Penny Flora Thoughts

All About Clematis
All About Clematis
Learn how to grow clematis successfully with this complete care guide. Discover planting tips, pruning groups, companion plants, and how to get more blooms from the “queen of vines.” Read more...
Hellebores 101 with Deb! The Ultimate Winter-Blooming Perennial for Shade Gardens
Hellebores 101 with Deb! The Ultimate Winter-Blooming Perennial for Shade Gardens
Brighten the quietest part of your garden with hellebores—often called Christmas or Lenten roses—beloved for their elegant, nodding blooms and evergreen foliage. Flowering in late winter through early spring, these... Read more...
Water Wise Plant Care
Water Wise Plant Care
Water – it’s the lifeblood of our plants. In fact, it makes up 95 percent of their tissue. Water helps seeds sprout (“germinate”) and helps plants make food (“photosynthesize”), transport... Read more...
Mums – A Hot Take!
Mums – A Hot Take!
Mums signal fall in a big way at Groovy Plants Ranch and along with their arrival we get tons of questions. Questions like “When is the best time to plant... Read more...
Wild About Bananas
Wild About Bananas
Hey Midwest friends! Are you ready for an island escape in your own backyard? We’ve got the plant for you. It’s a hardy banana tree (Musa basjoo) that shows off... Read more...
Growing Edible Figs in Pots
Growing Edible Figs in Pots
Growing edible fig trees – it’s the ultimate challenge for many Northern gardeners. We’re not talking about the popular African fiddle leaf figs (Ficus lyrata) rather the Mediterranean ones (Ficus... Read more...
Groovy Outdoor Succulents
Groovy Outdoor Succulents
Succulents are legendary at Groovy Plants Ranch. For 15 years, Jared has been growing and propagating both hardy and tender ones since he founded the business.  For this post, we’re... Read more...
Year of the Phlox
Year of the Phlox
It’s the Year of the Phlox, and at Groovy Plants Ranch we’re taking phlox fandom to new levels. We’re growing 15-20 varieties including early creeping phlox and taller summer-flowering garden... Read more...
Plant A Backyard Paradise
Plant A Backyard Paradise
Layer on the canna lilies, banana trees, elephant ears and hibiscus. Cue the Jimmy Buffet playlist. Pour yourself a cool drink, and kick back in your own northern paradise. At... Read more...
Ten Groovy Fragrant Plants
Ten Groovy Fragrant Plants
If you choose plants just for their looks, you may be missing out. Science shows fragrance – the invisible garden element – has the power to evoke emotions and change... Read more...
Peperomia Pep Talk
Peperomia Pep Talk
If your plant collection needs a little change up, our team at Groovy Plants Ranch suggests adding some peperomias to your line up. We truly BELIEVE in peperomias. They’re low-maintenance,... Read more...
String Succulents
String Succulents
String succulents are so adorable! Our Groovy Plants team loves their quirky leaf shapes from cascading strands of pearls and chains of jumping dolphins to wiry vines of hearts and... Read more...
Moving Houseplants Indoors
Moving Houseplants Indoors
Ready or not, fall is here. And, that means it’s time to move your houseplants back indoors. Our team at Groovy Ranch Plants advises customers that there’s a little more... Read more...
Long Live Hoya
Long Live Hoya
Maybe your first hoya, like ours, was a retro houseplant passed down from a cutting of your grandmother’s. The vines with their waxy leaves can grow on forever and even... Read more...
Bring on Bromeliads
Bring on Bromeliads
Talk about personality! These tropical plants bring an exotic flair to your home décor and plant collection with their flamboyant colors, strappy leaves, rosette shapes and crazy spikes.  Natural History... Read more...
Design First Plant Second
Design First Plant Second
If you’re like us, it’s easy to collect plants then return home lost on where to plant them all. You may try temporarily tucking some in beds until you know... Read more...
Moving Houseplants Outdoors
Moving Houseplants Outdoors
After a winter indoors, your houseplants are ready for a summer escape to the great outdoors free from low-light conditions and dry furnace heat. Here, they’ll thrive in the summer... Read more...
Perennial Cutback
Perennial Cutback
So, your salvias and catmint have put on their spring show. Now what? Do you just let them sit there all scruffy for the rest of the season or do... Read more...
Hardy Hibiscus
Hardy Hibiscus
Hello, Hibiscus! You and your big tropical blooms are so worth the wait! At Groovy Plants Ranch, we think these hardy hibiscuses are pretty remarkable perennials. They die to the... Read more...
Divide and Multiply
Divide and Multiply
If you think growing houseplants is fun, we challenge you to take plant parenting to the next level and grow some plant babies.  In the horticulture world, “propagation” is the... Read more...
Fancy Begonias
Fancy Begonias
Begonias love to steal the show in our greenhouse. With the recent arrival of Jurassic Rex™ begonias, our customers can’t help but stop and gawk at the fabulously pebbled, spiraled... Read more...
How to Grow Healthy Calathea Plants
How to Grow Healthy Calathea Plants
Felicia, retail manager at Groovy Plants Ranch, hears lots of calathea questions especially during the winter months. One customer asks, “Why are my calathea leaves drooping or curling?” Another shares... Read more...
Low-Light Plants For Your Desk
Low-Light Plants For Your Desk
Hey, we all appreciate the health perks plants bring to our work-from-home spaces. Just watch a ZZ plant leaf unfurl, and there’s no denying its power to inspire creativity and... Read more...
Monstera Up
Monstera Up
  Monstera is having a serious moment in houseplant history. And, here at Groovy Plants Ranch, we are constantly restocking the “mile of monsteras” in our Jungle Hut.  True confessions... Read more...
Go Big: Alocasia
Go Big: Alocasia
Alocasia – or elephant ears – are BIG! And, we mean big in size, big in popularity and big in price for some rarer ones! We love how they fill... Read more...
All About Agaves
All About Agaves
At Groovy Ranch Plants, we’re a bit crazy for agaves. There’s just something about these boldly architectural, wickedly beautiful and rather spiky plants. Our founder Jared Hughes has always loved... Read more...
No Fail Watering
No Fail Watering
Water is so important to plants. It provides structural support, cools plants and moves minerals throughout them. Yet, watering can be a challenge for many plant lovers. Too much water... Read more...
Perennial Time!
Perennial Time!
Hey garden friends! It’s time to make plans to plant perennials. And, the Groovy Plants Ranch team has pulled together this primer to get you started. We love that perennials... Read more...
All About Lavender
All About Lavender
Stop by the Ranch and take in the oh-so-fragrant lavender! For Lavender Daze, we’re celebrating all-things lavender, May 31st-June 2nd, with a Maker’s Market of lavender products, food trucks, and... Read more...
All About Peonies
All About Peonies
Botanically known as Paeonoia, peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Their history goes back to ancient days where they once were China’s national flower and bred in... Read more...
Long Live Hellebores
Long Live Hellebores
Hellebores are beloved for their long lives and the early spring blooms they bring to a shade garden. But, did you know these perennial plants also have a fascinating history? ... Read more...
Collecting Orchids
Collecting Orchids
Dendros and paphs and cattleyas, oh, my! It’s easy to see how orchid fans get hooked on these fanciful and long-flowering plants. With 150,000 varieties in the orchid family, there’s... Read more...
Easy-Care Air Plants
Easy-Care Air Plants
Popular in the 70s, air plants are now enjoying a revival. They’re low maintenance, remarkably adaptable for small urban spaces and fun to display. Just ask Liz Hughes who recently... Read more...