A lot of people worry very much when it comes to treating their plants. When discussing house plants, there is no need to worry. There are just a couple of things you need to look at.
- Watering
Overwatering kills most houseplants. Looks can be misleading, so to assure if your soil is dry enough to water, try out the finger test. Tuck your forefinger up to the first joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, do not water it. - Feeding
Foliage plants typically have high nitrogen needs, while flowering plants, K2O is required. Slow release fertilizers can be mixed with the compost. Nevertheless, certain plants like cacti and orchids need special fertilizer. Feed plants during their most active growth period. - Lighting
Plants like Sanseveria and Aspidistra require no sun. They can be put away from a window. Spider plants call for semi-shade. You can arrange plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Consult the label to discover what your plant requires. - Temperature
Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic variations of temperature may not be beneficial for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm conditions, do not put it close to an air conditioner in the summer. - Humidity
Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the wet. Grouping plants together oftentimes produces a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the temperature. - Re-potting
Some plants demand for re-potting for optimal development but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their rootages may be small enough that they don't require re-potting. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to bring out the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot. Sometimes the roots will come out of the pot. You should either cut them off or re-pot the plant.
You just need to have a little care for your plants and successively you will reap the benefits. Indoor plants not just contribute to the beauty of your interior decoration, but as well return a lot of pleasure to the indoor gardener.
