Plant care guides

Looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves plants? This guide features eight succulent-based gifts ranging from air plant sets and curated bundles to potted arrangements and decorative pots. Whether you're shopping for a seasoned plant parent or someone starting their collection, these options offer something for every plant lover.

Tillandsia Bulbosa Belize is a distinctive air plant with a swollen bulb-like base and long, twisting green leaves. The Belize form is generally larger than the commonly sold Guatemala form and can develop a dramatic sculptural shape as it matures. Before flowering, its upper foliage may blush bright red, followed by tubular violet-purple flowers. This tropical air plant prefers bright filtered light, regular hydration, warm temperatures, and excellent airflow. Keeping water from collecting inside its bulbous base is especially important for preventing rot.

Looking for a thoughtful hostess gift this fall? This guide features six plant and arrangement options that make memorable gifts for Thanksgiving and autumn entertaining. From colorful Crotons to air plants and succulent arrangements, these presents work for any host or hostess.

Silver Squill (Ledebouria socialis) is a compact bulbous plant known for its silvery-green leaves covered in dark green spots and purple-toned undersides. Small bulbs develop partly above the soil and gradually multiply into dense clusters. This drought-tolerant plant prefers bright light, fast-draining soil, and relatively infrequent watering. Small greenish-white flowers appear on slender pinkish stems, usually in spring. Proper drainage and careful watering are especially important for keeping Silver Squill healthy.

Celebrate Halloween with houseplant gifts that feature dramatic dark leaves and moody vibes. This guide features seven striking plants, from the deep burgundy tones of Croton Mammy to the patterned elegance of Alocasia Polly, perfect for plant lovers who appreciate a little botanical darkness. Each recommendation brings its own personality to any space during the spooky season and beyond.

Lipstick ‘Bolero Bicolore’ is a colorful trailing houseplant that already looks gift-ready with its cascading growth and eye-catching tubular flowers. It works especially well for hanging planters, shelves, apartments, and other spaces where a traditional floor plant may feel too large. Bright indirect light, moderate watering, and a well-draining potting mix are the main requirements for keeping it healthy. Its manageable care needs make it a thoughtful choice for plant lovers who want something more unusual than a pothos or succulent. This guide covers both the gifting appeal and everyday care of Lipstick ‘Bolero Bicolore’.

Mexican Hat Plant, botanically known asKalanchoe × houghtonii, is an unusual succulent known for its narrow fleshy leaves and tiny plantlets that form along the leaf margins. These baby plants eventually fall and root on their own, making propagation incredibly easy. Mexican Hat Plant prefers bright light, fast-draining soil, and infrequent watering. Its upright growth and colorful winter flowers make it an interesting addition to indoor succulent collections. Simple care and careful control of fallen plantlets can keep this fast-spreading succulent healthy and manageable.

Mums, or Chrysanthemums, are classic fall flowers known for their dense growth and colorful blooms in yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, and white. They grow best in full sun, fertile well-draining soil, and consistent moisture. Regular pinching during spring and early summer encourages fuller plants and more flowers in fall. Garden mums can return year after year when the right variety is planted early enough to establish strong roots. Proper watering, sunlight, and seasonal care can keep Chrysanthemums blooming beautifully throughout the fall.

The Stenocactus multicostatus, commonly called brain cactus, is a small globular cactus with distinctive wavy ribs that resemble a brain. This guide covers everything you need to know about watering, light, soil, and propagation for healthy growth. Learn how to keep your brain cactus thriving in any indoor or outdoor space.

Air plants can produce seeds after their flowers are successfully pollinated. Indoors, where natural pollinators may be limited, hand pollination gives growers a simple way to help the process along. The basic method involves transferring pollen from the anthers of one flower to the receptive stigma of another. Successful pollination may eventually produce long seed capsules filled with tiny, fluffy Tillandsia seeds. Learning this process is also the first step toward growing air plants from seed or experimenting with Tillandsia hybrids.

Yellow and brown Calathea leaves can result from overwatering, dry soil, low humidity, water quality, too much sunlight, fertilizer buildup, temperature stress, or pests. Learn how to identify the cause and help your Calathea produce healthier new growth.