A handy Q&A guide by the authors of the Prairie Gardener series, Staying Alive: The Go-To Guide for Houseplants provides expert advice to ensure your houseplants thrive, wherever you call home.

Whether you have one tiny succulent on your desk at work or a massive collection of tropical plants in your home, caring for houseplants can be a real source of joy—and the occasional moment of wild frustration.

In this Q&A guide to happy, healthy houseplants, lifelong gardeners Sheryl Normandeau and Janet Melrose are here with the insight you need to take you from perusing the plant shop to the dreaded repotting to splitting your mama spider into little spidies to share with friends. Learn:

• How to choose the right plants for your space (from aloe to ZZ)
• How to train vines
• How to create and care for a terrarium
• When to repot your plants
• All about tap water, rainwater, distilled water, too much water, and not enough
• Perfecting your potting soil
• Dividing, repotting, and growing plants from seed
• How to tackle problems like flies, fungus, spots, and even general malaise

Opening with a chapter on setting up a houseplant-friendly home, the pair talk containers, lighting, watering, soil and nutrients, propagation, pests and other problems, and offer a final grab bag of tips to help you satisfy some of those trickier plant pals in your midst (calling all orchids).

Janet Melrose is the co-author of the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series. She is a garden educator and consultant, and an advocate for Calgary’s Sustainable Local Food System. She is a life-long gardener and holds a Prairie Horticulture Certificate and Home Farm Horticultural Therapy Certificate. She has a passion for Horticultural Therapy and facilitates numerous programs designed to integrate people marginalized by various disabilities into the larger community. She is a regular contributor to The Gardener for Canadian Climates magazine. She lives in Calgary where she runs her education and consulting company, Calgary’s Cottage Gardener.

Janet Melrose's profile page

Sheryl Normandeau is the co-author of the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series and author of The Little Prairie Book of Berries. A life-long gardener, she holds a Prairie Horticulture Certificate and a Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate and is a freelance writer specializing in gardening writing with hundreds of articles published. She is a regular contributor The Gardener for Canadian Climates, The Prairie Garden Annual, Herb Quarterly, and many more. She lives in Calgary.

Sheryl Normandeau's profile page

Praise for Staying Alive

"A practical and approachable resource for anyone struggling to keep houseplants healthy. In a conversational question-and-answer format reminiscent of an advice column, the book addresses common plant-care challenges with clarity, humor, and a reassuring tone. . . Special sections offer tips on kid- and pet-safe plant species, vacation-care strategies, and simple routines to make plant care less overwhelming." —Booklist

Praise for Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau

Honorable Mention at the American Horticultural Society Book Awards

"The Prairie Gardener's Go-To series comes in mighty yet digestible volumes covering popular topics like seeds, vegetables, and soil. . . Although each guide touches on regionally specific information, the wisdom of these seasoned gardeners applies to any garden, wherever it may be." —Acadia Tucker, author of Growing Perennial Foods

"Whether you’re looking for information on that one tiny pest you just can’t control, or are talking a new gardener through their first planting season, these slim but mighty volumes make great companions at the height of summer in the garden trenches and during cold winter days planning the next season.” —Floral Acres Greenhouse & Garden Centre

"The books are a pleasure just to leaf through, but the accessible writing and level of expertise makes them essential to any gardener’s library... Well-indexed, to help you find solutions to elusive problems. Highly recommended!"—Diane Miessler, Certified Permaculture Designer and author of Grow Your Soil

"Reading the Prairie Gardener's Go-To series is like sitting down with your friendly local master gardener. Delivers practice guidance that will leave you feeling confident and inspired." —Andrea Bellamy, author of Small-Space Vegetable Gardens

“The Prairie Gardener’s Go-To series offers knowledgeable yet accessible answers to questions covering a broad range of topics to help you cultivate garden success. Get growing!” —Lorene Edwards Forkner, gardener, writer, author of Color In and Out of the Garden

"The Prairie Gardener guides offer tips on planning, planting and growing gardens, and troubleshooting pests and diseases." —Calgary Herald

"A great resource for gardeners everywhere." —Quill & Quire

"In a digital world full of general information, their books provide specific knowledge for gardening in climates like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Plus, everything they write about is based on their own experience." —Helpful Gardeners Podcast

"This book provides detailed cultivation, harvesting and storage tips for the vegetables grown in our region." —Western Producer

"Melrose and Normandeau answer all the questions that the two experts could think of when it came to horticulture on the prairies." —Edify Edmonton

"Helping gardeners across the prairies succeed in growing food, flowers and everything in between." —Medicine Hat News

"Herbs offers highly local advice on how to grow herbs for your kitchen in our climate." —Savour Calgary

"With advice on which native grasses to use—and why—the book gives gardeners both inspiration and knowledge." —Alberta Views

"This go-to paperback addresses many issues of perennial plants that will prove extremely useful to gardeners." —Calgary Horticultural Society

"Advice on container gardens, raised beds, small plots and postage-stamp sized yards, and how to try your hand at vertical gardening." —Garden Making

“Written with wit and charm, Janet and Sheryl have given us the comprehensive, gardener-friendly guide to soil science everyone who grows a garden needs to read.” —Daryl Beyers, gardening instructor and author of The New Gardener’s Handbook