Basics to keep your indoor plant healthy (and alive)

LIGHT

Light is food for plants. Plants literally eat the sunlight. So for them to do well they need as much sunlight as possible. If you give them low light, it’s like putting your plant on a diet.

You should also consider where your plant species originates from. Different plants come from different parts of the world and have different light requirements. Some plants like succulents, cacti or begonias, they’re from lighter areas in their natural environment and they need quite a bit of direct sun indoors. So you want to place them in the sunniest window that you have. Then there are plants that are from more shaded regions, like a Birds Nest fern or a Boston fern.

So while a plant may start on an end table getting some indirect sunlight, it may require a move towards the window as it grows. All plants do very well in windows.

WATER

When it comes to watering, follow this main rule of thumb: water when the soil is dry.

Follow these other tips to ensure you’re not over or under-watering your plant:

Don’t count days between watering. Feel your soil or whatever it’s planted in every couple of days. If the soil is dry, then you can water it. Some plants depending on the season may be watered every couple of days, to every week, to even every 2 weeks. But I wouldn’t go more than 2 weeks without watering a plant because then it starts getting too dry.

The soil will tell you when to water. Feel the soil an inch or two deep. The soil will tell you [what the plant needs]: if it’s moist and smells, it’s too wet and you’ve started to rot your plant; if it’s bone dry and dusty, you should give your plant water. It’s better to err on the side of dry then wet.

There's a proper way to water a plant. First, always use warm water. Most houseplants don’t come from cold areas and warm water absorbs faster into the soil, so it’s more efficient. Be careful to aim your watering stream towards the base of the plant. You don’t want to throw water all over the plant because you run the risk of an infection or fungus taking hold in one of the leaves. Water a little bit at first, wait for water to sink in, then water a little bit more, let that soak in, then add a bit more. Keep doing this until you see water build up in your saucer. You don’t want to dump water in too fast. 

What happens is when the soil is too dry, it actually becomes water repellent, and the water will just rush down the sides of the pot into the bottom, [going] around the roots. When you water, every single time, make sure your soil is saturated. Let it sit in the excess water in the tray for about a day, if after a day it hasn’t absorbed what’s in the tray, dump what’s left.

To spritz or not to spritz? 

People love to spritz their plants, but not all plants need, or even like, being spritzed daily. Do not spritz aeroids like pothos, monsteras, or peace lilies — anything with a waxy leafy look. With plants like this, there’s no water going through those waxy leaves, you’re actually doing them a disservice by spritzing them because you’re making it easier for fungi to penetrate that waxy layer and attack the leaves. But there are a few plants that do want to be watered all over, like air plants, orchids and ferns — these are plants you want to spritz.

How to water a succulent. Succulents pose a particular issue for many people, since we assume them to be such low-maintenance plants. Yet, we’ve all had that desk succulent go from cheery to sad seemingly overnight. For succulents, you have to think about their natural environment. Feel the soil and make sure it's bone dry when you water it, and when you do water it, you want to saturate it. Maybe every two weeks. 

If it’s in a bright sunny window, that sun will dry it out real fast. Especially the smaller ones, they dry out super-fast. So you can water it as soon as it hits dry. Always be aware of seasonal changes — while a succulent may need to be watered every few days in hotter, sunnier months, they may be able to go a week or two between waterings during the colder, winter months.

REPOTTING

If your plant is drying out every few days or stops growing, it may need repotting. Check the roots by gently removing the pot. Roots that are crowded, growing together, or circling the pot need repotting. Choose a pot 2-4 inches larger in diameter than the original. Loosen the plant roots thoroughly but carefully. Set the plant into the new pot so that the base of the plant (where plant meets soil) is at least one inch below the rim, and then add soil all around it. Make sure the soil line doesn’t go above the base of the plant. Water thoroughly. (see Repotting Houseplants info sheet)

CLEANING 

Taking off dead and dying leaves and cutting brown tips off of leaves will help you plant stay nice looking (and yes, it's perfectly normal for plants to occasionally lose a leaf). A vining plant such as ivy needs to be cut back for neatness. Be aggressive. The farther back you cut your plant, the fuller it will become. In fact, we've seen great results with over grown, scraggly, ugly plants that were cut back almost to the soil line: new growth is lush, shapely, healthy, and generally prettier. Plants breathe through their leaves, so keep them dust-free. This means wiping the leaves off with a damp rag or setting the whole plant in the shower (which would take care of watering, tool). Just be careful that the shower spray doesn’t dislodge and wash away the potting soil.

HUMIDITY

Most plants thrive in high humidity; plants like ferns demand it. Unfortunately, our homes are usually very dry compared to outside air. To combat this problem, place a tray or saucer under your houseplants and fill it with pebbles. Add water until it’s just below the top of the pebbles (remember, you want to keep those feet dry). As the water evaporates, it will increase the humidity level around the plant. Misting your plants daily is also very good (although droplets of water on plant leaves exposed to direct sunlight can act like a magnifying glass and “burn” the leaves).

FERTILIZING

Houseplants need fertilizing with an all-purpose plant food such as Miracle Gro or Schultz Liquid Plant Food about once a month in spring and summer. Follow directions on the package. Flowering plants, like African violets and hibiscus, need fertilizing more often, using a special 12-36-14 fertilizer to keep blooms coming. Some folks also have great success with a diluted solution of fertilizer added to the weekly watering.  Obviously, how much food your plant needs will depend on its size, the size of its root ball, and other factors. Just remember that the frequent watering of houseplants (which is necessary because of the pot size) serves to wash nutrients right out of the soil. Since the roots are trapped and unable to “go elsewhere" to look for food (as they would if they were in the ground), they’re counting on you for their feeding!