7 Things Plant Experts Do That You Probably Don’t
There are seven things plant experts do to their houseplants that you probably don’t, and it’s the reason why their plants look so happy and healthy and perhaps why your plants are struggling.
I’ve got a bonus tip also on a great way you can boost the growth of your plant.
Table of Contents
Changing Soil
Soil composition is crucial for a happy plant, and changing the soil of your plant at least yearly boosts the health of your plant in two key ways, and it’s something plant experts do.
First, changing the soil of your plant and up-potting into a bigger pot prevents your plant from becoming root-bound. A root-bound plant will not have enough soil in the pot to draw up water and nutrients and will begin to look tired with yellow or brown leaves.
The second benefit is that changing the soil of your plant regularly gives the plant a boost in nutrients that then allows the plant to push out lots of fresh new growth. Your plant’s soil degrades over time and loses vital beneficial bacteria and nutrients for the plant. So it’s important that we change the soil periodically to keep it fresh and alive for the roots of the plant.
If you have a plant that you have noticed isn’t growing as vigorously or is starting to develop yellow leaves, check the soil and consider changing it if you haven’t done so in a while.
Water When Needed
Plant experts only water their houseplants when their plants need it. This is something that inexperienced plant owners struggle with or are ignorant about but plants need less water than you might think.
It always pays to check the level of moisture in the soil of the plant before watering. It’s like adding salt to your dinner before tasting, you have no idea whether it needs it or not. So before watering your plant just stick your finger two inches into the soil of the plant and if the soil feels wet leave it another few days and check again.
If you’re repeatedly watering your plant when it already has enough water then you are over-watering your plant and this will lead to root rot on the plant and probably plant death. Don’t wait too long and put your plant through prolonged periods of drought as this will stress the plant out too. If you’re unsure how to tell whether your plant soil is wet or not then invest in a little moisture meter.
This is a complete game changer for plant care and tells you exactly how wet or dry your plant soil is. It’s a cheap little device and really easy to use.
Understanding
Plant experts know everything there is to know about their plants and it’s one of the main reasons why they have such success with their plants.
Trying to care for a plant without knowing anything about it would be like trying to cook dinner in the dark. You wouldn’t have a clue what you were doing. Researching your plant will tell you whether it needs full sun like a jade plant or be kept out of direct light like dieffenbachia, whether it needs constantly moist soil like calatheas or kept on the dry side like most succulents and whether or not they are hungry for nutrients like alocasias.
Without this research, beginner plant owners make mistakes like putting peace lilies on a south-facing window where it gets blasted by direct sun all day. If you do this then you won’t have a plant for long. Use Google Lens to identify your plant through pictures to get a full understanding of the care requirements for the plant.
You won’t regret it.
Checking for Pests
Pests can be a real house plant killer. Pest wasn’t really something I was aware of when I was just beginning on my house plant collection journey and I’m pretty sure most house plant beginners would say the same but it’s something plant experts monitor regularly to keep their plants healthy.
The assumption here may be that bugs can only live outside and how can they possibly get into the plants in our homes? Well, let me tell you that bugs are crafty little buggers and get into our plants in various ways. For example, spider mites are often on the plants we buy from the nursery and unknowingly bring them into our homes. This is because they are so small they can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Only their very fine webbing can be identified with very careful examination. So I experienced this recently in Ikea. I was just about to purchase a Ficus Audrey only to find webbing on the soil line and lower stems of the plant.
Obviously avoided buying the plants. Spider mites and other sap-sucking insects damage the leaves of the plants and if left unchecked can kill a plant as the population continues to grow and take over the plant. So check your plants over periodically for bugs and act straight away if you see something suspicious.
Fussing
This next tip might sound a little counterintuitive but it’s one that plant experts do and that is to not fuss over your plants. Fussing over your plants includes moving them around your home constantly, watering when not needed, constantly pruning stems and fertilizing too often. When I first got into house plant collecting I was pretty excited and this resulted in me fussing over my plants and having the constant need to do something to look after them.
I thought then if I wasn’t doing something to my plants then I wasn’t looking after them correctly. Which is completely flawed thinking. Plants just want to be left alone much like you don’t want to sleep in a different bed every night.
Plants like to be settled in their spot and will drop leaves if they are moved around your home too often. They obviously don’t like to be watered and fertilized too much either. Pruning more than half your plant over a short period of time will really stress your plant out.
So leave them to do their thing.
Sunlight
Plant experts avoid putting their plants in full afternoon sun.
Tropical plants are surprisingly sensitive and will burn when put in the sun. Much like me and you would burn if we were put in the summer sun all day without sun cream. And plants don’t have access to factor 50 protection like we do.
You may notice some fading of color of a couple of plants that you have on a west or south-facing windowsill and this is actually the plant foliage burning from the sun. Now most of our plants do hail from the tropics but the key thing here is that most of them live near the forest floor in tropical rainforests where they get dappled sun throughout the day because they’re overcrowded by much larger trees around them. This means they are not used to having hours of direct sun beaming on them and will become very unhappy.
Unless they’re a succulent, the rule of thumb is to keep your plants only in indirect sunlight. I have found that morning sun is okay for my houseplants but where I live here our climate means we don’t get intense heat from the sun during the day even during the summer so it really depends on where you live.
Pruning
In my previous tip, I mentioned not pruning more than half your plant’s foliage but don’t be mistaken your plant does benefit from some pruning.
Just like you might benefit from a haircut every so often to tidy yourself up, our plants are the same. They need to tidy up to get rid of damaged leaves and stems and keep the plant free of mold and pests. Air circulation is important for plants to prevent rot and mold on the stems and leaves of the plant.
An overgrown plant with damaged leaves will be far more likely to develop problems than a plant that is trimmed and looking neat and tidy. Pruning also encourages stronger growth from the plant which may sound counterintuitive. If we cut the stem of a jade plant for example, two new shoots will sprout where we made the cut and if we repeat this we end up with a really bushy jade plant with a nice thick trunk.
This pruning trick will work for most houseplants where there is a stem that leaves grow out from such as philodendrons, pothos, monsteras, and tradescantias so don’t be scared to make cuts on the plant the stem will grow back.
Bonus: Turn Kitchen Scraps into Fertilizers
If you really want to boost the growth of your plant with beautiful thick glossy growth then consider turning your kitchen scraps into free plant food.
I regularly reuse the nutrient-rich cooking water from boiled vegetables, pasta, and rice for watering my plants. This acts as a light natural fertilizer for your plants and is a free way to give your plants a boost in nutrients. If you boil eggs every morning for breakfast the water you have used will be filled with calcium that will do wonders for your plants so don’t throw it out.
Keep it, let it cool down, and use the water when your plants need to be watered. The great thing here is that you are giving your plants nutrients without the risk of over-fertilizing your plants and burning the roots because you are using an entirely natural homemade fertilizer rather than giving your plants the harsh chemicals found in commercial inorganic fertilizer.
 *(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)
