plant care & education
selection & conditions
Make the best selection for your space based on the lighting, care, and maintenance required.
local & seasonal upkeep
Prepare with the best practices to keep you garden thriving year round in the Lowcountry.
pest prevention guide
Learn how to manage pests and keep your plants happy and healthy in a ecological way.
plant selection & conditions
plant lighting
Learn how to assess the light in your space, what different light levels mean for your plants, and how to match the right type of plant to the right spot.
bright light
Sunlight shines directly onto the plant for several hours, usually 4-6+ hours of full sun a day. Ideal for cacti, and succulents.
bright indirect light
The plant is near a window, but not directly in the sun—light is diffused or filtered. Ideal for ficus, bird of paradise, hoya, and pilea.
medium light
The plant receives some indirect light, but less intense, with brief moments of direct sun. Ideal for monstera, pothos, philodendron, dracaena, fern, calathea, and peace lily.
low light
Light levels are noticeably dim with no direct or strong indirect sunlight, but area is still illuminated during the day. Most likely under a shaded area or far from a window. Ideal for snake and ZZ plants.
assessing your light conditions
Using the plants shadow can help you to easily identify which light bracket your plant is in. Sharp, defined shadows are from bright direct light. Soft, blurry shadows are from bright indirect light. Barely a shadow is from low light. Keep in mind, light intensity drops rapidly with distance from a window; even just a few feet can make a difference.
plant selection & conditions faq
There are a myriad of interesting plants that are perfect for beginners. Pothos, Spider Plant, and Snake Plant to name a few.
Even though these plants may be more tolerant than others, factors still contribute to the choice of your plant, like sunlight and water. To learn more about caring for beginner plants, read our article here.
Choosing the right plants for your indoor/ outdoor spaces begins with these simple questions:
What kind of light is the space getting?
- If low light/ shade, you will want plants that do not require lots of light—like ZZ Plants and Snake Plants for indoors, as well as Ferns and varieties of Begonias for outdoors.
- If bright/ direct light, you will want plants that thrive in the sunshine, like Succulents and Cactus for indoors, as well as Citrus and Olive trees for outdoors.
How often are you able to water?
- If you do not wish to water often, or live in a relatively dry climate, you will want drought tolerant options, like Jade Plant or Sago Palm.
Once you determine these factors, and choose your plant, you can then purchase the ideal soil for the plant and its conditions. We have a multitude of [soils and amendments] to choose from!
Absolutely! Each staff member is equipped with in depth plant care knowledge to help you make the right decision for your space!
Like under and overwatering, too much or too little sunlight can also effect the leaves of your plants.
If too much light [advice]
If too little light [advice]
Yes, there is a range of non-toxic to toxic plants in terms of your pets. It is important to note a plant's toxicity before bringing a new plant into your home.
We suggest reviewing this guide [best houseplants for pets]
This section covers common questions about light and watering to help you find success in your space.
plant watering
How often you water your plant depends on several conditional factors, even down to the pot you use! Generally, plants need more water in hot, dry, sunny, and windy conditions, and during active growth, while less water is needed in cooler, humid climates, and during dormancy. We've broken down the basics:
Plant Type: This is the most obvious of factors! For instance—if you have a Prickly Pear Cactus and a Peace Lily, these two plants naturally require two very different amounts of water; the Prickly Pear Cactus requiring little water and the Peace Lily requiring ample water.
Lighting: The amount of light a plant receives can factor into how much water they receive. For instance—a plant that can thrive in bright indirect to low lighting, like the Snake Plant, may not receive as much sunlight in low light conditions that would otherwise help to dry the soil. More bright, direct light leads to higher rates of photosynthesis and greater water use, as well as increased soil evaporation.
Growth Stage: During the plants growth stage (which usually takes place during Spring and Summer), the plant will need more water than when it is dormant (usually occurring during the winter).
Maturity: The maturity of the plant should also be taken into consideration. Young plants need more water, even if they are "drought tolerant". That is why you'll notice the inclusion of "drought tolerant once established", as many young plants still need regular watering until their roots have developed.
Pot Type: The pot you choose may also have an effect on how often you water your plant! For instance—terra cotta material naturally pulls water from the soil, requiring above average watering.
Drainage: Having proper drainage is one of the most important tips in taking care of your plant. Having a drainage hole in your pot entrusts that water will escape and not pool in the bottom of your container, which can lead to root rot. Amendments can be added to your soil to enhance drainage as well.
Different plants require different levels of watering. For instance—a Maidenhair Fern likes its soil to stay a little wet to the touch in between waterings, whereas a Philodendron likes its soil to dry out before its next watering. However, there isn’t a precise amount of water you should be giving to each plant. Instead, think of how often you are watering.
As a general rule of thumb, a plant should receive a thorough watering, allowing the excess water to drain out, and the soil to dry (if at least partially) before watering again.
For house plants, we suggest keeping the plant in a plastic growing pot which can be dropped into a decorative pot—instead of planting directly into the decorative pot. This allows you to pull the growing pot, water thoroughly and let the remaining water drain, before placing the plant back into its decorative pot.
Having your plant on a watering schedule may appear helpful, but due to plants having such unique watering needs (as well as going dormant), a schedule is unnecessary. Instead, it is helpful to monitor each plants soil and general health of the plant and water accordingly.
It can sometimes be hard to tell if your plant is overwatered or underwatered, since they often show the same signs! Here are a few differences:
Symptom | Overwatering | Underwatering |
Leaves | Yellowing all over, especially on new growth. May feel soft and mushy. | Yellowing or browning tips and edges that feel dry and brittle. |
Wilting | Drooping leaves that feel firm. | Limp and lifeless dropping leaves. |
Soil | Consistently wet, soggy, or may have mold or fungal growth on top. | Dry, cracked, and may have pulled away from the edges of the pot. |
Roots | Mushy, black, or smell from root rot. | Dry, brittle, and shriveled. |
Testing your soil by feel or using a moisture meter is the best way to determine if your plant needs water. Your plant will also signal if it needs water—like drooping leaves or crisping at the leaf tips.
This guide will help you understand how often to water, as well as tools and tips, to build a routine that keeps your plants happy.
soil & amendments guide
soil guide
Soil health is the root of a thriving garden. Here we’ve listed possible healthy and unhealthy signs of soil to be aware of:
Healthy:
Earthy Smell: A fresh and earthy scent, like after rain, often means good microbial activity
Dark Color: Rich and dark brown or black soil typically has high organic content and fertility
Good Texture: Crumbly soil with clumps that break apart easily, not too sandy or sticky, indicates a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay, and other organic matter
Hold moisture but drains well: Healthy soil retains moisture without becoming soggy or compacted
Abundant Life: If there are insects, worms, and fungi, your soil has healthy biological activity.
Strong Plant growth: If the plant itself is growing as it should, then it is a good indicator that the soil is healthy
Unhealthy:
Foul smell: Often indicates lack of oxygen, often from compaction or poor drainage
Pale, Grey, or Bleached Color: Could point to nutrient depletion, poor organic matter, or overwatering.
Hard, or cracked texture: Soil that has become compacted, restricting root growth and water movement
Sparse or weak plant growth: Plants may appear stunted, yellowed, or wilted, despite proper watering
Low Biological activity: Few or no visible insects, worms, or fungus, often indicates a lack or life-supporting conditions
pH Extremes or imbalance: Very acidic or alkaline soils may inhibit nutrient uptake or even harm sensitive plants
Testing your soil is a great way to keep updated on the health of your soil. Testing your soil in the late fall or early spring is ideal. Fall testing can help you prepare your amendments before winter. Spring testing can guide your fertilizing and planting decisions.
For established garden beds, testing your soil every 2-3 years is a general rule of thumb.
For new garden beds, fruits and vegetables, making major amendments or suspecting a problem (poor texture, growth): test annually.
More frequent tests may be needed if you are:
Regularly adding compost, fertilizer, or lime
Gardening in containers or raised beds with manufactured soil
Plants are showing stress
You are troubleshooting issues like pH imbalance or salt buildup
Soil is the natural medium in which plants grow, made up of minerals, organic matter, water, air, and living organisms. Soil provides structure for plant roots, supplies nutrients and water, while also hosting beneficial organisms.
Mulch is a protective covering, placed on top of the soil surface to help retain moisture, suppress weeds, regulate soil temperature, and prevent erosion. Mulch slowly adds organic matter as it decomposes.
Compost is a nutrient-rich and biologically active material made from decomposed organic matter. This material feeds the soil with slow-release nutrients, not feeding the plants directly. It improves the soil structure, mixture retention rate, and drainage, while also increasing microbial life.
We offer many top of the line soil mixes for garden beds, vegetable and fruit gardens, and more!
Happy Frog Potting Soil: Our favorite potting soil that we use in-house! Designed for container planting with earthworm castings, bat guano, and aged forest material, this potting soil does all the work for you!
Ocean Forest Potting Soil: Made by the same creators of Happy Frog, Ocean Forest soil contains many of the same ingredients, but with a fishy flare: sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, fish meal, and crab meal
Black Velvet Planting Soil: General purpose soil for use in preparing flower beds, vegetable gardens, and setting trees and shrubs
Just Natural Organic: All purpose garden soil with worm castings, ideal for herb and vegetable gardens
Coco Loco Potting Soil: Coconut coir potting soil, helping retain moisture and great for tropical plants
Salamander Soil: Water holding potting soil, great for rooted cuttings and young plant starts for both indoor and outdoor cultivation
Strawberry Fields Soil: Fruiting and flowering potting soil, designed to pump up your blooms, fruits, and berries
Baccto Lite Potting Soil: Pre-moistened blend of sphagnum, peat, and perlite
Baccto Premium Potting Soil: Naturally nutritious dark reed sedge peat, perlite, and sand.
Check out our entire selection of[Soils and Amendments]!
Aside from our in-house use of [Happy Frog Soil] we suggest Rosy Soils for indoor plant use, offering a range of soil types for your different plant needs.
[Rosy Soil: Indoor] Ideal soil mix designed for houseplants, herbs, and flowers
[Rosy Soil: Organic Cactus & Succulent Mix] The perfect soil mix designed for drought-tolerant plants. Boosts soil aeration, drainage, and nutrient uptake to help houseplants flourish.
Check out our entire selection of[Soils and Amendments]!
We would be happy to provide a custom quote based on your requirements. Please let us know the square footage you’re working with, and we’ll tailor the estimate accordingly.
Good soil is where great plants take root. Understand yours for success indoors and outdoors.
amendments guide
Soil amendments are materials added to soil to improve its physical, chemical, or biological properties, enhancing the conditions for your plants' growth. Amendments aren’t fertilizers (which directly provide nutrients) instead, they help fertilizers work more effectively by improving soil structure and nutrient availability.
Yes, we have different amendments for different plant needs. Browse our list of Amendments, or reach out to us and we will be more than happy to provide you with the right amendment for your plant.
Applying amendments at the right time of year is a proactive way to keep your garden healthy. Here are a few generic tips of application—please note that testing your soil and following amendment guidelines needs to be taken into consideration when applying amendments to your garden. Over-application can be detrimental to the longevity of your plant.
Lime: Applying lime in the Fall gives the amendment time to work over the winter so your garden is ready for Spring planting.
Sulfer: Apply in the spring or early Fall, allowing soil microbes time to convert into sulfuric acid over the winter to lower the pH before planting in the Spring.
Changing your soil pH is a gradual process that can take weeks to months based on your soil needs, have patience!
Adding organic materials to your garden is a safe and effective way to ensure your crop is healthy and delicious. Here we have listed a few ingredients that will help your edible garden thrive.
Compost: A highly beneficial, all-purpose amendment rich in nutrients and beneficial microbes that improves soil structure, water retention, and drainage. You can create it from kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and other organic materials.
Worm Castings: The excrement of worms, worm castings are an excellent way to add beneficial microbes and nitrogen to your soil.
Aged Manure: Manure from livestock that is well-composted or aged is a slow-release fertilizer that improves soil fertility and structure.
Leaf Mold: Decomposed leaves are an excellent soil conditioner that holds moisture and improves soil structure.
Straw, Grass Clippings, and Wood Shavings: These materials can be used to improve drainage, aeration, and soil structure, especially in clay soils.
Nutrient Amendments
Pelleted Lime: In naturally acidic soils, especially in the Southeast, pelletted lime can be used to raise the soil's pH, making it more suitable for most vegetables.
Blood Meal/Alfalfa Meal/Feather Meal: These are good sources of nitrogen for leafy vegetables.
Bone Meal: A source of phosphorus, which is important for fruit and root crops.
Kelp Meal/Greensand: These provide potassium and other essential minerals.
We’ve covered the essentials—now here are some common questions about understanding what to add to your soil and getting your plants on the right track.
local & seasonal upkeep guide
local & seasonal upkeep faq
We carry both native and pollinator friendly plants. They each have their own section at the greenhouse!
Pruning: Pruning your plants in the Lowcountry is based on an important key factor: the plants bloom time. If a plant is an early bloomer (before June) it should be pruned in the spring or late summer after their blooms have wilted. Otherwise, a plant can be pruned in the fall or winter without hindering next season's blooms.
Fertilizing: Due to the constant heat and humidity of the Lowcountry, our plants are unable to "rest", and they take up nutrients constantly throughout the day and night. Because of this, we suggest fertilizing your plants more regularly than the fertilizer packaging suggests.
You can find out more information from this Lowcountry Master Gardener Association article.
Plants change from season to season and so do we! We carry not only seasonal blooms, but holiday favorites like pumpkins, wreaths and garland, poinsettias, and of course, Christmas trees!
To stay in the know when needing to order seasonal plants and accessories, sign up for our newsletter to be the first in the know! [anchor down to blog sign up in footer]
Yes, both! Not only do we have them available, our staff is trained to help you choose the best plant for your full-sun spot.
The best time for planting in the Lowcountry are our inbetween (and short) seasons, Spring and Fall. Planting in the Fall season will give your plant more time to devote energy to the root system before focusing its energy on foliage growth in the Spring.
To learn more about planting in the Lowcountry, review this Lowcountry Master Gardener Association article.
pest prevention guide
learning about pests
Anything that we don't want around our plants that is causing unacceptable, long term damage.
Take note: There are "bad" insects, but also good insects that are important to our ecosystem! Pest "control" never means "eradication". You should always assess the health of a plant before deciding to treat it. Is it worth treating? Small repeated treatments will lead to resistance and make it harder to treat in the future. Find the cause of your plant's issues and determine natural solutions whenever possible.
There are three common pests that can affect the longevity of your plant:
1. Insects: Visible organisms that chew on the plant or suck sap.
2. Disease: Invisible micro organisms (fungi, bacterial, virus).
3. Disorder: Human error/ environmental issues (sun scorching, overwatering, etc.)
Common pests include:
Spider Mites: Tiny Arachnids who cause yellowing/ browning of leaves and can ultimately lead to defoliation. These pests thrive in warm and conditions.
Mealybugs: A sap-sucking insect that produces a white, waxy material that can cause leaves to turn yellow or brown. These are particularly popular amount house plants.
Thrips: These minute bugs (around 1mm in length) are hard to detect, but their calling card are distinct: causing silvery or speckled patterns on leaves. They are most common among vegetable and fruit trees.
Powdery Mildew: A fungal plant disease which looks like a white dusting on powder on leaves and stems. This disease thrives on humid weather.
Root Rot: This disease is due to poor drainage or overwatering, and is exactly as it sounds. The roots have begun to decay, causing stunted growth and shriveled leaves.
pest prevention guide
There are lots of tips and tricks that can help beat pests. Catching a pest outbreak early is crucial!
You can either [reach out to us] and we can offer advice for curbing your pest problem, as well as offer pest control solutions that we carry here at the store! [link to pest control solutions]
If your plant is mobile and has a pest, quarantine it from any other plants as the issue may spread.
There are four main types of pest control:
1. Cultural—purposeful cultivation to reduce pests through proper plant placement, watering, fertilization, and sanitization.
2. Mechanical—physical act of removing dead and damaged foliage. Not effective for all pests, but it can be used for chewing insects.
3. Biological—"BT" or "Bacillus Thuringiensis" is a naturally occurring bacterium used to target specific pests (beetles, flies, etc.) Practice companion plating and increase the diversity in your garden for biological control against pests.
4. Chemical—Used as a last resort if a plant has no way to recover. The "safest" chemicals are sulfur and copper. Use horticultural oil, insecticidal soap, and spinosad according to the directions and be aware of temperature sensitive products (oil based chemicals will evaporate and burn plants in the sun! Be sure to tuck them in the shade during oil application). These tools are especially effective for sap-sucking insects.
If you think a plant may have a pest, take a picture and send it to us online, or via our phone number! If your plant is mobile, it is best not to bring a sick plant into the shop—travel can be harsh and pests are often easy to pass along to healthy plants!
need a garden consultation?
Our plant experts are happy to help you with what your ailing plant needs.