Steven A. Frowine is a noted professional horticulturist and a longtime avid gardener and communicator. He has co-authored many titles in the For Dummies gardening collection, including Orchids For Dummies and Gardening Basics For Dummies.
Once you know what makes houseplants happy, growing them is a snap. If you start with one of the 10 easy houseplants I suggest and then follow the guidelines and tips in this Cheat Sheet, you’ll have a green thumb before you know it. You can then join the large and growing clan of dedicated houseplant lovers, and you may even decide to branch out with more difficult plants or crafts, such as creating your own corsage.
A corsage is a wearable flower arrangement. Although some people think corsages are unfashionable (or even corny), I guarantee that if you make one for yourself or your partner for a special occasion, you’ll get loads of compliments.Many houseplants’ flowers and foliage make stunning and long-lasting corsages, and you can create one yourself relatively quickly.
Become the best plant parent you can be Houseplant hysteria is here to stay. For new and seasoned plant owners alike, Houseplants & Succulents For Dummies is the ideal resource on plant care, growing cycles, unique plant varieties, and all the essentials you need to know about your rooted friends. Ensure that your sprouts grow and thrive, with tons of tips and answers to all your questions.
Become a plant parent to some of the most stunning flowering plants you’ve ever seen Orchids display more beautiful and exotic flowers than you’ll find on other flowering plants, but they do require some love and care to grow well. With help from Orchids For Dummies, anyone can be successful in growing and flowering these gorgeous and fragrant plants in their garden or home!
Cultivate your passion to grow In a 1625 essay, Francis Bacon called gardens "the purest of human pleasures," and what was true then is even more so today—gardening can give you a serene refuge from the short-lived (and noisy!) distractions of modern life and a fertile basis for satisfaction that will bear fruit long into the future.
Growing orchids at home isn’t as difficult as you might think. This handy Cheat Sheet will help you get started. Take a look at the list of fragrant orchids to decide which sweet scents you want around your house. You'll also find some helpful tips about knowing when and how to fertilize and water your orchids.
To have the garden of your dreams, make sure you pick the right plants for your hardiness zone and select the right fertilizers for your plants. If your garden is shady, this Cheat Sheet offers a list of plants made for the shade. When you're planning and measuring your garden use the handy conversion chart for metric and standard measurements.
To keep your perennial gardens healthy you need to divide several kinds of perennials periodically. You know when yours need to be divided because the plants are growing in ever-denser clumps and the flower show isn’t as prolific as it was in previous years. The interior of the clump, in particular, may become disappointingly unproductive.
Hardiness zone maps help you determine which garden plants will thrive where you live. The various hardiness zone maps indicate minimum and maximum temperatures that plants can tolerate, or growing seasons with climate variations. Every part of the world has its own hardiness zones, and most maps are set up the same way.
When choosing plants for your garden, select the plants best suited to your climate. Know your USDA hardiness zone and use this chart to determine the time and length of your growing season.
Zone
Minimum Temperature
(°F/°C)
Last Frost Date
First Frost Date
Typical Number of
Frost-Free Days
1
Below –50°F
Below