Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Yellowing in leaves on a plant is frequently caused by inadequate nutrition. It is recommended that pot plants get a dose of liquid plant food every two to four weeks, following the directions on the package. Also, lower leaves of a dieffenbachia will fall away naturally, establishing a nice trunk as the plant grows. Hopefully, you already know that the sap of the dieffenbachia is poisonous. Just a small amount can cause the tongue to swell, possibly closing the throat although this is very rare. It would be safer if small children not have access to the plant; even cats can be harmed by chewing the leaves. This website on House Plant Care should give you additional useful ideas on care for your plant.

Next, you're in for a surprise (well, we were surprised) when you read this article on Care of Bromeliads. Turns out bromeliads do NOT bloom again. Apparently, when they get to about 3/4 of their normal size, they are treated to bloom, and placed in retail stores for sale. You buy one, take it home, enjoy its lovely bloom for a while, and then the bloom dies. It will never bloom again. However, it will continue to live and, hopefully, flourish and put out offsets or "pups". When these "pups" get to be about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the mother plant, they can be removed and repotted, allowed to grow naturally, and then they, too, will bloom. Once. When the bloom has died, you should cut the bloom stalk down as far as you can. So, you can buy blooming bromeliads, enjoy the bloom until it dies and throw out the plant, or you can start a bromeliad farm.

Both of these plants are non-native tropicals or sub-tropicals. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is all about the use of plants native to North America in the landscape. But we know that most indoor plants are tropicals because they are better able to tolerate the extreme conditions (for plants) indoors, summer and winter.