Almost every year in my house, when the porch plants come inside in October, scale insects often come in with them. Adults don't move. Each one sits on a stem or the back of a leaf under a hard or waxy cover, and most people mistake them for rough spots on the bark until the leaves start to yellow.

The best time for controlling scale insects is before the pots come inside. Outdoors, cold nights slow scale down, and lady beetles and tiny wasps eat a share of it. Indoors, the pests have nothing to stop them. They just keep breeding through the winter on whatever plant they came in on.

An adult's waxy shell keeps most sprays from reaching it, making scale harder to get rid of than aphids or spider mites. Newly hatched crawlers have no shell yet. They're the stage sprays work best on, and new ones keep hatching, so treatments have to be repeated.

What Are Scale Insects?

All scale insects feed through a thin, straw-like mouthpart sunk into a stem or leaf. Brown soft scale (Coccus hesperidum) is rounded or slightly domed, and its covering is part of its body. Armored types such as fern scale (Pinnaspis aspidistrae) are smaller and flatter. Pry one up with a fingernail and the cover usually comes away by itself, leaving the insect behind.

Only the young get around. Crawlers are about the size of a speck of dust, usually yellow or orange, and they spend a day or two wandering before they settle down to feed. Indoors, they cross from pot to pot wherever leaves touch and ride along on hands and pruners. There isn't one hatch to wait out – new ones keep turning up all winter.

How to Identify Scale

Look for small bumps on stems, along leaf veins, and on the undersides of leaves. They can be brown, tan, white, or black. Black scale (Saissetia oleae) is dark, while oleander scale (Aspidiotus nerii) has a pale, nearly round cover. Use a magnifying glass to check plants properly; Carson's TriView folding loupe, available on Amazon, magnifies up to 15x.

Soft scale leaves sticky honeydew on the leaves and on the table under the pot. Black sooty mold, a group of fungi that includes Capnodium species, often grows on it. Badly infested plants show yellowing leaves, leaf drop, and stunted growth. Dead scale can stay stuck for months – press a bump with a toothpick; if it leaves a wet smear, it's alive.

Which Plants Are Most at Risk?

Citrus, jade plants, hibiscus, ficus, bay laurel, oleander, and orchids are some of the most common hosts. Plenty of other tropical houseplants get scale as well, from peace lilies and pothos to palms and snake plants.

Plants that spent the summer outside need the closest look, especially ones that sat close together on a deck or patio. Edible plants like citrus and bay laurel need extra care during treatment, since some products aren't labeled for anything you plan to eat.

Isolate Infested Plants Immediately

An infested plant needs its own spot, starting the day you find scale on it. A spare room is ideal. Otherwise, a windowsill on the other side of the house will do. Wash your hands and tools after touching it.

Leave the plant on its own until several weekly checks in a row turn up nothing new. One crusted with scale from top to bottom is often better off in the trash.

Remove Scale by Hand

If you only find a handful of scales, there's no need to spray. A cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol loosens them as you rub, and cheap Equate 70% isopropyl alcohol from Walmart is fine for it. Stick with isopropyl, but test it on one leaf first and wait a day or two to see if it leaves marks.

Scale that won't budge usually gives way to a fingernail, a toothpick, or an old soft toothbrush. You can wipe tougher leaves with a soft cloth and a weak dish soap solution, which also removes the honeydew. The shells need to come off, not just get wet. Alcohol doesn't reach the eggs a female keeps under her cover.

Treat Heavy Infestations

Heavier infestations call for a spray. Horticultural oil smothers scale, and insecticidal soap kills the young on contact. Bonide's All Seasons horticultural oil, available on Amazon, comes ready to spray, and for soap, there's Garden Safe insecticidal soap. Coat every stem and both sides of the leaves.

Adults under a thick shell often survive a spray; crawlers don't. More eggs hatch after the first round, so one spray won't finish the job. A common schedule is two or three rounds spaced 10 to 16 days apart, though the label has the final word. Test any spray on a few leaves first, and skip soap on jade plants and ferns, which it can damage.

Broad-spectrum insecticides rarely need to come indoors. Hand removal followed by oil or soap is usually enough.

Monitor Throughout Winter

Keep checking all winter, once a week, and include plants that never had scale. Go slowly over new growth, the leaf joints, and the undersides of leaves. A strip of double-sided tape wrapped around a stem catches crawlers on the move. Under the loupe, they're easy to tell from dust.

Sticky traps won't tell you much about scale. The yellow cards target flying pests, whiteflies (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) and fungus gnats (Bradysia species), both of which turn up indoors in winter. These Safer Brand houseplant sticky stakes from Walmart push straight into the potting mix.

Protection Plan

Start outside, before nights turn cold. Go over each plant with the loupe, and treat anything with scale while it's still outdoors. Mix Garden Safe neem oil extract concentrate from Home Depot at the label rate in a Chapin trigger sprayer.

Once plants are inside, keep the ones that summered outdoors apart from the rest for a few weeks. Leave enough space that leaves from different pots don't touch. Check any new plant before it joins the others, too.

Plants that went in clean in October should come out clean in spring. Any that needed treatment can go back outside once nights stay warm. Lady beetles and tiny parasitic wasps live out there, and both attack scale.

Scale Treatment Essentials

Turning fruit and vegetable seeds and peelings into new plants on your kitchen windowsill is such a satisfying process, for us adults as well as kids. Grow plants from lemon seeds and you could raise a citrus houseplant with glossy, aromatic leaves, or root a pineapple top for a striking pot of spiky foliage. Or how about growing a feast of fabulous foliage from an avocado stone? Seedlings grown from apple and pear seeds can be shaped into stylish bonsai trees, too.

If you like the idea of free food as well as free plants, then cabbage bases will grow a tasty supply of cut-and-come-again leaves for salads and stir-fries, while carrot tops produce herby foliage that’s so flavorful blended up into a pesto.

Propagating is a great way to get plants for free and, as well as creating garden plants with cuttings in October, a spot of indoor plant-baby-making is just the thing for rainy fall days. Got a little free space on a sunny kitchen windowsill? Then let's make a start on your soon-to-be-favorite gardening project…

1. Lemon, Lime, Orange and Grapefruit

Creating houseplants from citrus seeds is a relatively quick process and with the right care, a seed will grow into a foot-tall plant by its first birthday. While you'll have to wait a decade or so for fruit, citrus trees make beautiful foliage-first houseplants with glossy leaves that release a fresh, aromatic fragrance when rubbed. Lemon and lime plants will have pointy oval leaves, while orange and grapefruit foliage is rounder. All can be grown the same way so, if you've always dreamed of growing a lemon tree, why not try a whole citrus selection?

First wash the seed so it’s free of any citrus pulp. Carefully scratch off the outer shell with your fingernail to reveal the brown seed inside – though this step isn’t essential, it will speed germination. Sow the seed ⅓-inch deep in a small container of moist potting soil and use a clear cover to lock heat and moisture in.

You could use an old yoghurt pot with a drainage hole poked into the base and a clear plastic bag fixed over the rim with an elastic band, or make life easy with domed propagation pots like these 4" Nursery Pots from Amazon. Using a tailored potting mix like Gardenera Citrus Potting Soil, also available from Amazon, will support good germination and strong root growth. Stand the pot on your sunniest south-facing windowsill and remove the cover once you spot growth.

2. Avocado

Growing an avocado stone into a tropical tree-let is straightforward, and fast growth makes this a great project if you're gardening with children, but it's fun for adults too. While you can absolutely let your avocado grow tall, it’s easy to keep smaller by pruning, and the 8-12-inch leaves mean this is a standout houseplant.

First, clean the stone. It’s best to sprout avocado seeds in water rather than soil, with just the bottom, broader third sitting in the water. You can do this with a jam jar by pushing three or four toothpicks into the sides of the stone so it sits on the jar rim, or use a purpose-made avocado vase and skip the toothpicks.

Stand the jar in a bright spot with plenty of indirect sunlight – an east- or west-facing windowsill is ideal – in a warm room as avocados are tropical plants. Change the water every 2-5 days and wash the jar as needed, and keep levels topped up so the seed base remains wet and the top stays dry. Rainwater is best but tap water is fine, but do make sure it’s at room temperature so as not to shock the roots.

Once the stone has cracked open (this can happen very quickly, but be patient as it can sometimes take up to two months), there are a couple of inches of roots and you can see leaves forming on the top stem, move the plant into a pot of potting soil. Avocado plants need good drainage so use an all-purpose houseplant mix like Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix, available from Lowe's.

Your growing avocado will naturally form a single stem with a canopy of big leaves at the top – which gives a great architectural look. If you want a bushier, leafier houseplant however, simply prune off the top set of leaves once the stem reaches 6 inches high to force the plant to grow multiple branches.

3. Apples and Pears

An apple or pear tree grown from a seed can produce an attractive garden tree – but don’t expect to be eating its fruit! The genetics of apple and pear trees are complex and seeds almost always revert to a wild ancestor with small, acidic fruit. However, apple and pear trees make great candidates for bonsai trees as they have lots of small fibrous roots and flexible branches that are easy to wire. If you fancy a little long-term gardening project, growing a bonsai fruit tree for your garden is so rewarding, and the spring blossom is so pretty.

Drop the seeds into a jar or water and slosh them around to clean. Ignore any seeds that float to the surface – these won’t germinate – but save the plumpest ones that sink to the bottom. Wrap these in a just-damp piece of kitchen paper inside a sealed zip-lock bag and pop them in the fridge to mimic winter, which is essential for germination. Check the kitchen paper is just-damp every week and, by around the sixth week, you’ll likely spot a white root protruding from the seed.

Then fill small pots or old yoghurt pots with a seed-starting mix like Back to the Roots Organic 3-in-1 Seed Starting Mix, available from Amazon. Use your little finger to poke a ½-inch hole, pop in the sprouted seed with the root downwards and gently push the soil over to cover. Pop this on a warm, sunny windowsill, keep the compost just-damp and in a couple of weeks you’ll see a green shoot.

In a few months, you’ll need to snip off the taproot and move your tree into a bonsai starter pot like this from Walmart and begin pruning branches and wiring into shape with training wire like this, also from Walmart. You can keep your mini apple or pear tree indoors over its first spring or summer but by autumn, move it outdoors.

4. Pineapple

It’s a hoot to grow a plant from a pineapple top, and as they're part of the bromeliad family, pineapples make good-looking houseplants with striking leaves. It’s unlikely to fruit, but so exciting if it does!

Rather than slicing off the pineapple top, hold the fruit in one hand and the leaves in the other and twist firmly in opposite directions. The top stem should pop out cleanly. Strip off the lower 5-8 layers of leaves until you have around an inch of naked stem. Let this dry – just leave it on a kitchen counter top – for 3-5 days until the base scabs over.

Treat the stem like you would an avocado stone, using toothpicks and a jar, an avocado vase or even a large wine glass to submerge the bare stem in water but keep the leaves dry.

Place this set-up on a warm, sunny south-facing windowsill, change the water every 2-3 days and, within a month, you should see roots. When roots are 2-3 inches long, move into a pot of potting soil tailored for cacti like Back to the Roots Organic Succulents & Cacti Mix, available from Amazon to grow your pineapple houseplant on.

5. Cabbage

Save the base of a cabbage and it’s easy to regrow fresh cut-and-come-again leaves to toss into salads and stir-fries. Slice the bottom 2-3 inches from a fresh cabbage and peel away outer leaves to expose the bare inner stem. Set this, cut side up, in a shallow bowl of water – or, if you want to make your cabbage crop into a fancy feature on a sunny kitchen windowsill, pop into margarita glasses like these from Amazon!

Keep the bottom edge of the cabbage base submerged and the top rim dry. It’s vital to change the water every day to prevent rotting, but you'll be well rewarded with new shoots that grow from the core within days. Crop only the outer leaves to prolong the harvest.

6. Carrots

You can use the same method to grow leafy greens from carrot tops, which taste rather like parsley and are delicious as a herby garnish or blended into a pesto. Simply cut the top inch from the carrots, trimming any green stems off, then pop cut-side down into a shallow saucer of water. It’s vital that the water doesn’t cover the top of the carrot stub where the leaves emerge, and that you change the water every day.

Your kitchen windowsill will soon be full of all sorts of lovely leafy greens, and I hope you enjoy your plethora of new plants!

By October, a jade plant (Crassula ovata) is heading into its slow season. Days are shorter, the sun rides lower in the sky, and the heat comes back on in many homes. Growth slows way down through winter, and the same routine that kept the plant plump all summer can start causing trouble if nothing changes.

Good jade plant care in fall is mostly about pulling back. Too much water is the most common problem, and the risk climbs as the weather cools, as soil in a cool room stays wet longer and a slow-growing plant takes up less of it. Fertilizer and big pruning jobs can wait too, while light is the one thing plants need more of.

There's a small reward for getting the season right, as jade plants do well with cooler nights. A mature plant given a cool, fairly dry rest sometimes produces clusters of small white or pale pink, star-shaped flowers in winter. Indoor blooms are fairly uncommon, but a plant kept in bright light with cool nights has a better chance than one kept warm all winter. Get these seven things right for healthy, happy plants.

1. Move It Into the Brightest Spot You Have

A jade plant needs four or more hours of direct sun a day, and in October there's less of it to go around. Low light shows up in the stems – they stretch, the gaps between leaf pairs get longer, and the plant grows leggy and weak. Put the pot in a south- or west-facing window if you have one, but keep leaves off the cold glass at night, and well away from any radiator or heat vent.

If you don't have a good window, you'll need to use a grow light. The Sansi Clip-On Gooseneck LED Plant Light, available on Amazon, has the option of 1–4 flexible lights.

2. Reduce Watering Significantly

Let the potting mix dry all the way through, or close to it, before watering again. The surface dries well ahead of the soil around the roots, so a dry top inch (2.5 cm) doesn't prove much. Push a wooden chopstick to the bottom of the pot and pull it out. If damp soil clings to it, wait. Or use the probe on a soil moisture meter, like the XLUX moisture meter from Amazon, which gives a more definite reading.

When the mix is finally dry, soak the pot until water runs out the bottom, then let it fully drain. Soft, yellow leaves that fall at a touch mean the roots have stayed too wet; wrinkled, deflated-looking leaves mean the opposite.

3. Stop Fertilizing Until Spring

Fertilizer doesn't do a jade plant much good this time of year. The plant hardly grows from fall through late winter, and whatever the roots don't take up gets left in the potting mix as salt. That buildup can make it harder for the roots to pull in water, and in bad cases it burns the root tips. Hold off until you see fresh growth in spring. When you start again, use a targeted liquid feed that's suitable for jade plants and other succulents, like Miracle-Gro Succulent Plant Food.

4. Bring Outdoor Plants Indoors Before Cold Nights

Jade plants do best with nights around 50–55°F (10–13°C). A plant that summered outdoors can stay out through the first cool nights. Bring it inside once nights regularly drop below 50°F (10°C). Colder nights can damage the leaves, and temperatures much below 40°F (4°C) can kill the plant.

Indoors, place the plant in front of the sunniest window in the house. If it sits lower than the glass, use a plant stand to raise the height, like Walmart's Mainstays metal plant stand. Some leaves may drop after the move, but firm, green leaves that fall off now are usually a reaction to the change, not a sign of disease.

5. Rotate the Pot Regularly

Jade stems bend toward the window, and in weak winter light the lean shows up faster. A plant left facing one way from now until March can end up noticeably lopsided. Turn the pot a quarter turn every time you water so a different side faces the glass. It won't pull a badly stretched plant back upright; it just keeps new growth from piling onto one side.

Old jade plants get heavy, too, and a hard lean can tip a light plastic pot right over. A wide clay or ceramic pot is steadier, but switching pots is a spring job.

6. Inspect for Pests

Inspect the plant before bringing it inside, since outdoor pests spread quickly indoors. The most common culprits are mealybugs and scale. Start with the stems and leaf joints, then turn a few leaves over and check the undersides.

• Mealybugs look like small bits of white cotton packed into those joints and the forks between branches. Rubbing alcohol (available cheaply at Walmart) on a cotton swab takes them off. Test it on one leaf first. Skip insecticidal soap, because it can damage jade leaves.
• Scale is harder to see. Its bumps are flat and tan or brown, stuck tight along the stems and leaf veins, and the leaves or the soil underneath often feel sticky. A fingernail or a toothpick works to remove them.

7. Hold Off on Major Pruning or Repotting

Heavy pruning and repotting are easier on a jade plant once it's actively growing again, so save both jobs for spring. There's rarely any rush – these plants can live happily in a snug, root-bound pot for years. Rot or a broken branch is the exception.

Cut soft or damaged stems back to healthy tissue with clean tools. Fiskars micro-tip pruning snips, available at Home Depot, have a narrow, curved blade that fits into tight branch forks. Come spring, a jade that needs a bigger home does well in a clay pot with a drainage hole, like this Vigoro terra cotta clay pot from Home Depot. Fill it with cactus mix, like Espoma Organic Cactus Mix from Walmart, for fast drainage.

Jade Plant Care Essentials

By March, a jade plant that spent the winter dry and in good light should look a lot like it did in October. That's a good outcome. Every so often a mature plant does more than that and blooms, with small clusters of white or pale pink flowers opening at the branch tips after a run of cool nights for an even better show.

Plenty of people care for a moth orchid the same way in fall as they do in summer. But by October, days are shorter, the sun sits lower, and the furnace dries out the air. Growth slows down, and that slowdown is when the plant starts setting up its next flower spike.

Fall orchid care isn't hard. You'll move the plant, water it less and feed it less, and you'll want to look it over more closely than you did in summer. Most of that takes only a few minutes.

These six tasks apply to moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) and other common types of orchids sold in grocery stores as houseplants. Yellow leaves, wrinkled leaves, and stray roots show up a lot this time of year, too.

1. Move Orchids Into Their Brightest Spot

Light fades fast this month, and that bright spot from July might not cut it by November. East windows are the safest bet most of the year for meeting orchid light requirements. Once winter settles in and the sun hangs low and weak, though, a south window usually works, too.

With orchids, the leaves will tell you if you've got it wrong. A deep, dark green is the giveaway for not enough light. Too much shows up as a reddish edge, although that's less of a worry this time of year. For an interior room or a dim corner, try a grow light like the Sansi full-spectrum LED plant lamp, available on Amazon, which clips onto the side of the pot.

Whatever you do, just don't let the leaves rest against cold glass, as this can cause chilling damage, leaving unsightly dark patches on the foliage.

2. Adjust Your Watering Routine

Slower growth means the potting mix stays wet longer. That makes overwatering the bigger danger until spring. Wait until the mix is nearly dry, then water thoroughly and let it drain. Never leave the pot sitting in a saucer of water.

Root color is often the best guide for watering orchids – they're silvery white when dry and green right after watering. Traditional moisture meters like the popular Yamron 4-in-1 don't work very well with orchids, as chunky bark mixes throw off probe readings; however, the Sustee Aquameter, available in a pack of 5 on Amazon, uses a moisture-absorbing wick rather than electrical conductivity, making it better suited, as long as it's in contact with plenty of potting mix. The indicator changes color from blue to white as the growing medium dries out.

Hold off on repotting orchids in the fall unless the bark has started to break down and become compacted, which can restrict airflow around the roots and increase the risk of rot.

3. Reduce or Stop Feeding

It's tempting to keep the summer feeding schedule year-round. But an orchid's fertilizer needs follow its growth, and growth slows as the days shorten. You can still feed moth orchids that are putting out new leaves, just less often. Every third or fourth watering is enough. Use a water-soluble fertilizer like Better-Gro Orchid Plus, which you can pick up at Walmart.

Plants with no new leaves, roots, or spikes can go without until growth starts again. Extra fertilizer on a resting plant mostly means soft, leafy growth and fewer flowers. It also leaves salts in the bark, so flush the pot with plain water now and then.

4. Increase Humidity as the Heat Comes On

So what does the furnace do to an orchid? Indoor humidity can drop below 30 percent once the heat runs regularly. Most tropical orchids prefer humidity around 60 to 75 percent. A spray bottle won't close that gap. The mist is gone within minutes.

To increase humidity for your orchids, try a pebble tray. Simply fill a shallow tray with gravel, add water about halfway up the stones, and set the pot on top. This Brussel's Bonsai tray from Amazon is a ready-to-go solution. Don't let the roots touch the water.

If you have a lot of houseplants grouped in one space, humidity will naturally increase. But if orchids are still struggling, try a small humidifier – this Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier from Walmart runs up to 25 hours per fill.

5. Inspect for Pests Before Winter

Healthy-looking orchids can still have pests. Many hide where you'd never notice unless you go looking, and a warm, dry house helps some of them along. Grab a flashlight and magnifying glass (this Large Magnifying Glass with 37 LED Lights from Amazon covers both) and check under the leaves, down in the joint where each leaf meets the stem, and along the flower stems.

• Cottony white clumps tucked in there are probably long-tailed mealybugs (Pseudococcus longispinus).
• Scale is sneakier – Boisduval scale (Diaspis boisduvalii) looks like whitish, waxy flecks stuck flat to a leaf, and it can pass for dried residue.
• Fine speckling, sometimes with a bit of webbing, usually means two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae).
• And fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.)? They're mostly harmless on their own – more a sign that the mix is staying too wet than a real threat.

Isolate any orchid with pests. Then dab the mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol (you can buy it cheaply at Walmart), and keep the alcohol off the leaves.

6. Watch for Flower Spikes

Cool fall weather triggers a new spike in many moth orchids (Phalaenopsis). Four or five weeks of days around 77°F (25°C) and nights near 68°F (20°C), or a little cooler, reliably bring one on. Days above 82°F (28°C) can hold it back.

New spikes look a lot like new roots at first. Check the tip. Spikes have a flattened, mitten-shaped tip and usually come up between the lower leaves, and root tips are round.

Stake the spike while it's still flexible – you can pick up a pack of bendable orchid stakes from Stroller on Amazon – and don't turn the pot once buds form.

Prune old brown spikes off at the base. Viruses can spread on tools, so dip the blades in a 10 percent bleach solution between plants.

Quick Fixes for Common Orchid Problems

Three problems come up again and again once orchids move indoors:

• Yellow Leaves
  One yellow leaf at the bottom of a moth orchid is nothing to worry about. The oldest leaves age out and drop as the plant grows. Several yellow orchid leaves at once are another story, especially newer ones. That usually points to the roots. Too much water and old, soggy bark are common causes of root rot. Unpot the plant, trim off any mushy roots, and repot it in fresh bark.
• Wrinkled Leaves
  Limp, wrinkled orchid leaves mean water isn't getting to them. Moth orchids have no pseudobulbs to store water, so they show thirst quickly. Check the roots first – firm, healthy roots point to underwatering or dry air. Rotted roots can't take up water no matter how often you water.
• Aerial Roots
  Silvery roots climbing over the rim of the pot are normal. Orchids grow on trees in the wild and use their roots to cling to bark. Leave healthy aerial roots alone. Trim dead or shriveled ones the next time you repot.

An orchid doesn't need much from you this month. More light, less water, lighter feeding, and a quick pest check cover most of it. Keep those habits going through winter, and there's a good chance a fresh spike shows up before spring, followed by a gorgeous run of flowers.

Shop October Orchid Essentials

Thanksgiving falls reliably on the fourth Thursday of November, year after year. However, if you want your home filled with vibrant blooms right as the turkey hits the dining table, the most important month to give your Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) love and care is October.

Despite its name, the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) bears little resemblance to desert-dwelling cacti like the towering saguaros of the American southwest. It’s got no spines at all and wouldn’t survive a day in a hot, dry desert. These plants are tropical epiphytes, native to the coastal rainforests of southeastern Brazil. Its flattened, arching green stems feature pointed, claw-like serrations along the segment margins, giving rise to its popular nickname, the claw cactus.

But the true magic of this plant lies in its vibrant flowers, erupting in radiant shades of red, magenta, soft pink, coral-orange, pure white, and gold. Yes, the plant typically blooms from mid-November to early December. Still, you only get those pretty blooms next month if you devote a little time to their care this month. By making a few simple adjustments to light exposure, night temperatures, watering and feeding now, you guarantee a breathtaking holiday display that lasts for weeks.

Thanksgiving Cactus Care in October

October is a transitional bridge for indoor houseplants, as outdoor temperatures decline and home heating systems kick on across most northern regions. For your Thanksgiving cactus, this month represents a delicate shift, as active leafy vegetative growth halts and reproductive bud development takes over. While vivacious cultivars like White Christmas, Samba Brazil and Madame Butterfly offer distinct bloom colors and stem habits, they all share a few key care needs.

If your plant spent the summer vacationing on a shaded porch or patio, early October is the time to bring it indoors before night temperatures drop below 50°F (10°C). Depending on your USDA hardiness zone, the next few days are critical. While southern areas may have a little latitude, in chillier northern areas a couple of days of sharp temperature slides can have a massive impact.

A quick check of holiday houseplants now prevents environmental shock when transitioning them indoors. However, even if your cactus has spent the summer indoors, this is still a vital time to make adjustments. Before you get stuck into key container care such as light exposure and watering, it’s a good idea to invest in a soil probe that can give you a reliable idea of light and moisture levels. I’d recommend getting hold of a diagnostic tool like the Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon, which can give you a solid heads-up about where your plant is at before you start.

1. Balance Light and Dark Needs

Controlling light exposure in October is the single most important factor for triggering heavy flower bud formation. Thanksgiving cactuses are short-day (long-night) plants. During the day, position your cactus in a location that receives bright, filtered indirect sunlight. An unobstructed east or north-facing window sill is ideal. Avoid harsh, direct afternoon sun through south or west-facing glass, which scorches the flat green stem pads and turns them a stressed, purplish-red color.

Daytime light is only half the equation. Long dark nights are what induce flowering. To initiate flower buds, these plants require 12-14 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night for roughly 6 weeks. Even tiny bursts of artificial ambient light from living room lamps or passing streetlights can reset the plant's internal clock and stop bud formation. If needs be, gently move your cactus into a dark closet or cover it with a breathable cardboard box every evening from 6pm to 8am. Once tiny buds lock in at the tips of the green segments, you can place it back in indirect sun and leave it there for days and nights. In fact, it’s best not to move the plant after budding.

2. Provide Cool Temperatures

Alongside long nights, cool ambient air temperatures also help to initiate those all-important flower buds. Maintaining cooler indoor conditions during October reassures the plant that its natural blooming cycle is underway. The ideal temperature range for setting Thanksgiving cactus buds is between 55-65°F (13-18°C) at night, warming slightly to 65-70°F (18-21°C) during the day. If your plant is kept in a heated living room that stays at a constant 72°F (22°C), bud formation will be sparse or severely delayed.

If outdoor night temperatures in your region remain between 50-60°F (10-15°C) without dropping toward freezing, leaving your pot in a sheltered outdoor spot can work wonders. Alternatively, move the plant to an unheated bedroom, enclosed sunroom, or bright basement window well where nighttime temperatures run cooler. It’s well worth investing in a digital thermometer to help keep track of fluctuations. The AcuRite Digital Indoor Thermometer & Hygrometer, available from Amazon, helps you monitor daily high/low room temperatures and ambient air humidity.

3. Cut Back Watering and Pause Feeds

As fall days shorten, your Thanksgiving cactus's metabolic rate slows. Although native to rainforests, these plants grow attached to tree branches, so their roots are susceptible to root rot in soggy potting mix. In October, shift to a conservative watering routine. Allow the top 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) of potting soil to dry out between waterings. When you do water plants, soak until moisture drains from the bottom, and empty the drainage saucer 15 minutes later so roots never sit in stagnant water.

You also need to pause feeding. High-nitrogen feeds force the plant to push out weak, soft foliage segments rather than flower buds. So stop all feeding in October and November. You can add a diluted liquid fertilizer in late winter after flowering finishes. Additionally, pay attention to indoor humidity as household heating switches on. Maintain an ambient relative humidity of 40-60% by placing the pot on a shallow tray filled with pebbles and water, ensuring the pot bottom sits above the water line.

Placing your cactus alongside other moisture-loving tropical houseplants like ferns or calatheas helps buffer indoor humidity drops caused by household furnaces. You can also boost humidity levels with a reliable plant mister. The Gradvis Plant Mister from IKEA offers excellent pump action at a reasonable price. By establishing a consistent routine, you give your plant the precise signals it needs to set buds on stem tips.

4. Protect Developing Buds

By late October, hopefully your efforts will reward you with tiny, jewel-like flower buds forming at the tips of the arching leaf segments. Once these buds appear, the plant enters its most sensitive phase. The primary threat to your upcoming holiday show is a frustrating phenomenon known as bud blast, where tight, healthy flower buds suddenly turn yellow, shrivel, and drop off the stems overnight.

Bud blast is usually caused by sudden environmental changes or physical disruption. Selecting a permanent, draft-free location for your cactus before buds form is vital. Keep the pot far away from forced-air heat vents, cold window drafts, exterior doors, and direct fireplace radiation. You can pick up under-door buffers like Under-Door Draft Stoppers from Lowe’s, which protect your sensitive indoor plants from drafts.

Most importantly, avoid rotating, moving, or repotting the plant once flower buds exceed a quarter-inch (60mm) in size. Even rotating the pot by 180 degrees alters the direction of light, causing the plant to release ethylene gas that severs the delicate stems attaching the buds to the leaf tips. Set your plant in its holiday display location, then step back and let your cactus get settled (and hopefully bloom merrily).

5. Inspect for Pests

Pests love this plant’s fleshy stem segments. Catching infestations now ensures your holiday blooms aren’t ruined by unsightly damage. Inspect your plant once a week under good light, checking the upper and lower surfaces of the segments, stem joints, and soil line. If you do catch pests, it’s best to do so before you start to see those flowers emerging.

Mealybugs are among the most common pests, appearing as cottony masses tucked tightly into the joints between plant segments. Scale insects present as raised brown bumps along stem edges, which scrape off easily with a thumbnail. Spider mites leave dusty stippling across stem surfaces and webbing in leaf crotches, thriving in dry indoor air. Fungus gnats show up as tiny black flies fluttering around topsoil, indicating that the potting mix is too wet. Aphids chow down on tender new growth and flower buds, sucking sap and causing buds to drop prematurely.

Address any pests before full flower buds open. Gently wipe down infected leaf segments using a soft cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Alternatively, spray the foliage with a gentle, organic insecticidal soap or pure cold-pressed neem oil drench. I recommend Bonide Captain Jack’s Ready-to-Use Neem Oil Spray, available from Walmart, for an organic blast that is tough on soft-bodied pests but gentle on stem pads.

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Closed windows and the season’s first furnace run can quickly change the air inside your home. Dust gets stirred up, humidity drops, and outdoor plants come back indoors – bringing dust, damp potting mix, and other potential allergens with them.

During summer, houseplants barely register as an allergy issue. Many plants sit on porches or patios, while open windows help keep indoor air moving. By late September, those windows are closed and the pots are back inside. For some people, that shift can turn indoor plant allergies that went unnoticed for months into a stuffy nose that won't quit.

Good houseplant care covers the basics, but fall calls for a few extra precautions. Dusty leaves and soggy potting mix cause most flare-ups, but a handful of common species also carry allergens in their sap or pollen, which deserve a closer look this time of year.

Why Indoor Allergies Worsen in Autumn

Once the furnace runs for the first time, it can stir dust, dust-mite particles, and whatever settled in the vents over the summer into the air. Swap the filter before that first cold night. The faint burnt smell on day one is usually dust burning off the heater. Closed windows can make the problem worse because less outdoor air comes in to dilute it.

The other half of the trouble starts at the watering can. Houseplants grow more slowly indoors as the days shorten, yet many still get watered on a summer schedule. Potting mix that never dries out can develop mold on its surface. Bagged mixes may carry molds such as Aspergillus fumigatus from the start, although one study of plant-filled homes found very little of it in the air unless plants or soil were disturbed. Wet soil is a watering problem first and an allergy problem second.

5 Houseplants That Can Add to Fall Allergy Symptoms

Houseplant allergies are fairly uncommon overall, but they can still be troublesome for sensitive people. Each plant below has documented cases associated with it, and all five are common enough to find in living rooms, bedrooms, and home offices. That does not mean you need to remove them automatically – the risk depends on the plant, how it is handled, and your own sensitivity.

1. Weeping Fig

Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) is probably the best-known allergenic houseplant, and the trouble starts with its milky sap. The allergens don’t always stay put, either. They can turn up in the dust on the leaves and on the floor around the pot, so a plant that nobody has touched recently can still be a source of exposure.

Some of its proteins can cross-react with natural rubber latex, so anyone with a latex allergy should wear latex-free gloves when pruning it. Amazon sells Supmedic disposable latex-free gloves in a range of sizes.

2. Yucca

Yucca (Yucca gigantea) is grown for its foliage, so people rarely suspect it. But skin-prick testing has still turned up yucca sensitization in people with allergic rhinitis, and plant keepers who handle it for work have broken out in hives. Its long, stiff leaves hold dust along their whole length. Wiping each one down with a damp cloth now and then keeps it from piling up.

3. Peace Lily

Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum wallisii) can rebloom indoors, and the pale, powdery spike inside each white hood is where the pollen comes from. Documented allergy cases have involved both that pollen and the leaves. The simple move is to snip spent blooms early and keep flowering pots out of the bedroom.

4. Potted Mums

Mums start coming indoors as table decor around now. Their allergens, including sesquiterpene lactones, sit on the flowers and in the fine hairs on the leaves, where they can become airborne. Rashes tend to start on the fingertips of whoever pinches off the buds. Anyone who already reacts to chamomile or feverfew may react to mums as well – they're all in the same plant family.

If you’re sensitive, wear gloves when handling mums, wash your hands afterward, and keep the plants away from your face and main living areas.

5. English Ivy (Hedera helix)

English ivy turns up among the more frequent houseplant sensitizers in skin testing of people with allergic rhinitis. It also contains falcarinol, a compound that can irritate skin or set off an allergic rash. Reactions usually follow pruning or pulling runners by hand. Ivy that summered outside should get a thorough rinse and a close look before it comes back in.

How to Cut Down on Plant Allergens Indoors

Dust is the easy win. Wipe broad leaves with a damp cloth, like these Amazon Basics microfiber cleaning cloths. Dry dusters just move spider mites and insect eggs from plant to plant. Smaller plants can go under the sink faucet in the morning so the leaves dry by evening. For the bedroom, a Levoit Core 300 HEPA air purifier can pull fine dust and pollen out of the air. It won't do anything for dust on the leaves, though.

Let the top of the potting mix dry between waterings, and pour off whatever collects in the saucer. A white, cottony film on the soil means it's staying too wet. Scrape that layer off outdoors and top the pot with fresh houseplant potting soil. Allergists generally advise keeping indoor humidity on the low side – dust mites and mold both thrive in damp air – so skip the humidifier near slow-drying containers.

Nobody has to give up a favorite plant over a few sneezes. If the stuffy nose sticks around into October, an allergist can test for specific houseplants, and a weeping fig that tests positive can move to a friend's sunroom.

Low Trigger Houseplants

If you’re prone to houseplant-related allergies, choose foliage plants with smooth leaves, little or no indoor flowering, and low watering needs. These three plants won't guarantee no reaction, but they avoid several common trouble spots.

The Christmas cactus is an extremely popular holiday plant that seems to bloom forever, offering some of the most exotic-looking flowers in the plant kingdom. It takes second place only to the Christmas tree in terms of plants associated with the holidays. And it’s a tropical cactus that doesn’t have needles that get all over the carpet!

When it’s not playing a starring role in Santa season, this beautiful plant can keep on looking lush and lovely in spring, summer, and fall with proper Christmas cactus care. However, while it's an easy houseplant to grow, getting it to produce another spectacular holiday flower display takes a little more planning than simply keeping it alive.

October is when that preparation begins, but the change in seasons can also trigger stress, which is what causes a Christmas cactus to drop leaves if it's not being cared for well. The shorter days and cooler nights also help trigger bud formation, and a few simple care tasks can make all the difference to the quality of this year's display. Here are five essential autumn care steps for Schlumbergera × buckleyi (also sold as Schlumbergera bridgesii) to encourage healthy growth and plenty of buds for December. You can also use this advice on the other main type of holiday cactus, the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata).

1. Bring on the Dark

Holiday prep for your Christmas cactus starts in October. This is the single most important step if you want to enjoy the same fabulous display of blooms you had the previous year. The key is striking the right balance between daylight and complete darkness.

Starting in October, control the amount of daylight your plant receives. To trigger bud formation, a Christmas cactus needs around 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night. It won't mind whether that darkness comes from being placed in a spare room or closet, as long as no light reaches it.

You can also simply cover it with an opaque box or a black fabric grow bag, such as these 5-gallon black grow bags from Amazon, which are large enough to fit over most mature Christmas cacti while still allowing plenty of airflow.

After its nightly blackout, return the plant to a spot with bright, indirect light for the remaining 12 hours of the day. This routine will trick a Christmas cactus into flowering right on time for the holidays.

2. Keep Things Cool

This cactus may look like a beautiful holiday decoration, but don't forget – it's a real plant. If you only want to enjoy it for one season, that's your choice. But if you want your Christmas cactus to bloom year after year, you need to provide the right conditions before it flowers.

In the wild, Christmas cacti spend the early months of winter in cooler conditions, and this drop in temperature helps stimulate bud formation. That means now isn't the time to display your plant in front of a crackling fire. Instead, keep it in a room where temperatures stay between 50–55°F (10–13°C). Don't let it get too warm, but don't let it get too cold either.

3. Water Can Wait

Do you hear the term "cactus" and think of the Sonoran Desert? Yes, some cacti are native to arid climates and require infrequent watering, but others, like the Christmas cactus, call the tropical rainforest home.

Even so, autumn should be a relatively dry period in the life of a Christmas cactus. In the wild, this is a season with little rainfall, so don't flood the plant now. Stop the weekly watering routine and make sure the pot isn't sitting in a saucer of water.

Instead, check the soil every week to see if it has dried out. Push your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle, and only water if it feels dry at that depth. If you'd rather take the guesswork out of watering, an inexpensive XLUX Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon is a worthwhile investment. It gives an instant reading of moisture levels below the surface, helping you avoid the overwatering that can prevent Christmas cacti from setting buds.

4. Hold the Fertilizer

Okay, we get it. There are a lot of directions to follow if you want your Christmas cactus to burst into bloom for the holidays. But many of them involve not doing things: no lights at night, no warm room, less water, and... no fertilizer.

Stop fertilizing your Christmas cactus completely in October and November. Fertilizer encourages leafy growth, and that's not what you want at this stage. Instead, the plant needs to direct its energy into setting flower buds for the holiday season.

Once flowering has finished and your plant resumes active growth in spring, you can start feeding again with a balanced houseplant fertilizer, such as this TPS Nutrients Christmas Cactus Fertilizer. Regular feeding through spring and summer will help support healthy stems and set your Christmas cactus up for another spectacular display next winter.

5. Watch for Flower Buds

After a few weeks, start checking your Christmas cactus every day for developing buds. A good time to do this is each morning when you move it from its dark location back into bright, indirect light. The buds will first appear as tiny, brightly colored points at the tips of the flattened stems.

As soon as you spot the first buds, your care routine changes. The nightly 12-hour blackout has done its job and is no longer needed. Move the plant to a bright, warm spot, where the buds can continue to develop into the spectacular flowers that make Christmas cacti such a holiday favorite.

Christmas Cactus Care Essentials

Coleus is invariably one of the big sirens in my summer yard. The last couple of years, thanks to a combination of the right spot and extended sunshine, they have ballooned in size to shrub levels of chartreuse, plum, chocolate and hot pink. Even as other plants start to lose their zing, coleus can dominate early fall with enduring lush folds of kaleidoscopic color. But as seasonal shifts bring on that distinctive evening chill, it’s time to start deciding what to do with your resident foliage queens.

While some of us grow coleus as single-season annuals for summer containers and border displays, you can easily keep those vibrant tones going once the first crisp autumn breeze rolls in. The secret is bringing yours inside and keeping them in the right place. Coleus is a tropical perennial at heart, so it’s more than happy to trade the chilly patio for a cozy, sunlit windowsill. Growing coleus indoors in the right way brings a pop of natural color that is high impact yet surprisingly low fuss.

Giving your coleus the best chance of surviving the chillier months comes down to a combination of smart overwintering and low-level propagation. If you have never overwintered outdoor plants before, don't worry. It’s super easy to transition, care for, and even multiply your coleus collection this fall. Here’s how to keep yours safe, warm, and thriving for non-stop color that lasts straight through to next year.

Why Bring Coleus Indoors

If there is one golden rule of growing coleus, it is that these sun-loving divas despise the cold. Waiting until the first frost is already on the grass is a gamble you’ll almost certainly lose, as chilled coleus stems can turn to mush fast. So long before winter frost turns your lawn crisp, be mindful of dropping nighttime temperatures. When they dip below 50°F (10°C) this needs to serve as your green light to start the indoors migration. In chillier northern zones, that rescue mission really has to start now, while in warmer climates you can enjoy outdoor patio color for a few more weeks.

Acting before the cold sets in ensures your plants make a smooth transition to indoor life without suffering thermal shock. You don't have to pick just one rescue method. To double your plant power, you can bring your standout potted coleus inside and adapt it as a houseplant over winter for instant color, while taking a few cuttings provides a compact, space-saving backup on a bright windowsill. Taking action while your coleus is still bursting with late-summer energy means your cuttings will root in record time, giving you a flourishing burst of bonus color.

Leaf shape and habit can guide how you style them inside. Big, theatrical varieties like Kong, Wasabi, Henna or Saturn can look incredible positioned in tall decorative ceramic planters, as long as you give them a sunny window. Meanwhile, trailing or finer-textured varieties like Chocolate Covered Cherry or Strawberry Drop take well to hanging baskets, wall mounts, elevated pots or small windowsill arrangements. By making your move in early fall while the plant is still vigorous and actively growing, both the main plant and your new cuttings will adapt far more swiftly to indoor humidity and light levels, setting you up for a worry-free winter of color.

Moving indoors is a great time to replenish potting soil that will have taken a beating over summer. Prep a bag of potting soil, ideally a light, gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix or something amended with perlite, such as Back to the Roots Organic Succulent & Cacti Mix, available from Walmart, to prevent moisture retention. Then you’re ready to give your plant a cozy transition with these tips to coleus care indoors.

Moving Coleus Indoors

Bringing your plant indoors requires a bit of thoughtful preparation to keep both the coleus and your existing houseplant family healthy. Start by giving your potted coleus a thorough health check a few days before the big move. Inspect the undersides of the leaves, stem junctures, and leaf axils for sneaky freeloaders. Common garden pests like aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites love to hide in crevices.

Spraying foliage with a gentle organic neem solution is the ultimate way to ensure only the prettiest leaves cross your threshold. Give your coleus a gentle spray with a hose, or a wipedown using a soft cloth and mild insecticidal soap. I like to use a neem-based agent like Bonide Captain Jack’s Ready-to-Use Organic Neem Oil Spray from Walmart for a quick spritz to combat mealybugs or spider mites.

Acclimatization is the secret sauce if you want to avoid the dreaded leaf drop. Coleus loves bright light, but moving straight from full patio sun to indoor conditions can give your friend a shock. So transition it smoothly by setting the pot on a bright, sheltered porch for a couple of days before nestling it indoors by your sunniest south or west-facing window. Gently topdress your coleus with some of your fresh indoor potting mix or a handful of organic compost to boost root insulation.

Finally, use some fine-tip pruning snips to trim away damaged foliage and leggy stems. Snips like highly rated Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips from Amazon give clean, precise cuts to soft coleus stems. As well as a light watering, I like to apply a diluted stress-relieving liquid seaweed tonic to support root recovery as part of care for coleus plants indoors.

Taking Coleus Cuttings in Fall

It’s something I do instinctively now as the seasons shift – taking cuttings of key plants at the end of summer is taking advantage of their natural high. They are still loaded with growth hormones and strong enough to take a little transitional stress. Rooting coleus cuttings in water is so easy, it would be rude not to, and it can be a genuine joy to see those first roots curling into the glass. It’s clean, stress-free, and virtually rot-proof as long as you follow a few simple rules.

To start, use sharp, sterile precision pruning snips. To be sure your snips are sterile, give them a quick wipe with some isopropyl alcohol or neem oil. Take 4-6-inch (10-15cm) cuttings from healthy, non-flowering shoot tips. One of the key tricks to dodging calamity is to make sure there are no leaves allowed to dip into the water (which can quickly decay and foul water). Strip away the lower leaves, leaving 3-4 top leaves. Upright varieties shouldn’t need a hormone powder, but if you are propagating trailing varieties, add a little HydroDynamics Clonex Rooting Gel, available from Amazon, for a gentle catalyst.

Place your cuttings in jars, glass bud vases or glass propagation stations, filled with room-temperature tap or rainwater. You can use standard jars, but avoid wide rims. Go for something that allows for root growth while reducing the risk of stems sliding into the glass. I like the Yibot Propagation Station with Wooden Frame, available from Amazon, because it has a generous teardrop shape and the narrower top will keep the cutting anchored. Just make sure the bare stem nodes (where the leaves were removed) are fully submerged.

Set the glass on a warm windowsill that receives plenty of bright, indirect sunlight, keeping them away from chilly drafts. And don’t let the leaves touch cold window panes. Warmth is essential for rapid cell division, so keeping room temperatures around 65-75°F (18-24°C) ensures white roots emerge in as little as 7-10 days. To prevent stem rot, change the water every few days to maintain oxygen levels. You should see roots inside 7-10 days. Pot up when roots are an inch (2.5cm) long for gorgeous free plants to gift or hoard all winter long.

Indoor Coleus Care

Keeping your coleus thriving indoors all winter is surprisingly simple once you master a few natural rhythms. It’s all about balancing light, moisture and some gentle tidying to preserve those rich foliage colors. Position them where they can soak up plenty of bright, indirect sunlight. If you need to top up light levels, add a full-spectrum grow light to keep those neon patterns popping. For something that caters to both taller coleus plants and cuttings on shelves, the Barrina T10 Full Spectrum Standing Grow Light from Amazon is currently on discount and can be adjusted easily.

Watering requires a careful hand during the cooler months: think moist, not soggy. Allow the top inch of soil to dry out between waterings, maintaining good drainage and taking care not to let pots sit in waterlogged saucers. Growth naturally slows in winter, so hold off on heavy fertilizers. Instead, apply a diluted, organic houseplant feed or seaweed tonic such as Bloom City Seaweed Fertilizer from Walmart. Just do this once a month to keep roots strong without forcing leggy top growth.

Finally, help both potted plants and newly potted cuttings with routine pinching. Use your fingers or sharp pruning snips to pinch back the top growing tips and emerging flower spikes every few weeks, forcing the plant to branch out into a lush, bushy specimen in good time for spring.

Frequently Asked Questions

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A peace lily parked in the same corner it occupied all summer is probably getting less light than it did in August. October is the month to adjust for that, along with a few other small things.

Houseplant trouble in winter often gets blamed on the furnace. But in October, the bigger culprit is usually the light. Days are shorter now, and the sun sits lower, so a corner that seemed plenty bright in July can dim without anyone noticing. Growth slows down, and the potting mix stays wet longer after each watering.

Good peace lily care this month is mostly about adjusting where the plant sits, plus a bit of cleanup below the soil line. September was all about easing off the water and giving the last feeding of the year. October picks up from there. The jobs are small, and one of them is really just paying attention. You can do them in any order – though flushing the pot is better done earlier in the month.

1. Move It Closer to the Light

Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) are often chosen for their ability to tolerate low light, and that part of their reputation holds up fine. But low light is something they survive – it is not a desirable growing situation. A plant kept too dark over winter tends to put out smaller leaves on long, floppy stems. An east-facing window that worked all summer might need trading for a south-facing one now.

Scorch is much less of a risk under October sun than in midsummer, a common reason why peace lily flowers turn brown. Even so, 3 feet (1 m) back from a bright south-facing window is the safer spot. Turn the pot a quarter every week or two. Otherwise, it leans.

A peace lily without flowers this month isn't a problem, either. Most tend to bloom sometime between winter and late summer.

2. Keep the Leaves off Cold Glass

Black leaf tips after a cold snap? That's often a chilling injury, not a disease. It usually starts at the tips and edges of older leaves and creeps inward from there. Growth can slow at 50°F (10°C) or below, before anything shows at all. A leaf pressed to a windowpane on a 40°F (4°C) night could get much colder than the room.

Pull the pot a few inches back from the glass and keep it away from exterior doors that let in a blast every time someone walks through. Heating vents are no better. I like to check the temperature of my windowsills using the TempPro TP50 digital thermometer, available on Amazon. It records highs and lows, so if you place it next to the pot for a night, it will show just how cold that windowsill gets.

3. Flush the Pot, Then Put the Fertilizer Away

That crusty white ring on the soil, or along the pot rim, is usually mineral salt. Fertilizer leaves it behind. Hard tap water does too, once the moisture evaporates. Peace lilies aren't salt-tolerant, so brown, crispy leaf tips are often the first sign of buildup.

Scrape off the crust first, taking no more than about ¼ inch (6 mm) of potting mix with it. Then set the pot in a sink or tub and pour water through slowly until roughly twice the pot's volume has drained out the bottom. For a 6-inch (15 cm) pot, that's about 10 cups (2.4L).

Flush your peace lily pot early in the fall – or at least before the heat comes on for good – so the mix has time to dry. After that, don't feed again until new growth shows up in spring. Water only when the potting mix feels dry.

If you're not sure when to water peace lilies or plants in general, then I recommend getting a moisture meter like the Yamron 4-in-1 Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon, which also checks temperature, light levels, and soil pH.

4. Keep an Eye Out for Fungus Gnats

Tiny dark flies drifting up off the pot are most likely fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.), not fruit flies. Adults are mostly a nuisance. Their larvae live in the top inch or two (2.5–5 cm) of damp potting mix and feed on organic matter, sometimes on fine roots as well. Cooler rooms keep the mix wetter for longer. Gnats like that.

A dry top inch (2.5cm) between waterings goes a long way toward breaking the cycle. Pick up a pack of Expert Gardener Plant Insect Sticky Traps from Walmart, and tuck one in at the edge of every plant pot. This helps control them and gives a rough count of the adults. Sprinkling a little anti-fungal cinnamon on soil helps to keep houseplants free from fungus gnats, while growing a pot of pretty carnivorous butterwort helps to keep pesky fungus gnats at bay.

Drier soil and bottom watering are the best long-term cure for fungus gnats. You can use any plastic tray, but I like this Ebristar bottom watering tray from Amazon as you can adjust the height easily.

To check for fungus gnat larvae, a little trick is to press a ¼-inch (6 mm) slice of raw potato into the potting mix and look underneath after a day or two.

5. Add a Grow Light for Darker Rooms

Not every home has a south-facing window to spare. Supplemental light can make up the difference, and foliage plants often do well with 12 to 16 hours of light a day through the darker months. It's pretty easy to set up these days.

A grow light, like this Sansi pot-clip LED grow light on Amazon, clips onto the rim and has a timer that shuts it off after 12 hours. Start it a little farther from the leaves than seems necessary. If new growth stays small after a few weeks, ease it closer. Pale, washed-out leaves usually mean it's gone too far the other way.

October Peace Lily Esssentials

By November, a peace lily set up this way mostly just needs a glance now and then. The next real push tends to come in late winter – fresh leaves first, and with some luck, a white spathe or two not long after.

A Christmas cactus dropping its leaves in October is a common problem, but it’s easily fixed as long as you act quickly. Do nothing, however, and you’ll not only miss out on this winter’s blooms but your plant may be at real risk of collapse and death. Dropped leaf segments are a strong signal that your Christmas cactus is in distress and needs your help, so great work getting here to Garden ER where you'll find straightforward solutions to treat this season’s biggest planty problems.

So, if you're wondering what to do if your Christmas cactus drops a leaf, you're in the right place. Your Schlumbergera x buckleyii is very sensitive to environmental changes and it’s highly likely there’s been a recent shift, whether that’s the plant being moved indoors after a summer holiday on the patio, or simply the central heating being switched on.

But don’t fret. Once you’ve decided which of the five causes is behind the leaf drop, and take swift action, the prognosis for your houseplant is excellent. You may even still be able to trick your Christmas cactus into flowering for the holiday season. Come on in to Garden ER and let’s diagnose and treat your Christmas cactus.

Triage: How Many Leaves Has Your Christmas Cactus Dropped?

Christmas cactus do often drop a segment, or pad, when there’s a change of season. If your plant has only dropped three or fewer pads in the space of the last week, it’s likely suffering from minor shock after a change in its environment, and the basic nursing outlined below in addition to essential Christmas cactus care will quickly restore it to health.

However, if you’ve ignored these early warnings and your houseplant is now dropping four or more segments in a week, or losing multi-segmented branches, it’s likely in severe shock and will require intensive care if it’s to recover. Leave a Christmas cactus to fend for itself in this condition and it’ll likely be dead within a fortnight.

Diagnosis: What’s Caused Your Houseplant to Drop its Leaves?

Sacrificing leaf segments is usually caused by environmental stress following a change, so it’s vital to work out what's troubling your houseplant so you can remove that trigger. That's easily done by examining the lost leaf pads.

1. Do the Dropped Segments Look Green and Healthy?

Any change in its living space can cause a sensitive Christmas cactus to drop a pad or two, but the plant should quickly recover. If the plant has moved from outdoors to indoors, that’s likely the cause, but there may be other changes associated with the move – for example, a change in watering routine – so it’s important to check out other possible causes too.

2. Do the Segments Feel Crispy and Brittle?

Your plant is likely dehydrated and the probable cause is that the central heating has come on, and your plant is sitting near to a radiator or heater vent. Try to bend the dropped pad and it will likely snap. Segments may be a paler green, or becoming edged in a maroon tone is another sign that points to heat stress.

3. Are the Segments Limp But Still Green?

Even if your Christmas cactus is positioned well away from heat sources, the heating coming on may be drying out the air, causing this humidity-loving plant to struggle, and this is another common problem often seen in October.

4. Are the Segments Limp But Wrinkled and Leathery?

Your plant is dehydrated, and the cause is likely severe underwatering. Christmas cactus evolved to grow in rainforests, not dry deserts, so need regular watering.

5. Do the Segments Feel Plump and Mushy?

If pads feel soft and mushy when squeezed, they’re likely full of water because the plant has been overwatered. This may be because you’ve watered your Christmas cactus too often – and this is easy to do in October as the plant requires less water as the days start to shorten – or it’s been left outside for too long once seasonal rainfall has increased. Leaves are also likely to be a slightly see-through yellow or sickly green tone if overwatering is the cause.

Treatment: How to Help a Cactus That’s Dropping Leaves

It's vital to remove the cause before fixing the symptoms by giving your Christmas cactus the care it needs.

If Heat or Drought Stress is the Cause

Place the plant in a spot where the temperature sits fairly consistently around 60-70°F (a cheap indoor thermometer like this from Amazon makes it easy), in bright indirect sunlight and away from hot blasts or cold draughts. Make sure the pot has a drainage hole and water your Christmas cactus only – but regularly – when the top 2 inches of soil are dry. Using a moisture meter such as this long-probe soil meter from Amazon removes any guesswork.

If you suspect a lack of humidity is a problem – and it will become a problem for you, too, as this is the prime reason Christmas cactus drop their flower buds – it’s simple to fix. Simply stand the pot on a pebble tray such as this Bonsai pebble tray such as this from Lowe’s, or make your own with a plant saucer and pea gravel pebbles such as this Landscape Rock from The Home Depot. It’s vital that the pot base sits on the pebbles and not in the water, so the roots don’t rot. You’re simply using the water to humidify the air as it evaporates.

If Over-Watering is the Cause

If you’ve diagnosed your Christmas cactus with overwatering, treatment is more intense, but if the base is still green and firm, there’s still hope.

Remove the plant from its pot and if there’s a sour smell, use a brush to remove most of the soggy soil, and scissors to cut off any black roots. Repot into a pot with drainage holes (wash the pot well if you’re reusing) with an indoor potting mix such as Back to the Roots Indoor Potting Mix, available from Amazon, with a handful or orchid bark like this from Amazon mixed in for good measure.

If the soil still smells sweet and the roots aren’t dark or slimy, all you need do is stand the cactus in its inner plastic pot on an old towel in an evenly warm room with good airflow to let the soil dry out. Then follow the essential care tips outlined above.

If the base of your Christmas cactus has turned a dark tone and feels mushy, then your plant is a goner. May we offer our condolences.

Patient Notes

Don’t throw away healthy dropped segments as you can easily use them to propagate free Christmas cactus plants by pushing the base ends into a cactus potting mix such as Black Gold Succulent & Cactus Potting Mix, available from Walmart.

More Garden ER Help

Every week, the Garden ER series brings you simple solutions to this season's most pressing problems, for happy and healthy plants without any hassle.

Every single time my husband and I go to IKEA (which is surprisingly more often than you'd expect), he trundles us off to look at the houseplants.

This isn't particularly surprising. He's a professional gardener, after all, which means I'm married to someone who can apparently find a reason to inspect a plant in virtually any building, garden center or supermarket we happen to walk past (the man carries secateurs with him on our dog walks, for goodness sake!).

What does surprise me is that he genuinely rates IKEA as one of the best places to buy houseplants – and not just because they're convenient or inexpensive.

Why IKEA Houseplants Are So Good

Now, his reasoning for all of this is remarkably simple: if a plant can sit in the artificially lit basement of a busy superstore, surrounded by people, trolleys, heating and air conditioning, and still look happy enough to sell? Well, it's probably going to cope pretty well with ordinary life at home.

It's for this reason that my husband has branded IKEA's toughest houseplants “bulletproof and beginner-friendly”, and he's not wrong. If you look at the shelves, you'll tend to spot snake plants, ZZ plants, pothos and peace lilies – aka houseplant varieties that are considerably more forgiving of imperfect light, missed waterings and the general chaos of real life than some of the more demanding divas you'll find.

If you're anything like me, then, and don't live in a perfectly controlled greenhouse, this is brilliant news. Because, hey, we have radiators, we go on holiday, we forget to water things (far too frequently), and we put plants in rooms that don't get quite as much sunlight as we'd hoped. So sue us, right? Sometimes life simply gets in the way (even when it's our birth month houseplant on the line).

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This is where these IKEA houseplants have the advantage. Oh sure, they're not necessarily the rarest or most exciting plants in the store, but they're the sort of houseplants that thrive on neglect. And for a beginner – or anyone who has already accidentally killed one too many “easy-care” plants – I'd argue that reliability is a fairly underrated quality.

As my husband all too readily points out, there's also the not-so-small matter of price. After all, IKEA makes it relatively painless to experiment with houseplants without spending a fortune, and you can pick up everything else you need at the same time. My husband heads for the compost and plant-care supplies; I head straight for the pots. Everybody wins.

And there's one other thing my husband has noticed over the years: because IKEA has such a high volume of shoppers, the plants don't tend to sit around unnoticed forever. When we visit, we're often seeing fresh plants coming into the store rather than the same sad specimens gathering dust in a corner. (Of course, stock varies by store and season, but a busy plant section can be a good place to look for healthy specimens that have been newly delivered).

If you're nervous about buying your first houseplant because you're convinced you're going to kill it, spending a relatively small amount of money makes the experiment considerably less intimidating; you can try a snake plant in one room, a ZZ plant in another, a pothos in a thirdand see what actually works in your home. If something doesn't thrive, you've learned something without having spent a fortune.

And because IKEA sells pots, saucers, compost and other plant-care essentials alongside its houseplants, you don't need to make three separate trips to get everything set up.

Of course, my husband isn't claiming that every houseplant at IKEA is indestructible, so be sure to stick to the tried-and-tested classics. And whatever you buy, check the individual plant before putting it in your trolley; you'll want to look for healthy foliage, avoid plants sitting in obviously waterlogged compost, and check underneath the leaves for signs of pests.

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Basically, I suppose my husband is saying that IKEA tends to stock many of the plants that are already naturally good at surviving the less-than-perfect conditions of ordinary homes – and it makes them accessible, affordable and easy to buy.

You can't say much better than that now, can you?

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) coast through summer on very little attention. Fall asks a bit more. The trailing stems that eventually carry flowers and baby plantlets usually form once nights run long and stay dark for several weeks straight. By late September, nights across the country are already longer than days.

Standard spider plant care covers the basics all year. September adds a short list on top of it, mostly aimed at plants coming back in from a porch or patio, plus a couple of jobs that shape how the plant looks come winter.

1. Bring It Back Inside Ahead of Cold Nights

Cold is one thing spider plants don't shrug off. Most guidance puts the safe floor somewhere around 45–50F (7–10C), and tropical houseplants in general should head indoors once nights settle near 50F (10C). In parts of the Midwest, that can mean mid-September. A first frost warning is the deadline, not the cue – by then the plant has likely sat through several chilly nights already.

The move goes smoother in stages. Shift the pot into light shade for a few days, followed by deeper shade, and only after that bring it into a bright spot out of direct sun. A few yellow leaves after the switch are normal. Once it's settled, keep it a few feet back from drafty windows as the weather cools.

2. Check Every Leaf for Hitchhikers

Pests that barely register outdoors can build up fast once a plant is inside for the winter. Spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) are a common one on spider plants, leaving fine pale stippling on the leaves and sometimes faint webbing. Whiteflies (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) turn up as well. So does soft brown scale (Coccus hesperidum). Tip the pot sideways and look at the undersides of the arching leaves, then slide the root ball out and check the drainage holes, too.

A hard rinse with the hose knocks back light infestations. For anything heavier, Amazon carries Garden Safe insecticidal soap, a ready-to-use spray that only kills what it touches – so both sides of every leaf need a thorough coat. Test a few leaves first and give it about a week before treating the whole plant. Soap injury can be slow to show.

3. Give It Long, Dark Nights

Plenty of houseplants don't care much how long the night is. Spider plants do. Spider plant flowers (and the plantlets that follow) typically appear after at least three weeks of short days and long nights without interruption. A plant parked beside a lamp that stays on until midnight might keep making leaves and not much else.

Indoor plants don't always stick to that pattern, and some throw runners at odd times of year. Still, fall is when they produce most of their offshoots. A room that goes dark after sunset helps. Bright, indirect light during the day is still the goal, though midday sun through glass can scorch the leaves.

4. Pot Up the Plantlets

You can propagate spiderettes that already have little root nubs – just snip them off and set them into moist mix. The ones without roots do better staying attached for now. Set a small pot beside the mother plant, rest the plantlet on the soil surface, and pin it down with a bent paper clip until it roots, then cut the runner. These nursery pots from Amazon make it easy to spot when roots have filled out.

A soilless medium is the usual pick for rooting. Amazon stocks Espoma Organic Seed Starter, a peat and perlite blend made for seedlings and cuttings. Keep it evenly damp but not soggy. Wait four to six months before feeding newly potted plantlets.

5. Stop Feeding and Flush the Soil

Spider plant feeding can taper off now. Growth slows as the light fades, and heavily fertilized spider plants tend to produce fewer plantlets anyway. Leftover fertilizer salts are also a common cause of brown, crispy leaf tips.

Before the plant settles in for winter, pour a generous amount of plain water through the pot and let it drain out completely. It rinses away some of that buildup. Tap water can cause the same browning on its own, since spider plants are sensitive to fluoride and chlorine – rainwater or distilled water sidesteps that problem. Water a little less often as the house cools, letting the soil dry slightly between waterings.

By late fall, the difference usually shows up in the runners. A plant that came in clean and spent its evenings in the dark has a good shot at trailing a fresh set of plantlets over the edge of the pot before winter is out, and each of those can become another spider plant.

Most houseplants make their needs obvious. Snake plants don’t, and that toughness is a big reason they end up in so many homes – right up until a cool snap or one watering too many catches up with them in October. September sits at the turn between summer growth and a much slower winter stretch, so the changes made now carry right through to spring.

Good snake plant care in fall mostly comes down to easing off. Growth slows as the days shorten, and the roots pull far less water than they did back in July. A couple of September’s jobs are time-sensitive, though, especially for plants that spent the summer out on a porch or patio.

6 Snake Plant Tasks to Tackle in September

Temperatures still swing quite a bit this month across much of the country. Warm afternoons make it tempting to keep the same routine going, but the shorter days have already changed how much moisture and fertilizer a snake plant can put to use.

1. Bring Outdoor Plants in before Nights Turn Cold

Watch the overnight lows more than the afternoon highs. Snake plants tolerate cool nights around 50F (10C), but longer stretches below that can damage the leaves, and frost will kill the plant outright. Many people wait for the first chilly forecast – the trouble is that a late-September cold snap can show up with hardly any warning. Aim to bring your plant inside while nights still sit in the mid-50s (about 13C), with some margin to spare. It should sit somewhere away from drafty doors, ideally.

2. Inspect Every Leaf before It Comes Inside

Pests are rarely a big issue on snake plants, so this step gets skipped a lot. A summer outdoors gives citrus mealybugs (Planococcus citri) and two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) plenty of chances to move in, and either one can spread to other houseplants once the plant is back on a windowsill. Peer into the tight leaf bases, where mealybugs tend to tuck their cottony clusters. A spray bottle of ready-to-use insect killing soap, stocked at Home Depot, takes care of light infestations while the plant is still outdoors – both faces of every leaf need a good soaking.

3. Stretch Out the Time between Waterings

Overwatering is behind a large share of snake plant losses, and fall is when it often creeps in. The schedule that worked in August can leave the mix wet for weeks once growth slows in September. Let the pot dry out completely before watering again. A finger pushed 2 inches (5cm) into the soil gives a decent read, and a battery-free soil moisture meter from Amazon reaches well past fingertip depth in tall pots. Through the coldest months, many snake plants need water only every month or two. A dry pot is rarely an emergency; a soggy one in October can be.

4. Give One Last Light Feeding, Or Just Skip It

Snake plant fertilizer needs are low at the best of times, and plenty of growers have stopped entirely by September. For a plant that hasn’t been fed in months, one dose early this month at half the label rate seems reasonable. Amazon has a liquid cactus and succulent plant food that mixes straight into a watering can. After that, hold off until new growth appears again. Fertilizer left in soil that stays damp for weeks mostly builds up salts the plant has no real use for anyway.

5. Move the Pot Closer to a Window

By late September, a corner that felt bright in June might only get a few hours of weak light. Snake plants tolerate dim rooms, though they produce very little new foliage there, and some variegated types may lose a bit of their contrast over a long, dark winter. An east- or west-facing window works well, as long as the leaves aren’t pressed against cold glass. Wipe down each leaf during the move, too – dust dulls those broad, leathery blades and can block a fair share of light. If the leaves start leaning toward the window, a quarter turn every few weeks helps keep new ones growing straight.

6. Check the Roots, but Save Repotting for Spring

Roots poking out of the drainage hole send a lot of people reaching for a bigger pot. It can wait. Snake plants grow fine when a little crowded, and a roomy container full of moist mix heading into the cool season is a setup for rot. Snug roots aren’t a problem to solve before winter – soggy ones are. The exception is a pot that’s cracked open or a plant top-heavy enough to tip over. In that case, it's okay to repot a snake plant. Go up only one size, roughly 2 inches (5cm) wider, and water sparingly afterward.

Once September’s work is out of the way, a snake plant needs very little until spring, which is a big part of the appeal. A quick finger test now and then, plus the odd dust-off, should carry it through the darker months without much fuss.

I love a houseplant that thrives on neglect, and not because I'm a particularly neglectful plant parent, but because life has a habit of getting in the way of even the best intentions. One minute I'm carefully checking the soil and rotating my plants for even light, and the next I've realised I can't remember the last time I watered anything.

I always mean well. A new houseplant comes home, I find it a beautiful spot, learn exactly what it needs and promise myself I'll stick to a sensible care routine. For a few weeks, I'm as attentive as any plant could hope for... and then work gets busy, the toddler forgets how to sleep at night, my weekend disappears, and suddenly I'm standing in the living room wondering who swapped my beautiful orchid with a very brown stick.

Thankfully, some houseplants are considerably more forgiving than others. They don't need constant fussing, perfectly consistent conditions or an owner who has their watering schedule neatly color-coded. In fact, they can tolerate the occasional missed watering and, perhaps most importantly, they don't immediately make you feel like you've failed them.

The Houseplants That Thrive On Neglect

Every houseplant collection needs one stalwart that thrives on neglect, if only to reassure owners that there is at least one thing that promises to get on with things while the rest of your life is refusing to cooperate.

So, after plenty of personal experience with plants that have survived my less-than-perfect attention, I've narrowed it down to three particularly resilient choices...

1. The Snake Plant

If I had to crown the king of houseplants that thrive on neglect, it would 100% be a snake plant; there is something almost comically resilient about them.

Oh sure, their leaves look wonderfully dramatic, but they really don't demand the sort of constant attention you might expect; in fact, they are particularly good at coping with periods of dryness because those aforementioned leaves store water. They're also happy in a range of light conditions, although brighter, indirect light will generally encourage better growth.

In other words, the birth month houseplant for January babies everywhere is really rather good at the whole “I'll see you when I see you” approach to houseplant ownership. Actually, the biggest mistake you can make is probably loving them too much, as overwatering is far more likely to cause problems than forgetting to water them for a while.

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2. ZZ plant

Almost suspiciously good at fulfilling the brief for 'houseplant that thrives on neglect', the glossy green ZZ plant has thick rhizomes that store water, helping this pretty plant to cope with periods of drought. (This is particularly useful for people like me, who occasionally look at a plant and realise I can't remember whether I watered it yesterday, last week or possibly sometime in another calendar year).

ZZ plants are also tolerant of lower light, although they will grow more slowly there, and they generally prefer you to let their potting mix dry out between waterings. All of which means, basically, that if you want something that looks elegant but doesn't require constant fussing, this is a very good candidate.

To make things even easier, you can buy a ZZ plant in a ceramic pot from Costa Farms. Just pop it somewhere to do its wonderful air-purifying thing, and reap the benefits for almost zero effort.

3. Spider Plants

Spider plants have been quietly earning their reputation as practically indestructible houseplants for decades, and I think it's time we gave them some credit.

They're cheerful, unfussy and incredibly good at producing those long trailing stems covered in baby plants. (Seriously, even if you aren't particularly interested in propagating houseplants, it's difficult not to feel a little pleased with yourself when your spider plant starts producing a whole collection of teeny-weeny offspring).

They're also wonderfully forgiving if your watering routine isn't quite as consistent as it should be, making spider plants particularly useful for filling shelves, hanging baskets or awkward corners you might find yourself forgetting about them for a while. (Guilty, as charged!).

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Before anyone gets the bright idea of writing to me, I'm not suggesting you should deliberately neglect your houseplants; they still need the basics (think appropriate light, occasional watering, a decent potting mix and a little attention when something looks wrong).

That being said, I do think there's something to be said for building a collection around plants that fit your lifestyle rather than trying to become the sort of person who remembers the precise watering schedule of 27 different tropical plants. And for me, that's the real appeal of snake plants, spider plants and ZZ plants. They look good, they're forgiving, and if life gets busy for a week or two, they're unlikely to hold a grudge.

And sometimes, that? Why, that's exactly the kind of houseplant friendship I need.

Sometimes when people talk about indestructible plants, it can feel like a challenge. There’ll be this wild part of me wondering how long it will be before I start having problems with that plant that everyone claims is as resilient, resourceful and self-sufficient as a cockroach. I’ve known the thrill of growing fussy passion flowers from root cuttings, nurturing erratic petunias from seed, and cultivating enormous Boston ferns with fronds like floating palms. Yet put me in the same room as a so-called indestructible plant and I can get to fretting.

You could say I’m a victim of the snake plant paradox. While these plants have a reputation for being some of the hardest to kill, they aren’t immune to the odd diva fit. Yet it can feel unthinkable, seeing a snake plant turning yellow, flashing a squishy leaf, or displaying gold spotting. You’d be forgiven for thinking something might be up with the universe and perhaps it’s time to start stocking up on tinned goods…

Before you entertain notions of The End of Days, take a beat. While it’s odd to see a snake plant that isn’t flaunting her sword-shaped limbs like a Nineties supermodel, yellowing foliage doesn’t mean all is lost. Even robust, industrial-style sansevieria can have her off-days, and the most hands-off houseplant sometimes needs a helping hand. So if your snake plant’s leaves are turning yellow, this guide can help you identify the culprit, so you can restore your house darling to her proud and pointy glories.

Golden Rules of Snake Plant Rescue

When your snake flashes a sickly yellow, it’s admittedly unsettling. But before diving in with changes, it pays to establish a calm, methodical approach to yellow leaves. Snake plants react slowly to environmental changes, and sudden shifts in care will shock a struggling plant further. First of all, allow for a little bit of yellow here and there as perfectly natural. Leaves don't live forever, even on a plant built like a tank.

If a single, lower outer leaf has become pale yellow or papery but vibrant new swords are pushing up from the center, then the chances are you are witnessing mother nature’s retirement plan rather than a cultivation crisis. This process is senescence, which is basically a fancy word for ageing, and it’s a natural part of a snake leaf’s life cycle, as the plant turns its attention to crisp new leaves. In this case, you can just celebrate the new growth and let the old leaf go quietly.

However, when multiple leaves yellow simultaneously, or turn soft or squishy near the base, your snake is trying to tell you that something in the environment is off. The golden rule of snake plant rescue is to adapt a calm, gentle triage. Never make multiple changes at once; change one variable at a time so the plant isn't shocked. Set up a quarantine zone and isolate your snake from the rest of your houseplants. Quarantining the plant prevents potential fungal spores or hidden pests from migrating to neighboring plant babies.

Make sure you’ve got your triage tools ready: a magnifying glass to inspect leaf crevices and undersides of leaves, some rubbing alcohol to sanitize your equipment, and a pair of sharp snips or pruning shears to cleanly excise diseased or decaying plant material. If you haven’t got a magnifying glass, the Carson MiniBrite LED Lighted Pocket Magnifier, available from Walmart is an easy way to flag up hidden spider mites and mealybugs that might be missed by the naked eye.

Resist the urge to drench the potting soil with heavy fertilizers in a desperate attempt to feed your plant back to health. Stressed plants can’t process heavy nutrients, and excess moisture will only accelerate any root decay. Just make one conscious adjustment at a time, allowing a couple of weeks in each case to observe how the plant responds. No frantic overhauls! We’re going to make smart, gentle tweaks, give our green friend space to breathe, and watch her bounce back stronger than ever.

1. Overwatering, Soggy Soil & Root Rot

The most common reason a snake plant turns yellow is overwatering, paired with a heavy potting media. There is such a thing as loving your plant to death, so if your snake plant leaves are yellow and drooping (and worse, a bit squishy), it’s time to reevaluate the relationship. Sansevieria are desert natives with thick rhizomes and fleshy roots, designed to store water, not sit in soggy soil. If the soil gets waterlogged, oxygen is cut off from the roots, causing fungal pathogens to invade. This manifests as pale, translucent yellowing that starts at the base of the leaf, accompanied by a soft, squishy texture and a distinct sour smell from the pot.

To fix this, tip your plant gently out of its pot and gently shake off the old, soggy soil. Inspect the root system: healthy roots are firm and creamy-white or orange, while rotted roots are soft, black, and stringy. Beware dark, mushy, smelly roots. Anything that looks suspicious needs to get the chop. Using sterile shears or snips like highly rated Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips, available from Amazon, trim away all rotted tissue back to healthy growth. Don't be shy: saving the healthy white roots is what matters here. If you leave infected rhizome tissue behind, the rot will continue spreading even in bone-dry soil. When trimming, slice into the firm, potato-like rhizome until you see clean, pale tissue.

Allow the bare roots and sliced rhizomes to air-dry on newspaper or dry towels for 24 hours. Then repot into a clean terracotta pot, filled with a light, gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix. Ideally, choose something amended with perlite, such as Back to the Roots Organic Succulent & Cacti Mix, available from Walmart, to prevent moisture retention around delicate roots. Hold off on watering for 10 days. Support larger snake specimens (S. zeylanica and tall Laurentii) with temporary bamboo stakes or soft ties while newly pruned roots re-establish, to prevent snapping.

2. Extreme Drought & Hydrophobic Dirt

Sometimes, the opposite problem can also result in yellow leaves, which can be confusing to the uninitiated, but here’s the thing: the texture is the clue. While overwatering causes mushy yellow leaves, underwatering produces pale, dry, straw-like yellowing and brittle, wrinkled foliage. Diagnosis? Your snake is thirsty. We might love that snake plants can handle a busy lifestyle and the occasional bit of neglect, but taking "set it and forget it" too literally can backfire. Leave your snake without a drink for half a year, and her sword-like fronds will lose their plump, architectural stiffness, developing deep grooves and crispy tips.

To make matters worse, though, the soil can turn into a hard, dusty brick that repels water like a raincoat. At this point, if you pour water in, it might run straight out the bottom without soaking in at all. This means the soil may have become hydrophobic. But don’t panic: you can save a parched, wrinkled snake with a little spa treatment. Basically, you need to give your snake a deep bottom-soaking bath. Fill a sink or tub with three inches (8cm) of tepid water and set the container inside for about an hour. This allows capillary action to draw moisture upward into the roots. Word to the wise: only use tepid or lukewarm water. Freezing tap water can shock sensitive root hairs.

When the top inch (2.5cm) of soil feels damp, lift out and let all excess water drain thoroughly. Once your snake is fully hydrated and drained, you can use a moisture meter to keep an eye on her underground routine so she stays happy. If you need a good diagnostic moisture tool, the XLUX Long Probe Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon reveals moisture levels deep down in an easy, reliable way. You may find that where longer leaves have creased, they will not straighten up after rehydrating. Support the fold with a stake or neat soft tie to keep the leaf upright and functional.

3. Cold Drafts and Temperature Shock

While snakes are tolerant of ambient indoor humidity, they are sensitive to fluctuations and they loathe chilly drafts. Native to warm, tropical regions of West Africa, snake plants prefer temperatures between 21-30°C (70F-85°F). When placed in the path of cold winter windowpanes, chilly entryway drafts, or ice-cold AC blasts, your plant will get pretty stressed. This stress manifests as rapid, patchy yellowing across outer foliage, often accompanied by weak, sagging stems leaning away from the cold source. Variegated cultivars are especially sensitive. Bright golden margins can turn translucent, water-soaked, and grayish-white before collapsing.

To restore your plant, relocate her to a warm, sheltered location free from direct air currents. Avoid parking pots next to drafty doors and chilly glass, and tuck your plant into a bright room with a steady, comfortable temperature. Give her a little time to settle in without fussing over her too much. Radiant cold from uninsulated tile, stone, or hardwood floors can chill the pot base even if the room air feels warm. In this case, use a plant stand or cork trivet to prevent chill. But don’t warm up a plant by placing it directly next to a roaring radiator, as this can cause extreme dehydration.

If the foliage has flopped due to cold shock, avoid the temptation to drench the soil with warm water, which can stress damaged roots. Instead, keep the soil on the drier side while the plant acclimates to its cozy new microclimate, allowing new, upright growth to emerge naturally and restoring that proud, stiff posture. To help keep track of temperature fluctuations around houseplants, it’s well worth investing in a digital thermometer. If you need an affordable option, the TempPro TP50 Digital Indoor Thermometer from Amazon tracks room temperature and humidity shifts with ease.

4. Harsh Direct Sunburn or Deep Darkness

Snake plants are often sold as the ultimate dark corner decor, but living in constant shade can leave them feeling a bit under the weather. There’s a difference between surviving and thriving. Dumped in a dark hallway or windowless room, the plant cannot perform photosynthesis efficiently. Over time, the leaves lose their striking green-and-gold contrast and turn a washed-out, pale yellow. Of course, the opposite situation is also a nightmare for snakes. Harsh rays can bleach the leaves, prompting bleached patches, pale yellow spots and crisp brown edges.

The best way forward here is to move your plant to bright, indirect sunlight. If your plant is suffering from low-light starvation, relocate her to a spot near an east- or north-facing window, where she can receive plenty of ambient natural light. Don’t move a shade-adapted plant straight into intense direct sun overnight. Acclimate it over 10-14 days to prevent leaf scorching. Where too much sun is the culprit, pull the pot back a few feet from southern exposure or filter light using sheer curtains. While scorched patches will not turn green again, providing balanced light will trigger fresh central shoots. Simply trim away badly crisped leaves.

One more kind gesture for light-starved snakes is to keep a close eye on the dust levels. If you can see a layer of dust on the leaves, this is an obvious tell that your plant is struggling to process light efficiently. Where broad snake plant leaves accumulate a thick layer of household dust, this acts as a natural sunblock. Again, this is easily sorted. Wipe leaves regularly with a damp microfiber cloth. You can also use dusting gloves, like the brilliant Bless Your Soil Microfiber Dusting Gloves from Amazon, to dust off broad snake plant fronds.

5. Hidden Pest Attack

If the yellowing looks like a mottled, speckled patchwork, you might be seeing the handiwork of some sneaky sap-suckers. While snake plants are less prone to pests than softer-leaved tropicals, they can fall prey to mealybugs and spider mites. These pesky suckers love to hide out in the snug folds where the leaves meet at the base. Mealybugs look like bits of cotton wool, while spider mites leave dusty webbing at the tips. Compact, tightly clustered rosette snake plant varieties are especially vulnerable to mealybugs, which hide deep inside the overlapping leaf bases.

Fortunately, this is treatable when caught early. Take a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to dab away visible mealybugs. This dissolves their protective coating. Next, wipe down all leaf surfaces. Use a soft cloth dampened with warm water to remove dust, webs, and honeydew. Finish by spraying the entire plant, paying close attention to the base of the leaves, using a diluted neem oil solution. I’m a big fan of Captain Jack’s Ready-to-Use Organic Neem Oil Spray, available from Amazon, for a natural, plant-friendly bug blaster that also restores natural sheen.

Do all this in shade or in the evening, as applying oil-based sprays in sunlight can scald foliage. Oh, and don’t forget to wipe down the outer rim and underside of the pot base, where pest eggs might be hiding. Use a fine paintbrush dipped in rubbing alcohol to sweep inside narrow leaf crevices where sprays might not reach. Then repeat every 7-10 days until all signs of pest activity have vanished.

Shop Snake Plant Rescue Essentials

When your snake plant starts flashing yellow distress signals, having the right tools to hand boosts a speedy recovery. While these desert natives are generally low-maintenance, these essential tools help you effectively address such issues as root rot, compacted soil, or sudden pest invasions. Grab these curated snake plant heroes for the best rescue, so your plant stays vibrant and upright for years to come.

Snake Recovery Kit

Hopefully this has given you a sense of simple measures you can take to keep your snake happy. The “yellow peril” doesn’t have to signal defeat or doom. Just remember to read leaf texture (as well as color) before you intervene. Translucent, mushy yellow leaves signal moisture overload and root rot, while crispy, wrinkled yellowing can point to drought or dehydration (or old age of single leaves!). If you notice bleached or spotted yellow patches, look closely for sunburn or hidden pests.

Once you think you know the culprit, just trim that unsalvageable foliage cleanly at the base using sterile snips. And always, always remember to take it one thoughtful change at a time. With a little patience and care, you can bring your snake plant back round to gorgeous full health.

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They say that money can't buy you happiness, and that's true, but it can buy you an awful lot of purple houseplants.

Now, I've always loved the idea of a home filled with dramatic and slightly unusual houseplants, but in reality I'm often guilty of buying yet another green plant (snake plants are my current obsession) because... well, because I know how to keep those alive.

Give me something particularly precious-looking? Why, I immediately start worrying that I'm going to kill it within a fortnight. I did, anyway, until I fell hard and fast for some of the easiest purple houseplants out there.

6 Purple Houseplants

I love purple flowers, so it stands to reason I'd love purple houseplants, too. Still, there's something about deep plum, burgundy and violet foliage that makes even the most ordinary windowsill scream 'quiet luxury'.

And you don't necessarily need to become a houseplant expert to get the look, either; there are some surprisingly low maintenance plants that come in glorious shades of purple. To help you whittle things down, I've picked six of my favorites below, and I've deliberately gone for plants that give you plenty of purple color without demanding your undivided attention...

1. Purple Waffle Plant

The name might sound more like something you'd order at brunch, but the purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternata) is actually one of the most stylish little houseplants around.

Its leaves have a gorgeous puckered texture, with purple and green coloring that catches the light beautifully. Better still, it's compact, growing to around 6 inches tall, so you don't need a huge amount of space to make an impact.

Just give it medium to bright light and keep the compost slightly moist rather than letting it dry out completely, as too little light can cause those rich purple tones to fade.

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2. Purple Shamrock

If you've never grown a purple shamrock (Oxalis triangularis), prepare to become slightly obsessed. Its triangular leaves are beautiful enough on their own, but this is one of those houseplants that has a little more personality than you'd expect.

The leaves open during the day and fold up as light levels drop, giving the plant an almost butterfly-like quality. It also produces delicate pink or white flowers above the foliage, and I think this is one of the easiest ways to introduce yourself to the world of purple houseplants without buying something enormous.

Pop something like this purple shamrock from CZ Grains into a simple ceramic pot, give it bright indirect light and well-drained compost, and let the foliage do the talking. Oh, and don't panic if it eventually looks as though it's dying back! Purple shamrocks can have a natural dormant period, after which they'll return with fresh growth.

3. Purple Orchid

There are few things that make a room look expensive quite as quickly as an orchid. And, while orchids have a reputation for being slightly intimidating, moth orchids are actually considered easy-to-grow houseplants. (They're also the birth month orchid for January, if you're wondering).

Their flowers can last for several months, and purple is among the colors available, alongside pink, white, yellow and burgundy. It's a really good choice if you're trying to create that slightly “expensive hotel" look at home; just pop one beside the sink, on a console table or somewhere with plenty of filtered light and suddenly the room feels considerably more put together.

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4. Tradescantia 'Purple Heart'

If your definition of a good houseplant is “the more purple, the better” (and if it is, I love that for you), meet Tradescantia, and, in particular, the glorious Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart' from CZ Grains.

Unlike some plants on this list, this one isn't merely purple around the edges; its foliage is properly, gloriously purple, with small pink flowers providing a pretty contrast.

You can grow it both an indoor houseplant and an outdoor annual, and Tradescantia in general is popular partly because it's so easy to grow, and it's an especially lovely option if you like your houseplants to trail. Let it spill over the edge of a shelf or hanging planter for true purple majesty!

5. Purple Rubber Plant

Now we're getting into statement-purple houseplant territory! The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is already one of those houseplants that makes a room feel instantly more grown-up, but look for a dark-leaved 'Burgundy' type and you've got something altogether more dramatic.

The glossy leaves emerge in deep red-burgundy tones before maturing to very dark green, giving the plant a wonderfully moody appearance. Rubber plants are also relatively low-maintenance when given the right conditions, and they can tolerate some lower light, although brighter indirect light helps them maintain good growth and color.

Basically, I'd choose something like the air-purifying Burgundy Rubber Plant from Wekiva Foliage above if you're trying to fill an awkward empty corner rather than decorate a windowsill.

6. African Violet

Finally, we have a classic addition to the world of purple houseplants – and I think it's time we stopped overlooking it, because African violets are compact, inexpensive and wonderfully pretty. Their velvety foliage and clusters of flowers that can come in beautiful shades of violet, mauve, pink, red and white; better stilll, they can (given the right conditions) flower for months at a time, too.

They're particularly useful if you don't have room for a huge statement plant. A little African violet on a bedside table, kitchen windowsill or desk can add a surprisingly rich hit of colour without taking over the room.

And there's something rather lovely about the fact that this is a plant your grandmother might have grown, but it can still look completely at home in a modern interior. Sometimes the classics really are classics for a reason.

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I'm not suggesting you need to replace every green houseplant in your home with something purple. That might be a little much, even for me. Still, adding one or two plants with deep violet, burgundy or plum coloring can completely change the way a collection looks.

The contrast makes your greener plants stand out, while the darker foliage adds a little more depth and drama to the room. And that's perhaps my favourite thing about purple houseplants: they look like far bigger divas than they actually are.

Which, as far as I'm concerned, is exactly the sort of gardening bargain I'm looking for.

If you want to make a Christmas cactus flower for the holidays, this quick trick will help you persuade your plant to deliver its dramatic magenta blooms right on time. With beautiful pendant blooms that look like a flower within a flower, each with an exotic pink pistil reaching out far beyond the petals, a full-blooming Christmas cactus is a festive treat not to be missed.

Christmas cacti can seem like fickle flowerers because they’re extremely sensitive to their environment. But this hack has them faithfully flowering every Christmas, for years to come – and these are long-lived plants so you could be enjoying festive flowers for the next half-century!

Part of the Weekend Wins series, persuading a Christmas cactus to flower for the holidays is one of those easy jobs that brings a big reward, and guess what? All you need is a cardboard box.

How to Trick Your Christmas Cactus Into Flowering on Time

1. Understand the Blooming Trigger

Schlumbergera is pretty clever because it’s able to track night-length changes to make sure it doesn’t waste energy flowering at the wrong time, thanks to a light-sensitive protein called phytochrome. When the plant is getting lots of light during longer days, the plant grows green segments. However, when the day-night balance switches and the plant receives 12-14 hours of darkness, it stops producing those segments and grows flower buds instead.

The problem comes when we grow Christmas cacti as houseplants, because artificial light interrupts this biological clock. And there doesn’t need to be much light to affect the blooming process: just turning on the TV or a table lamp can trigger that phytochrome to fire up. So, the simple secret to getting beautiful blooms for the holidays is to plunge your plant into darkness for 12-14 hours a day – and yes, that’s where the cardboard box comes in.

2. Prep the Container

Your Christmas cactus needs to be in total darkness for this trick to work, because it’s so ultra-sensitive to light. While some folk use a black trash bag to cover their plant, it’s far better to use a breathable material sufficiently rigid that it won’t touch the stems. A strong cardboard box works well, or I use black fabric grow-bag planters such as these fabric pots from Amazon,as my black-out shrouds.

Check the container is lightproof by upturning the container over a torch in a dark room. You’ll likely need to run over some corners of a cardboard box with duct tape such as Gorilla Tape, available from Walmart.

3. Work Out Timings

It takes 6-8 weeks of long dark nights to trigger flowering. Each Christmas cactus bloom lasts around 5-7 days, with multiple buds that open in succession meaning a plant stays in bloom for 4-6 weeks. That gives you great odds for flowers on Christmas day by beginning the dark treatments around October 15. But, depending on your holiday plans, you may want to shift this date forwards or backwards if you'd like flowering to peak a little before or after the holiday week.

4. Start the Dark Treatment

Every night, pop the box over the plant at around 6pm and remove it at 8am, being careful not to knock the stems. Setting a couple of recurring alarms on your phone as reminders is a smart move. Cut back on watering as a little drought stress is going to help trigger those blooms. While you’d normally water your Christmas cactus when the top inch of soil feels dry, now leave the top 2-3 inches of soil to dry out before watering sparsely. A moisture meter such as this long-probe soil meter from Amazon takes out any guesswork.

5. Restore Light Once Buds Appear

After 6-8 weeks, you’ll spot tiny flower buds forming on the stem tips, which is your cue to end the dark treatment and resume watering your Christmas cactus to keep the soil evenly moist.

Move the Christmas cactus to a spot that’s bright with indirect sunlight (so sunbeams don’t directly hit its stems), with a temperature that stays between 60°F to 70°F. It's easy to check the right temperature with a cheap indoor thermometer such as this from Amazon. If that doesn't fit with your holiday decor plans then a basic dimmable grow light such as this from Walmart will keep your plant happy in lower-light conditions.

Make sure this is the spot you want your cactus to sit over Christmas. These plants are so sensitive to light that moving the pot once all those buds have plumped up – and even turning the pot around so the plant receives light from a slightly different direction – can trigger all those buds to drop.

6. Gift Your Cactus a Pebble Tray

An early Christmas present of a shallow pebble tray at this point will increase the humidity around your plant, mimicking the humid environment of its native Brazilian rainforest canopy. In turn, your Christmas cactus will hold on to its buds better, and the flowers will last for longer. Stand the pot on the pebble tray, and keep topped up with water. It’s vital that the pot base sits on the pebbles and not in the water, so the roots don’t rot. You’re simply using the water to humidify the air as it evaporates.

A Bonsai pebble tray such as this from Lowe’s is ideal, or make your own with a plant saucer and pea gravel pebbles such as this Landscape Rock from The Home Depot.

And that’s it! Take advantage of this simple trick and you should not only have Christmas cactus flowers for the holidays, but a very happy and healthy plant. Now all you need to do is pot up some hyacinth bulbs for festive flowers and you're all set!

More Weekend Wins

This feature is part of the Weekend Wins series, packed with quick and easy 10-minute tasks and gardening tips and tricks that bring a big reward.

Elegant white blooms make the peace lily a beautiful houseplant but a brown flower could be a desperate cry for help. While they’re among the easiest houseplants to look after, peace lilies are incredibly dramatic, and you’ve no doubt witnessed your plant’s diva-esque leaf flop when you’ve forgotten to water it. The same goes for browning peace lily flowers. The discolored blooms are likely telling you critical care information, and as part of our Garden ER series, we’re here with straightforward solutions to help you diagnose and treat the problem, and save your plant.

There are several possible causes behind a peace lily’s brown flowers, from being a perfectly normal part of the plant’s lifecycle to a clear sign that your Spathiphyllum wallisii is in severe trouble. But don't worry – each cause leaves a trail of telltale signs, making it easy to work out what the problem with your peace lily is and take the right action to nurse your plant back to health, pronto. And the good news is that all these common problems with peace lilies are straightforward to sort.

Ready? Come on into Garden ER and let’s diagnose and treat this houseplant patient suffering from brown flowers.

1. Is the Flower More Than a Month Old?

Probable Cause: Natural Lifespan

Each peace lily bloom, called a spathe, only lasts for 4-6 weeks. So, if this discolored flower has been out for more than a month, it’s likely nearing the end of its life.

Confirm the Diagnosis

Another clue that points towards natural causes is if the sail turned green before it browned. New spathes emerge a bright white but produce chlorophyll as they age, which gradually turns them green, and they then slowly shift to brown. The more light the plant gets, the greener peace lily flowers will become, but all should show a gradual color shift rather than turning directly from white to brown.

Treatment Plan

If this sounds like what’s happened to your peace lily flower, there's nothing to worry about. Trace the stem of the brown flower down to the base of the plant and use a sharp pair of bypass pruners to cut it off as low as possible. This will stop your plant wasting nutrients on a dying flower.

2. Are the Brown Patches on the Flower Irregular?

Probable Cause: Sun Scorch

Peace lilies do best in indirect sunlight, in a bright room but where the sun doesn't shine directly on its leaves. If your plant is sitting in direct light such as on a sunny windowsill, sunbeams have likely scorched the plant and turned areas of the spathes brown.

Confirm the Diagnosis

Sun scorch creates random irregular patches on spathes, in any and many patterns, that are a dark chocolate brown. The affected areas can sink, dry out to a paper-thin lesion, or turn into a hole. The rest of the spathe may also look thin or faded, and the spike may turn brown or black. You may see bleached yellow or white patches on leaves that have been scorched by intense sunlight, too.

Treatment Plan

This issue is easily fixed: cut the damaged stem off (follow the steps explained above) and move your plant to enjoy bright indirect sunlight – a spot in a sunny room but where the sun won’t shine directly on its flowers and foliage. If you don’t have much choice, then a sheer curtain will help screen your peace lily from direct sunlight.

3. Does the Flower Just Have a Dark Outer Edge or Tip?

Probable Cause: Low Humidity

These fabulous houseplants trace their ancestry back to plants that were ground-dwellers in the warm and steamy tropical rainforests of Central and South America, so peace lilies are houseplants that naturally love humid conditions. In the dry air of our centrally heated homes and offices, peace lilies can struggle, especially in fall when the heating is first turned on, and they’ll let you know they’re not happy with spathes edged in brown.

Confirm the Diagnosis

There’s a very distinct pattern when low humidity is the cause, because the most exposed parts of the flower dry out first. So, the outer edge or very tip of the spathe will brown first, while the center stays green or white at first, and the discoloration gradually moves inwards. If lack of humidity is the problem, you’ll almost always see darker, crispy tips on the leaves too.

Treatment Plan

If you suspect low humidity is the issue, check your peace lily isn’t sitting near a radiator, air-con vent or hearth. Then set the plant pot on a shallow tray filled with pebbles and water: a Bonsai humidity tray such as this from Lowe’s is ideal. It’s important that the pot isn’t sitting in the water, as this can rot the roots; you’re simply using the water to humidify the air as it evaporates. Another option to increase humidity for a peace lily is to move it into a bathroom, or try placing it among other houseplants so it benefits from the moisture released by their leaves.

4. Does the Spathe Feel Soft and Limp?

Probable Cause: Overwatering

If the flowers are drooping and feel a little mushy, and they’re a dull light green or yellowish-brown color, it’s likely you’ve been giving your peace lily too much water. As most houseplants start to slow growth as the days shorten post-summer, a vital element of September peace lily care is to start reducing watering, so overwatering is a common cause of brown flowers at this time of the year.

Confirm the Diagnosis

Overwatering a peace lily can cause its roots to suffocate and rot, and if you slide your plant out of its pot you’ll probably see they’re a little slimy and smelly. Roots may be dark brown or black, too (healthy roots are white or light brown).

Treatment Plan

Remove as much potting soil as you can and trim off any mushy or dark-colored roots. Prune browning flower stems and any fully yellow leaves at the base, too. Wash the pot and check it has a drainage hole before repotting with fresh houseplant potting soil, choosing one with added perlite to improve drainage such as Back to the Roots Organic Indoor Potting Mix, available from Amazon.

Don’t water for a few days, and then only water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry – a simple moisture meter such as this from Amazon takes away any guesswork – or when the leaves show the very first signs of drooping.

5. Is the Spathe Paper-Thin and Pale Brown All Over?

Probable Cause: Underwatering

If the flowers feel dry and brittle to the touch, and look uniformly pale brown, your peace lily is likely severely dehydrated.

Confirm the Diagnosis

If underwatering is the cause of your peace lily's brown spathes, its leaves will be drooping dramatically, for sure. Slide the plant out of its pot and you’ll probably see that the soil is bone dry.

Treatment Plan

Because the soil has lost so much moisture, it’s likely hydrophobic, so the best way to help your underwatered peace lily is to soak the pot. Fill a tub with 2-3 inches of lukewarm water and stand the pot in this hydration bath, checking it has drainage holes first. The potting mix will suck up as much moisture as it can hold and, after about 30 minutes or when the soil surface feels damp to the touch, remove the plant from the water and let it stand for at least 10 minutes to drain.

If you caught your peace lily early enough, it’ll likely miraculously recover with a day’s rest. Trim any discolored spathes or fully yellow or brown leaves that haven’t bounced back after 24 hours, but leave foliage that’s still partially green. Going forwards, improve your peace lily watering routine. Make a moisture meter such as this from Amazon your new best friend, and water your peace lily as soon as the leaves start to droop.

6. Can You See Brown Freckles on the Spathe?

Probable Cause: Tap Water Chemicals

While peace lilies are generally very resilient plants, they are sensitive to chemicals and if you use tap water to irrigate, levels of chlorine, fluoride or other heavy minerals can build up in the soil. These will slowly poison your houseplant.

Confirm the Diagnosis

Tiny brown spots across the spathe, even when flowers first open, is a classic sign of a poisoned peace lily. Flowers may show a yellow outer rim, too, and they won’t last the usual 4-6 weeks. Because leaves push unwanted chemicals to their outer edges, foliage is likely to have crisp dark brown edges and tips, often with a distinct border between the healthy and unhealthy tissue. Look at the soil, too: a white crust may have formed on the surface or around the inside rim of the pot.

Treatment Plan

If your plant isn’t too badly affected, you can simply flush these minerals from the soil with rainwater or distilled water such as this from Walmart. If you filter your tap water, whether that’s with a filter jug like this from Walmart or a faucet filtration system like this, also from Walmart, that will work too. Stand your peace lily in a sink or bath and repeatedly pour water onto the soil and allow to drain well. From now on, only water with harvested rainwater or distilled or filtered water.

If this is a long-standing issue, chemicals will have accumulated in the top half-inch of soil so, if you see a white crust, scoop that off before flushing, then replace with fresh potting mix such as Back to the Roots Organic Indoor Potting Mix, available from Amazon.

Now you know exactly what caused the brown flowers on your peace lily and can take targeted action to resolve the situation, to enjoy fresh new pure-white blooms. Treat brown or faded peace lily flowers as useful signs that alert you that your plant is in trouble, and use them to help you look after your plant.

Whatever caused your peace lily’s brown flowers, don’t be tempted to fertilize it now. Peace lilies naturally slow their growth as winter approaches, so feeding your plant now will stress it – and if those brown spathes are due to over- or underwatering, low humidity, sun-scorch or chemical build-up, your plant is already feeling pretty stressed. The best therapy for your plant now is to give it ideal conditions to recover, and plenty of TLC.

Little Extras for a Happy, Healthy Peace Lily

More Garden ER Help

Every week, The Garden ER series brings you solutions to this season's most pressing problems for happy and healthy plants.

September sees the return of fungus gnats, but there’s a very easy, very lovely way to control them: grow a butterwort as a houseplant and it'll eat them all up. Butterworts are carnivorous plants that produce a sticky dew on their leaves to trap flies, and clumsy fungus gnats are easy prey. And that’s a real relief for us indoor gardeners right now, as the end of summer is peak time for pesky little sciarid flies that breed in houseplant soil. So, rather than reaching for yellow sticky fly traps from Amazon to control those annoying houseplant flies, grow a pretty little butterwort instead.

Butterworts – or ‘pings’ as they’re often called on account of their Latin species name, Pinguicula – are small houseplants so they’ll fit alongside your current plant collection. Leaves grow in neat rosettes with a sticky coating that gives the plant a silvery, sparkling appearance, and tiny flowers grow on slender stalks in spring or summer. Get a few basics right – all explained below – and butterworts are simple to grow, and as plants grow bigger, they'll even gobble up mosquitoes.

And really, which would you rather see on your windowsill?

Pick a Mexican Butterwort

While all butterworts are carnivorous, not all are created equal when it comes to catching fungus gnats. If you're serious about ridding your houseplants of sciarid flies, then Mexican (also called tropical) butterworts make far better living flypapers than North American butterworts. Mexican butterworts form rosettes of wide, flat leaves with lots more horizontal landing space for gnats than North American butterworts, and they’re far easier to grow, too. While North American butterworts require humid conditions to grow well and are prone to rotting, Mexican butterworts are far more resilient and will happily sit on a windowsill without much TLC.

Look for Pinguicula cyclosecta, also known as the purple-leaf butterwort on account of the lavender tone its leaves can develop, which has pretty deep violet-purple flowers. Mexican butterwort Pinguicula cyclosecta is available from the Bloomify Store via Amazon. Another Mexican butterwort is Pinguicula esseriana, also available from the Bloomify Store via Amazon. This has pale green, pink-flushed leaves and paler lilac-hued flowers. Both grow to 4 inches high and wide.

How to Care for Mexican Butterwort

Butterworts evolved to extract nutrients from trapped flies because they grow in very poor soil. Replicate this with a potting soil designed specifically for carnivorous plants such as Professional Carnivorous Plant Soil from the Leaves and Soul Store via Amazon. This is vital – use standard potting soil and your plant will probably die.

Just as essential is to irrigate your butterwort with rainwater or distilled water such as Parent’s Choice Distilled Water from Walmart. Tap water contains minerals which will build up in the potting soil and kill your butterwort. It’s best to keep the soil just-damp by standing the pot in a half-inch-deep saucer that you keep permanently topped up with water. That way, the plant will wick just the right amount of water it needs.

A Mexican butterwort is easily scorched by strong midday sun but needs a few hours of gentle sunlight to produce plenty of the fly-trapping sticky dew. Direct sunlight will also bring out the pretty pink or purple foliage colors, so choose a warm windowsill that gets morning or evening sun but is cast into shade through the central part of the day.

If you want to use your butterwort to keep shady houseplants gnat-free, a full-spectrum LED grow light will work just as effectively as sunlight. This needn’t be expensive, as this $13 programmable halo grow light from Walmart proves.

How Effective are Butterworts at Controlling Fungus Gnats?

These carnivorous plants will only deal with the adult fungus gnat population and for every sciarid fly you see flying around, there will be hundreds more larvae in the soil. To break the gnats’ lifecycle, you’ll also need to deal with the larvae and maggots that hatch from eggs laid just under the soil surface of your houseplants. Use a natural soil drench that targets larvae like FGX from Amazon. Another smart move is to reduce fungus gnats by sprinkling cassia cinnamon on houseplant soil as its anti-fungal properties help to remove the maggots’ food source in the soil.

Butterworts can enter a state of dormancy over winter, though Mexican butterworts are less quick to nap than North American species as long as they're kept warm enough. During dormancy, the rosettes shrink to the size of a coin and leaves lose their stickiness. There’s no need to worry though – just reduce watering and increase it again once you see signs of growth in spring, and your butterwort will be just fine. Because fungus gnats are most active in September and October and again in April and May, dormancy won’t affect the plant’s performance as a living fly trap.

Butterworts are also fantastic at catching whiteflies, those tiny sap-sucking bugs that can infest the undersides of houseplant leaves and quickly breed in greenhouses. Many folk grow butterworts in their greenhouses to help control whitefly, but you’ll need to make sure you shade plants from strong sunlight.

Mexican butterworts are simple to propagate by leaf pulling, so you can quickly and easily expand your carnivorous collection to give houseplants more protection from fungus gnats. Bye bye sciarid flies!

September is where a peace lily stops coasting on summer conditions. Light drops off fast indoors, and what worked in July starts working against the plant. Seven small jobs this month keep winter from getting rough.

Peace lilies are forgiving houseplants right up until conditions shift on them. September is one of those shifts. Daylight shortens and the sun drops lower, so less light reaches whatever corner the plant has been parked in all summer. Most of what goes wrong over winter traces back to a warm-weather routine that didn’t get adjusted.

None of this needs a dramatic overhaul. Solid peace lily care in fall is mostly subtraction, since the plant needs less of nearly everything it got in July. What it does need is a bit more attention to detail. The list below covers seven jobs worth handling before the furnace kicks on.

7 September Peace Lily Tasks

A few of these take around five minutes. The ones that matter most are also the easiest to skip on accident, and they get skipped every year.

1. Ease Off the Watering

The dramatic droop is what trains people to overwater. A wilting peace lily looks like an emergency, so it gets a drink it often doesn't need in September. Cooler rooms and weaker light keep the potting mix wet longer, and roots sitting in soggy media are the fastest route to rot.

Before your water your peace lily, push a finger in about two inches (5cm) before reaching for the can. If it comes out damp, wait. This long-probe moisture meter from Amazon reads deeper than a fingertip can, which helps with a heavy pot you can't lift to judge by weight.

2. Bring the Summer Vacationers In

Anything that summered on a shaded porch should come back inside before nights dip under 60F (16C). Peace lilies stall in the cold and take weeks to recover. Check the undersides of the leaves first, though. Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) and two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) hitchhike indoors constantly this time of year, and a plant that looked clean out in the shade often isn't.

Home Depot carries Garden Safe insecticidal soap cleared for indoor use, and a thorough pass before the plant crosses the threshold is cheap insurance. Evicting mealybugs from a warm living room in January is not.

3. Give it One Last Feeding

One diluted feeding early in the month, then nothing much until spring. That's the whole schedule. Growth slows way down as light fades, and fertilizer the roots can't take up builds in the mix as salt, showing up later as crispy brown leaf tips that get blamed on dry air alone. 1/4 strength is plenty.

A gentle balanced liquid like Espoma organic indoor plant food, available on Amazon, is perfectly suitable. Peace lilies were never heavy feeders, and skipping the feeding won't hurt a plant that went into fresh mix this year.

4. Wipe the Dust Off

Those broad glossy leaves collect dust, and it costs the plant more now than it did in June. Weaker autumn light has to get through whatever film has settled on the surface. Clean your houseplants with a damp cloth, with the other hand supporting the leaf from underneath so it doesn't crease, handles the job in a couple of minutes.

Skip leaf shine products, since they can clog the stomata a leaf breathes through. Lukewarm water on a soft rag works better anyway, and it doubles as a pest check.

5. Cut Off Spent Blooms and Tired Leaves

Green flowers are aging flowers. The white spathe fades to a dull chartreuse as it ages, and past that point the plant is pouring energy into something already done. To prune your peace lily, follow the stalk down to the base and cut there instead of partway up, since a stub just browns off.

Clean, sharp snips matter more than the timing here, and a Fiskars micro-tip pruning snip from the Home Depot garden aisle gets into a crowded crown without mangling what sits next to it. Yellowing outer leaves get the same treatment. One or two in fall is normal.

6. Get Ahead of the Heating Season

Furnaces are rough on tropicals. Indoor humidity can drop quite significantly once the heat starts running, and peace lilies evolved on forest floors where the air stays thick. September is the window to set something up.

Plants clustered together hold moisture around each other, and a pebble tray buys a bit more. A 4L cool mist humidifier off Walmart's shelf does the actual work, though, and anything holding the room near 50 percent keeps leaf tips from browning by December.

7. Leave the Repotting for Spring

Roots circling the drainage holes are tempting to deal with now. Resist that urge. Repotting a peace lily in fall means it has to rebuild under low light and very little active growth. Slightly cramped roots are fine, and peace lilies tend to bloom better when a bit snug in the pot. Note the pot size, then mark it down for assessment in March. The exception is a plant sitting in a mix that has broken down to sludge and stays soggy.

Peace lilies have a long history of surviving neglect, so none of this has to happen on a strict schedule. Get to it sometime this month and the plant should look considerably better come February.

Every potted plant that spent the summer outdoors has been open house for bugs… for months. Ants could tunnel in through the drainage holes. Earwigs could tuck under the rim during the day, and adult black vine weevils might have climbed up after dark. Outdoors, none of that matters as much. Move those plants back indoors, though, and it’s a different story. Nothing rains on them and nothing eats them, and a heated room never gets a winter.

While we all want to surround ourselves with lush, living color as the seasons change and we spend more time inside, we need to make sure we aren’t opening the door to uninvited guests. If we aren’t careful, bringing plants inside after summer also brings those unwanted hitchhikers along for the ride. So how does a tub of Vaseline help, you might well ask? Well, used in the right way, it stays tacky for weeks. Set yourself a barrier made of petroleum jelly, and you can intercept those bugs before they have a chance to cause problems for your wider houseplant clan.

So if you’re about to bring your beloved potted tropicals, citrus, and foliage plants back indoors as fall temperatures start to dip, you definitely need to read this first. Because without natural predators or outdoor rainfall to keep pest numbers in check, a few stray bugs can rapidly turn into a full-blown indoor infestation by mid-winter. And that little old tub of petroleum jelly is a safer, cheaper alternative to chemical sprays – and a heck of a lot more versatile than you might think. Here’s how this cheeky jelly trick can protect your houseplant family this fall.

How to Use Vaseline & How Not To!

A jar of petroleum jelly costs a few dollars, and stops crawling insects cold by acting as a clever barrier. But exactly where you place it is very important. Smear it on the wrong surface, and the plant pays for it all winter. So before revealing where you can use yours safely, here’s the one place you definitely shouldn’t use it – on the leaves. On a leaf, it would block the pores (stomata). A coated leaf cannot exchange gas or transpire, so it yellows and then drops. Stems are no better, as bark and green tissue both breathe. So please bear that in mind before unscrewing your tub.

This cheeky jelly barrier belongs on the houseplant pot or container, and whatever that container sits on. For any trailing plants like pothos that might rest against a treated rim, you will just need to angle or position the vines away from the barrier before making any applications with your petroleum jelly. Keep good plant health in mind, and you have nothing to fear. And if you don’t have a tub to hand, the good news is you can pick up a little tub of Vaseline from Amazon for just a few dollars!

Before getting stuck into these easy Vaseline barrier tricks, take a couple of minutes to check the pots. Any dust, dirt, outdoor patio grime, and dry soil will prevent the petroleum jelly from sticking cleanly to terracotta or plastic. Wipe down the container walls with a damp cloth and let the surface dry completely before spreading your jelly barrier. You need to be able to apply a thin, uniform band so the petroleum jelly stays glossy and effective without slumping or sliding off.

Once you’re happy your pots are travel-ready, you’re ready to get your Vaseline bug barriers in place. These simple barriers will protect your wider houseplant family from fungus gnats, vine weevils, earwigs, and more. Just a few moments with your Vaseline now will bring you peace of mind for a pest-free winter, and here’s how…

1. Ring Outer Pot Rims and Bases

Flightless adult insects rely on vertical surfaces to reach the lush canopy of your potted plants. Black vine weevils climb up container walls after dark to nibble on leaf edges, while earwigs nest under folded pot lips in daylight hours. So applying a continuous 1-2-inch (2.5-5cm) band of petroleum jelly around the exterior rim creates a tactile obstacle these crawling pests cannot cross. Adding a second band near the base of heavy patio containers provides an early interception point for anything climbing up from below, like ants moving up from concrete pavers.

Make sure the surface is clean first, as dust and old soil will stop the jelly sticking to terracotta. Spread it thin enough to stay glossy, as a thick smear will slide down in warmer weather. A continuous ring is the whole trick, since insects will always look for the one gap you leave behind. Once pots are inside, check this band weekly. Dust particles may eventually give pests something to walk across. Simply refresh the band by wiping away debris and applying a fresh smear as needed.

In case you were wondering if you can also use scented Vaseline (like tubs of lip balm), the answer is: with caution. Tubs like Vaseline Lip Therapy Rose Lips from Amazon are fine as a quick top-up on indoor plant pots. However, they are best avoided outdoors, as the scents might attract ants. So for any pots you are about to bring inside, stick to the original, unscented jelly types for container rims.

When to apply: Apply these jelly rim bands outdoors 2-3 days before bringing pots inside, giving you time to check for any climbers attempting to cross the sticky barrier while the plants are still on the patio.

2. Coat Plant Stand Legs and Rolling Caddies

Pests that make it indoors do not stay put. Ants, especially, will find a route from one pot to the next along a shelf edge, and a treated rim won’t stop traffic underneath. Sowbugs and stray beetles can scale plant stands, window sills, and shelving units to travel from container to container. But if you smear a thin band of your petroleum jelly around each leg of a plant stand, low down out of sight, you cut that route off.

Metal and painted wood hold jelly well. Smooth metal, powder-coated iron, and sealed resin caddies all hold petroleum jelly cleanly without staining. If you need some extra caddies, you can pick up Bloem Plastic Caddies with Wheels from The Home Depot that are great for relocating houseplants. These caddies have a smooth resin base that is jelly-compatible.

Unfinished wood, ceramic, or porous stone also absorb grease oils. Wrap a strip of painter's tape around raw wooden legs first before applying your jelly band. Always wipe up stray drips to prevent a buildup of lint and avoid slick spots in living areas.

When to apply: Coat legs and caddies outdoors on the morning of transition day, just before placing washed pots onto their stands, so crawling pests on patio paving stones are cut off before pots cross your threshold.

3. Make DIY Yellow Sticky Traps

While perimeter rings on pots successfully block crawling insects, airborne pests require a different approach. However, fungus gnats and greenhouse whiteflies both home in on yellow (hence why many commercial traps are this color). So if you cut a square of bright yellow card, coat one side in a thin layer of Vaseline, and mount it on a bamboo skewer in the pot, you’re getting one over on these resident flies. Just a 4-inch (10 cm) square of Flipped Yellow Cardstock from Amazon is perfect.

Set your DIY sticky trap low, just above the soil where the gnats fly. If there are any buggy guests lurking, this card should fill up quickly. If you need any, you can pick up Expert Grill Bamboo Skewers from Walmart for less than a dollar. Be ready to swap the card when the surface is more insect than yellow. Positioning just above the soil surface targets adult fungus gnats as they emerge from damp potting media. Just keep in mind that sticky cards intercept adult insects to break the breeding cycle. To address soil larvae, combine traps with controlled watering practices.

When to apply: Insert these coated cards into the soil immediately after bringing pots indoors, right as plants enter their new warm environment, where soil-dwelling fungus gnat adults begin to emerge and fly.

4. Surround Saucers and Pot Feet

Whatever moved into the root ball earlier in summer is a separate problem from anything crawling up the outside. The base of an outdoor container resting on patio stones or soil is a target for opportunistic pests. Ants often establish nests inside warm potting media, while earwigs and slugs may have found shelter under drainage saucers. Applying a protective ring of petroleum jelly around the outer lip of drainage saucers and the undersides of pot feet creates an effective bottom-up barrier.

Because slugs and snails glide on mucus trails, the hydrophobic nature of petroleum jelly disrupts their foot flow, causing them to turn away. However, you should only apply jelly to the outer saucer lips and rims and container support feet. Never slather Vaseline directly across the open drainage hole of the pot itself. Keep drainage holes clear to maintain proper water runoff and prevent soil waterlogging.

If you’re looking for pot feet, you can get versatile Lemon Road Pot Feet from Amazon that work on indoor tile as well as outdoor patios. Cat lovers will adore the Lemon Road Cat Pot Feet, also from Amazon, for a real talking point that also helps with drainage and inobtrusive jelly applications.

When to apply: Apply your petroleum jelly to saucer edges and pot feet while pots are still outside being prepped. This prevents hidden patio slugs, earwigs, and ants from hitching a ride into your home when you lift containers to move them.

5. Establish a Quarantine Zone

Microscopic pest eggs or scale crawlers can hide inside dense foliage. Establishing a dedicated 3-4-week indoor quarantine zone prevents new arrivals contaminating your established indoor plants. You can enhance this holding area by applying a band of Vaseline around the perimeter legs or tray edges of your quarantine zone (this could be a table, sideboard, or other specially cleared space).

This quarantine is often skipped when houseplant lovers bring their babies inside, but it really can make a massive difference to the future health of all your indoor plants, so this is one space where it pays to get busy with the jelly (sensibly, of course). This containment area makes it easier to inspect leaf undersides and stem joints, and it’s a good idea to do this weekly with a magnifying glass. If scale or spider mites emerge, the Vaseline perimeter prevents them from migrating to neighboring shelves, allowing you to treat isolated plants cleanly without risking your entire collection. Combine with a foliar spray of diluted neem, such as Captain Jack’s Neem Max Concentrate from Walmart, to keep any pest outbreak under control.

When to apply: Set up your petroleum jelly perimeter band immediately upon bringing plants inside, ensuring isolated plants remain sealed off for their entire 3-4-week holding period.

Essential Pre-Jelly Checks

Before getting stuck into these petroleum jelly barriers, make sure you have given your pots a proper inspection, soak and clean. Any time you spend on this now will save you weeks of pain trying to manage a bigger pest problem later. Slide the plant out of its pot and check the outside of the root ball. Look for pale C-shaped weevil grubs, ant galleries, or a slug wedged against a drainage hole. Repot any plants that look badly colonized into fresh potting soil.

Then fill a bucket with lukewarm water and lower each pot until the water sits an inch (2.5 cm) below the rim. Leave for 15 minutes. Any ants will float out of the drainage holes, along with earwigs and anything else sheltering down there. Let the pot drain fully in the sun. Rinse the foliage while the plant is outside. A hose on a moderate setting can knock off twospotted spider mites and loose aphids, and the undersides of the leaves are where to aim. Let the foliage dry before any plant goes inside.

Do this, combined with your petroleum jelly barriers, and you’ll hopefully foil any uninvited guests trying to chance their way through your front door. Plants will stay clean, and nobody will spend February picking fungus gnats out of a coffee cup.

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Hyacinth blooms are a glorious way to scent your home for the holidays and for flowers in December, you need to start bulbs in September. Getting organised early is the only tricky part of growing hyacinth bulbs – the rest is a breeze and boy, it's worth the effort to enjoy fresh, fragrant flowers in the depths of winter.

In bud, a hyacinth's fragrance is fresh and green like a sunny spring day. As the flowers open, the aroma skips straight to high summer, intensely floral and sweetly intoxicating with subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Just one hyacinth can scent an entire room and combine beautifully with all the nostalgic aromas of Christmas cooking, adding unforgettable fragrance to your home through the holidays. So ditch the Christmas scented candles and grow some plant-based fragrance instead.

Here’s what to do, step by straightforward step, to get great results when forcing hyacinth bulbs. And make plenty, as these must-have holiday decor plants make lovely little gifts to give to friends and family.

How to Force Hyacinth Bulbs for Christmas

1. Buy Prepared Bulbs

Left to their own devices, hyacinths are spring-flowering bulbs that naturally bloom between March and May. To enjoy flowers in December, you need to buy bulbs that have been harvested early and heat-treated to trick them into blooming early. These will be clearly marked as ‘prepared’ bulbs. In September, you’ll find prepared hyacinth bulbs for forcing at your local garden center or nursery, and they're usually stocked by Walmart and Lowe’s.

You can plant standard hyacinth bulbs and trick them into growing early, but they’ll typically only grow leaves and are unlikely to flower.

2. Calculate the Timeline

To work out when to plant hyacinth bulbs, work back from the date you want flowers. As a general rule, hyacinth flowers last for 2-3 weeks, giving you a good window, and prepared bulbs take 12-14 weeks to flower. Some varieties take a little less – ‘Anna Marie’ typically blooms in 10 weeks – so check the packaging or online description. Heat and light levels will also affect the process, so it’s a smart idea to stagger planting over a couple of weeks. Not only does this increase the odds of timing holiday flowers just right, plants at multiple development stages adds to the fragrance.

3. Decide if You Want to Grow in Water or Soil

You can force Christmas hyacinths in water or potting soil, and your choice isn’t just down to aesthetics.

If you’re planning on throwing your bulbs once they’re done flowering, growing them in water is super-stylish and elegant. It's hygienic, too, if you’ll be using the living blooms as table decorations, and the visible roots adding another layer of interest. If you plan to plant your hyacinths outdoors for border blooms year after year, though, it’s best to grow them in soil.

In water, you’ll need glass forcing vases such as these from Amazon, with a narrower waist that holds bulbs above the water line. You can also force hyacinth bulbs in any shallow glass vase like this from Amazon, half-filled with pebbles to keep the bulbs from rotting in the water. Using pebbles also means you can use old mason jars.

To grow bulbs in soil, you need excellent drainage so use a potting mix intended for cacti and succulents like Hoffman Organic Cactus & Succulent Soil Mix, available from Walmart, or coco coir such as these Organic Coco Coir Pellets from Amazon. Any planter is fine as long as it’s twice as deep as the bulbs are high. A drainage hole isn’t essential, so many folk choose to use pretty bowls or upcycled tins as planters.

4. Set the Bulbs

The outer skin of hyacinth bulbs contains microscopic sharp calcium oxalate crystals, so always wear gloves to handle them.

In soil, first dampen the potting mix and add a layer to the base of the container. Place the flat base of the bulbs on the soil so their pointed ends are uppermost. As long as the bulbs don’t touch each other or the side of the planter, you can pack them in closely. Tuck more just-moist compost around the bulbs, leaving the ‘nose’ or the top quarter of the bulbs exposed.

In water, fill your vase or container of pebbles up with water to a level where it will sit just under the bulb. The bulb shouldn’t touch the water but the gap should only be ⅛–¼ inch. Place the bulb, pointed end up, in the vase cradle or on the pebbles.

5. Store in a Cool, Dark Place

Stand in a cool, dark but frost-free shed or garage, putting pots or vases in black polythene bags to keep out the light if needs be, for 10-12 weeks. The ideal temperature will be 42-48°F. Check bulbs regularly, topping up the water so the level says just beneath the bulb base in a glass vase or so the soil is just-moist in a pot. You’ll soon spot root growth in vases and, by December, you should see shoots coming from the top of the bulb in both vases and pots. Don't be alarmed that they're yellow – that results from the lack of light and leaves will soon green up.

6. Move the Bulbs Indoors

When those top shoots are around 2 inches high, carefully move your vases or pots indoors. Don’t place them into a hot room or bright sunlight straight away or the shock may stop the bulbs flowering. Instead, put them in a cool room out of direct sunlight – the back of a north-facing room is ideal. Once the leaves have greened up, gradually shift them into warmer, sunnier conditions.

Keep the water topped up as before, but there’s no need to feed the bulbs. Giving the pot or vase a quarter-turn every couple of days will keep the stems growing straight up, as hyacinths have a tendency to lean towards the light, when the top-heavy stems will need staking.

7. Control the Blooming Period

The warmer and lighter the conditions, the faster the bulbs will flower, allowing you to influence when they bloom and get the timing just right for the holidays. To slow blooming down, move hyacinths to a cool spot that falls to 50-60°F at night, out of direct sunlight. Do make sure the plant still gets plenty of indirect light, though, or the stem will stretch and weaken as it searches for more sunshine.

The flowers at the base of the cluster will open first, with blooming progressing upwards over a week to 10 days. Once blooms begin to open, keeping your plant away from hot radiators and fires and direct sun will steady the process and you can expect your hyacinth to last in full flower for a couple of weeks.

And there you have it, beautiful blooms for the holidays, ready to decorate with whatever you fancy to fit in with your Christmas decor.

How to Replant a Forced Hyacinth Outdoors

If you want to plant your soil-grown hyacinth outside once it’s done blooming, you’ll need to help it replace energy stores in its bulb. Keep the plant on a warm, sunny windowsill and keep it watered, cutting off the flower spike at the base once it fades to stop it wasting energy on seed production. It will take around two months for the foliage to wither, and don’t be tempted to cut them off or braid them, because the plant needs all its leafy solar panels to generate energy.

Gradually reduce watering and once the leaves are fully brown, remove the bulb from the pot, brush off any soil and pull or cut off the foliage. Leave to air dry in a warm but shady spot for a week, then once fully dry pop the bulb into a brown paper bag and store in a cool, dark, dry spot. Plant in October at a depth of two or three times the height of the bulb, and expect flowers next spring.

A summer spent outdoors on a shaded patio or porch can be amazing for certain houseplants, most of which are tropical plants that thrive in heat and humidity. Soaking up the fresh air, natural moisture, warm breezes, and filtered sunlight can often trigger lush new growth. But in September, that outdoor haven can become a bit more risky. These tropical species like warm, consistent conditions, and sudden shifts in temperature can cause issues long before fall frost arrives.

Leaving these sensitive houseplants outside during sudden night-temperature dips can trigger rapid leaf drop, root rot, and severe cold shock. So this month is a time to transition key summering houseplants indoors to preserve all the vibrant momentum your plants gained over the summer. Sensible transitions now can protect against undue plant stress. This is also a good chance to get on top of any outdoor pests that might be looking to hitchhike indoors.

If you’re not careful, you could be bringing spider mites, scale, and mealybugs directly into your indoor spaces. By recognizing which tender species require a timely shift indoors, and taking a few quick steps to clean foliage and adjust soil moisture, you’ll protect your houseplant family and ensure they flourish through winter. Here are the key houseplants you need to move indoors now, and the easy ways to keep them clean and safe at the end of the summer holidays.

When the Houseplant Holiday is Over

There isn’t a single, universal date for bringing houseplants indoors for the winter. When you bring them in depends on your growing zone, local weather, exposure, and the types of plants you have. One of the best ways to determine when to make the transition is to keep an eye on nighttime temperatures. Many of your tropical houseplants will start to get uncomfortable when nighttime temps reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) consistently. Some are even more sensitive to cold and should be brought in before the nights get this chilly.

The key to a successful fall houseplant migration is tracking nighttime minimums rather than daytime highs. While a sunny September afternoon might feel warm, a sharp drop to 50°F (10°C) at night triggers the plants' roots to enter survival mode. Extremely tender varieties will be susceptible the moment nighttime forecasts consistently touch 55-60°F (13-16°C). Delaying the transition leaves them vulnerable to chill damage, which manifests weeks later as black leaf margins, soft stems, or foliage collapse. If you’re not sure, the highly rated Serundo Digital Thermometer from Amazon can help you determine temperature and humidity levels outside.

Of course, indoor environments can present lower light levels, dry forced-air heating, and reduced airflow. To prevent severe acclimation shock, you need to ease your houseplants inside over a 7-10-day buffer window. For the best houseplant care at the end of summer, start by moving your designated potted travelers to a deeply shaded porch spot for a few days. This will help to get them used to lower light. You can then bring them indoors for the night, while leaving them out during warm days.

Before bringing any container past your threshold, you also need to perform a thorough pest inspection for each plant. Hose down foliage to dislodge hitchhikers, treat the soil with an organic neem drench, and inspect leaf undersides under high magnification so hitchhiking pests don't invade your home. To get a closer look under the leaves, use a loupe or pocket magnifier. The Jarlink 60X Illuminated Loupe Magnifier from Amazon is terrific value and gives crisp detail to flag up microscopic webs and crawlers before bringing pots indoors. Make this move as early in September as you can, focusing on these tender plants first…

1. Fiddle Leaf Fig

Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) is a popular but tricky houseplant. It’s a tropical native and strongly dislikes both cold temperatures and sudden temperature changes. Summer outside can trigger a lot of new growth, but cold nights can lead to leaf drop due to stress. While a summer outdoors often pushes out large, glossy fiddle-shaped leaves, cold September drafts below 55°F (13°C) shock the root system. This stress causes the tree to jettison its lower foliage, leaving you with a sparse, leggy trunk.

This houseplant thrives in constant warmth and high humidity, so its return indoors is a high-stakes task. Move your fig inside early in the month (well before nighttime temperatures are consistently 50°F). Transition it into a spot that receives 6-8 hours of bright, indirect sunlight near an east or south-facing window, with no drafts or vents. Once indoors, give your fig a quarter-turn every few days, so all sides receive balanced light, preventing the trunk from leaning awkwardly toward the window.

Because indoor light is less intense than outdoor sun, soil dries out more slowly. Resist the urge to overwater: wait until the top 2-3 inches (8cm) of potting soil are dry to the touch before watering thoroughly. And remember to clean large leaf surfaces using Southside Neem Oil Houseplant Wipes from Amazon, which combine a layer of pest protection with impressive cleaning and instant sheen.

2. Bird of Paradise

Birds of paradise (Strelitzia spp.) are gorgeous flowering tropical plants that thrive in warm weather and can really put out a lot of new growth on a summer outdoor holiday. With their massive, banana-like leaves and bold silhouettes, they are built for high heat and brilliant sunlight. The right summer placement outside will allow them to stock up generous energy reserves for those distinctive blooms. But cool nights will slow that growth and stress the new foliage long before the first frost.

Bring your bird of paradise inside before the nights become cooler than 55°F (13°C) and place it in the brightest window you have to make the transition easier. Ideally, this needs to be directly in front of an unshaded south or west-facing window. The broad paddle leaves are likely coated in dust, hard water deposits, and spider mites. So give these leaves a good clean before moving day with a soft cloth and warm water or a diluted neem spray. For an extra treat, add a mild drench of Arber Organic Bio-Protectant Concentrate from Walmart to protect against fungal rots.

3. Rex Begonia

Begonia rex-cultorum hybrids, also known as Rex begonias, are gorgeous plants known for their striking foliage. Loved for their swirls of metallics, magentas, and rich emeralds, Rex begonias are among the most decorative yet cold-sensitive foliage plants. These pretty leaves are especially susceptible to cold damage, which can cause leaf margins to turn translucent, crisp, or drop off entirely. So bring yours indoors as temperatures start to drop to around 55°F (13°C).

Cool damp weather creates ideal conditions for powdery mildew to take hold on their textured surfaces, which is another great reason to bring these plants indoors. Place them in a spot indoors with bright but indirect light (not your sunniest window which can scorch their rich pigments). Allow the top inch of soil to dry between waterings and check moisture levels if you’re not sure. The Xlux Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon is a steal and works across every plant you own (just keep it clean).

4. Calathea

Calathea (classified under Goeppertia) is a group of plants prized for their multi-hued and striped leaves. Also known as prayer plants, zebra plants, and peacock plants, these striped beauties have a bit of a reputation as being divas, due to their precise environmental requirements. They require high humidity and steady warmth, and they don’t respond well to environmental changes. They are also vulnerable to nighttime temperatures that dip sharply to 60°F (16°C), which can cause leaf curling, crisp brown tips, and stem collapse.

Transition your calathea back inside over 7-10 days, once nighttime temperatures outside are 55-60°F (13-16°C). Choose a spot indoors that has bright but indirect light, far from drafts, vents or AC units. Tap water containing high chlorine or fluoride levels can cause leaf tips to turn brown, so hydrate with distilled or filtered water. Running a cool-mist humidifier can also ease the transition. For a budget humidity option, the Pure Enrichment MistAire Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier from Target is compact and great for small spaces.

5. Boston Fern

Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) is a classic summer porch plant, with dense, frilly fronds. They make awesome summer porch staples, tumbling out of hanging baskets in feathery green cascades. However, their lush growth relies heavily on high summer humidity and steady airflow. As September brings cooler nights below 55°F (13°C), these ferns stop growing and prepare to shed fronds. Bringing them indoors before cool weather sets in will preserve their vibrant color, though you should prepare for some minor leaf shedding as they adapt to drier indoor air.

Bring these ferns inside before the nights are consistently cool. Be sure to check for pests before making the transition. Give the pot a firm shake, then spray with a gentle hose stream to wash away dust, whiteflies, and scale. Trim yellowed or bare fronds back to the crown. Then give yours a spot with bright, indirect light and good humidity: a large bathroom window or near a kitchen sink is ideal. For a light mineral boost that can help them adapt in peace, apply a diluted seaweed tonic such as Bloom City Organic Liquid Seaweed & Kelp Fertilizer from Walmart. A gentle soil soak strengthens delicate fern roots and improves frond retention indoors.

6. Tropical Hibiscus

Tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) plants thrive outdoors in summer, blooming abundantly and putting out new green growth. With fiery, tropical blooms that draw hummingbirds all summer, it makes a dramatic outdoor patio centerpiece. But while some hibiscus plants are hardy, the tropical hibiscus cannot tolerate cold temperatures. Exposure to night temps below 55°F (13°C) can trigger leaf yellowing and bud drop. Bring your potted hibiscus indoors early in September, while night air is still mild, so it can settle before winter arrives.

Bring it indoors while temperatures are mild, about 60°F (16°C) at night. Your tropical hibiscus will fare best with a spot at your sunniest window. Where indoor light is limited, add an LED grow light for 10-12 hours daily. If you are going to invest in full spectrum lighting, get something that offers at least 35W, like the SANSI 35W Wall Mounted LED Plant Lights from Amazon to supply sun-hungry hibiscus trees with the light intensity they need. These plants can get large in summer, so give it a light trim, but avoid aggressive pruning during this stressful transition.

7. Anthurium

Anthurium plants (Anthurium spp.), also known as flamingo flowers, are loved for their glossy spathes and long-lasting reds and pinks. As a houseplant, they can bloom all year, and they really appreciate some time outdoors to soak up the warm, humid conditions. Outdoor summering encourages robust root systems and continuous flowering. However, when nighttime temperatures fall to 60°F (16°C), growth halts, leaves turn yellow, and emerging flower buds can abort. So you should bring yours indoors as soon as late-summer weather begins to turn cool.

Clean foliage surfaces with a damp cloth to dislodge hitchhiking scale insects or aphids before moving in. Then place your anthurium wherever it will receive bright, indirect light, such as near an east or curtained west-facing window. Avoid cold drafts and harsh afternoon sun that can scorch those glossy spathes. Allow the top 50% of the potting medium to dry out between waterings. Top-dress with a little epiphytic potting mix such as Miracle-Gro Coarse Potting Mix from Amazon.

Houseplant Cleaning Essentials

Transitioning your tropical houseplants indoors for autumn requires a few targeted plant care products and protective accessories. This collection of essential supplies will help you carry out your September plant move with total confidence, eliminating pests, supporting healthy roots, and keeping foliage lush and vibrant through the winter months ahead.

Timing is everything when transitioning sensitive tropical plants indoors, but success relies on patience and timing. Always ease your plants inside over several days, so they aren't shocked by sudden shifts in light and humidity. Before moving a single container past your threshold, perform a thorough pest inspection, wash off foliage, and treat the soil to protect your wider houseplant family.

Select indoor locations based on each plant's needs, placing sun-lovers near bright windows and delicate foliage species in humid, shaded spots. Remember, the earlier you begin the transition process, the easier it will be for your plants to settle in and maintain their lush beauty all winter long.

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Lots of us love houseplants but – whisper it! – lots of us are pretty good at failing to keep them alive, so would we be better off with a LEGO plant built of plastic bricks? LEGO kicked off its Botanical Collection in January 2021 with a bonsai tree and has grown it to over 50 sets of bouquets and potted plants. With the current focus on leafy houseplants from golden pothos to baby pilea, maybe it's time for us serial houseplant killers to swap potting soil and stems for tiny construction blocks.

According to the Danish brickmaker, the Botanicals range is 'perfect for the not-so-green-thumbed’. As a regular holder of houseplant funerals, I decided to find out what would be best, a bona fide plant or its brick equivalent.

1. Golden Pothos

Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants to keep alive, its waxy heart-shaped leaves on trailing vines only needing the occasional watering. Forget to give it a drink for a week or three and this forgiving plant will bounce back quickly. It tolerates lower-light rooms, and golden pothos is just as resilient as its all-green cousin – growing houseplants just doesn't get any less difficult than this.

Though pothos leaves are toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, this plant is usually displayed hanging so, lovely as the LEGO plant is, I reckon the real thing wins this first round.

2. Peace Lily

A little more demanding is the peace lily, needing 2-3 cups of water every week and boy, will you know about it if you forget. With a dramatic flounce and flop of its leaves, this houseplant is a diva when it comes to dry soil, though quickly perks up once moisture is restored.

Peace lilies do have the most beautifully elegant white flowers but if you want to enjoy them, you’ll need to keep it away from cold drafts and give it consistent temperatures between 60 and 70°F and bright, indirect light. Lots of people love the peace lily for its drama-queen persnickety personality but I’m voting for the no-nonsense LEGO version in this second round.

3. Orchid

There’s no doubt that orchids are heartstoppingly beautiful with their arching stems of blooms and glossy green leaves, but are they easy to grow? Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) are the most forgiving and bloom most reliably, and are surprisingly straightforward to look after – as long as you learn the basics.

Pot this tropical plant up in a loose bark mix instead of potting mix, give it moist air by displaying it in a bathroom or standing its pot on a pebble tray of water, and ensure it gets indirect sunlight, and it’ll be just fine. But is it worth the faff? If you’re a dedicated orchid lover, absolutely. But if you’re not, the LEGO orchid brings joy without all the finely-tuned care programme, so bricks win round three.

4. Poinsettia

Not just for Christmas, poinsettia makes a cheery houseplant from fall to spring, when it drops its leaves and you prune the stems. So although it’s not much more than a stick over summer, if you remember to occasionally water it and then in autumn, stimulate new growth by giving the plant a daily dose of 14-16 of darkness, it returns for another flamboyant show.

Other than that, poinsettia is a cinch to look after but what makes having the real deal is the ornamental varieties which offer dreamy white, pink or white-speckled bracts as well as plain red. Sorry LEGO poinsettia, you can’t compete!

5. Mini Houseplants

Baby houseplants are irresistible, whether they’re made of plastic bricks or real-life petite stems and leaves. LEGO’s offering of nine mini arid, tropical and carnivorous plants gives great variety from pitcher plants to cacti and anthurium, and I’m awarding extra points for the terracotta-esque pots and that some bricks are made of plant-based plastic, sourced from sugar cane.

Even though nurturing baby houseplants brings huge satisfaction, and this set are all low-maintenance varieties that require minimal care, there will inevitably be one sad compost-heap funeral of the most needy. Consequently, round 5 puts the bijou bricks on the podium.

6. Bonsai Tree

While the baby houseplants were cute, the charm of a petite tree is off the scale, whether that’s brick-built in hours or trained over decades. While the LEGO Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree impresses with that sculptural trunk and fiery leaves, the temptation of growing your own bonsai tree from seed is too strong for any gardener to resist.

Goodness knows if it will take a century or more to grow your own real-life red maple in bonsai form to the same proportions of the LEGO tree, but it sure will be fun trying. Round 6 goes to the real-deal one-day tree, rather than the tree that gets made in one day.

7. Chinese Money Plant

Smiling pots and an even cheerier pricetag make the LEGO Pilea peperomioides and dracaena virtually irresistible, but the same can be said for the plant itself. The Chinese money plant is one of the most low-maintenance houseplants you can grow, it’s pretty drought tolerant and the round coin-shaped leaves are wonderfully quirky. All you need to remember is to rotate the pot every few weeks to stop the plant leaning as it grows quickly.

Sealing the deal, though, is the plant’s habit of producing baby plantlets around its base, earning it the nickname of friendship plant as you can gift these. Its LEGO partner in crime, dracaena (available from Plant Addicts) is just as unkillable in real life, handing round 7 to the actual houseplants.

The Final Verdict

And there you have it! It was a close competition but real houseplants pipped the LEGO Botanicals to the post in the closing seconds. I like the idea of mixing brick-built pot plants with shelf displays of real leaves though, and the sight of those handsome LEGO plants might just remind me to water my houseplants more regularly.

By mid-August, many backyards are showing the strains of summer displays that are edging past their best (if they haven’t already started to get decidedly crinkly around the edges!). Grass might be starting to crunch underfoot, tomato leaves are curling by noon, and once-vibrant summer annuals are beginning to look ratty and scorched. But while the great outdoors might not always be looking so great as summer winds down, there is a place where things can quickly be much lusher.

While August leaves many yards brown and brittle, indoors the picture is reversed. Pick the right leafy companions for your indoors retreat, and they remain vital and glossy through late-summer ravages, and well beyond. These resilient houseplants hit their stride as summer ends, holding color and shape while outdoor beds are winding down for the season. So rather than fighting a losing battle against the heat outside, why not turn your focus indoors and create a lush, tranquil sanctuary?

Many heat-loving tropical houseplants use these long daylight hours and warm ambient room temperatures to unfurl fresh growth and massive, glossy leaves. These low-maintenance houseplants love this warm air and extended daylight, not to mention humidity levels that would flatten a peony. Current conditions make them reassuringly low maintenance. And far from being background fillers, they hold their space with lush drama, metallic leaf swirls, outstanding structure, and even flowers. So skip the crispy yard, come indoors, and settle into a stress-free retreat, surrounded by gorgeous plants that look luxe way past summer’s end.

Grow Luxe, Low-Maintenance Plants

Nearly everything on this list shares the same short set of requirements, so these lush beauties really are low maintenance. Before setting up your indoor leafy retreat, just give some thought to the pot and the immediate environment. Pot drainage is critical. A pot without a hole is a slow death sentence in warm weather, as roots will risk sitting in water. A gritty mix with perlite or bark worked through it is best for drainage and root health, so be sure to add some to your potting soil of choice. A dedicated formula like Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix for Tropicals, available from Amazon, comes blended with pine bark and lava rock for superior drainage.

Watering trips up more people in summer than in any other season. Heat dries the top of the pot quickly, but the lower half can stay saturated, so surface dryness is a poor indication. Pushing a finger down a couple of inches (5cm) gives a truer reading, or a dedicated soil meter like the Expert Gardener Digital Soil Meter from Walmart, which is super-easy to use and includes light readings. A ceiling fan on its low setting can also discourage fungus gnats and powdery mildew once the air turns muggy.

Light is the other big consideration to factor in before you expand your indoor plant family. While your local USDA hardiness zone dictates when outdoor temperatures drop in fall, indoor environments need to balance any magnifying window light and any dry airflow from air conditioning units. Cold AC blasts can shock tropical foliage, causing leaf drop or browned leaf margins. So position your plants out of drafts, and pull sensitive foliage back a few feet from south or west-facing windows. This will reduce the risk of shock or scorch. So now to meet the indoor stars of the show…

1. Pothos

Few people put pothos (Epipremnum aureum) at the top of a list for excitement. But it earns this position on merit for its low-maintenance credentials. It is virtually indestructible, and can flourish in a west-facing hallway or even a bathroom with one small window. Pothos even holds up in a dim corner where nothing else establishes. Those epic trailing vines can reach 6 feet (1.8m) indoors in just a couple of seasons.

For striking visual variety, there are some cool variegated varieties such as Marble Queen or vibrant Neon. For ultra low maintenance with vibrant gold star credentials, Costa Farms Golden Pothos Plants from Walmart quickly fills a vertical space with lush, full color. While tolerant of low humidity, you’ll find your pothos plant produces larger leaves when provided a support like a moss pole. Water once the top 2 inches (5cm) go dry: weekly through August, closer to every other week by November. Just note that the foliage is toxic to cats and dogs if chewed, so keep out of harm’s way.

2. Rex Begonia

Foliage this striking usually comes at a cost. But Rex begonia varieties (Begonia rex) are very easygoing in the right indoor setting, particularly as summer winds down outdoors. Its silver and plum leaves carry gorgeous metallic patterns and swirls that do the work of a flowering plant with little of the expectation. For an exquisite pink, green, and burgundy foliage swirl, buy BubbleBlooms Harmony Foliage Harmony’s Ghost Whisperer from Amazon. Just keep this plant clear of direct sun.

Bright indirect light suits August dwelling, maybe a few feet back from an east window indoors. Water at the soil line instead of over the top, as wet foliage in warm still air can invite powdery mildew. A light spritz with Arber Organic Bio-Fungicide Concentrate from Walmart is a great way to protect velvety begonia leaves in summer. Grouping these metallic darlings with other tropicals helps to keep ambient humidity high.

3. ZZ Plant

The ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) is the king of low-maintenance indoor greenery, holding up in low-light hallways where other plants eventually fail. Two weeks without water is no big deal for the ZZ, which stores moisture in thick rhizomes. So your August routine will amount to a deep soak every 2-3 weeks and little else. ZZ copes with low light, though growth accelerates in bright indirect conditions, sending up new spears through the warm stretch.

Arching stems carry glossy leaflets that look constantly polished. Standard green ZZ varieties are effortlessly glossy, and for something even more luxe, the Black Raven ZZ Plant from Plant Addicts develops lush near-black foliage. Overwatering is the one real threat for your ZZ. Yellowing lower leaves usually indicate too much water rather than too little. Just use a well-draining cactus or succulent soil mix, and ensure the pot has ample bottom drainage holes to prevent rhizome rot.

4. BIrd of Paradise

Scale is the main draw with these tropical plants, which are well suited to indoor living as summer ends. Birds of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) send up paddle leaves on long stalks and reach 3-5 feet (0.9-1.5m) indoors, turning a bare corner into a focal point. With huge, banana-like leaves, it brings tropical grandeur and even flowers in orange or white. If you can’t decide which color flower to choose from, the Fam Plants Store Birds of Paradise Plant Bundle from Amazon includes two of each.

A summer outdoors on a bright patio speeds growth noticeably, though the indoor transition needs easing in over a week or so. Adding a shade cloth, such as the Coolaroo 70% UV Block Shade Cloth from The Home Depot, over the patio for the first few days can prevent scorch. Just give this tropical beauty plenty of bright, direct sunlight. It also appreciates having its massive leaf blades wiped to keep them lush and healthy. Don’t panic if you see splits in older leaves, as these are normal and help the plant handle wind in its native habitat.

5. Snake Plant

Durability is the entire pitch with this low-maintenance plant. Snake plants (Dracaena trifasciata) throw up stiff, upright leaves that hold their own water reserves, and a photosynthetic quirk lets the plant take in carbon dioxide overnight instead of during the day. Renowned as one of the easiest houseplants in existence, its sword-like leaves feature striking horizontal banding and yellow margins. It thrives in almost any lighting condition, from dim corners to bright sun.

Watering can drop to roughly once a month even now. Stronger light produces sharper banding, though a north window will do fine. Always allow the soil to dry out between waterings. When in doubt, wait another week! If you fancy a compact form for smaller spaces that grows outward, try the Starfish Snake Plant from Plant Addicts with its thick leaves. For a taller variety with gold variegations, Gold Flame Snake Plant, also from Plant Addicts, is the definition of low maintenance.

6. Ponytail Palm

Featuring a distinctive swollen trunk base (called a caudex) topped with a fountain of long, cascading leaves, the ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) is like a living desert sculpture. That swollen bulb at the base is a water reservoir, hence a big reason why it is so undemanding. Word to the wise, though: it isn’t really a palm, despite the name. Ponytail Palm from Perfect Plants is a great option for showcasing on a coffee table or windowsill, and you can currently get 18% off.

Full sun suits this easygoing houseplant – and that includes a genuinely hot windowsill that would cook a fern. Watering every few weeks is basically all the plant care required, along with some fast-draining succulent soil. One further point in its favor is that the ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats and dogs, which puts this playful house-dweller ahead of much of this list for growers with a pet inclined to chew.

7. Wax Plant (Hoya)

Clusters of waxy little stars sit in a near-perfect dome, heavily scented after dark. And these are just a couple of the charms of this easygoing summer houseplant, with as many names as waxy star blooms! The wax plant (Hoya carnosa), native to East Asia and Australia, is also known as the Hindu rope plant, porcelain flower plant, and the Krinkle Kurl (depending on variety). Rope Plant Hoyas from Plant Addicts are perfect for an indoor spot with bright indirect light.

This plant reaches peak bloom around late summer, so this is the perfect time to set one up. The main care tip is simple: never cut off the spent flower stalk. Those stalks, called peduncles, are permanent, and the plant reflowers from the same point year after year. Beyond that, this plant just needs bright indirect light and a container on the small side (they thrive when kept slightly root-bound). Train vining stems up a plant trellis, like the WellSign Honeycomb Potted Plant Trellis from Amazon, or just let them spill over a hanging basket to display their pretty form.

8. Croton

For a plant that combines an easy gloss factor with dazzling colors, look no further! Here is the plant that earns the word shine. Croton (Codiaeum variegatum) carries foliage streaked in red and gold, with deep oranges running through older growth, and those colors intensify under strong light. Indeed, your croton craves high light levels, so place it near a sun-drenched window for the best displays. For a reliable croton with the iconic neon hues, Nature’s Way Farms Croton Petra from Walmart is a lush statement piece that requires little ongoing care.

Aim for temperatures around 60-85°F (16-29°C) for a happy croton. It doesn’t like being moved around, especially near an AC vent. A tabletop humidifier, like the Levoit Classic300 Humidifier from Amazon, keeps the edges from crisping once indoor air dries out. Apart from that, your croton is unfussy. Just settle it into a bright, stable spot now, protect it from drafts, and the color will retain its dazzle long after the beds outside have finished for the year.

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The end of summer is a transition period for many plants, including your potted peace lily. It’s still the growing season, but temperature shifts, dry indoor air, and shifting sunlight angles can all impact your plant as it edges toward fall and the dormant season. August peace lily care aims to focus on this transition and help the plant stay healthy as it prepares for a slowdown in growth.

If you’ve noticed your peace lily looking a little deflated in ways that go beyond the usual wail for a watering, this is the time to get on top of some easy interventions before things change in earnest. It’s a vital time for action, since this is still a phase of growth for your plant. This monthly pitstop is your way of reassuring your peace lily after weeks of continuous air conditioning and intense sun angles. That way, it will keep growing (and looking gorgeous) for longer.

These simple monthly jobs will take minutes, but will ensure that your plant flourishes in high summer and keeps developing lush and glossy leaves and pristine white spathes well into fall. Make sure your peace lily is primed for fresh growth and bushy beauty even as the seasons start to shift. Not only will this help yours look better now, but it will also mean it is as healthy as possible going into spring.

Quick Peace Lily Tasks in August

The great news is that peace lily care isn’t too demanding this month. It’s mostly about starting to adjust a few of your basic summer approaches, checking in with appearance and environmental shifts, and getting your houseplant ready for the change in seasons. These simple checks and tasks don’t take long, but they will keep your peace lily healthy and thriving in the transition to a gentler, slower season, and promote better growth once your plant is on the other side of winter.

Take a couple of minutes first to assess your plant's position. Whether your peace lily spent the summer in a sleepy corner indoors, or enjoying a little holiday on a shaded porch in USDA hardiness zones 10-11, this month is where warmth and light will shift. Indoor air conditioning can strip ambient humidity in ways that are easier to miss when we are focused on the warmth outside. Meanwhile, peace lilies that have been outdoors must be inspected before being moved inside as nights cool down.

It’s a good idea to check the soil moisture level and the texture of your potting mix before trying these tasks. If your soil is nutrient-deprived or compacted, it is going to struggle with any feeds or treatments, and will be less able to support fresh spathes (that’s those gorgeous white blooms, to you and me!). For easy, battery-free readings, the XLUX Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon is excellent, especially for deep containers, and can also be used with your outdoor plants.

If you spot that water pools on top or runs straight down the inside edge of the pot without soaking in, hydrophobic peat compaction may have taken hold. That soil meter probe can help verify whether lower roots are dry. Adding some fresh potting mix to the top few inches can recharge tired containers. Pick something with an airy texture, like Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix for Tropicals from The Home Depot. This will help to kickstart aeration and better soil drainage so you can be sure these quick peace lily wins are as effective as possible.

1. Focus on the Deep Soak

Yes, it’s true that one of the classic characteristic signs of a sad peace lily at any time is drooping leaves and stems associated with insufficient or poor watering. However, by August, even a well-watered peace lily may be starting to feel the pinch. Summer temperatures and dry indoor air conspire to dry out the soil in your plant’s container. Large-leaf varieties like 'Mona Loa' lose moisture rapidly through transpiration during hot August afternoons. However, smaller varieties like 'Power Petite' have lower water reserves and can dry out rapidly in small containers.

Aim to combat this with regular, deep watering that soaks the roots and soil. First of all, check the soil with your finger. When the top couple of inches (5cm) are dry, it’s time to water. Over summer, it’s possible that your peace lily may be suffering from a buildup of minerals on the surface of the potting soil, which can affect the plant’s ability to absorb water properly. So it’s also a good idea to perform a deep-soaking flush with room-temperature, filtered, or rain water. Do this until liquid runs freely out of the drainage holes.

Just be sure the water drains well and isn’t sitting in the bottom of the pot. If plants are sitting in drainage water for extended periods, this can also cause issues with root rot. For a simple, cheap way to lift your pots slightly off the base of the tray, grab a pack of Dedara Plant Pot Risers from Walmart. This budget-friendly bundle of supports slides discreetly inside any plant tray. Proper hydration will yield visible results within 8 hours, as stems snap back crisp and upright.

2. Shield Foliage from Shifting Sunlight

The angle of the sun is getting lower at this time of year, but it can still be too much for a peace lily, which prefers indirect light. Signs a peace lily is getting too much sunlight can include bleached, faded leaves, and curling or crispy leaf edges. Variegated cultivars like 'Domino' or 'Picasso' can suffer even more, because their cream-colored sectors lack protective chlorophyll and burn within hours of direct sun exposure.

Check how the sun is hitting your peace lily, especially in the afternoon when temperatures are highest. If the light is too intense, move it to a location with less direct sunlight. An east-facing window is ideal, but you can also put it near a west or south-facing window, behind the protection of a larger plant or sheer curtain. For a quick way of relocating heavier indoor plants (or moving outdoor plants indoors from outside), Bloem Planter Caddies from Target will wheel your peace lilies into position without any tedious lifting and are available in charming terracotta tones.

Just make sure you don’t place your plant in the path of cold air currents from air conditioning vents while trying to keep it cool. Thermal shock can cause leaf drop and drooping. It’s also important to rotate the plant pot at regular intervals to ensure even growth. You should find this helps to prevent further leaf browning and encourages deep, glossy new foliage.

3. Boost Local Humidity

Peace lilies thrive in humid conditions, although they do tolerate less-than-ideal conditions. The heat of August can lead to a lot of air conditioner use, which, in turn, can lead to exceptionally dry air. Indoor air conditioning can strip ambient humidity below the 50-60% baseline that these tropical natives prefer. Your peace lily will survive small fluctuations, but will benefit from added localized humidity at this time.

You can raise humidity levels with a pebble tray. Place the pot on top of a shallow container filled with pebbles and water. This creates moisture right around the plant. If you have other tropical plants that like humidity, group them together, so they trap more moisture around them. A gentle morning misting spray above the foliage can also help on hotter days, cooling down the leaf canopy and reducing transpiration stress. Just be sure to mist early in the day, so the droplets evaporate before nightfall, preventing standing water from sitting in the central crown.

To ensure your living space stays in the ideal humidity zone, use a monitor like the ThermoPro TP50 Digital Indoor Hygrometer and Humidity Meter from Amazon to track room temperature and relative humidity levels in real time. This TempPro staple is staggeringly good value, very popular with plant lovers, and will help you to decide exactly when to group plants or refill your humidity trays.

4. Apply a Gentle End of Season Feed

Peace lilies aren't heavy feeders, but light applications in the growing season promote healthy foliage and flower development. August is a great time to apply a final end-of-season drizzle. Just make sure your fertilizer is diluted to half or quarter strength, as peace lilies are sensitive to super strengths and feeling a little weakened by the excesses of summer.

Best options for feeding will feature a range of trace minerals that can replenish your plant after a long phase of growth, and give it the extra reserves needed to push out those extra bright white spathes, as well as the lushest new growth. Look for feeds with a gentle, balanced formula with potassium and magnesium to strengthen stems. If you are on a bit of a budget, try Bloom City’s Organic Liquid Seaweed and Kelp Fertilizer from Walmart to nurture that natural sheen ahead of the shorter days.

5. Clean Foliage and Deadhead Spathes

Your peace lily will appreciate a little tidying to help get ready for fall. Where you see faded spathes, gently deadhead them with clean snips near the base of the dead spathe stems. Don’t leave these dead spathes decaying on the surface of the soil as they can attract fungus gnats and mold. Given the hard work your air conditioner will have been putting in, chances are the leaves have also accumulated some dust. So give them a quick rinse in the tub, or use a soft, damp cloth to wipe them.

While tidying your peace lily leaves, keep an eye out for speckling, webs, or small flying insects. If you’re worried about summer pests, try a little neem oil (again, make sure this is diluted). It’s a great way to promote a natural glossy leaf shine and target early pests, such as spider mites or mealybugs. Dilute some Captain Jack’s Neem OIl Concentrate from Walmart and spray the leaves, then wipe. It’s the perfect pest blitz for a lush sheen that also means your plant is better able to process light.

Shop Peace Lily Essentials

Keeping your peace lily lush, vibrant, and blooming doesn't require a cabinet full of specialized supplies. A few gentle organic boosters and plant health care essentials will help your plant thrive through August and beyond. These can also be used on your other tropical indoor plant babies.

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Summer is a time for relaxing getaways, a great break for you but potentially a stressful time for your houseplants. Fortunately, not every plant demands daily watering or constant attention. Many popular houseplants are popular because they tolerate or even thrive on neglect.

Whether you’re planning a trip or just want low-maintenance greenery, these options are ideal. A little basic houseplant care before and after a vacation will keep these resilient beauties alive and thriving. Or if you're going away for a really long time, consider a smart plant waterer, which you can find at Amazon.

1. ZZ Plant

ZZ plant, or Zamioculcas zamiifolia, is also known as Zanzibar gem and eternity plant. It has glossy, dark green leaves and grows upright, making an attractive indoor container plant.

ZZ plant is native to eastern Africa, growing in drought-prone regions. It has thick rhizomes that store water, allowing it to survive weeks of dry conditions. In your home, this means you can miss several waterings and still have a healthy plant. It also grows well in low light. Give it one good watering before you leave on a trip, and it will be fine.

2. Snake Plant

Snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata), or mother-in-law plant, is a great option for anyone new to growing houseplants and those who are gone often. It has striking, tall, sword-shaped leaves with gorgeous variegation and golden borders.

Your snake plant is one of the toughest of all houseplants. Its fleshy leaves store water, and it tolerates low-light conditions. You’re more likely to kill a snake plant with overwatering than underwatering. In fact, it’s better to leave the soil slightly dry before you head off on vacation than to give it a soaking.

3. Ponytail Palm

Beaucarnea recurvata, the ponytail palm, gets its common name from the way the long, narrow leaves emerge in a bundle from the fleshy stem, spilling over like hair in a ponytail. These easy indoor plants are not true palms, but they provide a tropical, palm-like look and can potentially grow to six feet (1.8 m) tall in an indoor container.

Ponytail is actually a type of succulent. Native to arid regions of Central America, it has a thick, fleshy trunk, often described as an elephant foot because it is wider at the bottom. This unique trunk stores water, allowing the plant to go a week or two without attention. When going on vacation, place your ponytail palm in a sunny spot and only water it if the soil is very dry. It only needs a little moisture to survive your trip.

4. Cast Iron Plant

Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) has an apt common name. It is exceptionally tough, thrives even in lower light conditions and changing temperatures, and tolerates and forgives neglected watering. Native to Japan and China, cast iron plant gives you plenty of lush, dark green foliage with little effort.

If you plan to jet off for extended periods of time in the summer, this is the plant for you. Make sure the soil has some moisture before you leave, but there’s no need to give it a soaking. Place it in a location with indirect or dappled light, not bright, direct light.

5. Jade

Jade plant (Crassula ovata) is a classic succulent houseplant with small, fleshy leaves growing on woody stems. It thrives in conditions of bright light but dry air and soil. You only ever need to water it when the soil has completely dried out, as the leaves hold and store moisture. Another bonus of growing a jade plant: it can live for up to 70 years.

Overwatering is more often an issue with jade plants than dry soil. If you’re going on vacation, give your jade plant a good soaking a day or two before you leave. This will give you a chance to check the bottom and be sure the water is draining, and the roots aren’t sitting in soggy soil. Make sure to leave it in a spot with bright light.

6. Pothos

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is a beloved houseplant because it’s so easy to grow and because it’s a real beauty. This is a vining plant native to Asia with glossy, heart-shaped leaves. In addition to being low-maintenance, you can choose from varieties in different shades of green, with variegation, and even with large white patches.

Pothos actually likes a decent amount of water and flourishes with a regular watering schedule. However, it is very forgiving and will bounce back quickly after being neglected for a while, even if it’s a little wilted and drooping. Before a trip, give it a good soak and leave it out of bright sunlight, which will dry out the soil more quickly.

If your summer plans include a fun getaway, you don’t have to come home to dead houseplants. Choose tough, low-maintenance, and forgiving plants like these and water them before you leave to set them up for success.

I have reached that point in summer where I look around my house and feel like I owe several apologies to my houseplants. The heatwaves have been relentless, the air feels so dry my own thirst levels are at forever at maximum, and somehow the plants I thought I understood have decided this is the year they test my patience.

Yes, every single one of my houseplants is wilting and drooping like made – and even my beloved mold-solving ivy has betrayed me. I know, I know; I never thought I'd say that either. Ivy has always been the plant I could rely on, but lately it has been looking deeply unimpressed with the whole situation, dropping leaves, turning a les-than-fetching brown color, and generally acting as though it would like to speak to my manager.

Thankfully, though, there is one houseplant that well and truly has my corner: my snake plant is standing there looking almost offensively healthy. Quite honestly, it's standing straighter than I am in this horribly hot weather.

All Of My Houseplants Are Dying In The Heat... Except For This One

Yes, you guessed it; my snake plants have become the smug survivors of my indoor garden (just call them the sexy cockroaches of the houseplant world). They don't care that the temperature has climbed or if I succumb to my overheated state and forget about them for a while. And they certainly don't need the constant attention that some of my more dramatic houseplants seem to demand in a heatwave.

Snake plants, also known as Sansevieria or Dracaena trifasciata, have earned their reputation as one of the easiest houseplants around (some even call them unkillable houseplants) for good reason. Primarily because their thick leaves store water and help them cope with dry conditions.

This means that, unlike many tropical houseplants that wilt dramatically when they miss a watering, snake plants are designed to handle periods of neglect. In fact, the biggest mistake many people make with them is being too kind.

Basically, snake plants are some of the best houseplants to tend to during a heatwave because they don't want constant watering or soggy soil. Their roots prefer to dry out between drinks, which makes them ideal for anyone who loves plants but occasionally forgets they exist.

They also tolerate a surprisingly wide range of indoor conditions, from bright indirect light to lower-light corners where many other houseplants struggle. No wonder that, despite long being associated with offices and waiting rooms, they've become one of the trendiest houseplants going.

And you don't just have to stick to the classic yellow-edged 'Laurentii' (even if it's still a favorite), as there are so many more interesting options now. 'Moonshine' has silvery-green leaves that almost look painted; 'Black Coral' has deep green foliage with striking dark tones; 'Bantel's Sensation' has elegant narrow leaves with creamy vertical stripes; and the dramatic Whale Fin snake plant has a single enormous paddle-shaped leaf that looks like something from a designer plant showroom.

Shop the Best Snake Plants:

The best part about investing in a pretty new snake plant of your very own? These are exactly the kind of plants that reward you for doing less. After years of trying to keep fussier houseplants from dying in the heat (or throwing a dramatic flop over some other perceived slight), there's something wonderfully satisfying about having a plant that simply gets on with life.

Honestly, while my ivy is currently staging a dramatic protest and several other houseplants are wilting more than I am, my snake plants remain completely unbothered. We could all learn something from them.