Hello everyone!

I wanted to introduce myself and meet you all.

I was always fond of plants but for the past few years everytime I get one - it died. Pretty sure I just overwatered them. I can take care of any animal and have way too many pets for my own good but not plants.

As far as I can remember my grandfather, of whom I am thousands of miles away and miss him dearly, has the biggest green thumb. Plants just grew as if they were on steroids with him. I always remember the great care he took of his plants but I never understood why he liked it so much.

Recently I've come to realize that this - gardening - is the only thing that will be left of my grandfather soon and I do not have the financial means to see him more than one time every 3-5 years. I realized how dear this talent of his became to me and I fell in love with plants. I love nurturing them and watching them grow. I love making sure they have the best light, fertilizer, soil, water...I realized my grandfather's passion passed down to me.

I just recently became a homeowner so I am stocking up my house with plants. But I want to make sure I can keep them alive before I spend serious money on my dream plant - bird of paradise.

So far I have:

-Dracaena (browig at the tips may be recovering from improper re-potting)
-Banana Plant (did GREAT until 2 days ago, bottom leaf became yellow)
-Water lily - doing great
-And i think a different Lilly as well (not sure, came from friends house) - doing great
-Yesterday I got a coconut tree palm that's growing straight from the coconut. It looks amazing but upon reading more info online I realized it may not survive in my low light region... - so far doing great
-A monstera - one out of many leaves browning
-Aloe vera plant - that's not doing so great, wilting i think?

I know absolutely nothing about plants. When do I re-pot them, how to properly water, best fertilizers, do I need to soak eggshells in my plant water or not, do i need to trim the damaged leaves or not, and many many more questions. I will try to find all that info on your wonderful website!

Thank you!!

Welcome! Thank you for such a lovely introduction.

I'd like to ask a couple questions that might help us answer some of your questions.

Are you only wanting to grow indoor houseplants? Or are you growing some inside and others outside?

Either way, what kind of light do your plants get? Morning sun, afternoon sun, all day sun, only shade, etc.? If they're inside, how are they getting sun — from windows or artificial lights?

Water and fertilizer requirements might be different depending on the plants and their sizes and how they're planted, etc. Others will differ but I don't use specific fertilizers for specific plants. I just use what I happen to have. They all get the same stuff. I know nothing about eggshells. If leaves are damaged, I usually remove them. Of course it's good to know why they're damaged or sick.

Feel free to post pictures of your plants that you have questions about.