10 Tips for Looking After Your Houseplants

How often do I hear people say, in despair, that they don’t have a green thumb with houseplants? And yet, growing houseplants can be so easy. It’s all about knowing which plants to grow and giving them a minimum of good care. But it’s a fact that many “black thumbs” don’t know how to choose the right plants, and don’t have a clue about the basic conditions for successful houseplanting. Not surprisingly, they fail. Here are 10 tips on how to care for your houseplants, even if you’ve never grown anything in your life.

1. Choose Easy Plants

The number-one mistake novices make is choosing difficult plants. Indeed, it’s easy to be seduced by a bonsai or a magnificent chrysanthemum in full bloom, but neither will live 2 weeks without very thorough care. You have to start at the bottom of the ladder, with green plants. Here’s a list of recommended plants for beginners: aspidistra, aglaonema, dieffenbachia, dracaena, ZZ-plant, mother-in-law’s tongue, philodendron, pothos and syngonium. Once you’ve had success with one of these plants for 6 months or more, buy another from this list. Then another. When you’ve had half a dozen of these “easy plants” growing well in your home for at least a year, then you’ll be ready to try some flowering plants, but only after you’ve been successful with flowering plants for several years will you, perhaps, be ready for a bonsai!

2. Give Them Acceptable Lighting

Most interiors fall into the “very dark” category, especially if they’re adorned with curtains (plants’ worst enemies, as they cut off what little solar energy gets in). Fortunately, all the plants mentioned in the previous tip can tolerate shade. Even so, they would grow much more vigorously if placed near a window with at least a little sun.

3. Learn When to Water

Most beginners don’t look at the potting soil before watering: they water whether the plant needs water or not, which can quickly lead to rot. It’s not always possible to set a weekly watering schedule: the potting soil of some plants under certain conditions may be dry after a week, while that of others may not. So you have to touch the potting soil and even stick a finger in it. Is the potting soil really dry? If so, water it. Is it still damp? If so, don’t water. It’s so easy!

4. If You Tend to “Forget”, Use a Moisture Meter

For some novices, the problem is not that they water too much, but that they forget to water. This problem is quickly solved by using a musical moisture meter. Usually in the shape of a small ceramic bird mounted on a long metal rod (the probe), operation is easy: you dip the probe into the soil… and leave it there. When the plant needs water, the bird will start singing. Then you water it! Not easy to forget a singing plant, is it?

5.Know How to Water Properly

When watering a plant, even if it’s a cactus, you have to water it well, flooding the soil with water. A few spoonfuls of water aren’t enough. Pour warm water into the pot up to the rim and let it percolate to the bottom. If any excess runs into the saucer, discard it after 20 minutes.

6. Increase Ambient Humidity

The air in our homes is too dry for most plants, at least during winter. All the plants mentioned in the first tip can tolerate dry air if necessary, but they will grow better if the air is humid. Other plants die very quickly when the air is dry. Run a humidifier in the room to solve the problem. And grow several plants, as plants themselves are natural humidifiers. The more you grow, the more humid the air will be.

7. Fertilize to Reward Plants, Not to Make Them Grow

It may come as a shock to many novice gardeners to learn that fertilizer kills far more plants than it helps, but it’s true! When too much fertilizer accumulates in the soil, the roots will dry out, even if you water properly. So avoid excess. Most beginners fertilize “so that the plant will grow better” and thus kill their plants with excess fertilizer. Instead, change your attitude. If you look at fertilization as a reward to be given only to plants that grow well, you’ll be much more successful. First of all, a green plant doesn’t need fertilizer for at least 6 months (its potting soil is usually more than saturated with fertilizer at the time of purchase). After that, you should apply fertilizer sparingly (never more than a quarter of the “recommended” dose) and only to plants that are growing vigorously.

8. Any Fertilizer Will Do

Fertilizers “for flowering plants”, “for green plants”, “for cacti”, etc., are for experts enjoying extraordinary conditions. For the needs of a novice indoor gardener, an all-purpose fertilizer would be ideal. If you’ve already bought a more specific fertilizer, use it. Plants can’t read labels anyway!

9. No Need to Change Temperature

Good news! All the plants mentioned in Tip 1 (and indeed 90% of houseplants) grow very well at normal indoor temperatures. So there’s no need to change the temperature at home. If you like it hot, they’ll acclimatize, if you like it cold, they’ll acclimatize, if you lower the temperature at night, they’ll acclimatize.

10. Avoid Glossy Products

First-timers often fall into the trap of “plant polishes”. Sure, these products make your plants’ foliage shine, but think about it: if foliage reflects light, it absorbs less of it! Also, these products clog plant pores, preventing them from breathing! If you think your plants are dirty or dusty, wash their leaves with a soft cloth soaked in soap to bring out the plant’s natural lustre, that’s all.

And that’s it! Taking care of your houseplants isn’t rocket science. Just use a little moderation, that’s all!

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Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books over the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This article on tips for caring for your houseplants was originally published in Le Soleil newspaper on January 8, 2006.