Taking care of indoor plants can be a wonderful way to brighten your life and bring beauty to your environment. Plant care, watching the plants bloom or blossom from the time and energy you devote to care taking, can be an important routine for your day. Letting light, water, soil, and room temperature play their roles in the growth of your plant rewards you with greenery and often healthier air. Knowing how to care for your indoor plants can bring a lifetime of joy.
Image by Denise Husted from Pixabay
Choosing Your Plants
Walking into a plant nursery can be overwhelming with so many plants but so few you can take home. Consider what sort of plant fits with your lifestyle. Are you able to water the plants frequently or are you more of a low maintenance houseplant tender? Cacti, for example, are plants that take less maintenance than other plants.
The second question you should ask is if the plants may be toxic to pets or young children. Some pet-safe plants are the Areca Palm, Boston fern, Bamboo Palm, and Lilyturf. While these plants may be safe for pets, not all pet-safe plants are safe for children.
After deciding what plants you want, it’s time to consider basic plant needs such as light, water, humidity, and fertilizer.
Light
Light is an essential need for plants, because plants create food through photosynthesis from sunlight. Different plants have different light needs. The three different light types are direct sunlight where sunlight reaches plants without any shade or barrier, indirect sunlight where the light shines into a room but not directly on a plant, and diffused light filtered through a screen or sheer curtain before the light reaches the plant. Do some research to figure out the best type of lighting for your plant.
Water
Overwatering is a common plant care mistake. Like light levels, different plants need various levels of moisture. Some plants do well with moist soil while other plants need to dry out. Determine the water needs of your plants before you buy them to know if you can water the plants correctly. When watering your plants, check the soil with your finger between watering. Push your finger below the top layer of soil to determine soil moistness. Water with a watering can for best results, around the base of the plant with lukewarm or warm water. Water your plants thoroughly. Water should drain from the bottom of the pot.
Humidity
Humidity is important for plants because leaves also take moisture from the air. Usually, humidity is controlled through the HVAC system, and indoor heating dries the air. You may need to mist your plant’s leaves to keep them from drying.
Food
Plants have unique nutrition needs, and it is easy to overfeed plants if you don’t know the plant’s nutritional needs. Plant food comes in three forms: water-soluble fertilizer liquid that mixes with water, spikes of solid fertilizers pushed into the soil to release nutrients, and granular grains to sprinkle around plant bases. Find the right food for your plant.
While there are many elements to caring for a plant, what they add to your space makes it worth it.
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