AMERICAN GARDENER

Ferns are among the oldest plant groups on Earth, with fossil records dating back more than 360 million years to the Devonian period, predating flowering plants, grasses, and most conifers by hundreds of millions of years. There are approximately 10,500 known species of ferns distributed across nearly every continent on Earth, thriving in environments as … Read more

Nerve Plant [Fittonia albivenis] is a compact, low-growing tropical perennial native to the rainforests of South America, particularly Peru and Colombia. It belongs to the Acanthaceae family and is widely cultivated as a houseplant for its striking, highly decorative foliage. The plant rarely exceeds 6 inches in height, forming a dense, spreading mat of lush … Read more

Aralia plants are a diverse and visually striking group of ornamental trees, shrubs, and houseplants that have been prized in gardens and interiors around the world for centuries. Belonging to the broader family that also includes ginseng and ivy, aralias are native to a wide range of regions including Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Americas, … Read more

Philodendrons are one of the largest and most diverse genera of tropical houseplants in the world, with over 500 recognized species and hundreds of additional cultivars and hybrids developed through decades of horticultural breeding. Native primarily to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Southeast Asia, they have adapted … Read more

One of the most common reasons people avoid keeping houseplants is the assumption that every plant needs a bright, sunny windowsill to survive. In reality, a surprisingly large number of plants have evolved in the shaded understories of dense tropical forests, where direct sunlight rarely if ever reaches the forest floor. These plants have developed … Read more

Peperomia plants are a vast and extraordinarily diverse group of tropical houseplants belonging to one of the largest plant genera on earth, with more than 1,000 documented species identified to date and new ones still being described by botanists each year. Native primarily to the tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, with … Read more

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are among the most widely grown houseplants in the world, recognized for their long, arching leaves and the cascading baby plantlets they produce on long, slender stems called stolons. Native to tropical and southern Africa, they have been cultivated as ornamental plants for over 200 years and are now found in … Read more

Azaleas are flowering shrubs belonging to the genus Rhododendron, a member of the heath family Ericaceae. They are among the most celebrated ornamental plants in the world, prized for their spectacular spring blooms that arrive in dense clusters of funnel-shaped flowers. With over 10,000 named cultivars developed from roughly 800 wild species, azaleas come in … Read more

Cacti are a family of flowering plants (Cactaceae) containing around 1,750 known species, almost all native exclusively to the Americas — from Patagonia in the south to British Columbia in the north. They have evolved over millions of years to thrive in some of the world’s harshest environments, with the vast majority found in arid … Read more