If there is one quick and easy way to brighten up your home, it has to be by adding a few houseplants. Once you’ve spotted a few pots around your indoor spaces, you will find that there’s an instant boost of colour and life. Adding a few more plants is certainly a lot cheaper than redecorating a whole room just to brighten it up!
However, many people think that you need to be a skilled gardener in order to keep some houseplants. They may believe this because they have had some bad experience with plants before and could have ended up killing some by mistake. But you might be pleased to hear that you don’t necessarily need to have green fingers in order for your houseplants to be a big success. As long as you follow the next few tips, your plants should bloom for a long time to come!
Buy From Reputable Sources
First of all, it’s worth mentioning that you should always purchase your plants from reputable sources. That way, you know you are receiving the best possible quality. So, you might want to think about visiting your local florist, garden centre, or signing up to Bloomspace or similar trusted online plant seller. If you buy your plants from the wrong places, then they might not be in the best health and that could reduce their life considerably no matter how well you look after them.
Mist Your Plants
We all know that it’s necessary to water plants, but did you know that it’s more beneficial to mist them? In order to mist them you just need to buy a small bottle sprayer that you can use to spritz water into the air around the plants. Make sure you get plenty of moisture on to the leaves of the plants while you are doing this. Watering the plants in this way help to raise the humidity levels around them, so they can benefit from the moisture for a longer time. Not only that, though, but it will also keep the leaves cleaner which can help reduce the risk of disease.
But Be Careful Not To Overwater
Speaking of watering, it’s also crucial to point out that less is always more. If you don’t follow this room of thumb then you could very easily risk over-watering the plants. And that will quickly result in the roots rotting. Ideally, you should only water your plants whenever it looks like they need it. One way to work out if your plants need it is to put your thumb about two inches into the soil. If it is dry all the way down, then you are safe to water. Don’t forget that plants need a lot less water during the winter so don’t be worried about rarely watering them during this season.
Think About Light When Choosing Plants
When you are thinking about which kinds of plants to choose for your home, you should bear in mind how the light lands in it. If your apartment or house is usually quite dark and doesn’t get much natural light in it, then you should mainly look at plants that don’t need much natural sunlight in order to survive. These include the peacock plant and Chinese evergreens. But if your home is always naturally lit and quite bright, then you will be able to choose from a wider range of plants. Just make sure that you don’t put a plant that prefers shade in a position where it will be exposed to an excessive amount of sun.
Go For Low-Maintenance Plants If You’re Short On Time
Don’t have much time to provide your plants with a lot of TLC? No problem, there are still a lot of low-maintenance plants that won’t need you to tend to them every day. These plants will need minimum watering and you won’t need to prune or trim them at all. You can simply leave them to it! Some of the best low-maintenance houseplants include the likes of rubber plants, the aloe plant, and dumb cane.
Keep The Temperature Stable
Plants do not like any sudden changes in their environment. One sudden change that can greatly affect them in the home is a drop or rise in the temperature. Ideally, you should keep your plants at a constant room temperature at all times. Make sure that they are well away from any extremes in temperature. So, you shouldn’t put them on or near radiators or near a doorway where they could be troubled by a cold draft.
Don’t Forget To Repot
Some people think that you shouldn’t replant houseplants for fear of disturbing them, but this isn’t necessarily true. If your plants have been in their same pots for more than a year or so, it’s worth thinking about repotting them into a larger pot to give them a chance to grow. Even if you don’t think they will grow much more, it’s still worth changing the soil in their current pot as they will have probably used up all the nutrients from it. If you do repot a plant into a larger pot, make sure you don’t use a pot that is too big as this could encourage you to overwater.
Don’t Use Fertiliser
Next time you are in your local garden centre, you might notice that they sell fertiliser that is meant for houseplants. Even though this may sound like a good idea, it’s best not to use it. Many people tend to use too much and this can do more harm than good. If you do decide that you want to fertilise your houseplants, then you should only do so when they are in their growing season. Be careful not to use too much and always use an all-purpose one that won’t have too much of an imbalance of chemicals.
As you can see, you don’t need to be a big gardener to have some beautiful houseplants in your home. The tips above can help them all survive!
