How to maintain your indoor plants?

Contents

1.  
2.  A green interior is pleasant. But managing to keep your green plants alive is sometimes another matter. 
3. However, a good mix of water, heat and light is enough. 
4. Our tips for your green plants to shine for a long time.
   1. The light
   2. Temperature
   3. Air humidity or hygrometry
   4. Watering
   5. A quality soil and fertilizer input

 

 A green interior is pleasant. But managing to keep your green plants alive is sometimes another matter. 

However, a good mix of water, heat and light is enough. 

Our tips for your green plants to shine for a long time.

A green interior is pleasant. But managing to keep your green plants alive is sometimes another matter. 

However, a good mix of water, heat and light is enough. Our tips for your green plants to shine for a long time.

The light

Without light, a plant cannot live. Install your indoor plants in the brightest places in the house, near windows. 

The ideal exposure for houseplants is the proximity of an east-facing window. In winter, when the light is less strong, move your plants closer than 1.50 m from windows for maximum brightness. 

Artificial lighting (fluorescent tubes, mercury or sodium lamps) allows plants to be placed in darker places. 

Note: too much sun can burn the foliage. Protect the plant from direct sunlight and cut off affected parts. 

In case of lack of light: the stems of the plant are excessively elongated and the foliage turns yellow.

Regularly clean the foliage of your plants because the dust shields the light.

Temperature

Most indoor plants tolerate the temperature in our apartments. 

However, beware of excess heating which will dry them out. 

Do not place your pots near heaters. Beware of high temperatures which dry out the air. 20 ° C seem acceptable. 

Most plants appreciate during the winter a cooling of a few degrees (between 15 and 18 ° C), and a variation of 2-3 ° C between day and night. 

For this, a heater equipped with a regulating thermostat is necessary. Finally, avoid drafts. 

They can annoy your plants and cause them fatal heat shock. 

In summer, you can place your plants on the balcony or in the garden, but avoid taking out small species or fragile plants.

Air humidity or hygrometry

Most houseplants need 70-90% humidity, which is impossible to achieve in an apartment. 

To remedy this, place a humidifier near your plants. Another solution: put the pots in tubs filled with clay balls and water. 

As it evaporates, the water will create a humid atmosphere around the plant. 

And when it is hot or in case of heating above 20 ° C, regularly mist the foliage of your plants. 

To know: in the event of low humidity, the foliage turns yellow and falls, the edges of the leaves become necrotic, growth is slowed down. 

Then mist abundantly with water, insisting on the back of the foliage.

Watering

There is no rule: the watering of indoor plants varies according to the ambient humidity, the temperature. There are a few tips to apply, however. 

First, go for terracotta pots rather than plastic ones. They let the roots breathe and allow you to space your waterings: in fact, the terracotta must dry between each watering. 

Don't overwater! A plant survives a lack of water better than an excess. Once every two weeks is sufficient for woody plants (with hard stems or trunks), and once a week for others.

Wait for the soil surface to dry before watering. Use non-hard water, and an hour after watering, empty the water that remains in the saucer. 

Also provide drainage by placing clay balls or pebbles at the bottom of the pot. 

Namely: in case of excess or lack of watering, the plant wilts and the foliage turns yellow. In case of lack, bathe the plant. Otherwise, let the soil dry and repot.

A quality soil and fertilizer input

Soil is essential to ensure the good growth of your plants. 

It nourishes your plantations by providing them with the right nutrients and allows efficient water drainage. 

There are different types of soil, so you have to choose the one that best suits your plants! The most common and easy to find remains the universal soil but for your indoor plantings, prefer a soil for potted plants, green or flowering, enriched with fertilizer. 

For specific needs such as repotting, use a suitable, very light and very airy potting soil to give your plants a boost of energy. 

You can also find many potting soil specific to certain plants, such as cacti soil for your succulents and cacti, orchid soil, citrus soil ... 

Also choose a fertilizer suitable for your indoor plants. 

You can choose an NPK chemical fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) declined according to the type of plantation or a natural organic fertilizer made from plant and animal materials such as algae, wood ash or guano.

Repotting: repot your plants when the roots get too big, when growth is slowed or when they flower too little. 

Choose a pot with a diameter of 2 or 3 cm greater than that of the old one. Repotting should preferably be done at the end of winter, before the vegetation starts. 

Pruning: all you need to do is regularly cut dead branches, damaged leaves, stunted twigs and withered flowers using a secateurs. 

Staking: for plants with great development, place a stake to support and direct the antlers.