These houseplant care misapprehension are the dissipated means to kill your plants , according to experts .
Jacob Fox
Houseplants calm your soul , lift your mood , and bring color and life story to your home . That is , until you make a few common houseplant forethought mistakes and struggle to keep them alive . Watching yourfavorite fernturn brown , yoursnake plantleaves descend over , or yourrubber treedrop its leaves is enough to make you give up andbuy artificial plants . To help you keep your indoor garden thriving , here ’s what experts say are the most common reason for unhappy houseplants , plus their best tips on how to avoid make these error .
Credit:Jacob Fox
Justin Hancockis a plantsman and brand marketing handler withCosta Farms , a family - run houseplant grower based in Florida .
Maryah Greeneis a plant life stylist , adviser , and proprietor ofGreene Piece , a boutique plant service in Brooklyn , N.Y.
Emily O’Gwinis a medicinal and tropical plant gardener at theU.S. Botanic Gardenin Washington , D.C.
Mistake 1: Overwatering
The top mistake houseplant owner make isgoing overboard with watering . According to Justin Hancock , a plantsman with Costa Farms , a family - run houseplant grower in Florida , most people overwater becausewatering a plantis a way to give it care . So essentially , “ citizenry give their plant too much love , ” he suppose . We intend well , watering our plants every time we take the air by them . But the Sojourner Truth is most houseplants need less water than we realize .
Solution
To avoid shoot down your industrial plant with too much love … er , water , check out your plant ’s wet tier before you grab your watering can . The well-fixed way to do this is to vex your finger in the filth . If the top inch feels dry , water the plant , advises Maryah Greene who ownsGreene Piece , a boutique plant service in Brooklyn , N.Y. Or you may use a wet beat if you wo n’t want to get your fingers dirty .
Another way to see if your industrial plant needs pee is to just pick up the whole sess , says Emily O’Gwin , a gardener at theU.S. Botanic Gardenin Washington D.C. “ If it ’s really , really sullen , your plant is probably too squiffy . ”
Set up a lachrymation docket and pose to it , Greene adds . “ Do n’t water on whim . bind to a agenda is primal to giving your plants the veracious amount of body of water . ”
Mistake 2: Wrong Light
All three experts harmonize that after overwatering , establish plant the ill-timed amount of light is the second most common mistake . “ Think about the light you have before you lend the plant into your house , ” O’Gwin says . “ Once you get the plant in there , you could not move the Sunday . ”
“ Pick the right plant for your space , ” Greene says . “ If you want a flora for your dining elbow room table , take the time to figure out how much light your board gets . Then pick a works that works in that light . ”
To determine how much innate lightness a elbow room gets , pay attention to what guidance your windows face , O’Gwin read . Confederate States - facing windows get lineal sun for almost the total day , which may be too much luminousness for a shade - lover like a heartleafphilodendronbut is idealistic for analoe works . Frederick North - confront window broadly speaking wo n’t get any direct light , while western - facing window will get steady , collateral lightall day .
Mistake 3: Too Much Fertilizer
Much like water , many the great unwashed have the best of intentions when giving their works too much fertiliser . Butmany fertilizers are salt , which can incinerate the industrial plant ’s roots . “ I think we are so haunted with growth and productiveness that if our works is n’t press out a new leaf , we cerebrate something ’s untimely with it , ” Greene says .
We ’re particularly spoilt about overfeeding houseplant in the winter , Greene says , when they are growing more slowly or may even be dormant , depending on the species . “ A lot of plant require to take a breather so they can shoot out young leafage in the spring and summertime , ” Greene says .
Less is more when it comes to fertilizing houseplants . Most houseplants are tropicals that grow more slowly indoors than they would in their natural environment . That intend they do n’t need as many nutrient to fire their slower growth in your family as they would need out in the natural state . plant life in low-spirited - light environmentsespecially need very little fertilizer because they grow so slow .
For houseplants that get more light-headed , feed them monthly during their growing season , which is early spring to previous summertime for most type of indoor works . Always follow package directions for the quantity to use .
Mistake 4: Letting a Plant Get Rootbound
“ There ’s a myth out therewith a portion of plants that they like to be bound , ” Hancock says . We ’re look at you , repose lily . The truth is that while these plant will tolerate being rootbound , they do n’t prefer it . That ’s because a rootbound flora is essentially a thirst plant . Very small soil quad intend very little victuals or approach to weewee .
“ Your plant will be much happier , it will originate faster , and it will grow better if you repot when it becomes rootbound , " says Hancock . How do you know when aplant take to be repottedin a larger container ? ‘ My general scout is if you slip the plant out of its pot and you see 75 % roots/25 % soil , you ’re at the tipping point and you need to repot , ” he says .
Mistake 5: Incorrect Potting Mix
The wrong potting mix cancause your plant to shin . “ There are lots of dissimilar types of potting media , and you have to choose the correct one for your plant , ” O’Gwin says . She points out that plants often total from a baby’s room in a potting premix that was great for a commercial nursery but is not expectant for nursing home .
Hancock says to mind of coarse potting commixture with spate of barque chips and perlite . “ These chunky potting premix are really pop with tropical plant enthusiasts right now , ” he enunciate . These grunge mixture imitate the aboriginal dirt of tropical plants , which is often thin on nutrients and does n’t hold piss well . The problem is that a home environs is a earthly concern aside from a tropic flora ’s aboriginal home . “ Chunky mixes have a lot of airwave outer space , which entail a plant ’s root are go to dry out out a lot faster , ” Hancock says . “ You will want to water a plant a stack more if it ’s in a chunky mix . ”
" If you be given to be an overwaterer , then a chunky mix might be perfect for you , ” Hancock says , but otherwise recommend using a general - purpose potting mix . “ As long as you irrigate properly , you ’ll be fine , " he append . And if you are growing a eccentric of indoor flora that require a morespecialized media , such as orchidsor succulent , utilize a intermixture that is designed for these plant life . Whatever flora you are growing , O’Gwin recommend you conceive repotting it when you bribe it rather than keeping it in the mixing it came in .
Mistake 6: Not Knowing Your Plant Personality
There ’s a psychological element to houseplant succeeder : Know thyself . “ A destiny of people do n’t think about their own temperament when they ’re choosing a plant , ” O’Gwin says . “ If you ’re thetype of person who wants to rear your plant , get a maidenhair fern that needs your aid day by day , ” O’Gwin says . “ If you just require a bit of commons for a dark turning point in your house and you only need to water plant a few minutes a calendar month , get a snake works . ”
Before you bring a plant home , be reliable about how much attention you need to give your plant . For example , if you do n’t have the fourth dimension or patience for ahouseplant that is a diva , do n’t purchase it , O’Gwin suggest . “ Plants are supposed to make you felicitous , not stress you out , ” she say . “ plunk plants with care indigence that match your personality and your docket , and you ’ll be more successful with them . ”
