Some people have the innate gift of caring for and cultivating plants and flowers. Commonly known as the green thumb, this gift can lead to an extraordinary garden or home filled with blooming plants and flowers. Not everyone has this innate talent with plants and flowers. For a whole section of the population, the seemingly simple act of keeping the inside of the plant alive is annoying. However, for people who have been tragically killing their houseplants over the years, just a few tricks and tips can turn them into great indoor gardeners.
Learn About Your Plants
Plants are often given as gifts, whether for household parties, get-well gifts, birthdays, or other celebrations. This means the plant type and its preferences regarding water, sunlight, and other care requirements are unknown. When it comes to keeping plants alive, learning about it can go a long way. In fact, it can make all the difference whether plants thrive or die.
It is common for people to make assumptions about new houseplants. They feel the plants will need some water or sunlight because different plants need these grooming habits. This can lead to overwatering or providing insufficient sunlight. Every plant species is different, and proper care will be just as unique. Caring for houseplants is not difficult, but requires some research.
Inside plants often come with tags or other identifiers that will say the name and basic information about the plant. If not, you will need to make additional searches based on the appearance, shape of the leaves and size of the plant. Once you know the name of the plant, a lot of information can be found online. In 10 or 15 minutes of reading online, you can learn a lot of information about certain houseplants and what they need to survive.
Set a Schedule
It’s no surprise that one of the most common reasons houseplants die is because homeowners forget about them. Life is busy. A million things happen at once, and once the “clutter” of plants is gone, they often fall low on the priority list. While in the everyday scheme of things remembering to rotate or water your houseplants tiny when you forget to do them for days, they perish.
One way to break the cycle of buying, abandoning, dying, and then repeating it is to create a set maintenance and water schedule. Most of the plants inside need water every two weeks; some need to be watered once a week. Certain plants, such as cacti and succulents, can go much longer without watering. Therefore, first of all, you should learn from gardeners or online resources how often certain plants need to be watered. Then, add it to your calendar or day planner. As with your work meetings, yoga classes, and dinner appointments, make it to your calendar or email reminder, so it’s gotta be watering your plants.
Pay attention to the ventilation or heating ducts
While different plant care can vary greatly from one species to the next, constant care instructions across the board are that houseplants do well with drastic or noticeable changes in temperature. Often times, this isn’t a big deal, as humans also prefer constant temperatures in their homes or offices. Where it becomes a problem is when inside the plant accidentally placed next to an air vent for air conditioning and heating.
The system shuts down and turns on frequently to keep temperatures stable throughout the house. This means there is an inconsistent and changing airflow that can be very different from the surrounding temperature, especially when there is an adjustment to the temperature of the central heating or air conditioning.
Choose the Right Size Pot
Outdoor plants can thrive and grow over an unlimited amount of space and distance. This is not true of indoor plants, which are often kept in pots or other confined spaces. While this makes them easy to move around a room or space, it is a harsh restriction on their development and growth of roots. Choosing the right pan is very important.
Choosing the right pot from the start is almost impossible. Plants need space to grow, and that means changing pots or other containers regularly. If the roots show above the soil or the plant appears to be overflowing from the pot, it is time to transfer it to a larger container.
Pay attention to the appearance of the plant
Even if you keep up with all the research and water your plants to a certain schedule, things can still go wrong. This is frustrating but true. However, most plants show signs of tanning
