Plant care you can check
We're building plant care guides for houseplants, garden plants and edibles that cite the source for every fact: light, water, soil, hardiness and pet toxicity.
Monstera deliciosa
- LIGHT
- Dappled sun or partial shade (2–6 hours of direct sun)
- WATER
- When the top quarter to third of the mix is dry
- USDA ZONE
- 10–12 (outdoors)
- SOIL PH
- Neutral (6.0–8.0)
Sources: NC State Extension Plant Toolbox · ASPCA Animal Poison Control
Our standard
Guides organized the way you grow
The first guides are being researched now. Each section below will open once its pages meet our sourcing standard.
Houseplants
Care guides for the plants people keep indoors, from light needs to repotting.
Pet-safe plants
Plants with a cited non-toxic record for cats and dogs, with the source for each one.
Vegetables & herbs
When to plant, how far apart, and when to harvest, matched to your hardiness zone.
Trees & shrubs
Size at maturity, hardiness range and site needs, before you dig a hole.
Perennials
Plants that come back each year, sorted by sun, shade and zone.
Hardiness zones
What your USDA zone means and which plants can survive your winters.
One page, the whole plant
Each guide will open with the numbers you came for, then the context you need to act on them. No hunting through paragraphs for a watering interval.
How we source and check facts →Care at a glance
Light, water, humidity, soil and feeding in a fixed table you can scan in seconds.
Checked names
Accepted name, family and synonyms reconciled against Kew POWO.
Toxicity and edibility
Cat and dog risk, the compound involved where known, symptoms, and the citation.
Zone and climate fit
USDA hardiness range, native distribution and whether the plant does well indoors.
Problem diagnosis
Common pests and symptom-first troubleshooting for yellowing leaves, leaf drop and rot.
Propagation steps
Method, season and typical rooting time for each way the plant can be propagated.
Check a plant before it comes home
Our guides will list cat and dog toxicity with the compound involved and the symptoms to watch for. Where no cited source exists, the page says "unknown" rather than reassuring you. Unknown is never the same as safe.
Badges: Non-toxic · Toxic · Highly toxic · Unknown
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Spider plant Chlorophytum comosum · ASPCANon-toxic
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Peace lily Spathiphyllum spp. · ASPCAToxic
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Sago palm Cycas revoluta · ASPCA; NC State ExtensionHighly toxic
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Calathea Calathea spp. · ASPCANon-toxic
USDA hardiness zones at a glance
A hardiness zone is based on the average coldest winter night in an area. Plant labels list the zones a plant can survive; if your zone falls inside that range, the plant can usually stay outdoors year-round.
| Zone | °F | °C |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | −40 to −30 | −40.0 to −34.4 |
| 4 | −30 to −20 | −34.4 to −28.9 |
| 5 | −20 to −10 | −28.9 to −23.3 |
| 6 | −10 to 0 | −23.3 to −17.8 |
| 7 | 0 to 10 | −17.8 to −12.2 |
| 8 | 10 to 20 | −12.2 to −6.7 |
| 9 | 20 to 30 | −6.7 to −1.1 |
| 10 | 30 to 40 | −1.1 to 4.4 |
| 11 | 40 to 50 | 4.4 to 10.0 |
Every claim has a source line
Taxonomy and native range come from Kew POWO and USDA PLANTS. Care guidance and toxicity come from university extension services and ASPCA. Automated checks confirm each cited page exists and supports the fact, AI drafts only from those checked facts, and a person spot-checks samples and reviews every case where sources disagree about toxicity. See the editorial policy.