No-one is born with a green thumb!

If you would have told me a few years ago, that today I would be writing a blog post about plants, whilst sitting in my own urban jungle, I wouldn’t have believed you. Trust me, if I can do it, you can too. 

I want to share four easy things that can help those new to owning plants, feel confident in their plant care abilities, because who doesn’t love plants? They look amazing, have been proven to clean the air in your home, AND they’re living things you get to watch grow under your care! (If you care for them well ;)

1. Get to know them

This tip is to help you figure out how much water your plant needs. Step 1 - let your plant go without water for a while longer than usual and keep an eye on it to see how it reacts.
Some plants get really wilted when they want a drink and some plants lower leaves go yellow, when this happens then you know how long your plant can go without water.
This will help make watering more stress free, you’ll be able to take one look at your plant and tell if it needs watering or is good for a few more days. 
When it needs to be watered depends on your plant and where it’s living, most potted plants like to be watered when their soil has dried out. When you do water it be sure to wet all the soil until water comes out of the drainage hole.

2. Give them enough light

Even so-called “low light” houseplants need enough light! 
A rule of thumb is: if you have enough light to read without turning on electric lighting, then your plant should have enough light to grow. 
Giving your plant enough light is key to keeping it looking sexy! Most houseplants will like a bright spot without too much direct sunshine
As tempting as it can be to green up that dark corner, your plants will thank you for giving them as much indirect light as you can! 
When potted plants don’t get enough light they will grow much slower and will produce smaller leaves, spaced further apart, which leads to them looking leggy. 

3. Know their name 

Know your plants name! This way you can always look up their specific care and see (e.g. on YouTube or Instagram) how others are keeping their specimens looking nice. 
Obviously different types of plants have different lighting and watering needs, but they are also sometimes more susceptible to different pests or have common problems. 
For example: due to their fine roots, Peperomias can be more likely to get root rot, and Monsteras are susceptible to the pest Thrips.

To figure out your plants name you can look for it on the pot or tag, ask next time you’re at the nursery or send us a photo on instagram and we will help you out. 

4. Don’t stress it

This tip goes for you and your new plant! 
When you first bring your plant home you shouldn’t immediately rush to repot it. As it’s now in a new and different environment, you don’t want to stress it out by disturbing its root system as well.
You shouldn’t need to be stressed out either. Plant care can seem overwhelming at first with all it’s do’s and don’ts, but you’ve got this! 
If you’re keeping an eye on how your plant is doing, and researching by reading blog posts like this ;) you can be living in your own urban jungle in no time. 
Your houseplants can become a wonderful, rewarding and fun hobby. So take it easy, have fun with it and enjoy your new green friend!