Many people buy their houseplants spontaneously, they are often a take-home product. At home, in the worst case, the plant will die after a short time or let its leaves droop. With our tips, the project “Don’t kill houseplants, keep them alive” works.
How Not To Kill Your Plants: 4 Practical Tips
Houseplants: Start Small
If you have a faint green thumb, the best way to start the houseplant project is with plant cuttings from friends. It only costs some soil and a pot, and you will also get care tips from your friends. If you want to buy a houseplant, choose undemanding plants such as cacti or succulents. These water-storing plants are easy to care for and easily survive longer watering breaks.
Find The Right Place
“The houseplant looks chic there!” The selected spot may look good in terms of furnishing, but it is not ideal for your plant. Ideally, the tag on your houseplant will say whether it loves full sun or prefers a shady spot. Tropical plants, for example, like it sunny and dry according to their origin; other indoor plants, on the other hand, wither in the blazing sun. Do not place plants directly over the heater, where they dry out quickly. Directly at the window and there in the blazing sun is also not a suitable place, because the pane multiplies the sun’s rays. If you have a dark apartment, you can choose, for example, the cobbler’s palm, the bobbed head, the zamioculcas or the green lily. Ferns and schefflera also thrive in the shade. Especially in winter, make sure that your houseplants get enough light and that they are close to the window.
Watering: Not Too Much And Not Too Little
A lot can go wrong with watering: we either drown our houseplants or they go thirsty for several weeks. So find out more online or on the label of the plant: How much water does this plant need and how much does the other? Waterlogging is the death sentence for many indoor plants. Therefore, before watering, check with your finger (approx. 1 cm deep into the soil) whether the soil is dry. Cacti and succulents only need water again when the soil has dried out.
Don’t Forget To Repot
Smaller plants should be repotted about every two years, larger ones every four years. When in doubt, always choose a larger pot so the houseplant can take root. Ideally, every small offshoot will soon become a larger houseplant, which you have to give it enough space to grow in a suitable pot. Since they grow faster, younger plants should be repotted more frequently than older ones. A good time to repot is the beginning of spring, as that is when the plants begin to grow. When repotting, check the roots of your houseplants, there could be pests there.
