New to plant parenting?! The 7 best plant care tips you will ever need!
Welcome back to our blog everyone!
Today we will be giving you the absolute BEST plant care tips that you will ever need! How good?! Now I know (from experience of course) that being a new plant parent can be quite an emotional roller coaster, and a very, very, very long road to gaining all the best plant parenting skills.
Fear no more! We are here to help!! Here comes the 7 plant care tips you need in your life… Get ready for our plants to THRIVE! (And you’re welcome!)
1. Pruning and trimming
This is probably one of my favourite plant care tips and one that I’ve really put into practice in my own home! When leaves are wilting, yellowing, or just overall unhappy… CHOP IT OFF! That’s right, you heard me. If a leaf is all sad, the plant will put a lot of its energy into it, which means new growth is missing out on getting that little boost of energy, as well as the plant in general. There is no point in keeping a brown or yellow leaf on your plant (and it doesn’t mean they’re dying! Unless they’re all wilted or yellow…). Get yourself some nice snips or secateurs for a nice, clean trim, and you’ve got yourself a much healthier plant.
2. Topping up the soil in your pots
That’s right!! You read that correctly. Soil can start to disappear slowly because of watering and draining; and unlike in nature indoor potting mix doesnt get naturally replenished! We’ve got some amazing soil by Dr. Greenthumbs available here.
3. Rotating
Rotating your plants makes sure that they don’t start leaning to one side! Your plant babies will naturally gravitate towards their light source, so to avoid having a completely lopsided plant (even though that’s pretty cute!!), rotate your plant every couple of weeks!
4. Watering
Now, we have spoken about this a couple of blogs ago! Trying to give the right amount of water is essential: we don’t want to drown our plant babies, but we also don’t want to dry them out! Make sure to check out our care descriptions on our website. Our sustee water meters are the perfect tool to help you figure out if your plant needs a good water. If your leaves are yellow, your plant is getting too much water! If your leaves are wilting or curling, your plant is thirsty af!
Some plants are a little bit more boujee than others and prefer filtered water (hello, calatheas!). You can simply boil some water let it cool down to room temp and its ready to go!
Water temperature is important!! Make sure you’re not giving your plants water that is too to or too cold- room temperature is PERFECT!
Also… picking the perfect pot. Pots with drainage holes! The drainage holes will ensure that the water (you guessed it) drains correctly. Self watering plant pots are also amazing, and perfect if you are unsure how much your plant needs. We’ve got a fantastic range of self-watering plant pots here.
5. Increasing humidity
Some of our plants are tropical babes- which means they need plenty of humidity to thrive! Luckily in Australia, it can get pretty humid in the summer time. But what can we do during the winter to help??
The first signs of low humidity stress on plants may potentially include brown leaf tips and sudden pests showing up (like Spider Mites!)
There are a few ways to increase/produce humidity for your plant babies:
1. Misting: misting your plants (preferably with filtered water) occasionally! We have some super cute spritzers here to mist your plants in style!
2. Putting your plants in your bathroom before showering and leaving them there for a few hours
3. If looks aren’t an issue for you, and you have planting bags you have no use for, putting the bags over your plants will help create a warmer, humid environment
4. One simple way is to place a tray with pebbles in the tray and top with water, then place your pot plant on top! Easy Peasy!
5. Get yourself a little greenhouse for your plant babies!
6. You can also get a good humidifier, there’s heaps of different models on the market that will be suitable for your specific needs!
6. Light
Now I might have stolen this next paragraph from our Winter blog… but in case you haven’t read that one, no I didn’t! It is one of the most fundamental plant care tips.
Our winters can get very dark which means that your plant babies may not be getting enough lights to thrive and survive!
Luckily, we do sell some grow lights here, which will guarantee your plants will get the light they need, and make them feel like they’re on holidays in the Bahamas instead of a winter wonderland.
7. Fertiliser
Fertiliser is going to help your plants so much this winter (and just in general). Slow release fertiliser should be layered at the bottom of your pot AND at the top! This will ensure there is continuous nutrients being fed to your plant, and will be ideal for new growth, as well as winter maintenance.
I hope these plant care tips have been useful to ya’ll!! They’ve sure made a massive difference at home for me, and hope it does for you too :)
Until next time,
Clem 🐝 xxx