Earthly Garden

If you are a pet owner and a houseplant lover, you’ve probably found that keeping both happy can be a balancing act. Cats and dogs often view our plants as playthings, snacks, and sometimes even toilets! While there are many plants that are poisonous to our furry friends, here is a list of some safe varieties:

· African Violets (Saintpaulia)

· Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)

· Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

· Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus australis)

· Zebra Plant (Calathea zebrina)

· Wandering Jew (Zebrina pendula)

· Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)

· Peperomia

· Jade Plant (Crassula argentea)

When shopping for houseplants, avoid obvious dangers like cacti. Dogs and cats don’t understand that the spines are sharp! Also avoid any plant that produces berries they are often too tempting for pets to resist. Here are some other plants to avoid or keep far out of your pet’s reach:

Oleander should NEVER be used as a houseplant. Although it is beautiful, it is also very poisonous. 1 leaf is enough to kill your pet-and you.

Trailing plants such as Philodendron and Pothos should be kept up high where their trailing stems won’t tempt. While neither is toxic, ingesting Philodendron will give your pet an itchy rash, and Pothos will cause vomiting. Diffenbachia should also be kept away from pets-the sap in its leaves can cause swelling of the throat and literally take your pets voice away. (It does the same thing to humans-this may be why some of its nicknames are “Mother in Law Plant” and “Dumb Cane”!) Ivies will cause a blistering rash, and even Aloe Vera, which is a plant no kitchen should be without(the gel inside is wonderful at healing burns and minor skin irritations), will cause vomiting and intestinal distress if eaten.

To be absolutely sure your pets and plants can coexist safely, know what you’re buying. That way you’ll know which plants you can leave around your plants and which need to be placed out of reach-or not purchased at all!

gardening, houseplants, pets, nontoxic plants

I came home a little while ago and found part of my creeping ficus lying on the floor. I immediately knew what happened and went to confront the furry culprit-my cat. For reasons unknown, some cats look at houseplants as a free kitty salad bar. While I make sure that any plants within the cat’s reach are non-toxic, I still don’t appreciate having them chewed up by him! Here are some things to try if you have a plant loving kitty:

Obviously, simply moving the plant out of the cat’s reach is the best, but if it’s not possible, try putting aluminium foil or contact paper (sticky side up) around your plants. Cats hate the feel of both on their paws and will stay away. You can also try spraying your plants with one of the sprays (such as Bitter Apple)made to keep pets from chewing on cords. You can make your own by blending up citrus fruits or hot peppers in a blender and then mixing the puree with water. Keep in a well labled spray bottle. The drawback to this is that it can make the leaves of your plants sticky and that will attract dust.

Another easy remedy is to buy your cat his own plant! Most pet stores sell pots of cat grass, or you can easily grow your own from seed, which can be found at most garden centers. Chances are if you give your cat his own plant, he won’t nibble on yours. By the way, it’s not known exactly why some cats are crazy about greens-the species as a whole are carnivores and can’t survive on a vegetarian diet, even if they wanted to!

gardening, cats, houseplants, pets

If you’ve had your houseplants outside for the summer, now is the time to bring them back in. With the nights getting cooler and cooler, your plants will begin to suffer. Before you do however, give them a good look over and check for signs of insects and disease. You may also want to clean the pots off and check to be sure none of them have outgrown their pots. Replace any pots that have cracked. Once you’ve brought them inside, don’t be surprised if they look a little sad for awhile. After a summer of being outdoors, your home will seem positively dark and dreary to them. After a few weeks they should adjust. Don’t worry about feeding them-this time of year is when their growth period begins to slow down. You’ll find you’ll need to water less as well!

gardening, gardens, houseplants, indoor gardening