Growing indoor plants can definitely improve the look and feel of your home. Coming home to an amazing smell assortment and vibrant colors can really boost your morale – but is it hard to take care of those plants?
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be, there are just a few basics that you’ll need to know in order to get started. Today we’ll tell you how to grow indoor plants so that you can get an idea of what is really involved and make an informed decision that can really change your life!
Let’s talk about how to grow indoor plants and you can see for yourself – you can quite a bit more than you put in when it comes to houseplants in your home.
Know when to water
Watering plants is the part of plant care that scares most novices the most, but it’s all about careful selection and knowing how to check your plants with your finger. Most houseplants, with a few tropical exceptions, will only need water once a week or even once a month in the winter months.
With these low-maintenance varieties, the easiest way to check if they need water is simply to stick your finger in the top of the soil. If the top inch of soil is dry, then it’s usually time to water your plant. With many houseplants, it’s as easy as THAT!
Know the sun level you need
Most indoor plants are going to prefer bright to medium sunlight and if you check with your local plant nursery, you can even find houseplants that will thrive on low light. That said, make sure that the light is indirect unless you are specifically told that your plant needs bright, direct sunlight.
That’s because most indoor plants will actually become burned by too much direct sunlight. You’ll have exceptions, of course, such as desert plants like Aloe Vera, but as a general rule, you want to make sure that your plants are NEVER directly in the sunlight.
Plant lighting is also an option if you are worried, but usually just keeping your plant a little distance from the window will give them enough light without concentrating it and endangering the health of the plant.
Watch where you place your plant
When you are placing your plant, you need to be very aware of your surroundings. For instance, think about where the sun will be at various times of the day. This will help you to avoid a period of a few hours where your plant accidentally might get direct sunlight.
Note the humidity as well and pay close attention to air vents. AC vents can create cool currents of air that can make your plant too cold. Houseplants, in general, usually do best in a range of 65 to 75 degrees, and 10 degrees cooler at night.
Also, if you have a small fan, you might consider setting it up if your plant is somewhere that it might easily get dusty. A light breeze from the fan shouldn’t affect the temperature too much and it can help to keep dust from accumulating.
Use the right kind of soil
When taking your plant home and repotting it, make sure that you get the right kind of soil first from the nursery. While some plants will thrive in plain, old backyard dirt, commercial potting soil has additives such as peat moss, vermiculite, pine bark, and perlite to ensure proper drainage.
Beyond this, tropical and other exotic plants may need a special mix of their own, so ask at the Nursery if you aren’t sure and they can point you to exactly what you need!
Some final words
Growing indoor plants is easier than you think, you just need to learn the basics and once you do, proper care only takes a handful of minutes. It starts by knowing how to properly water them and what levels of sunlight are best.
Next, make sure that you place them somewhere that factors such as AC or the sun changing position won’t be a problem. Finally, make sure that you repot them in the ideal potting soil medium. Provided that you follow these steps, your indoor plants will grow happy and healthy and you’ll love the difference they make!
