How to Care For Your Indoor Plants?

Gardening is a soulfully fulfilling activity. Indoor plants increase room aesthetics and nurturing them improves mental health.

The following tips are some ways in which we can ensure proper care for our indoor green goddesses while avoiding pests and diseases:-

1. Get a Rich Soil Mix:

The soil should be porous enough for the roots to breathe and excess water to drain out. While garden soil may seem an ideal choice, it is not nutritious enough and will become hard and dry – making it difficult for plants to sustain in the long term. Better soil for indoor plants comprises a mixture of soil, peat moss, vermiculite/perlite, and compost. A well-balanced soil media includes proper aeration, balanced nutrition, beneficial microflora, and is devoid of pathogens and harmful organisms. Furthermore, the proper aeration improves balanced growth, while too much aeration reduces the humidity, leading to dryness in plants.

To enhance plant growth, treat the soil with natural fertilizers that are designed to provide micronutrients to the plant. Maintaining a healthy pH of 5.0-6.5 is also essential. Horticult provides an organic treatment for disease and pest control that can be sprayed on the plants to keep pests and diseases at bay.

2. Water Them the Right Amount:

Every plant has different watering requirements. Cacti and Succulents can survive on less water, requiring dry periods between watering. Flowering plants need more regular watering. Thus, they need a watering schedule that is dynamic to suit their needs. Overwatering may result in wilting and “wet feet,” which is the soaking of roots in water caused by puddles in the soil. It can easily be identified by mould forming on the soil surface. Underwatering can result in the leaf margins and tips drying up and withering away from the plant, leading to its eventual death. This is identified by the lightness and cracking of the soil.

Keeping a tray underneath the pot to collect excess water, and spraying the leaves to keep a thin layer of mist on the plants, may prevent both scenarios and ensure the plant is healthy and disease-free.

3. Know Their Light Requirements:

It is important for the plants to be in stable temperatures. Light plays a significant role in their natural growth. Too much light can lead to dwarfed growth and pale leaves, while too little light may lead to them becoming leggy (floppy or falling over). Direct-light plants (e.g Succulents) should be kept in a south-facing window flooded with light, while bright-light plants (e.g., Jade Plant) can be placed in the east or west window. Low-light plants (e.g., Spider Plant) should ideally be placed in the north-facing window. Light requirements in the house can also be substituted by placing LED lights. Dusting the plant leaves ensures they soak up more light.

4. Maintain the Right Temperature:

Temperature is one of the most important factors affecting plant health and growth. As most indoor plants originate from tropical and subtropical conditions, they thrive well between temperature ranges of 58 degrees Fahrenheit to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature affects the photosynthesis and respiration processes of the plants, which are their life forces. High temperature speeds up their respiration, leading to a faster breakdown and unbalanced utilisation of the sugars built during photosynthesis. Low temperatures lead to defoliation and yellowing of leaves.

Furthermore, too much heat in their vegetative phase may lead to wilting and leaf drop, while too much cold in their growth phase will result in lesser leaves. Temperatures during winters and summers can be controlled by controlling the cooling and heating systems indoors so that optimal temperatures are maintained for the plants.

5. Prune Them Often:

Plant stems tips should be regularly cut (pinched) to facilitate healthy bud growth. Similarly, disease-ridden, or drying leaves should be pruned to stop the infection from spreading.

At Horticult, you can find a remarkable range of house plants, gardening tools, and fertilizers to facilitate the healthy and nurturing growth of plants. The products here are specially designed by a passionate team of gardeners to liven up your house with refreshing and rejuvenating plants.