4 Foolproof Tips to Keep Houseplants Healthy and Thriving
Houseplants aren’t simply great accents to add to your home decor; they can also improve your home’s indoor air quality. But keeping houseplants alive and thriving is not always as easy as it looks. Follow the four foolproof tips below to guarantee the success of your indoor gardening.
Find the Proper Sunlight
Many plants love the sun, but some varieties prefer shade or a mixture of both. One of the best ways to guarantee the success of your houseplants is to assess your access to direct sunlight before you choose which types of plant to bring into your home.
Identify the areas of direct sunlight within your home and take note of how long that sunlight is available over the course of several days. With those notes in hand, you can now make a more educated purchase to decide which plants are suitable for your environment, which increases your odds of succeeding in your houseplant adventure.
Water Your Plants Correctly
Yes, a wrong way to water plants does exist. Some plants need water almost every day; others need watering only a few times a month. How can you know for sure what your plants need? Ask for care instructions when you purchase your plants, and if you want more detail, take to the internet.
In addition, a good rule of thumb to prevent root drowning and provide proper drainage for your plants is to use pots or planters with holes in the bottom. You can also fill the bottoms of your pots with a layer of rocks before adding soil to give the water an easier way to drain.
Maintain Your Plants
After you find the best placement and establish your watering cycle, all that’s left is to maintain your plants. Pruning your plants is important for several reasons. First, you should check your plants regularly to remove any dead leaves from them. Clipping off dead leaves not only makes them look prettier, but it also promotes healthy growth.
Second, you may need to prune certain plants to keep them from growing too fast and overtaking an entire area. If you’re unsure what your plants need, the internet has a wealth of information on which plants require more rigorous pruning.
Focus on Indoor Air Quality
Before you sit back to take in the view of your new leafy green decor, consider this last tip for your houseplants. While it’s true that plants improve your indoor air quality, when the air quality in your home is already poor, you can run the risk of having that air negatively impacting your plants. Even if you get the watering details and sunlight placement just right, your plants could still fail.
Check the indoor air quality of your home now, since poor indoor air quality not only affects your plants, but also your health and the health of others living in your home.
With the above tips in hand, you’re ready to pick out your plants and officially become an indoor gardener. Just don’t forget to water and maintain them.
