Rule of ‘green’ thumb
Today I would like to share with you a “Houseplants for dummies” guide to general care of houseplants. These are tips and tricks that I have found work best for me and my plants. Keep in mind that routine care and plant growth can vary depending on the environment you live in. I live in North Florida where it is *relatively* consistently warm and humid. In drier areas of the states you may find yourself watering more often,etc.
Ditch the tap
When I first began collecting plants in my small apartment, I used tap water to water them. It took me a few months of observation to realize that the yellowing and browning of my leaves was actually caused by my water. Tap water differs from city to city, but it is baseline not the best option for any of your plants. ESPECIALLY more sensitive plants such as calatheas, or Fiddle leaf figs.
For the longest time I purchased spring water to water my plants. Spring, purified, and distilled water are all safe for your plants. You can purchase large gallons to refill or just buy it as you need. This can be a little pricey especially if you have a large collection.
The good news is: there are a bunch of options to choose from when finding a solution to tap water. There are hundreds of filters you can purchase that can attach to your kitchen faucet, or your hose; As well as other pitcher filtration products.
Another alternative to purchasing water, or a filter would be to let your tap water sit out for a day or so to allow time for harmful chemicals to dissipate.
In my house, we currently cycle our plants with water from our fish tank, which has proved greatly beneficial for our wallets, and our plants.
Keep your plants stationary
This tip is more useful for finicky plants like Fiddle leaf figs, Crotons, and calatheas. Plants like these do not like being moved around often and can drop leaves and suffer greatly if they are not in a stable, consistent environment. If your plant is getting consistent stable light, and humidity; It will give you consistent (happy) growth. On the flipside, if you are constantly moving your plant from room to room, changing the growing conditions, it can never grow at a steady rate or under steady conditions. Some plants simply don’t give a F***, Others will choose violence.
To piggy-back on keeping your plants stationary, I would also recommend not placing more sensitive plants near drafts. Inconsistent temperatures from warm - or cool - drafts can cause an array of symptoms for our tropical plant friends.
The misting misconception
This might be controversial, but misting should not be your main source of humidity. Misting is more for you, than it is for your plants. In some cases misting can actually be harmful to your plants. Plants with fuzzy, or velvet leaves do not like having too much moisture on their foliage as it can cause rotting. Similarly, begonias also do not like their leaves retaining too much moisture.
In some cases, misting plants can increase the risk of potential disease or infection. Monstera Adansonii are prone to fungal infections that can easily be spread through water droplets and misting as well. Even humidity loving plants like alocasias can suffer from being misted too frequently.
Even with all of this being said, I do still mist most of my plants, I just use my best judgement in when and how often I do. I like to foliage feed my plants and poles when I do mist them to pack in nutrients and benefits along with the humidity.
I do not rely solely on misting for humidity, I keep a humidifier running for a little bit every day in my greenhouse.
Yellow leaves
I know, I know. It is horrifying when your favorite plant suddenly throws out a yellow leaf. I’m here to tell you: Don’t fret! In most cases, a yellow leaf or two is not a big concern. If the yellow leaf is an old leaf you can mark it off as just finishing out it life cycle. As plants grow and push out new growth, it can be expected for some old growth to die off in the process.
In day to day life, yellowing or bleaching of leaves can be caused by many things: from sun damage, to underwatering/overwatering, to nutrient deficiencies. It is important to assess the general health of the entire plant and not just a few leaves before labeling what is ‘causing’ the yellow leaves. Similarly, spots on leaves, and damage, or wear and tear can happen over the life of a plant as well. Keep in mind that most damage is irreversible, and while you can prevent it from spreading by treating the cause of the damage - you cannot ‘undamage’ the leaves.
Support your plants as you would your loved ones
If you haven’t read my blog post about moss poles, check it out for a more detailed explanation of the many benefits they provide. Aroid and vining or climbing plants particularly NEED support in order to achieve lush, large foliage. If you are not providing your climbing plants with support, they will not be able to produce large leaves as they would in their natural jungle environment. If you are looking to purchase quality, handmade sphagnum moss pole, check out my shop.
Our non-climbing plant friends: like calatheas, alocasias etc, can also benefit from support in other ways. Though they might not need or rely on support in order to grow, sometimes heavy leaves can weigh down the plant or snap if they are too heavy for the stem to support. In these cases, you may not need a sphagnum moss pole, but simply a garden stake, or sometimes even a rock to support the base of the plant and hold up some of the weight. The less work your plant has to do to support itself, the more it can focus on new growth and developing root systems.
Rotate your plants
To promote even growth, be sure to rotate your plants so they do not grow lopsided towards their lightsource. I rotate my large monstera deliciosa every three days or so. If you do not rotate your plants, the ‘backsides’ or area of the plant without access to light may become sparse or bare.
What plant care tips do you use in your day to day life? Let me know below in the comments! Check out my portfolio page for updated plant pictures and content. Be sure to enter my giveaway for a mature monstera laniata before it ends on April 31st, 2023 on my instagram: @growwtheflowco
