Smarter: 🌿How to Stop Killing Your Plants

One of the proudest moments I had as a plant parent was when my first indoor plant, a New Guinea impatiens that I named Ann Perkins because of its perky leaves, flourished last spring. In a few months, Ann Perkins grew by more than half of her initial height and seemed to produce a dewy new leaf every time I wasn’t looking.

Those were the honeymoon days. And then came summer. My plant didn’t respond well to the blaze of the summer sun. Paranoid, I started to water her—in hindsight, way too often. Checking on her every day became painful as I watched her slowly collapse from the heat and my frantic, likely misguided attempts to resuscitate her. I remembered crying when I finally decided that she wouldn’t survive and cleared out her pot, leaving one stem to dry out and keep.

Which plants are good for beginners to start with? Here are some recommendations. (My Consumer Reports colleague Anna Kocharian, who has written a lot on plants and plant care, has a few others.)

Snake plant: Often the go-to recommendation for novice plant owners, the snake plant is tolerant of low light and is forgiving when you forget to water it.

ZZ plant: Like the snake plant, the ZZ plant is a succulent that requires very infrequent watering. “If you kill a snake plant or a ZZ plant, I would be very surprised,” says Julio Garcia, president of NY City Succulents, a plant shop based in Astoria, New York City.

Ponytail palm: A sun-loving succulent with long, hairlike leaves, it needs watering only once every few weeks because it stores water in its trunk. 

Bonnie spider: Recommended by Garcia, the bonnie spider, which enjoys some humidity and can tolerate low levels of light, is a great choice for people looking for a bathroom plant. 

Parlor palm: An easygoing plant that has been cultivated since the Victorian era and is very resilient toward indoor conditions. Just don’t blast it with direct, intense sun, Erin Marino from online houseplant retailer The Sill advises.

Bonus tip: Here are a few plants that, despite their popularity, might be challenging for beginners: fiddle-leaf figs (require just the right amount of bright light and are, well, fiddly about their watering preferences), variegated monsteras (expensive and need more light compared with regular monstera varieties), calatheas (tap water-sensitive), and ferns (oh, man, they need a lot of humidity).

Let’s see how good your knowledge of stain removal is—which type of stain do you think toothpaste can help get rid of?

A. Ketchup on upholstery
B. Makeup on carpet
C. Blood on clothes
D. Water rings on wood

Answers at the end of the newsletter—make sure you don’t peek!

What do an ounce of dark chocolate and a 6-ounce apple have in common?

Surprisingly, they contain about the same amount of fiber, which is around 3 to 5 grams.

Turns out, dark chocolate has a pretty good amount of nutrients. In addition to fiber, an ounce of dark chocolate can contain 203 mg of potassium, same as a half-cup of cooked broccoli. Cool. Going to start an exclusive meat-and-dark-chocolate-only diet now*.

*Only joking. Vegetables are nice, too.

Knock knock, ram’s here.

Question
How can I stay warm if my power goes out during a winter storm?

Answer
Here are some ways you can stay warm so you don’t freeze your butt off, according to CR’s home writer Paul Hope, who’s also a passionate DIYer.

Get a generator. Even if you’ve already lost power, you shouldn’t lose hope. It’s worth buying a portable generator, which will be enough to help power a space heater and charge your cell phone. If you have trouble finding a generator in a home center or power equipment dealer, try places like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, or a local RV or boat dealership. 

When you use the generator, make sure you avoid running it in an enclosed place and keep it at least 20 feet away from your home to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Use a fireplace or other heating sources. If you don’t have a fireplace, try a portable propane heater designed for indoor use. But only in an emergency, and be careful to keep it on a hard, fireproof surface and away from children, pets, or flammable materials. Because propane heaters produce carbon monoxide, make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working and keep a window slightly open for ventilation.

Seal window and door leaks. It’s important to keep out cold air, so try sealing your windows and doors with caulk or weather stripping. If you can’t get ahold of these materials, you can use duct tape and clear plastic sheeting for windows. For drafty doors, try draft guards or towels and blankets. 

Camp indoors. If you have tents or sleeping bags, you can consider camping inside your house as they will help keep you warm, especially at night. To keep the space warmer, have your family gathered in a shared space. The more people there are, the greater the collective heat.

Dress for warmth. Wear loose layers instead of one heavy layer, and make sure you stay dry. Nothing makes fighting against the cold worse than moisture.

If you have a question you want to ask an expert, email me. I’m all ears!

Should you wash your chicken before you cook it? Well, no.

The answer is D, water rings on wood. If you see a pesky water ring on your wooden table that is hard to remove, try rubbing a dab of non-gel toothpaste in the direction of the wood grain and wipe it with a clean cloth. 

And if you want to test out more of your knowledge about stain removal, here’s another fun quiz to try out so that next time you, for example, spill mustard all over your shirt like a bad Jackson Pollock, you don’t have to panic.