How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged

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So why on earth why did you think leaving your houseplant outside or in that unheated conservatory when Winter crept up was a good idea? Perhaps it was simple forgetfulness or some bizarre science experiment to see "what would happen" who knows. Either way, you've gone and killed it now. The Easy Fix Observe and notice your houseplants (if you're admiring their beauty anyway, this won't be hard), then when something starts to look wrong you'll be able to tell and treat the problem early on. Further Reading Avocados have become incredibly popular, whether spread on toast, made into guacamole, or chopped into fresh salads. But did you… How Not to Kill Your Houseplant is available as both an ebook and a physical book, but I'd highly recommend the physical book. It's beautifully laid out, with a collage-like style that mixes photographs and abstract cutouts. You need to learn the art of patience and give time between watering. Not only that, but you might not need to give as much when you do come to water.

Kill Houseplant Survival Tips - AbeBooks Kill Houseplant Survival Tips - AbeBooks

Read more Tip #3: Use Just Enough Water If you care for your houseplants properly, they will grow and thrive. (Photo: CC0 Public Domain / Pixabay – Suju) Also, some of the advice takes getting used to because it can sound contradictory, for example: yellow leaves on spider plants may mean that the soil around the roots is too dry, but it may also mean that it has root rot, which is caused by overwatering…? It’s just a matter of considering all the variables and testing for each one, but with time, experience, and a few mistakes, you’ll learn to understand the signs better.

If it’s a shady spot, choose the kinds of easy-to-grow species that thrive in these sorts of low-light growing conditions; examples include the nattily striped spider plant (Chlorophytum ‘Variegatum’); the cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior); trailing philodendron (Philodendrons scandens), the snake plant (Sanesevieria trifasciata); the ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) and the statuesque Swiss cheese plant known as Monstera deliciosa, a houseplant so obliging and undemanding that it’s almost impossible to kill it.

How NOT to Kill Your Houseplants: The Foolproof Guide to Lush How NOT to Kill Your Houseplants: The Foolproof Guide to Lush

It’s easy to get jaded after numerous houseplant failures, but a little botanical education can help you spot problems before they become full-blown disasters. Skip the trial and error with the signs of common plant parent mistakes and how to fix ‘em.

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Observe your houseplants very closely. This way, you can recognize a pest infestation in time to treat and cure your plant. Tip #10: Leaf-Care A good piece of advice I once heard is that your houseplant should be able to see the sky from where you've put it to grow. That pot - that small but poignant totem of a life before Covid- now hangs in a corner of a quiet room, its edges draped in greenery. Situated close to a large south-facing window but out of direct sunlight, the warm, bright, draught-free spot it occupies is the perfect place for my Senecio rowleanus plant. A heat-loving, light-loving, drought-tolerant succulent, its long, cascading stems are studded with a multitude of tiny, fleshy, pea-green beads so pretty and so irresistibly tactile that it’s almost impossible to resist gently stroking them as you go past. Whenever I do so, it feels oddly illicit, yet another reminder of what a strange new world we live in. There is very little room in the pot where your plant lives, because much of it is already taken up by the roots. That’s why the little space left should be filled with the most nutrient-rich soil possible.

How To Not Kill Your Houseplants: 10 Practical Tips - Utopia.org

But perhaps you shouldn't feel too guilty. It tends to not be the low light that finishes the plant off. Usually, it's combined with one of the other mistakes talked about in this article. Typically, losing leaves or leaves turning yellow is a sign of poor drainage, too little light or not enough water. Similarly, leaves turning a pale colour probably means that your houseplant needs to be moved to a brighter spot. Yellow leaves can also mean you have a problem with a house plant pest. Leaves are the biggest telltale sign of how healthy your houseplant is, and there are several things you should be doing regularly to keep them in top condition.However, for a book that dubs itself "Survival tips for the horticulturally challenged," it didn't get into quite enough detail at parts. For example, sometimes it says something like "water moderately during the spring and summer and water more sparingly in the winter." Helloooo - I bought this book because I kill all my plants! I don't know the relative meanings of "moderately" and "sparingly" when it comes to watering plants! Gotta give me a better frame of reference... The bad news is they have a variety of different needs and we all have different growing environments. This means you can do any number of the "mistakes" listed in our article which can all end in disaster.

How Not to Kill Your Houseplant | DK UK

Smaller plants should be transplanted about once every two years, and bigger ones every four years. Always choose a pot that is bigger than the current one, so that your plant has room to grow new roots.

Killing Houseplants (by accident)

Learn the basics of horticulture, from watering your plant to what kind of soil it should be placed in to how much light it needs every day to if a certain type of plant will thrive in your living space. Find out how to keep a cactus alive, where to hang air plants, and how to repot succulents. Another issue grow kits face is moldy sprouts – but there’s an easy fix. Mold tends to grow on plants that aren’t getting enough sunlight or air circulation, so make sure your grow kit is in a sunny area — south or west facing windows are the best for this — and place a fan near the plants to improve air flow. The best fix of course though is to get passionate about houseplants. This will help you learn and understand their needs better.