How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged

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You can remove the dead leaves in late summer, but, as the plant isn’t happy being moved, try not to turn it too much. Both over- and under-watering can cause leaf drop on ficus, and it’s best to make sure after watering that you let the water drain through to the bottom of the plant pot and remove any excess. When watering, only do so when the top few inches of compost are dry, and mist the leaves in the summer months. Use a high nitrogen liquid fertiliser once a month between April and September, but don’t add any between October and March. Another tip for when you go on vacation: remove the saucers from under the potted plants and place them on a wet towel in the sink or in the bathtub. This way, the plants can pull up the moisture they need when they need it. Tip #7: The Proper Soil Many houseplants have strong air-filtering effects. (Photo: CC0 Public Domain / Pixabay – FreePhotos) Do you think the pandemic has made us more attached to our plants and gardens? Is the 'plantdemic' real, in other words, and if so, what could be some of the reasons?

Look for a sunnier spot to keep your plant. South and west-facing windows get the most sunlight, while north and east-facing windows get the least. Plants have a direct connection to mental wellbeing. At the very basic level, plants offer us instant visual relief. Think of how you feel when you enter an apartment that has a few plants versus a stark office setting. The fluid, natural forms of plants break the hard, inanimate settings we inhabit. It’s like watching fish, an activity prescribed those who are stressed, anxious, and even heart patients. If you notice poor growth, variegated leaves turning green or no flowers on a flowering plant, move your houseplant to a lighter spot to encourage healthier growth. They enjoy being pot-bound and this will encourage the production of tiny baby plants. But if the roots are spilling out of the pot, you can either repot the whole plant or divide it by cutting it down the middle with a sharp knife into halves, thirds or even quarters. Just pot up the smaller pieces and they will start to grow immediately. Zzs and Snake Plants are often touted as plants that can grow in windowless bathrooms. However, surviving is not the same as thriving. Low light-tolerant plants will flourish when given more light. So before you place those cute succulents or Zzs in your bathroom, consider getting a grow light! 8. Re-potwhen grown outAir plants superglued to picture frames, for example. Cacti imprisoned inside humid terrariums. Or fleshy echeverias spray-painted in dayglo colours or glitter (why?) so that their fleshy leaves struggle to perform the two basic processes essential to all plants, which are photosynthesis and respiration. In this case, who could blame them for giving up the ghost . . . If you're cold then so is your houseplant. Always keep them in places that are at least the minimum temperature that they'll accept. Further Reading

Leaves are the biggest telltale sign of how healthy your houseplant is, and there are several things you should be doing regularly to keep them in top condition. I hope we’ve become more attached to our plants; however, whether we’ll still turn to plants after ‘all this’ is over, depends on our motives for having plants. Do we bring plants home because we are interested in growing things? Do we like them for aesthetic reasons, or do we simply want to showcase them on our social media to stay relevant? But then again, these reasons can change when curiosity is sparked, turning a hobby into a lifelong passion or at the other end of the spectrum, we may become frustrated by their upkeep and give it up altogether. As much as we dislike pests when you own houseplants, they often come hand in hand. Always inspect plants before purchasing -especially from big box stores, which are notorious for housing spider mites, fungus gnats, and thrips. If you do notice pests, you can use an insecticidal soap and there are products to also treat any larvae that may be living in the soil. Inspect and clean your plants regularly and quarantine new plants for at least two weeks to ensure any hitchhikers don’t spread to your other plants. 10. Keep trying Observe your houseplants very closely. This way, you can recognize a pest infestation in time to treat and cure your plant. Tip #10: Leaf-CareStill, plants can do a lot to improve the ambience in e.g. a bedroom. The following houseplants will thrive in your room and make it look more inviting:

Bathrooms are most often very humid, warm, and often dark.- for some plants these are the ideal circumstances, but for some others, this spells certain death. Here are some houseplants that thrive in high-humidity environments: Pothos: Pothos is a trailing vine that’s super easy to care for. It thrives in indirect light and goes for long stretches without being watered. A good rule of thumb is to let the soil dry out completely before watering — you’ll know it needs a zip when the leaves start to droop.A good piece of advice I once heard is that your houseplant should be able to see the sky from where you've put it to grow. Certain plants require very particular kinds of soil. Orchids, for example, grow best when fir bark is added to their pots. Normal pot soil is much too moist for orchid roots. Cacti and succulents need very sandy soil. Spider plants thrive in lots of indirect light, between 13 and 26ºC (55 and 80ºF), and enjoy high humidity – making bathrooms and sunny windows good spots for them. Using the best houseplant compost for your type of plant will ensure that it gets the nutrients and proper drainage it requires to thrive. If you notice any of these warning signs, work through the following houseplant care steps and your plants should be thriving again in no time. Plant placement