5 Tips To Keep Your Houseplants Alive

Indoor plants bring life into your house, purify the air, and decorate your interior. Besides, the connection between your mind and houseplants relieves stress, improves concentration, and boosts productivity. You definitely wouldn’t want to lose your plants due to avoidable mistakes!. 

Here are the top plant care tips to keep houseplants alive for a long time. 

1.  Choose the Right Soil

One of the vital considerations for choosing or blending your pot soil is getting a light enough mix. Your mix should allow space for water and air to penetrate for healthy root growth.  

Conversely, if the mixture is heavy, you will get an unhealthy, compacted root zone after you water your plants for a while. 

So, when you blend your mixture, include enough perlite, sharp sand, or vermiculite. Otherwise, go for regular pot soil. 

Regular pot soil consists of perlite, vermiculite, and nutrients like phosphorus, calcium, potassium, nitrogen, and sulfur. Such a soilless mix resists compaction and absorbs moisture well but dries out very fast. Whereas many plants do well in a regular soilless mix, you can add organic nutrients to the mix. 

Common organic nutrients include leaf mold, peat, and finished compost that add natural nutrients and healthy microorganisms to the soil and keep houseplants alive. 

Nonetheless, different plants do better in specific soils, so understand which soil type suits your plants the best. For example, rosemary and cactus thrive in coarse soils for quick absorption and proper drainage. If you aren’t sure of the correct soil type, ask the nursery when you buy a new plant. 

2. Water, Feed, and Clean Your Plants

Your plants die if you overwater or underwater them. Too much water causes root rot, while not enough water causes dehydration. So, have a consistent schedule of how you will water your plants.  

Also, some plants have instructions on how often they need water and how much to irrigate them. So, check whether your plant had any specific instructions at the time of purchase. 

Though some pot mixes come with fertilizer, your plant consumes the fertilizer in a few months. 

So, feed your plants additional fertilizers. The more appropriate seasons to fertilize are spring and summer, when your plants work on new growth. 

During the colder and darker seasons, plants receive less light and go nearly dormant. So, you don’t need to fertilize your plants for survival in fall and winter. 

Don’t let dust build up on your plants, especially those with large leaves, like fiddle-leaf figs.  

Dust coats the leaves and blocks light, so your plants don’t photosynthesize effectively. When you notice dust on your plants, use a damp cloth to clean the leaves. 

3. Maintain the Correct Light and Temperature

All plants need appropriate light to survive, whether high, medium, or low. So, first, understand how much light your plants need to survive. Then, check the instruction label or put your plant in different light levels and observe its reaction. 

Some plants thrive in bright light, while others do better in low light. For example, the fiddle-leaf fig thrives in bright light while the ZZ plant does better in low light. 

If your plant doesn’t get enough light, expect new shoots to reach out towards the light, lower leaves to turn yellow, or variegated leaves to turn green. Conversely, if your plant gets excessive light, you’ll notice brown scorch marks on leaves, dry leaves, and wilted plants. 

Many indoor plants are native to tropical or subtropical regions, so the natural temperature is similar to most indoor temperatures. Besides, many houseplants survive mild temperature fluctuation, so you don’t have to work on an exact temperature. 

Nonetheless, don’t put your plants near heat sources like heat ducts, fireplaces, or radiators. Otherwise, you risk burns and dehydration. 

4. Repot Overgrown Plants

Nursery pots are usually smaller, so you’ll want to get a bigger pot for new plants. With time, your houseplants outgrow the initial pots and need bigger pots with more root development room. Having a big plant in a small pot harms the root system and stunts plant growth.   

So, it’s time to repot the plant when you notice a lack of nutrients, yellow leaves, and roots outside the drainage holes. 

A common mistake is to buy a container that is much larger than the original one. You should only choose a slightly bigger size than the older container. If you go for an oversized container, your plant won’t anchor well, and you’ll likely overwater it.  

When you move a plant to an appropriately sized container, use fresh soil, and don’t pull the root ball apart. Instead, shake off the soil lightly to give your plant a better chance to use the active nutrients in the fresh soil.  

Remember to pay attention to the roots when and after you repot because your plants need the utmost care to adjust to the new environment. 

5. Keep Pests Away

Always keep an eye on your plants for signs of infestation, including black specks, holes in leaves, brown edges, and white powdery substances. Houseplant pests and insects can ruin your healthy plants and cause your plants to die or wither. 

The common houseplant pests are mealybugs, whiteflies, gnats, aphids, and spider mites. If you notice pests in some plants, separate the infected plants from the healthy plants. 

Moreover, pests and insects can spread from your plants to the other parts of your house. The problem is even worse when the insects fly around because it’s more difficult to eliminate flying insects. In such cases, you’ll need to kill the eggs, nymphs, and grown insects to get your house and plants in order. 

The good news is that you can prevent and control pests in different ways, with or without chemicals. For example, pests can come in with soil, but there is no room for pests if you use sterile soil. Nonetheless, wipe the leaves with soap and water if your plants are already infested. For clear, practical, step-by-step methods on identifying and eliminating common sap-sucking insects, including targeted treatments and preventative tips, it can be useful to read how to get rid of mealybugs and other online resources to know the best course of action to take.

Soap gets rid of bugs like aphids and spider mites. However, some pests are resistant to soap, so you’ll need a different method. You can use natural remedies like essential oils, diluted vinegar, neem, and seaweed mulch. 

Conclusion 

You can only enjoy a serene environment with indoor plants if you observe proper maintenance.  

So, whether you are an expert or a newbie in houseplants, you must take good care of your plants for a healthy outcome. Follow the tips above to keep houseplants alive.