We’ve all been there…we’re at the store and our eyes fall on such a beautiful plant it just takes your breathe away. We must have it and take it home and stare at it dreamily. But if you don’t have a green thumb then you end up with a sad looking plant baby in no time. Not anymore.
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Don’t fear because I’m going to share 5 helpful tips to keep this from happening:
1.)DON’T REPOT YOUR PLANT FOR THE FIRST YEAR
REPOT?/WHEN?/HOW BIG OF A POT?
Now I’m not saying you can’t put your plant baby in a slightly larger decorative pot. I’m just saying that when you first bring your plant home you should let it acclimate to your home. Coming from the store to your home it has to adjust to your humidity, light, watering, temperature, etc. and I’m here to tell you you don’t want to take that chance of shocking it by pulling it out of the pot and soil it is still used to. Cause it will show you its stressed one way or another.
I always wait a year before I repot my plant but if you can’t wait that long 6 months is fine. This is just my preference and usually by this time it is feeling completely at home in its space. When you repot your plant you only want to repot it in a pot that is about 2-3” bigger than what it is in now. Plants don’t like extra space actually a lot of plants like to be snug (not packed in) in the pot as far as space goes. So if you have the patience to wait your plant with thank you for it.
2.)GIVING IT THE RIGHT SPOTLIGHT
TYPE?/HOW MUCH?/DIFFERENT FOR TYPE OF PLANT
The next thing you should do is figure out which window you’re going to set the plant in or maybe under a grow light. I have a few plants that I have tried in the window of the direction that have been suggested to me and they don’t work but then I move them to an opposite one and they flourish. Like this fiddle fig leaf is in my office in a south facing window but there is a bush outside the window and it’s also the inside corner of the house so the sun never directly hits it.
I have a Monstera in our bedroom which gets all of the morning sun but none of the afternoon sun and she sun bathes like crazy in it. She’s always putting off new shoots and has doubled in size. We have just repotted her and I had to add a moss pole for her to grab on to.
The best thing is to read what is the best lighting for your plant. If your plant likes part sun it’s best to give it morning sun because afternoon sun can burn your plant. This is because afternoon sun is actually very harsh and isn’t the type of sun your plant likes.
3.)FERTILIZER, TYPE, AMOUNT
LIQUID?/OR OTHER?
Let’s talk about fertilizer. When it comes to fertilizing I give my new plants some after about 3 months if it’s during a growing season which is usually during the spring and summer months. I like to let it at least acclimate a few months before giving it some. As far as the type I’m prone to organic liquid fertilizer (I use Espoma Grow or Espoma Indoor) I really like how my plants respond to it and I also like that it self measures into the top for you (NO MEASURING) which is another win for me!
4.)WATER PREFERENCE
COLD?/DISTILLED?/TAP?
Now this one is a bit tricky. Some plants don’t like tap water and what this comes down to is the level of minerals in your tap water. If you have to much of certain minerals your plant will show signs of unhappiness. Also you will want to use lukewarm water so you don’t shock your plant. You want them to enjoy being watered. When you get in the shower do you like getting into a cold one or a warm one….?
Their are some plants that I’ve read about being sensitive to tap water. We are on well water so the minerals are different in our water than city water. I’ve only experienced this with my spider plant. It’s leaves started getting lighter so I started giving it distilled water like it suggested and it became greener and healthier. But it is the only plant that has given me a type of water preference. So keep an eye out for any thing like this cause sometimes it can be as simple as the difference between Fuji and Dasani.
instead of distilled water
5.)TEMPERATURE
BREEZY?/HUMID?
Cold, Hot, Breezy that is the question. When it comes to temperature it matters a lot. If you put your plant to close to a heater it will dry out extremely fast which then you need to water more. If you put it where your air conditioner is blowing on it you will get mold on top of your soil since it is hitting the damp soil with that cool air. So when placing your plant you need to pay attention to the air flow in the room.
from draft of air conditioner
Another thing is humidity you have to remember a lot of plants are native to very humid conditions. Some even grow in shady spots under other bigger plants or trees in humid spaces. Your plants will really love you if you get a humidifier to place near them I mean you doesn’t like to be misted..? Think of it this way do you like when your skin dries out or when you’re moisturized….that is the question? Practice this and it will keep them smiling all day long for you.
In the end I hope you take these tips and go get that plant that you’ve been eyeing. I know you may say that you don’t have a green thumb but I didn’t have one before and now I’m a plant mom to 64 plants! If you would also like to see how we grow our garden and use our greenhouse you can see that here.
