Having plants inside your home offers tons of benefits. They can ease away your stress, give you peace of mind, and purify the air.
Unfortunately, taking care of indoor plants isn’t as easy as it sounds. Without the right knowledge, you can easily end up with dead plants in just a few days.
So, how do you take care of indoor plants?
Check out these really useful tips and tricks in keeping your plants healthy and happy inside your home.
1. Do your research
For you to be able to properly take care of your plants, you need to know what they need. Some plants require more water than others while some plants only need to be watered a couple of times per week.
2. Keep your plant clean
Don’t let your plants have filthy and dusty leaves. You can wipe them off with a paper towel or rinse them with water.
3. Repot the plant
If your pot is already full of roots and they’re already coming out of the pots’ holes, then consider repotting the plant.
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4. Don’t forget to fertilize
For your plants to grow healthy, you need to make sure that there are enough nutrients for them to live and grow. Adding fertilizers can help you with that.
5. Make sure that there are no pests
Before you actually purchase your plant, thoroughly check it for any pests. Look for bugs and spider mite webs.
6. Take your indoor plants outside from time to time
Exposing your indoor plants to better air circulation, fresh rainwater, and increased light can put your plant in a better shape.
7. Increase humidity by grouping plants together
Putting plants next to each other can stimulate them to transpire water through the leaves. You won’t need to constantly mist them.
8. Get a humidifier
If grouping plants don’t work, you can just get a humidifier.
9. Expose the plants to more light
Plants, even indoor plants, require light to grow well. They need them to make their own food.
10. Give your plants a shake
This will help remove the excess water on the plants’ leaves and prevent rotting. Do it each time you water your plants.
11. Don’t water on a schedule
Don’t rely on your calendar. Instead, take a closer look at your plants to determine when it needs watering. If it has been a week and the surface of the soil is still moist, don’t worry about watering the plants. You can do it when the soil’s surface is dry.
12. Remember to turn your plants
Plants naturally grow towards a light source. If you find your plants growing towards your window, it’s probably just reaching towards the sun. Turning your plants regularly can help you get even growth.
13. Aerate your pot with your chopsticks
If water is taking forever to sink into the soil, it’s probably too compact. Take out your chopsticks and use them to poke holes into the soil. This should help improve the drainage.
14. Pick a plant based on the area where you’ll put it
This is something you need to keep in mind when picking a plant for the first time. Don’t do it the other way around.
15. Remember to put drainage holes in your pots
This one’s pretty obvious but a lot of people still miss putting drainage holes in their pots.
16. Water your plants in your bathtub
This way, you won’t have to worry about making a mess whenever you need to water your plants.
17. Use eggshells as fertilizers
That’s right. You can actually make your own fertilizer with eggshells. All you need to do is put eggshells in your food processor, turn them into a fine powder, and mix with your soil.
18. Don’t overwater your plants
Believe it or not, it’s one of the most common reasons why tons of indoor plants die.
19. Get to know your water
Sometimes, the problem can be in the water itself. For example, tap water may contain too much chlorin which can poison the plants.
20. Move your plants away from air conditioners and heating vents
As much as possible, keep your indoor plants away from drafty, cold, and hot areas in your house. While you’re at it, make sure that they aren’t exposed to too much direct sunlight, too.
21. Change your water often
This is one way to keep your plants fresh and clean. It’s quite helpful in rooting, too.
Note: You can change the water once a week. However, if you see that the water is already cloudy and dirty, you can do it more frequently.
22. Remove excess water with a turkey baster
A turkey baster prevents your plant from sitting in the water by sucking up the excess. Leaving your plants to sit in water will increase its roots’ chances of rotting.
23. Find people like you
Joining a plant society can help you in a lot of ways. You can ask for tips, swap plants, and just geek out about your indoor plants.
24. Don’t put ice cubes on your plants
Just stick with the traditional way of watering your plants. If you really need to put ice cubes, make sure that they are just on the soil and not touching the stem
25. Don’t use water from your home water softening system
This type of system replaces magnesium and calcium with sodium which is toxic to plants.
26. Mix fertilizers in batches
This way, you won’t have to keep mixing fertilizer solutions each time you water your plants. You can keep the solutions in bottles
27. Put a damp sponge at the bottom of the pots
Before filling your pot with soil, put a damp sponge at the bottom first. This trick can help keep your soil moist for a longer time.
28. Put your pots on mouse pads
This is a great tip if you worry about your furniture or floor ending up with scratches. Just make sure to pick the right mouse pad size for your pots.
29. Repot your plants before growth begins
30. Use mayonnaise as leaf lotion
Applying mayonnaise on the leaves of your plants can make them look shiny and lush for a couple of weeks.
31. Make your own watering can
Just get a soda bottle and fill it with water. Then, embed it into your plant’s soil upside down. It should release water to the roots whenever needed.
32. Make your succulents flourish with cat litter
Cat litter can absorb the excess water from the roots of your succulents, allowing them to completely flourish.
33. Get the right soil
Plants have different needs when it comes to soil. With that, remember to find the right one for your plants. It’s particularly important if you’re taking care of succulents and cacti.
34. Prune the plants
Don’t be scared of cutting away parts of your plants, particularly if they are already half-yellow. Cutting actually helps stimulate new growth.
35. Use rooting hormones
While they aren’t that necessary, rooting hormones can make propagating easier and faster. Use them whenever you need to make the process faster.
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