Learn how to care for the indoor plants sold in-store at Witch Plz!

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera

It is important to note that while Aloe vera can be eaten and is used medicinally, the yellow sap within the green skin of the leaves is an irritant and consumption can sometimes have ill effects, especially in large amounts.

Aloe Vera is a perennial, evergreen succulent native to the Arabian Peninsula, but it has become tropical in warm climates across the world. The gel within the leaves is antiviral, gastro-tonic, and immunostimulant. It is classically used for topical purposes to heal minor burns and abrasions and soothe irritation. It used to be thought that there were many more species and varieties of healing aloes than there are, but scientific testing has lead to the discovery that many of these other aloes are actually Aloe vera afterall.

It should be noted that "aloeswood" or "wood aloe" is not the same plant or interchangeable and refers to agar wood. Because of the sap issue, we do not recommend aloe vera being dried for use as incense or burnable.

These aloes were grown by Jess, having spawned off of her own personal plant.

Aloe Vera Magic

Obviously, a plant that is used for physical healing can also be utilized in magical healing. Additionally, there are some traditions in which dried aloe leaves or the whole plant have been hung over a door to prevent evil eye. We personally think growing a live plant near a door or space of welcome (such as hall or sitting room or wherever gatherings are held) can serve a similar purpose.

Cunningham purports that there is a Mexican tradition of making wreaths of Aloe Vera and pouches of salt for both protection and drawing money. Judy Hall connected it to the sign of Scorpio, the sign of Mars, and recommends it as a healing herb for those with a Libra sun sign. Others have seen it as connected to Cancer or Libra, the Moon and Venus, the element of Water, to attracting luck and soothing grief.

Your Aloe vera needs:

• Easy care
• Full Sun
  • Can tolerate part sun.
  • In my experience, aloes only tolerate part sun for a limited amount of time. The more summer sunlight you can give them, the better.
• Low water needs
  • Water every 2-4 weeks, when soil is completely dry
• Low fertility needs
  • Fertilize with general, green plant, or succulent fertilizer every 1-2 months.
• Prefers dry air to humid air.
  • Temporarily humid conditions are okay when plant is placed outdoors.
• Leaves should be cleaned twice a year. Simply wipe with wet cloth.
• Cannot tolerate temperatures bellow 6°C.
  • In southern Ontario, this means it can only be reliably placed outside from June to August.
  • For indoor placement, keep in mind that it can be sensitive to cold drafts.
• Should be repotted every two years.
• It is fine with hanging pots, and that is how I keep my aloes.

Comfrey

Symphytum officinale

It is important to know that Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are not destroyed by heat and can be absorbed by the skin. These alkaloids are toxic to the liver. Whether any potential benefit outweighs this risk is something to be discussed with your doctor.

Comfrey is herbaceous flowering perennial with a long history of use as a medicinal plant but is no longer advised for such due to potential toxicity to the liver. Nonetheless, it offers just as much care and nurture to your garden. It helps attract pests away from other plants (known as a "trap crop") as well as attracting the pollinators and other beneficial insects to the garden. Its deep taproots pull nutrients from deep within the soil that other plants cannot access, making them extremely valuable additions as green manure or added to the compost heap. 

It grows quickly and vigorously, with some of our plants growing as tall as Jess. These small comfreys have been uprooted from where they have spread in our garden, as they are wont to do. It has leaves covered in fine, prickly hairs, but these are not so injurious as, for example, a nettle.

Comfrey Magic

Author Astrea Taylor points to its traditional names of knitbone and sympho to point out comfrey's abilities to unite. She advises using it in workings of emotional healing and conflict resolution. She also connects it to Hekate.

Cunningham connects comfrey to powers of prosperity (which make sense where prosperity is connected to growth and fertility, as it is a very vigorous grower which spreads easily), and to the element of water and planet of Saturn. He advises using it to enhance the positive traits of the Capricorn. Judy Hall agrees with its connection to Capricorn and additional advises it as a healing herb for Capricorns.

Taylor, Cunningham, and several other authors appeal to comfrey for protection during travel, keeping it in one's pocket, purse, or suitcase. 

Your Comfrey needs:

• Some attention, especially in its first year
• Full Sun
• High amount of water needs
  • In the warm months, it can need water as frequently as every few days. If it has been particularly hot without rain and the leaves are looking pathetic instead of perky, it should be watered. (Or go ahead and cut it for compost.)
• No fertility needs
• Normal humidity is fine
• Must be planted in the ground as it does not like being kept in a pot long-term. In the ground, it can tolerate temperatures as low as -34 °C. But it will die back to the root each year.
• Grows purple flowers that are loved by pollinators.

Jade Plant

Crassula ovata

It is important to know that Jade Plant can be toxic to pets.

Also called "Friendship Tree" and "Money Tree," Jade Plants are native to South Africa and Mozambique. While they may appear shrubby as they main stems form brown bark as they mature, they never actually become woody. They are perennial, evergreen succulent with fat, deep green leaves. If cared for long enough, Jade Plants can grow as large as 3 metres high and 2 metres wide! 

These Jade Plants were grown by Charlie, and Charlie has put these plants through the wringer! They've been raised in low-light conditions, exposed to cold temps and heat waves, and both under-watered and over-watered, yet they thrive and are productive. So, while we provide some basic instructions below, don't worry about it too much as this Basement Dweller will be fine in anyone's care. Jade plants actually have a special kind of photosynthesis (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) that allows them to absorb & store carbon dioxide even in dark environments! Making it perfect for dark living spaces!

Jade Plant Magic

Judika Illes recommends rubbing money-drawing oil on the leaves of your Jade Plant once a month and stresses the importance of keeping this plant well-cared for.

According to Juliet Diaz, Jade Plants bring abundance, friendship, and luck. She recommends surrounding the plant with citrine, pyrite, green jade, and green aventurine as well as with money and cinnamon incense. She reminds us that Jade Plants bring abundance beyond finance; the Jade Plant reminds you to show up for yourself and others, nurturing relationships and forgiveness, symbolizing good fortune and miracles.

Alaric Albertsson recommends growing one as a representation of the World Tree because, while Jade Plant is not actually a tree, it is an easier plant to manage indoors than most actual trees.

Your Jade Plant needs:

• Easy Care
• Full to Partial Sunlight
  • Too much sunlight can make the leaves turn red or yellow!
• Low Humidity / Dry Air
• Low Moisture
  • Water every 2-4 weeks (more in summer, less in winter)
  • Water only when soil is dry
• Fertilize every 4-6 weeks 
  
  • More often in summer, less often in winter
  • Water soluble all-purpose or succulent fertilizer
• Clean leaves every 3rd month
• Do not let freeze. Keep above 4 °C.
• Keep indoors most of the time. Can be outdoors from June to August in lower Ontario.
• Repot every 2 years in cactus/succulent mix.
• Avoid drafts

Lace Aloe

Aristaloe aristata

It is important to know that Lace Aloe is not a true aloe! It does not have the healing properties of aloe vera, nor is it edible. It is toxic to humans and animals.

Lace Aloes are native to Lesotho and South Africa. They are quite adaptable even within their native range, growing in dry sandy deserts, high grasslands, cold mountains, and even shady forests. It is a clumping succulent; while the main plant forms plump, pointy leaves in rosette formations, it also spawns new plant "babies" right next to the "parent." It is happiest in well-drained soil and any temperature above -7 °C.

These Lace Aloes were grown by Charlie, and Charlie has put these plants through the wringer! They've been raised in low-light conditions, exposed to freezing temps and heat waves, and both under-watered and over-watered, yet they thrive and are productive. So, while we provide some basic instructions below, don't worry about it too much as this Basement Dweller will be fine in anyone's care.

Your Lace Aloe needs:

• Easy care
• Full to Partial Sun
• Low Humidity / Dry Air
• Low Moisture needs
  • Water every 2-4 weeks (more in summer, less in winter), whenever the soil is dry
• Low Fertilizer needs
  • Fertilize with water-dissolving all purpose or succulent fertilizer only in summer, once every 4-6 weeks.
• Do not clean Lace Aloe leaves
• Keep indoors most of the year. Can go outside from May through September in lower Ontario.
• Repot once a year in cactus/succulent soil mix

Mugwort

Artemisia vulgaris

It is important to know that mugwort can be toxic, especially in strong doses. Research fully and check your medical needs before consuming.

Though many Artemisia species are called "mugwort," "wormwood," or even sometimes "sagebush," ours is the classic common mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris. Mugwort is an herbaceous perennial, dying back to the root and regrowing each year, though the thick dead stalks of past years will remain upright if not cut down. It forms thick root crowns but also spreads vigorously both by seed and by sprawling rootlets. It is native to Eurasia, North Africa, and parts of Alaska. It has become naturalized to much of North America, where it is sometimes considered an invasive weed. Though we grow ours with intention, we spend more time and energy subduing it than we do helping it grow. Once established in the ground, it needs no help growing. We advise keeping yours in a container unless you are prepared to work hard at preventing its spread.

It earned the name "mugwort" from being used as a bittering agent in beer and ale. In some Eurasian cooking traditions, tender mugwort shoots are eaten as a vegetable. It has a rich pharmacological history spanning use as an anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, hepatoprotective, nervine, purgative, and a "tonic for women's complaints." It should not be used by those who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Jessica has personally used mugwort to quicken her menses and to ease headaches, though she notes that when a mugwort plant is happy, it actually tends to produce less medicine.

These mugworts were uprooted from Jessica & Kendra's personal garden. They can be quite sensitive when remaining potted and quite aggressive once they are established in the ground.

Mugwort Magic

It has been believed that John the Baptist wore a belt of mugwort, and so it has been known as "St. John's belt," and it was even worn on St. John's Eve & St. John's Day. This is connected to its strongly protective energies thought to repel evil spirits. It is used in some traditional practices to break magical influence and bounce back malicious workings, usually by application of infused water anointing the affected person, being consumed by the affected person, or being poured on the affected person's doorstep.

It is traditionally connected to Artemis and the Moon, as well as to prophetic dreams and divination. One can also burn an incense of mugwort to help connect to the spirit realm before using a contact tool such as pendulum or talking board. 

Cunningham connects mugwort to midsummer and also advises rubbing mugwort leaves over a gazing ball or crystal ball used for scrying at least once a year or prior to use. Eason connects mugwort to Venus and Samhain and suggests infusing water with mugwort before adding it to a bowl or cauldron for gazing or wax scrying. Astrea Taylor connects mugwort to the element of Air and to Hekate and Odin in addition to Artemis & Diana.

Your Mugwort needs:

• Attentive care
• Partial to Full Sun
• Moist soil
  • Water every 1-2 weeks, do not let soil fully dry out
• Fertilize every 2-4 weeks
  • Use water-soluble all purpose or vegetable fertilizer
• Can tolerate humidity but does not require it
• Can only be outdoors in a pot in southern Ontario from May to October, requiring that temps do not dip below -5°C.
  • If planted in ground, it can be out all year in southern Ontario, tolerating temps as cold as -28°C.
    
• It can grow up to 2 meters high.
• It does not require repotting unless there are signs that it has outgrown its pot.

Spider Plant

Chlorophytum comosum

Also called Spider Ivy and Airplane Plant, Spider Plant is an evergreen flowering perennial native to tropical regions of Africa. It does grow somewhat fleshy tubers that are technically edible, but this does not seem to be a popular use. It develops hanging "spiderette" plantlets which can be left on the plant for dramatic cascading effect or can be removed to propagate more Spider Plants. They are very good at removing airborne toxins such as formaldehyde and xylene. Plant leaves can grow up to a meter long.

These Spider Plants were grown by Stephanie. She has found them very easy to care for and difficult to kill. These are a variegated variety with a light coloration and even lighter stripes along the edges of the leaves.

Spider Plant Magic

Juliet Diaz advises using Spider Plant for abundance, fertility, and manifestation workings. She particularly likes to use the transplanting of spiderettes to set these intentions. She also claims they can cleanse negative energy and create an energetic shield, and, as such, advises keeping them near the door or in areas of that need that effect. She advises it as a good plant companion for healers, reminding them of what they give to others.

Your Spider Plant needs:

• Easy care
• Part Sun
• Medium water needs
  • Water every 1-2 weeks when top of soil is dry but under that top layer it is still somewhat moist (not fully wet)
• Fertilize every 2-4 weeks
  • Use a balanced or low-phosphorous water-soluble fertilizer
  • All Purpose or Green Plant fertilizers
• Mist 1-2 times a week
• Humidity preferred over dry air, but does not require high humidity
• Can only be outdoors in southern Ontario from July to August, requiring that temps do not dip below 8°C.
• Repot every year
• Very suited to hanging or any situation where its leaves are free to drape and cascade