Plant Keeping

How to take care of your plants?

Thumb rules for keeping plants healthy

I have always stayed in the city. It never quite occurred to me, how disconnected I had been with nature. The realisation dawned on me when in 2011, I start following a Youtube blogger, Mimi Ikonn. https://www.youtube.com/mimiikonn She absolutely loves nature. Her love towards natural aspects of life made me realise the importance of nature in my life.  The lack of greenery around me forced me to buy plants for my house. 

Being a plant lover, my heart breaks seeing how often plants die. Very soon, I made an effort to make sure they do not die. This is going to be my first blog piece, and I hope to only grow from here on. I want to help all the plant lovers and make sure their plants do not die.

So for all the plant lovers out there and all the future plant adopters, I hope you find my little tips and tricks useful for beautiful plants at your house, workspace or even your garden. It is true that all plants have different requirements for growth, but the basics for all of them remain the same - the growing medium, light, and water. 

Image Courtesy: @priyasinha0193

Water the plants regularly

North India experiences severe weather changes. Therefore, it is important to gauge how much water the plant requires. During summers, outdoor plants like money plant, Liriope, Tulsi, Fern, etc., require a lot of water under direct sun, whereas plants like Indian Aloe vera, Crotons and Foliage, require watering only twice a week. Don’t ever let your plant stand in a puddle of water. It will die out. Try to pump out the extra water or put it under a fan.

Check the water temperature

Think of your plants as persons. Would you ever serve boiling/ extremely cold water to this person? No, right? So, ensure that the water remains room temperature.

Carefully choose the light

Make sure you do not mix up indoor and outdoor plants. The leaves of an indoor plant will burn if kept under direct sunlight. 

Wipe the leaves

Make sure you wipe off the leaves of your indoor plants. Whether indoor or outdoor, the leaves need to be sprayed well with water so that all the dust flows off.

Watch for brown spots

A lot of times the leaves may develop brown spots, which get darker and develop holes. Just cut the holes if they are around the edges.

Rotate your plant

Make sure that you rotate your plant. If the plant starts getting heavy on one side, it’s time to rotate the plant on the other side.

Name your plant and talk to them

Now this one might seem to be absolutely ridiculous, but trust me when I say this. You need to have a conversation with your plants. Make them feel loved. Send them positive love.

When you start out, you may feel intimidated by the plants. It is because probably in a month or two of buying your plants, they may dry out or turn brown or squishy. At this point, don’t fret! Just try to adjust their lighting needs. If the plants turn squishy, put it in the sun. Or if you see the spots, place it somewhere with indirect sunlight. Plants have been part of our origin. They are air purifiers for us. Make it a part of your life too. Take care of your plants like you take care of yourselves!

Image Courtesy: @priyasinha0193

By- FrestaGold | Priya Sinha 

Architect | Nature lover | Life | Home | Decor | Nurturing India

Instagram- @priyasinha0193