Houseplant MythsHUGE NO NO! This is the most common mistake new plant owners make! Houseplants don’t want or need constantly soggy soil (also called "wet feet"). Overwatering will cause plants to develop root rot. How do I know when my plant needs water then? You check the soil before watering. Typically you should wait for the first 1-2 inches of soil to dry, which is about to your 2nd knuckle.
Using anything as a planterWhile you might mean well by recycling an old candle or jar to use as a planter, you could be sentencing your houseplant to a watery death. Having a planter with a drainage hole is essential for a healthy plant. Continuing on with the "wet feet" statement from above,
a pot with no hole means your plant will be standing in water for days after a watering, causing root rot. While you can provide a bottom drainage layer of rocks to act as a buffer, many plant experts dismiss this.
The best way to avoid the hassle is to put the plant in a nursery pot (aka a pot with drainage holes) and place that inside the container with no hole. You can also drill your own holes if your patient enough!
I should replant my houseplant into a much larger pot to make my plant grow bigger!Another no no! In a too-large pot, soil dries slowly, making your plant more susceptible to root rot. When a plant is too large for its pot, it also has a tendency to tip over. In a too-small pot, soil dries so quickly that you'll be challenged to water frequently enough. Your plant could become root-bound and exhibit stunted growth.
Ideally, place a plant into a pot that's the same size it's growing in. When transplanting because a plant has outgrown its current pot, shift to a pot 2-4 inches larger in diameter. Select the larger size pot for plants that grow quickly. For slow growers, a pot that's 1-2 inches larger works well.
Link.Plants need lots of sun to grow, therefor I should place my houseplant in the sunniest spot I can find!Most houseplants are "houseplants" for a reason. They can grow in shady conditions! While there are the few exceptions, most houseplants cannot handle intense "direct" sun. The leaves will scorch and burn! You'll know if your plant has gotten sunburned when the leaves develop brown crispy spots or look bleached.
The best lighting for your plant is a East or West facing window, as those directions get lots of sun without it being too intense. South is best for your sun loving plants, North never receives direct sunlight, so it is alright for low light plants during the summer, but you might want to consider moving them during the winter as the lighting becomes too weak to provide for your plants.
Succulents and Cacti are great beginner plants, as you never need to water them!Succulents and Cacti need LOTS of sun. Unfortunately when starting out beginners hear that they are great easy care, can't kill, bedroom decor and place them in a dimly lit location. They are also advertised as "great for terrariums and dish gardens!", which is another big no no as terrariums do not have drainage holes and these are the easiest houseplants to overwater.
Succulents - are very picky, they need lots (and some) direct sun, but they also can burn. You must water them right when the soil is completely dry and when the leaves look puckered, but you can't wait too long to water or the leaves will drop off. Succulents tend to get leggy quickly, so you will eventually have to cut the entire head off the plant and reroot it, which is a lengthy process and has the possibility to not even root! Lots of plant owners (myself included) have had terrible luck with succulents, but can take care of almost any other plant! If someone kills a succulent they may get discouraged and think they have a black thumb and won't want to try any other plant in fear that they'll kill that one as well, when it may have been the succulent that was the problem! Which is why I wouldn't recommend them to beginners.
Cacti - More relaxed than succulents. They need more light than succulents do. We're talking full direct sun all day if possible, at the very least 4 hours a day. Water when the soil is dry, but they won't mind dry spells unlike succulents. They seem to be more forgiving if overwatered a bit, do not test fate though, just wait until the soil is completely dry! In my experience the towering cacti are the easiest. Barrel or round shaped cacti are more susceptible to overwatering. Cacti grow faster than you think, it all depends on how often you water. Almost all of my cacti have doubled their size in just 1 year!
Watering your Orchid with Ice CubesOrchids are epiphytes (a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic, and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water or from debris accumulating around it.) that come from tropical areas of Southeast Asia. The cold icy water can damage the roots. The ice cube method is advertised as a way to not overwater, but overwatering a plant does not mean you dumped tons of lots of water on it, overwatering actually means consistently giving a plant water when it's already wet. You could in fact overwater your orchid with ice cubes if you are placing ice cubes on the plant every single day. On top of it, the ice cubes are ineffective as they have the possibility of not wetting all the roots!
The proper way to water an orchid is to wait until the roots are dry (which you should be able to see as orchids SHOULD NEVER be planted in soil, treat them like air plants!!) When dry place the roots in a bowl full of water and let them soak for 10-30 minutes. Then remove and boom! You watered your orchid!
Some houseplants can survive in zero sunlight! AKA Windowless bathroomsLet’s start off with perhaps the most frustrating piece of advice I see too often. That some plants can survive with zero light. While it’s true that some houseplants, such as a snake plant or ZZ plant, fare better than most house plants in low-light conditions, I challenge you to find any plant that has fully thrived in a zero-light environment. If you want a healthy plant that continually and quickly produces new growth, you’re going to need a reliable source of light.
Misting Your Plants Will Increase The HumidityIt's just ineffective. Misting once or twice a day just isn't enough to bring up the humidity if the plants are placed in a breezy, sunny, or large area. The water will evaporate quickly and only provides maybe 15 minutes (if even that) of humidity. Some plants don't like to be misted as well, and it can promote fungal problems like leaf spot. If you need to increase the humidity, try clumping your plants together, using pebble trays, running a little water fountain, or just get a humidifier!
Misting isn't all bad, as it removes dust off the leaves and keeps away spider mites, which love dry plants.
credit to plant image
