I will admit. I am fully addicted to plants. They are my absolute favourite thing on the planet to buy. Our home is overflowing with them but I still want more and more.
So here are a few tips on how we take care of them and what kind of plants we have.
Once a year (in the summer), the plants all get taken outdoors to get some fresh air for at least an hour. With the sheer volume of plants that we have, it’s an all day project, but it’s so good for them.
Don’t repot them. There are specific times of year that different plants prefer being re-potted during. So unless there are some serious root issues in the plastic pot that you’ve purchased your plant in, leave him alone. The pots aren’t the most beautiful, but it’s the plant that matters.
We have a spray bottle to mist all of our plants. The fern especially enjoys being misted.
The leaves of your plants of of utmost importance to their general well-being, so it’s key that you take a damp cloth and clean off their leaves when they are looking dusty.
Houseplants:
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
I almost killed our fern. He just wasn’t getting enough light. I had him in the bathroom, which I thought he’d love because it was so moist, but the lack of direct light was getting to him. So I moved him to the spare room, but he was slightly too close to the radiator and the heat was drying him out. He was pretty much just twigs, but after some gentle nursing this summer he’s made a full come back. We water the fern weekly in the summer and twice a month in the winter but we gently mist him every day.
English Ivy (Hendera Helix)
Ivy is supposed to be so easy to take care of, but it’s one plant that I really struggle with. To be fair, I think the first round of ivy that we bought had root rot when it was purchased and there was nothing we could do to rescue him. This ivy is doing quite well though. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus radicans)
I absolutely love this plant. It’s like something from a Dr Seuss story. And you’ll know if your lipstick plant is happy and healthy where you have him because he’ll slowly start growing purple flowers from his trumpet tips every once in a while. We water him every two weeks in the summer, less so in the winter.
Money Tree (Crassula ovata)
The money tree is a type of succulent, and a very slow-growing one at that. He needs a lot of sunlight to make him happy. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
The peace lily is the most easy-going of all our houseplants and we’ve had him the longest. He seems to be happy in pretty much any light, and his leaves drop when he needs watering. A quick glug sees him perky again in no time. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Kong Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
On the tag in the plant store, the Kong as labeled as a shade plant. We had him in a shadowy corner and he rapidly started dying. So we moved him to some full sun and he revived. Nowadays he gets indirect sunlight most of the time. He flowers occasionally, and though the flowers are pretty, you have to pick them off for the good of the rest of the plant. We water the Kong every week or two weeks depending on the season.
String of Beads (Senecio rowleyanus)
I absolutely adore this plant. We have it in full sun and it is loving its life. It’s grown at least 3 inches in about 1 1/2 months so it’s loving life with us. You only need to water him about once per month and then let him alone the rest of the time.
Kalanchoe Double Flower
This beautiful plant will flower for 3-4 months during the spring and summer and have just its leaves for the rest of the year. It prefers full light. We water every week or two weeks depending on the season
Rattlesnake Plant (Calathea Lancifolia)
This plant is amazing. It opens and closes up tall according to the amount of daylight. So during the day, he is opened up wide and at night he is zipped up tall, similar to a snake plant. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Ficus Tree (Ficus benjamina)
The ficus is a fickle beast. He really doesn’t like being moved. So once you find a place in your home where he is happy, plan on leaving him there forever, pretty much. When you bring him home from the shop, he’ll probably drop a few leaves as he settles in to his new home but that’s normal during the adjustment period. Just his protest to being moved. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
I can’t quite remember why, but the snake plant was my most wanted plant for a very, very long period of time. It was on my Christmas and birthday wishlist for years. So of course, I’m very happy that we have a thriving one now. He likes indirect (filtered) but strong light. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season
Malabar chestnut (pachira aquatica)
This is another plant that has grown loads since we brought him home. He prefers fairly direct light. But all in all, it’s a very low maintenance plant. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Butterfly Palm (Areca Palm)
This is another plant that has grown loads since we brought him home. He prefers fairly direct light. But all in all, it’s a very low maintenance plant. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Dracena Marginata
This plant has moved with us multiple times and I adore him. I call him “spiky guy” and though he’s a plant that is supposed to prefer the sun, he’s fared well in our indirect light corners. We water him every week or two weeks depending on the season.
Succulents
Succulents have a funny reputation. They are supposed to be so easy to take care off, and yet social media is ripe with people having killed their succulents off. We’ve only had one succulent die on us so far, and long may that continue! If your succulent grows out tall and stringy, he is growing towards the light source (etiolate). The only thing that you can really do in that situation is pull that succulent out and separate all his leaves and propagate them into mini succulents. We mist our succulents 5 sprays each every two weeks and never water them with the watering can.
Monstera Deliciosa
The monstera is the ultimate instagram / millennial plant with its lovely, holey, massive leaves. He’s another plant that prefers indirect but reasonably bright light. We water our monstera every week or two weeks depending on the season
What kind of houseplants do you have? Are you as obsessed as me?
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
My Seasonal Eating Guides
Cutting Down on Plastic Usage
An Introduction to Slow Living
Simple Ways to Embrace Slow Living
I am a Homeowner
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