Ferns offer unsurpassed variety in the home and garden. They can be grown in pots, hanging baskets, beds, and rock gardens, as specimen plants, or massed as ground covers. Fern Growth Habit Before planting, consider the look you want to achieve. While some ferns form...
Poinsettias, whose bright petal-like bracts appear in late fall, have long been the most popular Christmas plant, excluding dying Christmas trees. Hybridization has improved the fragile poinsettia. Plants are now more colorful, and they last longer. The red bracts...
Containers let you control a plant’s environment, that is, the “soil” (potting mix), moisture, location (relative to sunlight and wind), temperature, and weed prevention. That’s the advantage over conventional gardening, which leaves you at the...
Also called variegated laurel, crotons come from the South Pacific Islands. Their growth habit varies — dwarf crotons are bushy and compact, while tree-like varieties are tall and have a good spread. The plants are usually maintained at two to three feet, but given...
Tropical plants soften an indoor environment. They’re like living, decorative furniture that amplifies an area’s comfort quotient. Most tropical plants do perfectly fine indoors and will even take some abuse. If properly cared for, they’ll live to a...
