Four Simple House Plant Tips for Beginners
Killing all your house plants? I can relate. That was me for most of my life until I decided to change and intentionally become a more caring plant mommy. If you follow my four simple house-plant-tips-for-beginners below, you’ll be well on your way to a self-proclaimed plant mom!
1. Pretend they are your babies!
First things first….pretend your new house plant is like your new child. I mean, you did just bring it home from a nursery. I know from {plenty of} experience that it’s easy to forget about your plants. They mind their own business, aren’t shouting “Mom” all the time, or asking for a snack. They sit patiently on your tables and sills, bringing beauty and life into your space, but they also have needs, just like your human and fur babies. Give your new plant a name. Humanize it. You’ve added a living member to your family and if you start thinking about it from that angle, the likelihood of your new plants survival is sure to climb.
2) Research your plant baby!
Every time I bring home a new plant baby I take to the interwebs and research these TWO things, at a minimum. 1) How much light does it need and 2) How much water does it like? Some plants need bright bright window light. Others are fine with a little indirect light. Some plants need water daily while some thrive with weekly or even monthly waterings. Find out how to care for your new plant so you can give it proper attention! This leads me to number three…
3.) Buy a moisture meter!
Too little and too much water IS A THING. Most of us are aware you can kill a plant by under-watering, but you can also kill by over-watering. I failed my first fiddle leaf tree for the latter reason - too much water. The solution? A moisture meter! I have this one from Amazon and it upped my house plant game ten fold. They are inexpensive and operate without batteries. A plant can’t exactly tell us what it needs but the moisture meter will let you know how much liquid your soil is retaining. If your plant roots love to snuggle up to consistently moist soil and your meter reads “dry” - you need to water that baby a-sap. If your plant prefers that the soil dries out in-between waterings to prevent root rot and your meter reads “moist” or “wet” - leave that plant alone! At least for the time being.
4). Get on a schedule!
Select a time during the day to check on your plant babies. Maybe it’s in the morning when you first wake up (this is me), or after lunch, or perhaps before bedtime? Get into a routine and stick to it! When you’re checking in with your plants, look for new growth. Maybe some leaves are drying up and it needs some pruning? Test the soils moisture (with your moisture meter!) to see if it needs water (see tip 3), dust the leaves, or just simply say hello. It may not come naturally at first, but if you set a reminder on your phone (or with your Alexa) and work hard on checking in with your babies daily, you’ll have them growing and thriving in no time.
Hope you found these tips helpful in your journey to become a better plant mommy!
Comment below if you have good tips my readers could benefit from! Good luck, my friends!