How To Care For House Plants

Introduction

Many people say they cannot grow house plants, however, they just need a little advice about proper care. Buying healthy plants to begin with is half the battle and providing good care makes house plants grow and thrive. It is no surprise when people purchase a new plant that they often die when all their needs are not considered. To grow a house plant, you need to provide all the necessary conditions for the plant to live. Considerations for keeping house plants alive include choosing healthy plants, soil conditions, pot sizes, temperature and humidity conditions, fertilizing, and light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1

Choose healthy plants. It is easy to get carried away when choosing plants and get focused on the height, blooms and where you are going to put it. However, you need to examine plants carefully for good health before buying. Look for signs of new growth. Plants with lots of roots coming out of the pot bottom are already in need of a transplant, which is okay. Shriveled, brown or dying leaves could indicate diseases or poor care at the nursery. Avoid plants with unusual looking spots on leaves or stems that are not natural. Turn over leaves to find insect infestations.

Step 2

Buy quality potting soil mix for house plants. If the plant you purchase is already root bound or you simply want to transplant it into a decorative container, you need to pick up a bag of potting soil mix. Potting soil mix is ready for use and has a balance of vermiculite, perlite, and peat to provide proper drainage to potted plants.

Step 3

Pot plants in the proper size container with drainage holes. Choose pots about two inches larger than the current diameter of the plant. This will give it room for growing new roots, but not expose it to root diseases from too much moisture in larger pots.

Step 4

Try to keep the temperature at about 65 to 75 degrees. A little lower at night is okay. Most house plants also love humidity at about 80 percent, which is not realistic for humans in most regions. If you want, you can set up a humidifier to increase humidity in a single room. Another option is setting a tray full of pebbles and water next to house plants to increase humidity.

Step 5

House plants need fertilizing to receive nutrients for living and growing. Check the recommendations on the plant tag when purchasing for fertilizing needs. It is better to use a little less fertilizer than applying too much that can adversely effect some plant species.

Step 6

Many house plants have different lighting requirements. Most may do quite well in a window with several hours of direct sun daily. Plants cannot survive in dark corners without a daily supply of light or sunshine. It may be necessary to supply artificial light with fluorescent lighting in some cases.

Tips

Plant house plants in pots with pre-drilled holes for good drainage. Line the bottom of pots with rocks that have no drainage holes to keep roots from becoming too wet on the bottom. If you cannot find healthy house plants, go on to the next nursery or garden center.

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