Top 10 Indoor & House Plant Care Tips

Taking care of house plants can be tricky as there are multiple things that you need to take into consideration.

You need to know how much light they need, do they need fertilizer, how to water them, and more. In this article, you will find tips to help take care of your houseplants so they bloom and beautify your home.

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Choosing the Right House Plant

This is as important as keeping it healthy. You need to see the space you have for your plant, the light source, and if you have children and pets, you need to make sure that the plant is safe for them to be around. You also want to consider your style and how you want the room where your plant is going to be so you can choose a plant that compliments the room.

Tips for Keeping Your Plant Healthy

Having plants in your home is a great way to create a more welcoming room plus some offer health benefits. They can help to increase your focus and purify the air. When you provide your plant the right amount of nutrients and water, you can have a healthy plant.

Top 10 Indoor & House Plant Care Tips

1. Water

It is important that you give your plant water but you have to make sure that you do not overwater them. To determine how wet the soil is, you have to stick your finger in the soil up to your knuckle to see how damp it is. You cannot go by what it feels like on the surface. You do not need to water it if the soil feels damp. Feed your plant water that is at room temperature. If it is too hot, it can cause plant shock and root damage but too cold it can cause it to go into dormancy. Check your plants regularly to make sure they are not dehydrated. Many times plants, if they are dehydrated, will start to wilt or the soil will pull away from the edge of the planter. You need a balance between not enough water and too much water.

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2. Drainage

Make sure that the pot has good drainage with holes at the bottom of the pot. If there are no holes in the bottom, the water can build up and kill the plant. If you want to use the pot with no holes, put a layer of pebbles in the bottom of the planter so the plant will not stand in water. You should also check the drainage holes once in a while to make sure they are not plugged. Make sure that you are using a good potting soil that is made specifically for indoor plants.

3. Adequate sunlight

For your plant to undergo photosynthesis, it requires sunlight. Photosynthesis is when the plants make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The growth of the plant is affected by the intensity, quality, and duration of the sunlight. Make sure that you do not put it in direct sunlight but give them indirect light. Flowering plants need 12-16 hours of light each day and foliage plants need 14-16 hours.

4. Do not continually move them

Plants will slowly acclimate themselves to their surroundings. You do not want to put them where there would be a drastic change in temperature. When you move a plant from a dark area to an area rich in sunlight, it can have a negative effect on the plant. When you need to move a plant, do it for just an hour a day, slowly increasing them until the plant has adjusted to the new area.

5. Increase humidity

Although dry air is good for certain plants like cacti, most plants need humidity. You can either buy a humidifier with a cool-mist or make your own. Fill a tray with pebbles and add water until it is just below the tops of the pebbles. As the water evaporates it will humidify a room. Fill a bottle with distilled water and lightly mist the plants.

6. Fertilizer

When putting adding fertilizer, use a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer because they will need the nutrients from fertilizers and the soil to balance. For a flowering plant, you need a fertilizer high in potassium; a foliage plant needs one that is high in nitrogen.

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7. Prune your plant

How often you need to prune a plant will depend on what type of plant it is. If it is not pruned, it can grow out of control and the roots can outgrow their planter. When pruning, cut off dead stems or branches because these can attract bugs. Prune at a 45-degree angle above the leaf node to promote fuller growth.

8. No tea or coffee in your house plant

When you pour your leftover tea or coffee into a house plant, it can draw flies that will eat away at the plant. If your drink contains sugar, it can be a breeding ground for insects.

Keep reading: House & Indoor Plants Temperature Guide

9. Dust the leaves

It is very important that you remove the dust from the leaves of your houseplant. It helps with photosynthesis and helps to improve their appearance. To do this, just gently rub the leaves with a damp cloth. Make sure that you support them so they do not tear. You can also put the planter in the shower and spray it with lukewarm water.

More like this: How to pot or Repot Your Houseplants

10. Remove browning and dead leaves

The reason that you need to do this is that these leaves can harbor disease and pests.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is more to taking care of a house plant than just watering it to keep it healthy. You need to make sure that it has the right temperature, the right sunlight, and the right soil and fertilizer. You also have to play ‘doctor’ and keep it bug-free. They do beautify a home and have health benefits so the upkeep of your house plants is worth it. Just make sure that you know what the various plants you are considering require and that you can provide it.