All the things I wish someone would of told me to do + not to do
When I first began my journey in the houseplant community, I really had trouble finding credible, dependable, and expansive information in one spot. I was constantly scouring the internet for answers to questions I had but couldn't seem to find enough information or the exact information I was looking for. The research alone became so tedious I didn't have much time to actually spend with my plants. So, I wanted to create that resource. This will be a free resource with information and all the things I have learned from real life experience! For free. I have only been a plant mom for a year and a half, so I am not claiming to be perfect in my knowledge, I am still learning. All of the information is from my experience, I won't talk about something I don't know about! This resource for plant care and plant care tips will be one of the many offerings from Poison Ivy's Apothecary. Thanks for trusting me to help you take care of your plant babies!
Basics
Always keep in mind that houseplants are living, breathing beings (yes, they breathe). Just like humans and other living things - they need sunlight, water, and food. You would die without these basics and so will plants (most plants). The 2 other things that are necessary to the survival of plants - soil and humidity (some plants).
Environment is everything for house plants - this will determine if they thrive or decline. The trick to a great lighting situation is recreating the native ecosystem for a plant.
Lighting & window direction
Lighting is the most important consideration when it comes to where to place your plants and deciding which plants to bring into your home. Just like people aren't meant to be in every environment, not every plant is meant to thrive in every environment. In the beginning I was one of those people that had to bring home every pretty plant she saw, I learned my lesson. Lighting can be tricky to understand at first because what the hell does bright, indirect lighting mean anyway?? Sounded like an oxymoron or a typo when I first heard the term. Most houseplants want bright, indirect lighting so truly understanding this concept will be key to your plant babies thriving and surviving.
So, the first thing I recommend is finding the compass app on your phone. I use this and a light meter that is part of an app I use to keep up with my plants -- I'll talk about the app a little later. Honestly, these two tools have helped me grasp this concept muchhhh easier. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. I live in Los Angeles, so the sun will interact with my plants much differently than if you are living in New York or Florida. My east facing windows receive bright sunlight earlier in the day and my west-facing windows receive bright sunlight in the later afternoon into the evening. This is also very dependent on where you live, as well. My sister lives in an area in Los Angeles surounded by mountains and hills, so the sun hits her east facing window much differenly than someone living in a flat open area in Los Angeles. Some plants can survive in no light or barely any light -- plants like zz plants and snake plants (sansevieria) are good for this lighting scenario. But generally speaking, plants need some sort of light to live. A plant like a snake plant can live in any lighting environment but they will grow faster, larger, and generally thrive the more light you give them. The intensity of the sun quickly lessens the farther you move a plant away from a window. Houseplants like dark, shade, part sun & part shade, or full sun. I'll break this concept down for you below!
Hack
Plants that grow on the forest floor thrive in part shade/part sun. My monstera adansonii grows on the forest floor in their native habitat so I have recreated this! Janet Jackson lives in a room with a west facing window about 15 in from the window. I have several plants in front of her closer to the window and elevated to create a shading situation.
Using plants that enjoy more direct sunlight to block plants that prefer shade is one of my favorite tricks.
Dark
This is a room or part of a room that gets absolutely no sunlight. When I first moved to L.A, I lived in an apt surrounded by buildings with barely any sunlight. I bought a mint plant and it died 3 days later. This could be a room like a bathroom with no windows, a corner of a room far away from the window or what I described above.
Shade
This would be a room that gets little to no sunlight and doesn't receive direct sunlight at any point during the day. This would be a room with North-facing windows. The farther you move a plant from a window, the more it is in shade. So, this could also be a room with east or west facing windows but placed 6 feet away from the window. When folks reference indirect sunlight this is what they mean.
Part sun & part shade
This lighting situation is ideal for most house plants. This is also common for many rooms. This would be a room that has filtered light or receives direct sunlight for part of the day -- 2-4 hrs of direct sunlight each day. A room with east-facing or west-facing windows would fall into this category as well
Full sunlight
This would be considered bright and direct lighting. This would be a room that is bright and sunny for the majority of the day- 6-8 hrs of direct sunlight. A room with a south-facing window would fall into this category.
Hack
If you find that your plants in a room with an east or west- facing window is too bright or the sun is bright and direct for more than 4 hrs of the day add sheer curtains to the window, this will bring down the intensity. If this isn't an option move the plant farther away from the window.
Seasons and lighting
The season also plays an important role in your lighting situation. During the winter my plants received less intense sunlight and for less hours in the day. Now that spring has sprung my plants receive more intense sunlight for more hours of the day. I have been propagating monstera deliciosa directly in my west-facing window since October and they were happy. Now they are obviously sad (yellowing, droopy, discolored), so I moved them farther away from the window.
In October I had a dracaena living about 9 ft from my west-facing window and she was fine. By December she was unhappy because she was barely getting any sunlight so I had to move her outside, this wasn't ideal considering dracaena don't like drafts or an abrupt change in temp, but she appreciated the sunlight. Now that summer is on its way, I have moved Lillian back inside and the sun hits her perfectly around 5pm.
Watering
The most important tool you can invest in to properly take care of your plants is a moisture meter. Overwatering or improperly watering your plant babies can lead to a quick and steady decline. Overwatering is actually pretty common because 85% of the plant care information out there says to stick your fingers 2 inches into the soil to determine. When in reality you need to know how much water is actually in the plant top to bottom. A lovely Black woman on #planttwitter taught me about a moisture meter - it saved my life. When you overwater a plant, it will eventually lead to root rot, this term is exactly what it sounds like -- your plant's life source will literally turn brown, become gunky, and eventually disintegrate.
Underwatering is actually a thing as well. When watering a plant make sure you water until it seeps out of the bottom of your pot. If you are unable to get a moisture meter, you can squeeze some of the soil between your finger. If the soil is too moist water will come out of the soil when you squeeze it.
ATTENTION!
Your plants need drainage holes!!! I repeat your plants NEED drainage holes.
Even if that pot looks pretty and it doesn't have drainage holes your plant babies still need drainage holes. No drainage holes for a plant would be the equivalent of suffocation for humans.
Hack
I love pretty pots and most of the prettiest ones don't have drainage holes. I ain't no DIY girl when it comes to creating drainage holes either - so I get it. So in order to have the pretty pot and make my babies happy, most of my plants are potted into a plastic pot and live in a pretty pot.
If you decide this is your lane, be sure to let the plant sit on the drip pan and dry out before placing back in the cover pot. If the plant is still leaking water it could cause extra moisture which can lead to pests.
If you are that girl and DIY is ya thing try drilling drainage holes into a pretty pot. I tried this one time with terracotta (no research just vibes) and it wasn't my best idea. But, I'm sure with the right research, tools, and attitude you can be that girl!
Soil
I recently got into making sure my soil is the best it can be. Just remember soil is where the life source of the plants lives - the root system. Healthy soil = happy/healthy plants. At the end of the year, I had a plant consultation with a Black woman I consider one of my plant gurus Jade the black plant chick -- she really stressed the importance of healthy soil and making your own soil. One of her recommendations for the issues I was having is making my own soil. Once you get heavy into the plant world folks encourage you to make your own soil. This sounds like a super fun DIY project and in theory I'd love to be that crafty girl making her own soil with all that fun organic stuff -- but in reality -- I ain't makin' no soil. And that's okay - different strokes for different folks. I won't lie on Beyonce´ internet -- I was a store-bought soil girl. I wasn’t using miracle grow soil bttt I assumed because it said organic on the bag, I was using, it was all good. I just don't have the space and I didn't have the time until recently. Luckily for me, Jade recommended a Black woman who makes her own soil curated to the specific needs of each each plant. What a hack right?! https://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativePlantMama?ref=shop_sugg
Just like people need different environments, plants need different soil. Some plants need soil with more aeration and drainage. Some plants don't even like soil. It can all get very complicated. That's been my issue with making my own soil as well, they all need different stuff! But what I will say is once you put your plant in the correct soil it will thrive! I discovered that snake plants prefer orchid bark over regular soil. I had two separate snake plants - one was in potting soil and the other was in orchid bark. I bought the orchid bark snake plant months after the soil snake plant and it quickly outgrew her! Once I took notice to this, I repotted the snake plant in potting soil into orchid bard and she is thrivinggggg. Couldn't be happier.
Humidity
If you love tropical plants like I do (Monstera delicioso, monstera adansonii, pothos, philodendron, white bird of Paradise) you will need to invest in humidifiers ASAP. This also depends where you live and the humidity in your home. The dry heat in CA has been tough for my humidity loving plant babies, but since I have invested in humidifiers, they have been able to thrive in my little ecosystem.
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Gathering plants together will create humidity. They also communicate with each other and enjoy community.
You can also put pebbles in a tray and pour water on top and place it right beside the plant. I like to put 2 - 3 trays surrounding the plant in a circle of love. Once the water evaporates into the air it will create moisture around the plant!
Mist your plants - some folks don't like this b/c it can cause pests from too much moistures and studies haven't proven it actually raises the humidity in your home, it's mostly theory - imo misting can be a fun way to spend quality time with the gworls and I like to mist some of my outdoor patio plants. I also like to mist during my watering time, it feels like it just gives them that extra spa treatment touch.
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