House Plants 101

I did not start buying houseplants until 2020 when COVID first hit and we were all cooped up inside. Was it boredom? Maybe. Was it a phase of impulsivity? Quite possibly. Am I so glad I started buying them? Absolutely!

I'm going to cover just three basics in this post including:

1. How to keep your plants alive. (Not as easy as you might think!)

2. My favorite house plants. (I do play favorites here...what can I say?)

3. Products that I love when it comes to taking care of my plants.

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Here we go!

How to keep your plants alive:

This is a pretty important step, right? You may or may not know that I'm a 3rd grade teacher, and we actually teach plants in 3rd grade. My students have grown wildflowers, sunflowers, and more! Students learn that there are basic needs that plants require in order to survive including the sun, air, water, nutrients, and space. These needs are so helpful when taking care of your indoor plants too!

I strongly suggest looking at the tag that comes along with your plant to see how much light, water, etc. your plant needs to survive. Different plants require a different amount of each need. For example, succulents do not need much water at all. I also let my fiddle leaf fig's soil dry all the way out before watering it. Be sure to look up the best way to care for each specific plant. A simple search on Google is all it can take to keep your plant in tip-top shape!

Let's dig in...

• Sun: Some plants do not need a lot of direct light, while others do best with indirect sunlight. You might even find some that can survive without any natural light at all.

• Air: This one is pretty basic. Plants won't do that great if they are in an environment where there isn't a good flow of air. In fact, plants almost "breathe" air by absorbing it and filtering it. Check out this article of plants that do the best job of filtering the air they live in. https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wellbeing/a668/houseplants-to-purify-house-air/

• Water: Water is essential to plants staying alive. Water is absorbed through their roots and helps carry nutrients up to the whole plant.

• Nutrients: I like to provide plants with the nutrients they need by planting them in rich and healthy soil and fertilizing them with plant food.

• Space: Plants need room to continue to grow and get larger. I always try to plant them in a pot that looks a little too big for the plant. Inevitably, the plant will get larger and fill in the space. You don't want a plant to have to fight for space, because this means fighting for nutrients, water, light, etc.

A Few Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks I've Learned:

• Most plants love indirect sunlight- just a nice, bright room. Plants thrive in my piano room because there's a ton of indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight will just fry them.

• I don't have a watering schedule. (I do not have time for that! ha!) I just look at the plant and see how it's doing to see what it needs throughout the week.

• It's usually always a good sign if your plant has new growth on it.

• I have found that letting my indoor plants dry out works wonders for keeping them healthy and keeping bugs away. Yuck!

• I love to put leaf shine on my plants...the leaves can surprisingly get very dusty.

• You will want to put cork coasters under plants to catch excess water, trust me!!!

• Sometimes I use a spray bottle to just mist some water on the leaves of the plants. They love it!

My Favorite Houseplants:

Fiddle Leaf Fig (I call mine Freddie the Fig lol):

Pepperomia:

Devil's Ivy or Pothos:

ZZ Plant:

Aloe Vera:

Succulents:

Snake Plant:

String of Pearls

Air Plants

Some More Plant Ideas:

• https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/garden-ideas/advice/g1341/indoor-gardening/

• https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g2628/low-light-houseplants/

• https://www.instagram.com/helloplantlover/?hl=en (an AMAZING instagram page to follow!)

• https://www.instagram.com/planterina/?hl=en (Great advice from a plant guru.🌿)

Last But Not Least....

Plant Products I Love!

Plant Food Spikes

Leaf Shine

Liquid Indoor Plant Food

Indoor Potting Soil Mix

Long Spout Watering Can

Cork Plant Coasters (a must!)

Pots with Drainage

- Set of 2 Ceramic Self-Draining Pots

- Set of 2 Modern Ceramic Pot With Saucer

- Large Pot for Plant Stand

That just about sums it up for now, but the best part about having plants is you can always keep learning and growing (no pun intended😜). If I discover some new plants or products I love, I'll keep you updated. Maybe a monstera plant will be next? Who knows!

Thanks for reading!

💛Ali