Indoor Plants
Thinking of starting your own interior garden? From tiny succulents to big tropical leaves, these top tips will help set you on your way.
Repot
Nursery plants are normally pot-bound, meaning their roots have reached the extent of their growth for that pot. Repotting allows your plants to get more nutrients and grow faster. It's also a good opportunity to get a sense of how healthy your plant is by checking out the roots; if they're mushy, smelly, dry or moldy then there might be a problem. In general we recommend repotting your plants every 12-18 months or whenever you find that they are pot bound, think of it as an annual check up! If you've just bought a new plant it can be a good idea to repot, but some plants are fussy! (Like those finicky ficuses). With fussy plants it might be a good idea to let the plant settle for up to 2 weeks to allow it to get used to it's new environment before disturbing the root system.
Give consistent care
Every plant requires different frequencies and styles of watering, and you can learn what's what through researching your plant or through observing your plant as it lives and grows. If you notice droopy leaves or yellow tips and rims, this can be a good indicator that a little water is required, but the best indicator is the soil. Normally, if the top inch or so of the soil is moist, you can hold off watering the plant for a little while longer.
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Fertilizer can help your plant grow stronger and faster, but be careful. For indoor plants, fertilize in the spring and summer growing months.
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Plants acclimatize to the space their in, so try not to move them around too much so that they're seeing different levels of light.
Pruning and propagating
Plants have nodes on their stems, these nodes present like little bumps and are the plants source of strength! When pruning back dead or yellow leaves, try and cut above these nodes.
However when you're propagating you'll want to cut below the nodes, ideally two nodes down so that you new infant plant has a source of growth! You can also propagate from leaves that have fallen off and with a succulent, your best bet is to cut from a stem.
Adjust for winter
Plants go dormant in the winter so you'll see a lot less growth and because of that, you can also water them less frequently than you do during the growing season. Be careful not to dry them out however, keep them away from radiators as all that dry heat really isn't good for your plants. On the flip side, try not to let your plant get too cold either. Keeping them away from the windows may be a good idea if the leaves of your plants start to feel cold.
Be conscious of low or no light
If your space has low or no light, it's a good idea to invest in a plant light. These can be good in dark spaces in general but also useful in the winter. ZZ plants and snake plants can generally cope quite well with little light.
Your plant (probably) isn't dying
Sometimes we over-care for our plants! If you notice your plant isn't too happy, watering it might not always be the right thing to do!
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Yellow leaves or wrinkled succulents can be an indicator that your plant is thirsty. But if you noticed a mottled pattern, you might want to check it for pests. If you notice a big black spot in the middle of a leaf, you can check it for a bacterial or fungal infection.
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None of these things ultimately mean that your plant is dying, just that you need to apply a bit of TLC. It can be as simple as watering, repotting or de-pesting.
Outdoor Plants
Plant care can be simple when you know what to look for. Below are a few outdoor plant care tips for maintaining a vibrant and healthy garden:
Check on your plants
Whether you're planing your latest purchases or you're growing from seed, fully inspect your garden plants to make sure they are pest and rot free.
Water (properly)
Over watering is more common than you might think. It can lead to leaf spots, fungi growth and quite unhealthy plants. Only water as often as necessary during the growing season for your specific plant species, and let the soil dry between waterings to keep from over saturating. The key is to keep your garden well-watered, but not soaking wet. Avoid wetting the foliage and directly wet the soil instead.
Treat your soil
Soil health degrades over team and needs to be refreshed every so often. Adding mulch is also useful for retaining the soil moisture of your garden. Mulching material will keep weeds down while also supplying organic matter to your soil when it begins to degrade. Fertilizing your garden is another method to keeping it healthy. Depending on the type of plant species you’re growing, use the right amount of fertilizer and apply appropriately to make sure you don’t over stress your plants.
Clean your tools
We're not just advising you to clean your gardening tools because it's a good habit to get into, cleaning your tools helps control disease and prevent any dangerous bacteria entering your garden.
Maintain your plants
Deadhead, prune, and cull your plants as needed. Deadheading removes old flower blooms to encourage new growth. Pruning is cutting back the branches of your plants to control growth and make room for more. Culling your plants will clean up the unhealthy bits and also create more space for your garden to flourish. These gardening methods can all promote growth, clearing out any possible hidden pests or undesirable parts, increasing room for your flowers to flourish.
Weed
Not only do weeds look unsightly, they can suffocate the roots of the healthy plants that you've loved and cherished! Weeds take up space and resources that your plants could be using, so weeding your garden can help your outdoor plants keep growing.
Stake your plants
Staking involves fixing sticks into the ground and tying your flower stems or other garden crops to them with cloth or thread (you can also use a trellis). Staking supports the stems and keeps them from bending or breaking.
Companion plants
Give your plants some friends! Planting different species and varieties of plants together can increase growth. There are different methods of companion planting out there, research them online to find out what's best for your plants.