Quick Tips for Plant Care, No Matter How Many

I don’t know how we got here, BUT, I am now a proud plant parent of 177 plants . . . Yes, 177. And I know exactly how we got here. I don’t like leaving plants at the store!

With so many plants - and varieties - maintenance, at first, may seem overwhelming. And in the beginning, it was! I wouldn’t say I’m a plant expert. Buuut, I do know a thing or two about keeping them alive, while making your home look good in the process! Below, I’ll share with you a few basic tips and tricks to keep all your plant babies alive and thriving!

1 - Try Styling Plants of Like (or lesser) Care Together

By styling plants of like or lesser care together, when you make your rounds for things like watering or leaf maintenance, you’re able to better monitor the health of more plants at once. Since the plants would be of like care, you’d essentially take the guesswork out of caring for multiple plants in one space. Too, if you style a plant, like a pothos, next to a cactus or succulent variety - as shown above - each time you care for the higher maintenance plant, you’re able to regularly check in on the plant that isn’t as needy. This hack has helped me save tons of plants from ending up in PPT - plant physical therapy.

2 - Remove Dead Leaves

Due to a lack of proper light, water, or just because they don’t want to be around anymore, finding dead leaves on your plants is pretty normal. Sometimes, one leaf has to sacrifice itself in order to make way for growth. However, letting dead leaves stay connected to the main plant can actually drain that plant of the energy it could be using to promote growth. So it’s best to cut or remove that leave, allowing the plant to focus its efforts on thriving. Isn’t it amazing the life lessons we learn from nature?

If it, or they, doesn’t serve your growth . . . cut it off!

. . . I know that’s right!

3 - Add a Humidifier to Your Space - Especially in the Winter

Many of our houseplants are tropical by origin, which means they love warmth and a little moisture in the air. In the wintertime, although we may be providing our plants with the warmth they need by having on the heat, artificial heat is dry air. Not so great for our tropical plant babies. So, my approach to plant care has always been recreating the environment from which they came! And by placing a humidifier in the various spaces near your plants, you can provide just the right amount of moisture needed to make sure they thrive year-round!

The humidifier I own is no longer available. BUT, here’s one that I’ve been eying for a while and have heard great things about.

4 - Get Rid of Gnats

With having a lot of plants, you may run the risk of having gnats. Gnats come about for a variety of reasons, be it oversaturated soil, or maybe they caught a ride from other plants at the store. At the beginning of fall, I had what seemed like the attack of the gnats! They seemed to have multiplied by the minute! After doing some research, I came across a couple of methods for controlling and eliminating gnats; one being these Mosquito Bits. The benefit of these is that they eliminate the larvae deep down in the soil - if that’s an issue - and the solution deters fully grown gnats from returning to the plant’s soil. Most important, these bits are safe to use around humans and pets!

I simply sprinkled them on the top layer of my soil, and in about three weeks, my swarm of gnats was completely eliminated! And as an added measure of protection, I purchased a Katchy. This piece of plant tech basically attracts insects with a blue light, pulls them in through air suction, then traps them on a sticky board inside the base. I couldn’t be happier with this purchase!

5 - Wipe Down and Mist Your Plants

Last, but not least, let’s not forget to wipe down and mist our plants. Over time, leaves may collect dust. And when this happens, the dust acts as a shield that prevents a plant from receiving all of the sunlight it wants and needs, therefore affecting a plant’s process of photosynthesis. And since we don’t want that - or to have to say photosynthesis multiple times - removing the dust from leaves allows the plant to take in all the light it needs to grow healthy and strong . . . I mean, we only want the best for our plant babies!

Misting our plants, too, is simply another way to provide them with the humidity they need to thrive.

Hopefully you found this post helpful, giving you the extra bit of confidence needed to care for the plants you have . . . or go to the store to buy one - or seven - more! As I continue to learn about the ins and outs of plants from the varieties I have, I’ll definitely share with you!

In the meantime, if you need a visual of how plant care day goes around here, check out the video below! Happy curating!