🌱 A beginners guide to houseplants

Even without naturally green fingers you can keep a plant alive all it takes is finding your match

Plants are a great way to add some colour into a space and come with bonus benefits acting to detoxify your home, which can improve sleep and air quality. Also, the act of taking care of a living organism (albeit having minimal responsibility) will improve mental health by helping to establish routines.

Meet the classics

Big leaves

Alocasia

These are great houseplants but are toxic to pets. They are humid loving so misting and wiping down leaves is a must.

Succulents

Succulents

Are the most popular starter plant due to the impression that they are difficult to kill, I have killed many due to giving them too much attention! Best to get if you frequently forget about your plants

Hol(e)y grails

Monstera

A great place to start- they do not require a lot of light and will treat you frequently with beautiful new leaves. The leaves act as a good way to inspect how well the plant is doing, more holes and bigger leaves mean you are doing a great job. Beware these plants will grow and grow to fill up whatever space you let them have.

Start from scratch

Avocado

A cheap way to start! Get yourself an avocado, some paper towel and a glass

Click here for instructions to grow your own avocado tree

Starting requirements

☀️Light

This is a tricky requirement and plants are fussy depending on their requirements. Good general advice is to keep plants away from direct sunlight (which may strike as unexpected) as this can cause the pigments inside the leaves to burn and brown spots will appear. However if your plant of choice is a succulent this rule is not important as they are built to withstand intense sunlight

⛲Water

Fully submerging plants is key, a little dripple of water whenever you feel like it is actually very bad for the plants. Root rot is a major cause of houseplant murder and occurs when the roots of a plant are kept in a constantly moist environment. This happens with too frequent waterings, so let your plant fully dry out and then completely soak the soil on the next watering. Additionally pot choice and drainage plays a big role, ensure your pot has drainage holes and that the pot is not too large for the plant. On average it is better to keep your plant in a pot too small than a pot too big to prevent root rot.
Soil quality will also factor in a good chunky soil will help to keep your plant roots healthy

😰Humidity

This condition is not the most beginner friendly, the best starting option is to get a misting bottle and give any tropical-loving plants a good spritz down, this also will help to clean their leaves of any dust which helps with photosynthesis. If you are ready to level up your plant game you can consider keeping your plants in a container such as a glass cabinet, Ziplock bag or a fish tank. The benefits of having a container allow you to create a controlled local environment for your plants, where you could get a humidifier and grow lights to help them #thrive