Tips & Tricks to Keeping Plants Alive
One question that I get asked all the time and absolutely LOVE to answer is my tips and tricks to keeping plants alive. I have not always been a person who can keep plants alive…I started working hard to keep them alive after my brother passed away 2 years ago. I was able to keep a couple plants from his funeral and that is where my plant love, obsession, and plant parenthood started.
A lot of you have been asking me my go to tips to keeping plants alive so I thought I would put it all in a post so you can Pin it, reference it later, or screenshot them to your phone so they are easy to find again. The image above is a Pinterest image so feel free to Pin it so you can reference it later!
DON’T OVER WATER!
This is one that I think a lot of people struggle with. They get a new plant, go overboard in wanting to keep it alive, and over water it. I water my plants once a week. I choose to do “Water Wednesdays” so I keep it on the same day and remember it. It has been come a “ritual” or habit during my week. I also always stick my finger in the soil to see if the plant truly needs the water. I put it in the dirt one to two inches into the dirt. If the dirt sticks to my finger it DOES NOT need water, if it comes off pretty clean the plant DOES need water. ***Please know this does not apply to succulents***
LIGHTING
There is no such thing as a “low light” plant, the plants that they claim are low light like Snake Plants just die slower than other plants. Making sure that your plants have the right kind of light for them is KEY. Some plants like a fiddle leaf fig need bright indirect light while others like to have direct light. You can always Google the name of the plant and it will tell you what type of light it prefers.
POTTING
It is best for your plants to stay in the grow pot as long as possible. Bringing a new plant home is a big change for it so potting it right away puts it even more in shock. A plant doesn’t need to be re-potted until the roots start to come out of the drainage holes of the grow pot or when the lower leaves of the plant start to yellow. When you life the plant out of the grow pot, if it needs re-potted the roots will be really tight at the bottom. When you go to re-pot it you will need to pull apart the roots or it will continue to grow in the same way and re-potting it would be pointless. Try to keep the thick big roots in tact and just pull/break apart the smaller roots.
DRY TIPS OF LEAVES/DRY OR YELLOWING TOWARD THE BASE
If the leaves of the plant are dry toward the end of them (the tips) then the plant is not getting enough water. If the plant is yellowing or dry toward the root of the plant that means that the plant is being overwatered.
DRAINAGE
You are going to want to make sure that your plant has really good drainage. I put my plants in the grow pot then inside a pot. Then the roots can not be sitting in water to prevent the roots from rotting. If you need to replant the plant then make sure that your new pot has drainage holes at the bottom, you put rocks at the bottom, OR you use a soil that has really good drainage to it.
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These are just a few of my plant tips that I hope will help you to keep your plants healthy and alive in your home. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I’m happy to answer!
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