We’ve all bought a plant on impulse without any clue on how to look after it, guilty as charged, and unfortunately, sometimes it takes a lot more than a dash of watering here and a cozy pot there. It takes a bit more research, a bit more understanding, and this is why we’ve put together this quick list as to why your houseplants might not be thriving. Get out your notepad and grab that plant out of the naughty corner. We’re here to help.
Light or nah?
We’ve probably screamed the house down about this, but it is one of the most crucial elements of plant care: light is how they photosynthesise, and even those low-light lovers need it. If you have a bright indirect spot in your home, fill it to the brim with plants (fun fact, they thrive better together). If you have a direct light spot, then do some research on which plants can handle the full concentrated power of the sun, because let’s be real… Australian sun is basically the closest we’ll get to full concentration.
Here’s our visual guide to help:
Watering, dehydration?
It is usually the death of our plants, underwatering or overwatering, the issue that we aren’t aware of is that watering is actually a small part to play in a larger web. Plants in the wild have nutrients that are bioavailable; they have fungi and bacteria, all of which play a part in helping the plant uptake water and nutrients. Water alone isn’t the answer, no matter how much we want it to be; we really recommend using Grow Concentrate just to provide the basic nutrients needed with each watering. Ensure your pots have a hole in them, plants do not ever sit in waterlogged soil, and they hate it; it builds up harmful bacteria and gnats, it can cause root rot. A pot with a hole, grow concentrate, and a watering can is the difference between barely surviving and thriving.
Research where your plants are from, native-wise, monstera’s are from tropical jungles where they are humid and constantly receiving moisture, they are able to disperse it due to sharing the soil with fungi and other plants, a terracotta pot with a hole, a water tray with pebbles nearby and using grow concentrate + support pellets will mimic the biodiversity of their native home.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s not; you’ll find yourself doing less work.
Soil is the foundation, literally…
The correct soil is important for overall plant health. There are certain formulas of soil that work best for plants, some containing perlite, some containing peat moss; they are all formulated to mimic the soil that particular plant thrives in. Orchids will have a more barky soil than a tropical plant, which will have a more perlite based soil. We don’t recommend using the soil from your garden; it is all well and good, but it’s not made to sustain most indoor plants, and it will typically contain bugs.
We hope this quick guide helps you with your indoor plant jungle. If you’re ever in need, contact one of our planty experts: hello@wethewild.co
Feel free to show us your indoor jungle, too!