I used to be just like you, killing every plant I owned. It confused me for the longest time, how do people keep their plants looking so green and fresh while mine are literally losing leaves by the day? It took some experimenting, but I’ve finally learned how to be the ultimate plant whisperer who doesn’t kill her plants, but helps them live lush, prosperous lives. Here are my top tips on how to keep your plants alive and thriving:
1. Get real about your light situation
You know how some plants will have one of those tags on them that says “moderate sunlight”? Yeah…take that with a big grain of salt. All plants will thrive in bright (indirect) sunlight so long as their leaves aren’t too delicate and get burned easily if they’re in the sun for too long. If you have a plant, any plant, it should be beside a window basically all day. I know it might sound like an obvious thing, but I used to keep my plants in rooms that had only a little bit of light coming from a window and would wonder why they were losing leaves. One thing you can do is set up a little table right under your window and set your plants on it. They will thank you for it! (In plant language, whatever that is…)
2. Get to know your plant’s water needs
So every plant is different in terms of water needs. In general…if the leaves are thick and robust, it won’t need too much water. If the leaves are thin and delicate, it will probably need to always be a little bit damp. Ok…so how do we know what our plant needs? There isn’t really a plant out there that always needs to be sopping wet, that just doesn’t exist. For the tropical plants that need to be kept damp (ish), wait until the top inch of the soil has dried out and then water (I’ll give my watering tip in the next section). For plants that have thicker leaves and don’t need to be kept damp, wait until they’re soil is “almost” completely dried out, like 90%, then proceed to give them a big ol’ swig.
3. Water like a plant whisperer
The thing about soil, is that it contains crucial minerals for a plant’s health. You don’t want to be draining these minerals every time you water, so you’re going to keep the water that’s run off. Assuming your plant is in a container or pot with holes on the bottom, pour water into its soil while holding it over another pot or bowl. Once you feel like it’s been saturated, take that water and pour it in again, catching it with another container. Keep going back and forth until it’s completely wet and saturated, then place it back in the sun.
I swear, if you follow these 3 rules, you will become the ultimate plant whisperer!
