Please keep in mind the following generalizations:
You should repot your plant when the plant has grown too big for its pot or if it has been in the same pot for too long (usually a year or two). If its roots have begun to circle around the bottom of the pot (you have to take the plant out to check), then you should repot it ASAP. Don't forget to add fertilizer when repotting.
The watering information given is only an approximation. The actual frequency of watering depends on where you grow your plant, the amount of sunlight/shade it receives, the soil it's in, the humidity levels, etc. So, an easy way to determine whether or not your plant needs water is to feel the soil with your fingers; if it feels dry, then you need to water the plant. If it feels wet, refrain from watering - overwatering is a more common problem than underwatering and can easily kill most plants. Also, you will need to feel the soil a few inches below the surface - the top level of soil may feel wet but beneath it the soil could be bone-dry.
The majority of plants require well-draining soil. There are a few exceptions, notably prairie plants, which can tolerate clay, carnivorous plants, which require sphagnum peat moss or long-fiber sphagnum, and orchids, which need long-fiber sphagnum, orchid bark, hydroton, or some combination of the three. Succulents and cacti require especially well-draining soil, as their roots will easily rot if the soil is too wet, while houseplants and herbs are more forgiving of wet soil.
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| Striated leaf cultivar |
Aloe vera
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9-10
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Forms 'pups' or 'offshoots' that are clones and can be separated when large enough to produce a new plant; can be used to treat burns
AmaryllisWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun (see below)
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 7-9
Mature Plant Height: 24 inches
Other: Produces huge, fragrant flowers; needs full sun before and after flowering, and partial shade during flowering
Watering: Every 2-3 days, only with distilled, rain, deionized, or reverse osmosis water
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Sphagnum peat moss or long fiber sphagnum, usually mixed with 50% by volume of perlite or orchid mix/bark
Hardiness: Zone 12a
Mature Plant Height: 6 feet
Other: Forms pitchers that contain digestive enzymes to consume insects that fall in. DO NOT add any fertilizer unless you are very experienced in growing carnivorous plants.
Watering: Daily if outdoors, every other day if indoors
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining and nutrient rich
Hardiness: Zone 6
Mature Plant Height: 20 feet
Other: Forms "suckers" that can be separated them from the corm (base) of the plant; needs lots of space to grow
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| Thai Basil |
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height: 30 inches
Other: Leaves can be used in cooking; very aromatic; grows well alongside tomatoes
Billbergia (Queen's Tears)
Watering: Twice a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 3a - 8b
Mature Plant Height: 12-24 inches
Other: After flowering, the plant usually dies; seeds are designed to germinate after a long period of time
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Makes most cats euphoric due to nepetalactone in the leaves; thrives in alkaline soil
CeleryWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 5a
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Harvest by cutting back the stems; they will grow back if not too much is cut (leave at least 1/3 left)
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining, some sand, prefers loam
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height: 6 feet (15 feet with flower)
Other: After it produces a flower stalk that can get up to 15 feet tall, the original plant dies and produces multiple offshoots
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 12 inches
Other: Rather popular during the Thanksgiving and winter holidays; requires 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness to flower
ColeusWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10-11
Mature Plant Height: 2-3 feet
Other: Sensitive to cold; develops strong and vibrant colors when exposed to full sun
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Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 3
Mature Plant Height: 6-20 inches
Other:
Devil's Backbone
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Dragonfruit
Watering: 2-3 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well draining
Hardiness: Zone 9-11
Mature Plant Height: 15-20 feet
Other: Requires a support system since it is vine-like; once the plant mass reaches 10+ lbs on the top of the trellis, it will begin to fruit.
Elephant EarsWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Light and airy
Hardiness: Zone 7
Mature Plant Height: 4 feet
Other: Forms offshoots readily
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining, prefers clay loam
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height: 24 inches
Other: Cloves can be frozen for later use
False AgaveWatering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 12 inches
Other: Has beautiful blooms and very sharp leaves
Golden Pothos
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 12 inches
Other: Cut off the top to harvest and it will grow right back; can be propagated in water; prefer slightly acidic soil
HollyhockWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 3-9
Mature Plant Height: 6 feet
Other: Usually a short-lived perennial, but will live for years with the right care
Jack FruitWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining, nutrient rich
Hardiness: Zone 9b
Mature Plant Height: 90 feet
Other: Produces fruit weighing up to 100 lbs
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| Gollum cultivar |
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 24 inches
Other: Compact form
Longan
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
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| Peppermint |
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Grows horizontally and spreads fast; can be invasive;
leaves contain most flavor right before blooms
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| Spearmint |
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9b
Mature Plant Height: 5 feet
Other: Difficult to kill, produces plantlets at the leaf tips
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| Cobra's Nest cultivar (1 ft pitchers) |
North American Pitcher Plant
Watering: Every 2-3 days, only with distilled, rain, deionized, or reverse osmosis water
Sunlight: Full sunSoil: Sphagnum peat moss or long fiber sphagnum, with varying degrees of perlite added
Hardiness: Zones 5-8
Mature Plant Height: 3-4 feet
Other: Forms pitchers containing digestive enzymes to eat insects that fall into the pitchers. DO NOT fertilize unless you are very experienced with carnivorous plants. Requires a 2-3 month cold dormancy period during the winter.
Orchid (Phalaenopsis)
Watering: Twice a week
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining; mixture of orchid bark/mix, long fiber sphagnum, hydroton
Hardiness: Zone
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
OreganoWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height: 24 inches
Other: Leaves can be used in cooking; attractive to bees, butterflies and birds
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to Partial Shade
Soil: Well-draining, light
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 24 inches
Other: Slow-growing, has fuzzy leaves
PapayaWatering: Every day
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining, nutrient rich
Hardiness: Zone 9b
Mature Plant Height: 15 feet
Other: Fruit will ripen off of the tree
Watering: Once a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining, mixed with sand and loam
Hardiness: Zone 10-15
Mature Plant Height: 8 inches
Other: Forms offshoots identical to the parent that can be separated; may flower during the summer months.
Pepper
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Perilla
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining, nutrient rich
Hardiness: Zone 9-11
Mature Plant Height: 30 feet
Other: Flowers are used to make leis (wreath of flowers seen in Hawaii)
Prickly pear cactusWatering: Once a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 6-11
Mature Plant Height: 5 feet
Other: Flowers in the spring to early summer
RosemaryWatering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 10
Mature Plant Height: 5 feet
Other: If the roots dry out, the plant will die; easy propagated via cuttings; supposedly improves memory and stimulates hair growth; unusually heat-tolerant for an herb
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| Pineapple sage |
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 4
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other:
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| Coppertone sedum |
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining, light and airy
Hardiness: Zone 9a-11b
Mature Plant Height: 6 inches
Other: Avoid overwatering; very drought tolerant
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| Bird's Nest cultivar |
Watering: 1-2 times a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining, light
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height: 6 inches
Other: Forms offshoots that can be separated to grow a new plant identical to the original
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| Variegated |
Watering: 2-3 times a week
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9b-11
Mature Plant Height: 20 inches
Other: Produces plantlets on stalks that can be removed and grown into new plants; removes formaldehyde from the air
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 8a-11
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Leaves contain stevioside, a natural sweetener and an alternative to sugar for diabetics (300x sweeter than sucrose); grows well in acid/neutral soils; longer days promote leaf formation and inhibit seed production; shorter days promote flowering
Thimble Cactus
Watering: Once a week
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
TomatoWatering: Daily
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Well-draining, nutrient rich
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height: 4-10 feet (see below)
Other: Grows fast and will require a support system for its branches; some varieties stop growing after reaching a certain height while others grow indefinitely; once thought to be poisonous due to its bright red hue and relation to the toxic nightshade plant
Tulip Watering: Every 2-3 days
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-drained
Hardiness: Zone 4-6
Mature Plant Height: 12-24 inches
Other: Can be grown as annuals or perennials
Watering: Every 2-3 days, with distilled, deionized, reverse osmosis or rain water
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Pure long-fiber sphagnum moss, 50/50 sphagnum peat/perlite, 50/50 sphagnum peat/silica sand
Hardiness: Zone 7-8
Mature Plant Height: 6 inches
Other: Never fertilize (avoid Miracle-Gro perlite/peat); cut the flower stalk to save the plant's energy; only feed it small insects (no hamburger meat!) and don't trigger the traps for fun. Requires a 2-3 month winter dormancy initiated by colder temperatures and shorter photoperiod.
Watering: Every other day
Sunlight: Partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 8
Mature Plant Height: 3 feet
Other: Produces mentholatum, which is found in Vicks' Vap-O-Rub
Walking Kalanchoe
Watering: Once a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining
Hardiness: Zone 9
Mature Plant Height:
Other:
Zebra Plant
Watering: Once a week
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Well-draining, mixed with sand and loam
Hardiness: Zone 10-15
Mature Plant Height: 8 inches
Other: Forms offshoots identical to the parent that can be separated; may flower during the summer months.
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