1. Group your plants together
In their natural habitat, tropical plants are used to high humidity, bright indirect sunlight and to being surrounded by other plants they can benefit from. Our living rooms differ from these ideal conditions and the dry air can prevent our plants from growing and sizing up. By placing your plants together, you can help to increase the humidity in your space.
Moe's Tips For Indoor Plants
Thought you knew everything you needed to know about plants? Think again. Our Berlin-based Marketing and PR Assistant, Moe Endres, is here to debunk all your plant myths with 7 tips to help your greens thrive in every space. Plus find out his ingredients to make your own DIY soil that your tropical plants are guaranteed to love.
2. Never over or under-water
What’s the number one reason why indoor plants die? Obviously lack of water, right? Wrong! Actually, most plants die from overwatering and while a weekly or bi-weekly schedule might work for some plants, others won’t benefit from this routine. Especially during winter, plants need less water compared to their needs during the growing season. But what happens to an overwatered plant? If the soil’s wet for too long the roots start to rot. Don’t worry, by removing all the dead roots and repotting your plant, you can still save it. That’s why I recommend using a hydrometer to check if they’re thirsty - trust me, this is a game changer, especially when you’re just getting to know the needs of your plants. Just stick the hydrometer into the soil and it will tell you if you need to water again. While too wet is unhealthy for your plants, dry soil for too long is as well - find a good balance and keep your plants moist.
What’s the number one reason why indoor plants die? Obviously lack of water, right? Wrong! Actually, most plants die from overwatering and while a weekly or bi-weekly schedule might work for some plants, others won’t benefit from this routine. Especially during winter, plants need less water compared to their needs during the growing season. But what happens to an overwatered plant? If the soil’s wet for too long the roots start to rot. Don’t worry, by removing all the dead roots and repotting your plant, you can still save it. That’s why I recommend using a hydrometer to check if they’re thirsty - trust me, this is a game changer, especially when you’re just getting to know the needs of your plants. Just stick the hydrometer into the soil and it will tell you if you need to water again. While too wet is unhealthy for your plants, dry soil for too long is as well - find a good balance and keep your plants moist.
3. Clean the leaves and remove dust
Plants use their leaves to operate photosynthesis. It’s essential for them to survive, grow and size up. Make sure to dust off your plants - first with a dry followed by a wet towel.
Plants use their leaves to operate photosynthesis. It’s essential for them to survive, grow and size up. Make sure to dust off your plants - first with a dry followed by a wet towel.
4. Misting your plants makes no sense
As more and more people get into plants, there’s also a rise in opinions and rumours about what’s allegedly good for your green friends. The biggest myth of them all might be that misting your plants makes them happy and improves the humidity. I’m sorry to break your heart…but that’s not true. Misting your plants will only increase the humidity for a hot minute but won’t help to reach the level of humidity required for keeping your tropical plants thriving. Sometimes the truth hurts, but you can actually harm your plants while misting them too often. Your plants might catch a fungal infection and new leaves might rot if the leaves stay wet for too long. So what to do instead? If you’re on a budget, placing bowls filled with water nearby might be an option for you, however if you notice your indoor humidity is super low you should consider gifting your plants (and yourself) a humidifier.
As more and more people get into plants, there’s also a rise in opinions and rumours about what’s allegedly good for your green friends. The biggest myth of them all might be that misting your plants makes them happy and improves the humidity. I’m sorry to break your heart…but that’s not true. Misting your plants will only increase the humidity for a hot minute but won’t help to reach the level of humidity required for keeping your tropical plants thriving. Sometimes the truth hurts, but you can actually harm your plants while misting them too often. Your plants might catch a fungal infection and new leaves might rot if the leaves stay wet for too long. So what to do instead? If you’re on a budget, placing bowls filled with water nearby might be an option for you, however if you notice your indoor humidity is super low you should consider gifting your plants (and yourself) a humidifier.
5. (Pot) size is everything
Have you ever bought a new plant, repotted it into a bigger pot and found yourself wondering why it hasn’t grown at all? After repotting into fresh soil, plants use most of their energy to adapt to their new environment through root growth. If the pot size you choose is too big for the number of roots the plant had established before, it might take much longer until you see new leaves grow. Also, a bigger pot might result in the plant needing more or less water which could cause the root to rot or dry out too quickly. You should always choose the pot size related to the number of roots - normally one or two sizes bigger compared to the pot it grew in before.
Have you ever bought a new plant, repotted it into a bigger pot and found yourself wondering why it hasn’t grown at all? After repotting into fresh soil, plants use most of their energy to adapt to their new environment through root growth. If the pot size you choose is too big for the number of roots the plant had established before, it might take much longer until you see new leaves grow. Also, a bigger pot might result in the plant needing more or less water which could cause the root to rot or dry out too quickly. You should always choose the pot size related to the number of roots - normally one or two sizes bigger compared to the pot it grew in before.
6. Find your plants happy place
Just as different plants have different needs, every home comes with different conditions. In general, you should always do your research and find out what’s best for your plants. One rule you can stick to is most plants like bright spots with indirect sunlight. One mistake to avoid is to not place your plants on your windowsill if your home is south facing or has direct sunlight for too long. Not only might your plants dry out way too early before you water it, but direct sunlight also causes sunburned leaves.
Just as different plants have different needs, every home comes with different conditions. In general, you should always do your research and find out what’s best for your plants. One rule you can stick to is most plants like bright spots with indirect sunlight. One mistake to avoid is to not place your plants on your windowsill if your home is south facing or has direct sunlight for too long. Not only might your plants dry out way too early before you water it, but direct sunlight also causes sunburned leaves.
7. Support your plants during growing season
epending on where you live, the growing season might start in March and end in October. During this timing make sure to fertilise your plants to see them thrive. I used to underestimate the effects of fertiliser and thought it was unnecessary since my plants looked great without it. Now, my routine is fertilising my plants every other week while watering them during the growing season.
epending on where you live, the growing season might start in March and end in October. During this timing make sure to fertilise your plants to see them thrive. I used to underestimate the effects of fertiliser and thought it was unnecessary since my plants looked great without it. Now, my routine is fertilising my plants every other week while watering them during the growing season.
For more info on how to care for your plant babies check out our
UO Guide To Plants.
UO Guide To Plants.
Mixing Your Own DIY Soil + How To Repot
Pre-mixed soil doesn’t support the needs of your plants at all. While many houseplants will survive, some will not. Tropical plants need a growing medium that won’t stay wet for too long and comes with good air circulation. That’s why I mix coconut soil, coconut choir (orchid soil) and perlite together. Perlite is a mineral product that keeps your soil loose, aerated and well drained.
TIP: DIY soil like this one dries out earlier than soil you buy from the store. This is a positive feature from your mixture but also means you need to make sure to adapt your watering schedule to the new conditions.
TIP: DIY soil like this one dries out earlier than soil you buy from the store. This is a positive feature from your mixture but also means you need to make sure to adapt your watering schedule to the new conditions.
Step 1: Activate the pressed soil by letting it sit in water for 5 minutes. Using this kind of soil is also super practical to store in small spaces compared to big and heavy soil packages.
Step 4: Add some of your soil mix before carefully placing the roots inside the pot.