10 Tips & Tricks For Growing Great Houseplant
In this article I’m going to be through 10 really, really useful house plants hacks. The I personally wish I’d own sooner. I hope you find them useful.
Table of Contents
Use rainwater to water your plants
This is something that I heard about people doing for ages. And to be honest, never really bothered to do just because it seemed like so much effort. But since I’ve started doing it, I’ve noticed plants that almost kind of a bit dormant suddenly popping out new growth. The great thing about rain water is opposed to tap water is that it’s just got far, less treatment, chemicals sorts and tapple to be really, really harsh on your plants.
Especially you’re more sensitive plants like caladiums calathes over time, it can cause a buildup of fluoride in the soil. Also definitely worth saying. If you’ve got a water softener in your house, don’t use this water to water your plants. The chemicals in water softener are really really high in sodium and it can actually kill your plants so we’re not recommend it with the rain water I’m in. It’s pretty obvious, literally, just leave a bucket outside and let it collect. If your fancy enough to have a water bath. Then you don’t need a bucket, you can filter it.
But I personally don’t, and then use this to water your plants.
Use a white towel to increase humidity
At this time of year, when we’ve got the central heating on and the air in our homes, tends to be a bit drier. If you don’t have a humidifier or if you just want to increase the humidity in your house a little bit more, I would recommend getting a wet towel or some sort of material that holds moisture really, really well and hanging it over your radios. Your house still gets nice and warm. But the moisture from the towel, evaporates into the air and your plants will really thank you for it.
We don’t have a humidifier. This is just a really great cheap alternative to adding a bit more humidity to your house. Also leaving your clothes to air dry in general in the house helps to raise the humidity.
Squeeze your pots to improve aeration
This next one is just an alternative to what a lot of people call the Chopstick method. The Chopstick method is, when you take a Chopstick and you use it to poke holes down into the soil. So basically just increase the aeration without good aeration in the soil over time. It will become really, really cool pressed. The roots won’t be able to breathe properly and you’ll be much more susceptible to things like root rot, which can be a killer, the Chopstick method is really effective.
But obviously, when you’re poking anything sharp deep down into the soil, you risk damaging your plants roots and especially if you’ve got a plant that’s quite temperamental quite sensitive. You don’t want to disturb the roots. So my methods, I say my method. It’s just the method I use. I don’t know if I made it up. I probably didn’t.
Take your plant in its Nursery pots and before you water, you just give it a really, really good. Squeeze just to kind of loosen up the soil as much as possible. It creates the same cavity spaces in the soil, but without the risk of damaging the roots, this means that when you water Oxygen will be pushed down into the soil.
Keep the water from pasta rice, eggs and vegetables
This one is so so easy. Every time you’ve boiled eggs, boiled vegetables, boiled pasta, boiled rice, keep the water from it, let it cool down and use it toward your plants because it acts as a natural fertilizer with water from boiled eggs. It’s really, really great. Adding extra calcium. It’s also brilliant. And neutralizing, the pH balance in the soil, which is particularly great for plants like African Violets with vegetables when they’re boiled. They actually release a lot of their goodness into the water that usually just gets thrown away. It’s just a nice little vitamin Boost for them.
If you use broccoli water it does smell for a couple of days but your plants, love it. Rice and pasta are just brilliant and adding starch to the soil. Starch is something that your plants naturally produce and they use it as a source of energy for healthy growth. A brilliant natural little fertilizer
Dust the leaves of your plants
This one is so important. I know it might be obvious. Make sure you’re dusting your plants leaves regularly, even if it’s a low light, plants need light in order to photosynthesize and if your plant is covered in dust, it will be unable to do that.
This means the up plant won’t be growing as quickly as maybe like it too and it’s a lot more prone to certain types of pests as well after you’ve given your leaves a really really good dust. I always like to take a wet sponge or a wet piece of kitchen roll and just give them a good wipe. Just to kind of get off any other Dusty residue that may have collected on your leaves. But also, this is a really, really great opportunity to check for pests.
Make sure you don’t just do the top of the leaves, but you do underneath as well. And I tend to dust my plants leaves, probably about once a week and wipe them at least once a month. But it’s definitely worth doing.
Mix Coffee grounds into soil
Again, this tip is about naturally fertilizing, your soil. When you’ve had a pot of coffee, take the leftover coffee grounds that have been boiled through with them, scroll down and mix them into your soil. This is fantastic at adding things like nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus loads of really good things to the soil. Most plants will appreciate this, but again, African Violets love it. Jade, plants philodendrons. Feel a dendrines, never know how you say that philodendrons. They also really like it. I’ve also had the green tea. You can like really well for this as well.
Do half water changes when propagating
One thing I always get asked, is if you’re using the water method for propagation, how often should you change that water? Should you change it at all? What I personally do and I found it’s worked so. Well is I will just do half water to changes.
Fun Fact, this is the same advice they give you If you’ve got a new goldfish.
I only say this because the times that I’ve changed the water completely,I’ve often sent my plants into shock. they have either died or stopped growing. If you’re leaving your plants in water for months on end, it’s going to get a bit green and gross. I would personally recommend just doing half water changes at a time to keep the environment stable for your plants but also making sure that the water doesn’t go. Disgusting!
Find the right soil
Again, this might be obvious, but don’t cut Corners with your soil. If you want your plants to do. Well, you need to be feeding it good stuff and the nutrients it gets the mainly from the soil.The combination I tends to use is that I mix it up a little bit sometimes, but as a general rule of thumb, I tend to use house plant soil, coconut core,pearlites and citrus soil. The Blends that I use is probably about 40% houseplant soil, and then, 20% measures of core, pearlite and citrus oil. I’ve played about with so many different types of soil mixes and this is just one that I found worked really well for me. So if you’re not quite sure, then I would recommend this mix for cacti and succulents. I use more or less the same, but I replaced the house plant soil with a specific succulent soil and add some extra sand or grits to help with drainage.
Make sure you turn your plants
This next tip is turn your plants regularly. Again, your plants need an even amount of light or rounds in order to photosynthesize even if they are low light plants, and if they’re just getting that from one side, then their growth is going to be really, really uneven. They’re going to just be like. On average I would probably recommend turning them once a month, but if you notice, they’re starting to grow towards the light before then just give them a little spin.
Use hair to add nitrogen to the soil
This is a bit of a weird one in terms of adding nitrogen to the soil. Again, you can actually use hair to do this. It can be animal hair or human hair. If you take it out of your brush, obviously make sure that it’s not full of like, conditional or oil or product or whatever. But you mix this into your soil and as it decomposes, it releases nitrogen and gives your plants a boost plants that love nitrogen are different bulkier different backier. I don’t know how you say it, dumplane and filler dendrines for ladendrons. I don’t know which one has which, but both of them appreciate a higher levels of nitrogen and the soil.
These are just a few simple tricks to help keep your houseplants happy and healthy. Give them a try and see the difference they make!
 *(Include an image of droopy leaves)* Some plants, such as calatheas, prefer moist soil at all times; otherwise, they develop that signature brown tissue damage on the leaves. The annoying thing here is that the damage cannot be reversed and can only be cut away, leaving you with a damaged plant. If the soil of your plant is bone dry, you'll notice that it's pulling away from the sides of the pot. This is because the soil has shrunk due to a lack of moisture, so make sure you are not letting this happen by watering a little more frequently. #### Signs Your Plant is Overwatered (darkgreen) Overwatering plants is a really common way that people kill their plants. Beginner plant enthusiasts often have a common misconception that houseplants need lots of water, but the reality is that these plants are native to hot climates where they may get periods of drought followed by large rain which rehydrates them. **Yellowing leaves** (red) can indicate an overwatering problem as well as an underwatering problem. If you are watering your plant too often and the soil is always wet, this can lead to root rot, which will begin to affect the leaves of your plant. **Limp and mushy leaves** (red) also indicate that you are overwatering your plant. This is particularly true with succulents such as Echeverias. Echeverias store water in their thick leaves and have difficulty storing excess water if you are watering your plant too often. This leads to mushy plants that eventually fall off.  *(Include an image of yellowing leaves)* Philodendron and Pothos plants tend to get mushy leaves that fall off if the soil is consistently soggy. My Philodendron Birkin recently developed some new brown leaves that fell off because I was overwatering it. Whereas crispy brown edges on leaves indicate an underwatering problem, if the whole leaves are turning brown, this tends to mean that the plant tissue is rotting due to too much water. You may also notice some water droplets on the ends of the leaves of some of your plants. This is the plant perspiring excess water through its leaves and can indicate that you are giving the plant too much water. Now, this tends to happen on plants that prefer drier soil, and I notice it quite often on my Philodendron Birkin and my Tradescantia Nanook. **Increased presence of fungus gnats** (red) can also be a sign that your plant is too moist. Fungus gnats like a moist top two inches of soil to breed and lay their eggs, so if your soil is wet, it creates a breeding ground for gnats. If you see lots of flea-like flies jumping around the top of your soil, I would just dial back on the watering and let the top two inches of the soil dry out before watering again. #### Watering Tips (darkgreen) It is important to allow the soil of your houseplant to dry out between waterings. This prevents the possibility of over-watering, which is one of the most common reasons people kill their plants. **Check the soil moisture** (red) before watering your plant by sticking your finger two inches into the soil. If it feels wet, leave it a few days and then check again. An even better way to check the soil moisture is to invest in a moisture meter. This device needs no batteries and tells you exactly how much moisture is in the soil, giving you control over watering your plants.  *(Include an image of a moisture meter)* When you identify that your plant needs water, make sure you give it a thorough soaking. Take your plant to a sink area and soak the soil four or five times until water drains out of the bottom each time. This ensures that all the soil in the pot gets moistened and there are no dry patches. **Bottom watering** (teal) is a method that has changed the health of my plants since I implemented it a couple of years ago. Place your plant in a container of water and let it absorb moisture from the bottom up. This method prevents water from getting on the leaves, which can cause leaf tissue damage. I hope this article was helpful. Now you know when to water your plants and when not to. Apply this knowledge to your plants and see the growth. Happy gardening! --- Incorporating these visual and formatting enhancements will make your article more attractive and engaging for your readers.](https://growinggaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pexels-artempodrez-7242495-scaled.jpg)
