Welcome! You have arrived at MyGardenLife.com. The best single resource for information and inspiration on houseplants and succulents. Here you can find detailed information to help you succeed in selecting and caring for your houseplants. Happy Indoor Gardening!
Lighting for Houseplants
North-facing windows get no direct sunlight. They’re best for plants requiring low light or medium light. Plants in a north window may grow better if provided with some supplemental artificial light.
East-facing windows get morning sun until around midday. They’re great for low-light level plants and some medium-light plants, especially those that can’t take the heat or brightness of a southern or western exposure. Medium-light lovers should be no further than one foot from the window.
South-facing windows get the most light, from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. They’re a perfect place for plants that love the sun. Houseplants like cacti and succulents that need lots of light should be within a foot of a south-facing window.
West facing windows don’t get as many hours of sun as a southern exposure, but they do get the sun at the end of the day, when the temperatures are warmest. A west-facing window is good for high- and medium-light loving plants.
If you place your plant in the appropriate light location but start seeing signs that your plant isn’t thriving, here are some things you should check:
- Is there anything blocking light coming in the room, such as a shade or curtains?
- Is your plant the correct distance from the window?
- Is it a small plant shaded by a larger plant next to it?
- Is there a tree, awning, or building outside the window that is blocking the light?
Water
When to Water Houseplants
When to water your plant has a lot to do with what type of container it’s growing in. Here are three of the most common scenarios for potted plants:
Container with drainage holes set in a saucer:
- Water when top 1-2 inches (3-5cm) of soil is dry.
- Apply water until it runs out the drainage hole at bottom of pot. Discard any water left standing in the saucer.
A plain plastic pot with drainage placed inside a decorative container:
- Water when top 1-2 inches (3-5cm) of soil is dry.
- Water soil until water runs out the bottom of the pot.
- Lift the inner pot from its decorative container, pour out excess water, and return pot to the container.
A pot with no drainage holes:
- Use caution when watering. It’s better to underwater at first until you are familiar with your plant’s water needs.
- Feel the top 1-2 inches (3-5cm) of soil with your finger, if it’s dry your plant is ready for a drink.
- It may be best to apply water in small amounts, more frequently.
Signs that your plant is too dry:
The soil surface looks dry.
The soil surface feels dry.
Lift the pot – a plant with dry soil will be easier to lift than a wet plant.
Plant leaves drooping or wilting.
Foliage color looks pale or yellowing.
Slight curling of leaves.
Leaf tips turning brown and crispy.
Plant dropping leaves and flowers.
Signs that your plant is too wet:
Leaf tips turn brown to black.
Lower leaves turning yellow.
Base of plant is mushy.
Soil has a foul smell resulting from root rot.
The soil surface is still wet days after watering.
Mold or mildew growing on the soil surface.
Container has no drainage holes.
How to Increase Humidity
Some houseplants, such as ferns, bromeliads and orchids – just to name a few – thrive in humid conditions. Here are some tips for increasing humidity:
- Spray-mist the foliage with water once or twice a day.
- Keep plants away from heating vents.
- Place plants on a tray of pebbles covered with water.
- Place plant in a humid room like a bathroom.
Care Tips for Popular Houseplants
For more houseplant inspiration and care tips, follow our Houseplants and Indoor Gardening Pinterest boards!
I specifically went to the store to buy 6 palms plants as they’re mostly safe for cats. The plants are NOT labeled with any name whatsoever. So – I can’t check to make sure they’re not toxic. Why have a plant with no name so you can’t research literally anything about it? How much could it cost to print a name on it?? It’s not one of the pictures on the website either so let me stop you before that’s a response. There’s no where to submit a picture here. Can someone give me an email address? I’d happily buy 15 of them if I could verify they are non toxic to animals. Thanks
Hi Sam,
Foliage plants being sold without a specific plant identification is somewhat common and a source of frustration for all plant lovers. Palms can be especially difficult to identify unless you are very familiar with different species and their characteristics.
It’s not unusual these days for some foliage plants to be double-tagged with an adhesive label and a stake tag – especially those sold through “big box” stores. If you examine the pot, there could be an adhesive label that might contain a barcode and possibly the plant name and grower.
The adhesive label could be on the decorative container, or, if the plant is in a nursery pot set into the decorative container, the label could be on the nursery pot. If there is an adhesive label, you could potentially find the name of the plant so you could research further. If the adhesive label has the grower’s name, you might be able to do a browser search, find their contact information, tell them the location of the store, and see if they know what palm species they delivered to that location. If all else fails, you could let the store manager know of your concerns and hope that they will communicate to the grower that consumers want/need more detailed plant information.
That doesn’t make it rocky. As a garden store why would you do this to potential customers. I’m tripping to figure out what kind of plant this is and thought the qr code would tell me. It’s useless. It just gives me the family name and not what type of plant it is
Hi Tonya,
We’re sorry you’re not finding the answers you seek. If you would like to connect with us using the Contact Us form you also have an option to attach an image. We would be happy to try to help you identify your plant.
Very helpful
Thanks Bobbie, glad to hear that you found our information useful! We appreciate you letting us know.
I have a philodendron plant. It started to get little black flying bugs like a small mosquito. They totally populated the plant, and they are now all over my house. The plant is growing well and it looks healthy. Please tell me what should I use to kill this infestation. Your advice will be appreciated.
Hi Maria,
It sounds like you may have an infestation of fungus gnats. I had them so badly in my houseplants last winter that it inspired our article, How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats on Houseplants. (The photo with the yellow sticky trap is just one of my infested plants.) Please have a look at the article for tips on the life cycle of the fungus gnat and how to control them. If you have additional questions after that, please let us know. I used a combination of keeping my plants on the dry side, applying insecticidal soap spray to the soil surface, and I used the sticky traps to capture the flying adults. I purchased traps at Menard’s but you can also find them online or at garden centers. My plants were gnat-free since last spring, but just this week I am noticing them again, so I am repeating the same control measures as before, hoping to kill them before they get out of hand this year.