Rebecca Straus

Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is my favorite for growing houseplants. You spend a lot of time there every day, making it easy to keep tabs on your plants, and the sink is right there, so you have zero excuses not to water them. For example, have you ever noticed that your plant is looking a little under the weather while you’re sitting on your couch wrapped cozily in a blanket?

This past Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend gave me a potted orchid instead of the usual bouquet of carnations and roses. Having never owned an orchid before, I checked the tag for care instructions and learned I was supposed to water it with three ice cubes, or about 1/4 cup of water, once a week. I’ve been feeding my orchid its ice every Friday, and it’s been blooming spectacularly for the past three months. But are the ice cubes really the secret to orchid success?

I live in a one-bedroom “garden” apartment, which means that I get to have my own front door, porch, and small strip of flower bed. The only downside? The flower bed is under the porch roof, which means it’s constantly damp and shady, and also an ideal mosquito habitat. So this year, after frantically trying to squash a few rogue mosquitoes that snuck indoors while I was carrying in groceries, I’ve decided to get myself some mosquito-repelling plants.

You’ve probably seen a post or two on social media at some point praising the ability of eggshells to add to calcium to soil. It’s true that eggshells are mostly made of calcium, and calcium plays a big role in determining the soil’s pH — a measure of a soil’s acidity or alkalinity — and an important factor in plants’ overall health. Here’s the thing: While eggshells can be beneficial for soil, it’s a slow burn.

Green thumbs always have a few tricks up their sleeves. Whatever your current houseplant frustration is, there’s probably a grower out there who came up with an innovative solution, after years of dealing with the very same issue. Read on for some of the best tried-and-true indoor gardening hacks around. Are you prone to overwatering, especially with small, delicate plants like orchids and succulents?

Pantry moths are the things nightmares are made of. I would gladly take spider mites in every single one of my houseplants, or a basement crawling with earwigs, over pantry moths any day. Here’s why: Pantry moths lay tiny grayish-white eggs in flour, cereal, pet food, and other dry goods. When the eggs hatch, a wriggling mass of larvae feed on your stone-ground whole wheat flour or whatever, form cocoons, and eventually hatch into adults, who will soon lay more eggs.