When (not) to repot a plant

Repotting is an important part of long-term maintenance for any container plant. It’s also a stressful process for a plant to go through. So keeping container plants healthy means repotting when they need it, and only when they need it.

The golden rules of watering container plants

Learn about the golden rules for watering plants, which provide a regular saturation and drying cycle to keep plants healthy. And find out how to apply those rules in practise, and avoid both underwatering and overwatering.

Variegation and colour in plants

If you search online for information about variegated plants, you’ll find plenty of blog posts offering to explain how variegation works and describing two or three different types. I’ve read lots of those posts, both when I was first learning, and more recently when I’ve wanted to explain things to other people. But they’ve never […]

How do you know a tradescantia is thirsty?

Tradescantias are semi-succulents, which means they’re much more tolerant of drought than a lot of plants. It also means that they’re a lot less obvious about it when they eventually do get thirsty. Growing tradescantias as houseplants is very different from having “drama queens” like coleus, nerve plants, and polka dot plants.