Hello, my name is Gary Antosh, founder of plantcaretoday.com. Our goal at Plant Care Today is simple – Share what I have learned over the last 5+ decades to help people learn and succeed with plants.
The website Plantcaretoday.com launched on November 14, 2012. But, my passion for growing and caring for plants began back in the early 1970s when I was just a teenager.
My first “growing” job began at a small retail nursery near Cutler Ridge, Florida. Day’s Orchids grew Vandas, Ascocendas, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, Cattleyas, and Phalaenopsis (moth) orchids. They grew a few Anthuriums, Spathiphyllums, and Amazon Lilies in one greenhouse.
The Passion for Plants – I Learned to Grow From Necessity
My interest in and passion for Anthuriums grew. I slowly acquired hundreds of different rare species and learned “How To” grow them well. On May 16th, 1976, I was featured in an article about Anthuriums in The Miami Herald.
Before I knew it, at the age of 19, I had assembled one of the best collections of Anthuriums in the world. I found myself trading plants with collectors and botanical gardens around the world.
When collecting rare and unusual plants, I would get very small plants or a “one of a kind” plant cutting. Many times the cutting had no roots and definitely no growing instructions. I needed to learn how to make these “rare plants” survive. I learned to grow from necessity.
Despite being young, I was contacted and asked to teach a 6-week course on “Aroids” (Anthurium, Philodendron, Spathiphyllum, Aglaonema) at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, Florida.
One problem surfaced immediately – there was no course. At Fairchild, no one to my knowledge had ever taught a course on Aroids – Fairchild is known for palms. I accepted the task and offered the best and the only thing I could – my experience.
As I think back, it is hard to believe I could talk to people for two hours straight about one group of plants. I can still picture my wife sitting in the back laughing at my mistakes – but what a learning experience.
Growing rare plants forced me to ask questions:
- Why did I grow the way I did?
- What soil is best for the plant?
- Where did the plant come from? Climate wise
- How much water does the plant need?
- What is too much or what is not enough? Too much water, too little lighting, and fertilizing too often.
Rare plants pushed me and gave me a goal. The goal was to make them root and grow. All so I could trade for other plants. End result – I learned how to grow plants!
Learning and understanding how plants grow and react, has always interested me. I’ve never been afraid to experiment, learn, and even fail. Those “learned” growing principals work indoors or outdoors. We must adapt how we care for our plants to the environment.
My passion for Anthuriums and Aroids was shared by others who also love these plants. This passion helped form the start of what is now known as the International Aroid Society.
In 1976, I purchased 4 acres of land and established a wholesale nursery operation, growing plants for the trade.
In late 1994, I discovered the internet. I knew right away THIS was HOW to share knowledge and plant care information with others.
Over the years, I started several websites. These eventually morphed into plantcaretoday.com.
Answering questions by email turned into a FREE newsletter still published today and enjoyed by 1,000’s. The answers to those first questions became the first articles published. We’ve published in-depth plant care guides offering our decades of plant growing expertise.
Over the years, we have had well over 100 million visitors to plantcaretoday.com. Some visitors are just starting out with indoor and outdoor plants. Others visit with years of care and plant growing experience.
There is always something new to learn about plants. Always something to share with others. That is why PlantCareToday is here today. To help others enjoy the world of plants.
We spend every day adding new articles along with improving and expanding current topics.
If you have any questions contact us here. We will do our best to answer them, usually through articles to help others. Doing a search is the best place to start as we have 1,000s of articles (search is up at the top right side).
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For now, take a look around the site and soak up all the wonderful things you can do with plants indoors and out!
Let’s Get Growing and Enjoy the World Of Plants,
Gary Antosh
800 Belle Terre Parkway, 200
Suite #153
Palm Coast, Florida
Phone: 786-423-3548