Plant Care Made Simple
- Michelle Martel
- Oct 19, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 26, 2021
When we take the complexity away from caring for our plants, we are able to fully enjoy their beauty.
As new plant parents, we tend to over think what our plants need and how exactly to care for them. We have to remind ourselves, we are taking plants out of their natural environment and placing them indoors. This means, there will be some crispy leaves, growth might not be as fast as in the rainforest, but when you focus on specific aspects of care, you will have beautiful houseplants.
Indoor plants tend to thrive in temperatures between 60 - 75 degrees fahrenheit. Let's focus on three aspects of caring for our new houseplants - light, water, and humidity.
Water
Many times, when we are new to the plant world, we kill our plants by overwatering them. We see yellow or browning leaves and we automatically assume our plants need more water. Sometimes, these are also signs of overwatering. Overwatering causes root rot. Once this occurs, our plant begins to die and is difficult to save. I highly recommend using a moisture meter to help you get to know your plants watering needs. In time, by paying attention to your plants leaves and soil, you will know when it is time to water.
Light
Plants need a variety of lighting requirements. Some thrive in very bright, indirect light while other flourish in low lighting. Direct light tends to burn most houseplants leaves, if you have an area that receive too much sunlight, you can use a sheer curtain to slightly filter the light. On the other hand, if you have an area you would love to enjoy plants, yet it is lacking light, grow lights are a fantastic option.
Humidity
Many of the plants we choose to bring into our homes are from a natural environment that provides humidity. Some of our plants do well adapting to our natural humidity in our homes, while other plants can benefit from a little extra humidity. There are many ways to do so. You can place these humidity loving plants in areas of your home that tend to have higher humidity levels, such as your bathroom or kitchen. You can also opt for a humidifier in the dryer months. Other options include creating a humidity pebble tray or misting your plants with water.
Click on your plant for specific care instructions.
Alocasia Plant Care
Light: Alocasia thrive in bright, indirect light for optimal growth. Alocasia will tolerate lower light, however their growth will slow. Rotate your Alocasia a quarter of a turn during each watering. This prevents the plant from leaning towards the light and allows it to grow evenly.
Water: Water when the first few inches of soil is dry.
Humidity: Alocasia thrive in high humidity.
Anthurium Plant Care
Light: Anthurium appreciate bight, indirect light, but will tolerate a lower light environment.
Water: Water when the first few inches of soil become dry.
Humidity: Flowering Anthurium tolerate dryness, while the other varieties thrive in high humidity.
Begonia Plant Care
Light: Medium to bright, indirect light.
Water: Water when the top few inches of soil dry out, but do not allow the plant to dry completely
Humidity: Begonia thrive in high humidity.
Calathea and Maranta Plant Care
Light: Calathea and Maranta appreciate medium to bright, indirect light. They tolerate low light. Direct light will burn their leaves and also cause their beautiful colors to fade.
Water: Thoroughly water when the top inch of soil becomes dry. Use filtered or distilled water to prevent browning of leaves. Calathea are sensitive to minerals and compounds in tap water.
Humidity: Both plants thrive in high humidity.
Chinese Evergreen Plant Care
Light: Chinese Evergreen tolerate lower light environments, but the variegated varieties prefer medium to bright indirect light.
Water: Allow the plant to mostly dry out in between watering. These plants do not like to sit in soggy soil.
Humidity: Chinese Evergreen are adaptable in low to high humidity settings.
Croton Plant Care
Light: Croton need bright light to maintain their beautiful leaf coloration. Croton is one variety of indoor plants that can tolerate some direct sunlight.
Water: Water when the top few inches of soil dry out. Croton do not like to be overwatered.
Humidity: Croton appreciate humidity, but tend to do okay in normal household humidity levels.
Dieffenbachia Plant Care
Light: Dieffenbachia do well in lower light setting, but during growing season (Spring and Summer) they prefer bright, indirect light for optimal growth.
Water: In the spring and summer months, keep your plant slightly moist, without overwatering. They do not like to sit in soggy soil. When the weather cools during Fall and Winter months, reduce watering and allow your plant to mostly dry out in between watering.
Humidity: Dieffenbachia love high humid environments.
Dracaena Plant Care
Light: Adaptable in low to bright, indirect light.
Water: Water when the top 3/4 pot of soil is dry. Give it a thorough watering allowing the water to run our of drainage holes. Use filtered or distilled water.
Humidity: Dracaena benefit from high humidity, but it is not necessary for your plant to thrive.
Fern Plant Care
Light: Medium light is ideal for fern, but can tolerate lower light settings.
Water: Do not allow your fern to completely dry out. They prefer moist, but not soggy soil.
Humidity: Fern love humidity. They appreciate daily misting with filtered water.
Ficus Plant Care
Light: bright, indirect light. Rotate your Ficus each watering to prevent your plant from leaning towards the light.
Water: Allow the first few inches of soil become dry in between watering.
Humidity: Ficus thrive in high humidity environments.
Hoya Plant Care
Light: bright, indirect light.
Water: Allow Hoya to dry out between watering Water thoroughly allowing water to pour out of drainage holes.
Humidity: Most household humidity levels is acceptable for Hoya.
Peace Lily Plant Care
Light: Medium, indirect light. Peace Lily tolerate lower light environments and tend to well in places like office settings.
Water: Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Peace Lily are prone to droopy leaves when in need of hydration. A good water will help their leaves perk up again.
Humidity: Mist leaves with filtered water to provide extra humidity during dry months.
Peperomia Plant Care
Light: Bright, indirect light for optimal growth These pants will tolerate lower light, but it will slow their growth.
Water: Allow the soil to dry out between watering Peperomia prefer bottom watering.
Humidity: These plants prefer humidity, but tolerate dry air.
Philodendron Plant Care
Light: Philodendron prefer medium to bright, indirect light, but will tolerate lower light settings. If the leaves begin to grow in smaller, move to a brighter location to receive more light.
Water: Water thoroughly when soil is almost completely dry.
Humidity: Philodendron enjoy humidity, but tolerates normal household air. Avoid placing your plants under heat or air conditioning vents.
Pothos Plant Care
Light: Bright, indirect light is preferred, but Pothos will tolerate lower light environments.
Water: Allow soil to mostly dry out between watering.
Humidity: Pothos do not need high humidity to thrive. They are adaptable to all humidity levels.
Snake Plant Care
Light: Snake plants are one of the most versatile plants. They do well in all light settings, but do risk burning in direct sunlight.
Water: Allow your plant to completely dry out between watering to avoid your plant from rotting out.
Humidity: Snake plants to well in average household humidity.
String Plant Care (Hearts, Arrows, Turtles, Pearls, Needles, Dolphins, Bananas)
Light: Very bright, indirect light.
Water: These plants store water in their leaves. so allow the soil to nearly dry out in between watering. They prefer to be bottom watered.
Humidity: They are adaptable to all humidity levels.
Syngonium Plant Care (Arrowhead Plant)
Light: Syngonium thrive in bright, indirect light, but also tolerate lower light environment.
Water: Allow your plant to partially dry out between watering.
Humidity: Syngonium do well in average household humidity.
Tradescantia Plant Care
Light: Bright, indirect light is best. Direct light will burn the leaves and too low of light will cause variegation to fade.
Water: Tradescantia enjoy moist, but not soggy soil. Water your Tradescantia when the first few inches of soil have dried out.
Humidity: They thrive with humidity, but will tolerate lower humidity levels.
ZZ Plant Care
Light: ZZ does well in low to bright, indirect light. This lant is suitable or almost any type of environment.
Water: Water when your plant is completely dry, every few weeks.
Humidity: ZZ tolerates all humidity levels.
I purchased a fiddle leaf and monstera and I don’t see the plant care for those 2 plants. Any tips?