pothos is actually a completely different genera of plant - but for ease of communication, we'll use the common name throughout this article.
Epipremnum is a genus of plants in the Araceae (or Aroid) family. It includes the aureum species and all varieties and clones including the most popular golden and marble queen, and the rarer N'joy, Glacier, and Manjula. These are what we'll discuss here! We'll try to make it fun, but educational (as the two seem to be mutually exclusive in the market :) ). Some of these will note a VKC registration date - this is the date which the VKC decided that the distinctness of particular cultivar was enough to distinguish it. Some of these varieties are easily available, and some very difficult to find regularly.
SCINDAPSUS PICTUS - Exotica, Silvery Ann, or Argyraeus? Help me identify my silver satin!
Scindapsus Pictus is a commonly mis-identified group of plants. Here's a run-down of the varieties that are commercially readily available. They're often called silver pothos, even though they're not pothos at all, nor are they philodendron. They're all botanically filed under Scindapsus Pictus.
Spider Mites, OH NOOOOO!
You spy little webbing, and teensy bugs on your plant and, of course, PANIC. No panicking! It's not the end of the world, though it's important to catch it EARLY and treat it ASAP. Here's what to do about it!