It’s 2019 and everyone is obsessed with house plants - we can see why and we love them too. They can turn any home into a fresh, relaxing space whilst providing many benefits from cleaning air and absorbing pollutants to reducing stress and creating a positive atmosphere. Whether you’ve just purchased your first house plant or you’re growing your botanical family, you may be wondering how to keep them happy and thriving. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered…

3 Ways To Keep Your House Plants Happy

Lighting, Water & Drainage, these three things will make a world of difference when it comes to the health and longevity of your house plants.

Lighting

Light is something that we can easily overlook - we often know where we want to place our plants before we buy them, rarely considering what kind of effect it will have on their health. However, every plant has a preference when it comes to sunlight, some like to be in direct light whereas some prefer softer light with shade. To be sure, make sure you check out the plant description before placing your new plant in your home, a simple small move to a more optimal part of the home can help your plant in big ways. Once you’ve found the right place, make it official and try not to move the plant too much, they grow accustomed and don’t like to move too much, even if the sunlight remains the same! 

Research what light your plant loves and optimise your placement in the home.

Water

Watering can seem confusing, especially if you’re new to the plant world. But fear not, it doesn’t have to be difficult and you’ll have this mastered in no time. Generally, most house plants will need watering once the soil becomes dry to touch which ends up being around every 4 days. The best way to go about this is to dedicate specific days to watering your plants, pick two days that are spaced equally (e.g. Monday & Thursday) and you’ll get into a routine in no time. 

Now, Cacti and Succulents are a different story - they retain water due to their thick bulky foliage. These only need watering now and then when the soil becomes dry, this can be every 1 - 2 weeks, so be sure to check for your specific plant. 

P.S. due to lower temperatures and slower growth in the winter, reduce the frequency of your watering schedule. 

Get familiar with your plants and water as and when required - if in doubt, touch the soil and see whether it’s damp or dry. 

Drainage

We don’t hear about drainage very often, but it’s a really efficient way of keeping your plants alive and healthy. Although watering is great for your plant, over watering can lead to all sorts of problems such as mould and even plant death! The best way to tackle this is to have a plant pot with holes at the bottom, it allows any excess to run out and allows air to the roots. If your plant pot doesn’t have any holes, don’t worry! You can either drill some in or place your plant in the bath/sink on it’s side for a minute or two every now and then. If you love your plant pot and don’t want to drill it, try placing your plant in a small pot with holes that can pop easily into your original.

Make sure your plants aren’t sitting in stagnant water - adding drainage holes to your plant pot will help to avoid the problems caused by over watering!