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Friends, my dear family member is wrong. Just about every sweet potato you see at the store – especially the orange ones – is a true sweet potato, also called “sweetpotato,” botanical name Ipomoea batatas. True yams, on the other hand, belong to the Dioscorea genus. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. These root crops are a worthy addition to any garden that can grow them....

We’re here to help! There are so many potential gift items, both large and small, that green thumbs will appreciate – and we mean it when we say you can actually have fun while buying these presents, and maybe even pick out a treat or two for yourself. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

But there is an entirely different category of houseplants available to you that can be grown on driftwood, shells, lava rocks, and pieces of wood. These plants are called epiphytes, and they grow on other plants in the wild, usually trees. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Imagine a staghorn fern mounted on a wood plaque or an orchid growing in the crook of a pretty piece of driftwood that you found on the beach....

We buy them by the bushelful in the fall when they pop up all over the place at grocery stores and nurseries, and then we toss them out when the first hard frost turns them to mush. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. And this isn’t just a plant for those living in warm regions that never see a touch of frost – even gardeners in chillier regions can enjoy the big, bountiful blossoms year after year....

It’s even used as a pest deterrent in the garden, planted as a companion for roses, peppers, and tomatoes to keep pesky insects away. But we think it’s delicious, so why shouldn’t the bugs? There are some creepy crawlies out there that are immune to garlic’s sulfuric pungency. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

This genus includes around 825 species, and the popular A. andraeanum and A. scherzerianum are prized for their colorful, heart-shaped spathes. With other types, including A. clarinervium and A. crystallinum, deep green leaves with contrasting light veins are the draw. Whether you’re captivated by varieties that provide striking foliage or indoor color year-round, one aspect of growing and caring for anthurium is a constant: They appreciate frequent drinks, but may develop root rot or leaf blight in overly wet soil....

Maybe they taste bad or something? I’ll have to ask the next mealybug I see. At any rate, pests aren’t something you see that often on bleeding heart plants. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. That’s what this guide aims to help you do. To that end, here are the bugs that we’ll go over coming up: In general, you can avoid most pests by keeping your plants healthy....

Okay, I wish. But we can make it seem like spring is already here by forcing branches to bloom early indoors – even when it’s still the dead of winter outside. Winter is undeniably a humdrum time of year for the flower lover in many regions. Sure, you can buy cut arrangements of greenhouse flowers to bring a little color indoors year-round, but what fun is that? Outdoors, there is a world of color just waiting to burst forth....

The mild, delicately flavored flesh is less bitter than some of the varieties you would typically find in the grocery store. Some like to distinguish “Japanese eggplant” as a separate category of “Asian eggplant,” but quite often the two terms are used interchangeably to refer to the long, slender, thin-skinned varieties of this vegetable. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Their rich green foliage and cheerful blooms are delightful, so it’s only natural to feel concerned when the foliage starts turning yellow. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. At times, your plants may be completely fine, and they are just moving through their seasonal life cycle. Other times, this may be a sign of disease, and your bulbs will need to be checked and discarded promptly to prevent further spread if harmful pathogens are present....

These odd-shaped vegetables can also be a sign of serious garden problems. But what causes these deformed veggies? There are many different factors that can cause twisted, forked, and asymmetrical roots – ranging from how you prepare your soil to nasty garden pests, and including several other unfavorable conditions. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Whether you’re tending an A. andraeanum or A. scherzerianum with its colorful, heart-shaped spathes, or a species like A. clarinervium or A. crystallinum, grown for its lovely foliage with contrasting veins, the droop is most likely a hint that your plant needs a change. You’ll need to do some sleuthing to determine the root cause of the wilting, and figure out how to deal with it before the plant succumbs....

And the worst part about it is that you might not even know that your plants are infested until it is too late to save them. Symptoms usually start with a general decline in the health of the plant, with signs of stunted growth, wilting, or yellowing of the leaves. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

You must admit it’s impossible to truly force a member of the plant kingdom to do anything. When I hear someone say “force,” I envision a cartoon villain looming over the plant to threaten, “We have ways to make you flower…” But while you can’t technically “force” K. blossfeldiana to form new buds or bloom, you can strongly encourage that outcome. You’ll likely see results if you’re conscientious and patient with the process....

Then Plectranthus verticillatus, otherwise known as Swedish ivy or Swedish begonia, is the plant for you. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Reportedly given to John F. Kennedy in 1961 by the Irish ambassador, the Swedish ivy and its offspring have been known to hold a place in the White House ever since....

It can be hard to believe that agaves belong to this category as well. At maturity, some may appear to be more closely related to a large variety of cacti rather than something like hens and chicks. But both of these are varieties of succulents, after all. Because of their range in size and the means by which they self-propagate, Agave may be one of the most enthralling succulent genera in the world....

With stunning diversity, these hardy vines put on an unforgettable show that includes color, fragrance, and multiseason displays of both flowers and showy seed heads. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Some are evergreen, some deciduous. Flower sizes range from small and delicate to large plate-sized blossoms, and some even fill the air with sweet perfume....

A perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 10-11, Pelargonium x hortorum may be grown as an annual elsewhere. It’s suited to beds, borders, and containers, and can be wintered over indoors as a houseplant. Today’s color palette includes shades of orange, pink, purple, red, white, as well as bicolored and double-petalled varieties. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

It toils away all season long, forming branching foliage. Then it bursts into masses of blue, daisy-like flowers, just in time to bridge the gap between summer’s waning blooms and fall’s spectacular leaf show. This member of the Asteraceae family has an upright growth habit. Dense basal foliage thins out along branching stems that culminate in loose, cone-shaped floral clusters. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

These symbols of the tropics are native to regions that retain warmth and humidity through most or all of the year, so if you live in a warm climate such as USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, you can plant them right in the ground. Lucky you! We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....