I was gifted a MoneyTree plant. It had been over watered for quite some time and then under watered. It's only a single stem now. I learned that they usually have multiple stems that are braided together. I did remove several rotted stems and it lost a couple leaves before it started growing new ones. It now has 6 compound leaves, including 2 old ones. I did lightly fertilize it and have watered it when the top inch or 2 became dry. Does anyone know if it will grow leaves on the lower stem or only at the top? And will I eventually be able to propagate new plants from leaf cuttings?

I've had a bird of paradise for about 4 yrs now. This past summer it has done better than any other. Well, it has put on more leaves and only lost one or two. It has never bloomed, but I'll settle for solid growth first. Since I have moved it in for the winter, it has developed some brown patches on a couple of the leaves. I have it around grow lights, however I have never been able to successfully use them. It is a good distance away from the lights and I'm not sure if they are the cause of the damage. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

It’s the most creative time of the year! If you’ve ever strolled through the Dollar Tree or dollar aisle in December, you already know it’s FULL of little treasures just begging to be turned into adorable plant décor. For just a few dollars, you can turn everyday holiday items into festive plant picks, giving your indoor and outdoor containers the perfect seasonal sparkle. Whether you’re decorating your poinsettias, your kitchen herb pots, your succulents, or your winter porch planters… these DIY picks are fun, easy, and budget-friendly. Let’s get crafty! 🎁 𝟏. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐎𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 → 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 Those tiny ornament packs (usually 8–12 pieces for $1.25) are PERFECT for plant picks. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦: 1. Grab a pack of mini ornaments. 2. Remove the hanging string. 3. Hot glue or twist-tie them onto: * bamboo skewers * chopsticks * wooden craft sticks * floral wire 4. Tuck into your holiday plants for instant charm. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫: * Poinsettias * Christmas cactus * Indoor herbs * Porch pots Choose red, white, silver, gold or mix textures for extra sparkle. 🍬 𝟐. 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬 → 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 Dollar stores sell tons of plastic candy canes. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: * Glue a candy cane to a skewer * Add a bow * Insert into a pot for instant holiday cheer 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟: * Rosemary * Basil * Succulent arrangements * Small houseplants Bonus: Pets can’t eat the plastic ones (yay). ⭐ 𝟑. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 → 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 Dollar stores often have tiny wooden signs or tags that say things like: * “Joy” * “Believe” * “Merry & Bright” * “Peace” * “Jingle All the Way” 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲: * Gluing them onto a dowel or stick * Adding ribbon or greenery * Poking into a holiday arrangement Perfect for gift plants, too! 🌲 𝟒. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 & 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞-𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 → 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐝-𝐎𝐧𝐬 Those adorable tiny trees? Yep — they make AMAZING plant picks. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦: * Glue onto a skewer * Add to succulent bowls * Use in fairy garden-style pots

Today is the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year… and your plants absolutely notice it. Container gardeners, especially those with indoor setups, overwintered pots, shade-loving herbs, or winter veggies, feel the shift more than most. Plants slow down, light is weak, windows stay cold, and growth patterns get a little funky. But the Solstice isn’t just the darkest day. It also marks the moment when the light begins to return. Let’s dive into what today means for your plants and how to support them through the next few weeks of deep winter. 🌤️ 𝟏. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 This is the day your plants receive: * The fewest hours of natural daylight * The weakest sunlight intensity * The lowest daily total energy (photosynthetically speaking) If you’ve noticed: * slow growth * pale leaves * legginess * droopiness * poor herb production * or delayed blooms …it’s not you ... 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧. Your plants aren’t dying. They’re conserving energy and doing what plants do when the sun disappears. 💡 𝟐. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 ✔ 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 Winter sunlight is weak — even a few extra inches help. ✔ 𝐑𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 To prevent leaning and stretching. ✔ 𝐖𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 Dust blocks what little light we get right now. ✔ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 Even a cheap clip-on can make a MASSIVE difference. ✔ 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 Plants can’t use the nutrients well right now. 𝐏𝐆𝐒 𝐭𝐢𝐩: If you want your herbs to actually grow in December and January, a grow light is not optional, it’s the secret weapon. ❄️ 𝟑. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 The Solstice is when cold snaps start hitting fast. Take a moment today to check: ✔𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? Clusters stay warmer. ✔ 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞? They crack easily in December/January. ✔ 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩? This protects soil from hard freezing.