Keep this handy, and you'll stop living in constant fear of is today the day my plant will die?
By Danielle Tullo, House Beautiful
If your cycle of plant life looks like this: Get a plant, bring it home, somehow kill it in two weeks, get another plant, bring it home, kill it in two weeks—you're exactly where you need to be. Plants are hard to take care of, some more than others, and if you're a beginner, you need to find a plant that makes sense for your life.
To help you figure out which plant to buy and to prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, as you wonder if you watered your plant today, HouseBeautiful.com spoke with Morgan Doane and Erin Harding of House Plant Club. They're total experts on all things indoor plants, and even have a book coming out on Oct. 23 called How to Raise a Plant and Make It Love You Back. So yes. They feel for you and are here to help.
To help you figure out which plant to buy and to prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, as you wonder if you watered your plant today, HouseBeautiful.com spoke with Morgan Doane and Erin Harding of House Plant Club. They're total experts on all things indoor plants, and even have a book coming out on Oct. 23 called How to Raise a Plant and Make It Love You Back. So yes. They feel for you and are here to help.
Beginners need beginner plants.
In a way, bringing home a plant is like bringing home a pet and you might need to make some adjustments. Morgan and Erin say space, lighting, and humidity are three crucial things to take into consideration while plant shopping. Real Talk: Not all plants are created equally, and some will be much easier to care for than others. In their book, they only highlight less-fussy plants so you can start of successfully. These types of plants, like Sansevieria (one of their favorites) and Epipremnum aureum, don't require constant attention to water levels or special enclosures. Basically, these are great plants to start with, so you don't live in constant fear of "did I already kill it?"
Once you bring your new plant home, leave it alone.
A common mistake Morgan and Erin see is the urge to repot a new plant right away. Their tip: don't! This can add to the stress that the plant is already feeling from being transported into a new environment. Instead, leave the plant in its store-bought container—these pots have soil and plant food already dispersed throughout—and keep it quarantined.
Follow these rules so you don't kill it.
The House Plant Club girls say it's hard to apply one universal plant schedule because (1) all plants are different, remember? And (2) we all live in different environments. That said, this checklist is one to follow if you want to keep your plant happy.
Find a plant-sitter.
If you're going to be gone for more than a week, it's not a bad idea to have a friend "plant-sit" for you. And if you can't find anyone, don't fret, there's always the yarn trick:
See more at: House Beautiful
