Basics of caring for house plants

Purchasing a house plant

Caring for houseplants must start the moment you buy them. Because many are native to hot or tropical climates, even the slightest exposure to cold can prove fatal. So, when you make your purchase at the garden centre or nursery, now that the cool weather has set in, ask for the plant to be put in a box or bag, or bring something yourself that you can protect the plant with for the journey home.

Most plants come with a label giving, often very basic, care advice. Some don’t even list the plants name which can be extremely frustrating for me. I try not to buy unlabeled plants but sometimes I just can’t resist and must have whatever plant I’m looking at. If I do purchase an unlabeled plant I try to search for plants that look like it on the internet, and I’m often successful in figuring it out.

Heat and Light

Read the label carefully on your plant before you purchase it. Do not buy a plant that needs bright light if you can’t give it a spot with bright light. It will only end in disappointment. When you get home, choose an appropriate spot for your new houseplant and leave it there. Like any other living thing it needs to settle and adjust to its surroundings. Occasionally a new plant will drop some leaves if your home is warmer or cooler than it’s used to. It will also do this if the lighting is different than where it had been before too. Avoid drafts or anywhere subject to dips in temperature, and steer clear of poorly lit areas. Lack of light can sometimes be fatal, but more often results in weak, leggy growth and a lack of flowering.

Flowering plants and those with variegated foliage generally need more light than plain green foliage plants. Cacti, succulents and carnivorous plants all need full sun, but they can be scorched by strong midday rays if they are grown right next to the glass of a south-facing window. Cunningly placed mirrors will come in useful to provide orchids with the bright indirect light they require.

Humidity

Humidity is very important to the health of most houseplants. In the winter our heating systems keep temperatures up, but also dry out the air – For many plants you will need to mist them several times each week in order to help replace the moisture in the air. You might want to purchase a humidifier to add moisture to the air in your house. There are large ones that can humidify the majority of a house. Other smaller ones are more suitable for humidifying a single room. If you have a room or two that you keep the majority of your plants in during the winter a small humidifier might be suitable for you.

Watering

The majority of house plants need to have slightly damp soil at all times, but this does not mean that you should water it every day. Over watering is the leading cause of houseplant death. It should be neither soggy nor dry. After watering, check that the compost is damp all the way through, with no surplus water, which you must ensure is drained away. Tap water is fine for most plants; it contains chalk that the plants need. However, orchids, carnivorous plants, azaleas and gardenias hate chalk, so use rain water or put tap water through a filter jug first, then boil it in the kettle, leaving it to cool before use.

Feeding

The most advisable method is to mix a long lasting, slow-release feed into the compost when potting or re-potting. Specialist plants, such as cacti and succulents, orchids and bromeliads, need very little food, while carnivorous plants do not need feeding because they catch their own grub.

Pests

All houseplants, no matter how well cared for, are susceptible to pests. Some of them are microscopic, so if your houseplant doesn’t look as healthy as it should, give it the once over with a magnifying glass. Look in leaf axils for mealybug, which looks like tufts of white fluff, and check on stems for tiny limpet-like scale insect. Inspect around young shoots and buds for greenfly.

You might not spot red spider mites because they are tiny to the point of being almost invisible. But you may well spot the damage they do as they suck the sap and cause premature leaf-drop, leaving groups of tiny pale dots on young leaves.

Compost can become home to jumping fleas called springtails (especially in over-watered peat-based composts) and vine weevil, whose grubs devour roots, tubers and bulbs. Spraying with an appropriate systemic treatment from your garden centre should eradicate nasties. Nematodes – minute parasites that kill the bugs – are also very effective.

When I notice pests on my plants such as spider mites or white fly I spray the plants with a mix of water and one or two drops of dish washing detergent. This soapy water mix often does wonders. I very rarely resort to using pesticides.