A handy Q&A guide by the authors of the Prairie Gardener series, Staying Alive: The Go-To Guide for Houseplants provides expert advice to ensure your houseplants thrive, wherever you call home.

Whether you have one tiny succulent on your desk at work or a massive collection of tropical plants in your home, caring for houseplants can be a real source of joy—and the occasional moment of wild frustration.

In this Q&A guide to happy, healthy houseplants, lifelong gardeners Sheryl Normandeau and Janet Melrose are here with the insight you need to take you from perusing the plant shop to the dreaded repotting to splitting your mama spider into little spidies to share with friends. Learn:

• How to choose the right plants for your space (from aloe to ZZ)


• How to train vines


• How to create and care for a terrarium


• When to repot your plants


• All about tap water, rainwater, distilled water, too much water, and not enough


• Perfecting your potting soil


• Dividing, repotting, and growing plants from seed


• How to tackle problems like flies, fungus, spots, and even general malaise

Opening with a chapter on setting up a houseplant-friendly home, the pair talk containers, lighting, watering, soil and nutrients, propagation, pests and other problems, and offer a final grab bag of tips to help you satisfy some of those trickier plant pals in your midst (calling all orchids).