Trying to spruce up around the house? Add more oxygen and filter out some stale air? Or just want something to care for besides yourself? Houseplants are great additions to any household that bring calming energy and good, clean vibes.
However owning these little tokens of nature requires certain care and attention beyond just the occasional watering. If you’ve tried your hand at keeping a staghorn fern alive, you know how finicky some can be.
Or if you’ve ever killed a cactus by watering it too much you know how particular they can also be.
Don’t let that scare you, though. If you’ve never owned a houseplant before – or have a track record of murdering them – this guide will help keep your new little friends flourishing and blooming.
Selecting the right houseplant
While first selecting your houseplants, keep two things in mind: You should focus on species that are resilient and hard to kill. And also how much sunlight each one needs.
If your houseplant requires a lot of direct sunlight, but its new home only has one window, you’re going to have trouble keeping it alive.
Some great and beautiful species in a variety of sizes to consider include succulents such as aloe and kalanchoe, Peace Lilies, Shamrock plants and the sweetly-fragrant Sweetheart Hoya. All these plants ask for simple maintenance and feeding in exchange for bringing life, energy, and fresh air into your life.
Find a houseplant that’s suitable and forgiving toward beginners and you’re already on your path to being a wonderful owner.
Soil & fertilizer
Your houseplant requires an abundance of nutrients to grow and bring out their true natural colors and beauty. These nutrients are found in fertilizers, soils and feeds that can be purchased in liquid or dry-based products such as capsules or stakes.
Depending on the species of houseplant, some will require constant fertilizing, especially if growing in a soilless potting mixture, while others will only be fed once or twice a year. Do some research and know the frequency at which to fertilize your specific plant to keep it happy and healthy.
Watering schedule
Houseplants love a good drink, but as a new owner, how often should you water your houseplant? The frequency at which you water will vary drastically from specie to specie.
It’s important to remember that improper watering kills a majority of houseplants.
The best time to water your houseplant is during morning hours before you leave for work or to drop the kids off at school. Use a long-sprouted watering can filled with refreshing softened tap water, or at best: bottled water, to reach deep underneath leaves and foliage. Most houseplant would prefer to be slightly dry than soaking wet so trust your judgment.
For smaller or larger leafed houseplants such as Philippine evergreens, use a spray bottle once or twice a day to keep them looking shiny and green.
Pay attention to how your houseplant reacts to your watering and respond accordingly. For example, if your friend isn’t getting enough water, its leaves will droop and wilt.
Sunlight diet & placement
Houseplants love to have fun in the sun and will need plenty of it to grow and flourish while under your watch. If they don’t get enough, well, you know what happens.
After selecting your houseplant, find out how much sunlight it needs to stay healthy and make sure the room or space it will live in can provide enough. Place your houseplants directly near windows to help them get the most rays and watch them thrive.
If your room doesn’t get enough sunlight, consider air plants or Viper’s bowstring hemp. These low maintenance plants require little light and look great in any room or area.
Pruning
Help your houseplant keep it’s beautiful figure by pruning dead or disheveled leaves, stems and flowers. Just grab a sharp pair of scissors or gardening sheers and cut off the eyesores at a 45-degree angle.
Do this once a month or every few weeks at your discretion, but remember not to over-prune. You can also wet a sponge or cloth and wipe dust and dirt off larger leaves to let their natural green hews shine.
It’s no easy feat to keep track of all these, apps like Koubachi or Sun Seeker help tell you what kind of light you’re looking at and what kind of watering schedule to keep.
Additionally, most plants (while being air filters) don’t like smoke. So to avoid any unnecessary deaths, try looking into some of these great vape pens or topicals to help with your cannabis consumption rather than smoking.
