Five Ways to Kill a Houseplant
- Don’t worry about finding out what conditions your new plant needs. Put it anywhere you like. If the tag or the person who sold you that plant says sun, go ahead and put it in that dark corner behind the couch.
- Don’t bother checking the soil to see if it is dry before you water. Water whenever it is convenient for you.
- Re-pot your new plant immediately, put it in any soil, and give it LOTS of room.
- Don’t bother reading the directions for your fertilisers or pesticides. Just do whatever you want. If feeding a plant is good, then twice as much would be better, right? As for your pesticides, what’s a little extra poison among friends?
- When you put your houseplants outside for the summer, put them in the sunniest spot. Don’t worry about sunburn.
Once your new plant dies, you can buy another one to kill. What? You don’t want to kill that new plant? Well, try this instead.
Five Ways Not to Kill a Houseplant
- Find out what conditions your new plant needs, then give it to them. For example, put your sunlovers into that sunny window in the dining room. And find out how much of a sunlover they are. Do they want as much sun as possible (a south window, for example), or would they be happy with a couple hours of morning sun?
- Check the soil of your plant with your finger before you water. Remember, some plants should dry out fairly well between waters. For Ficus and citrus, let the soil dry out about 1/2 way down between waterings. For cactus, let them dry out almost completely, and let most other plants dry out about 1/3 of the way down. Never ever allow a plant to sit in water in the saucer after you water it. Siphon or pour the extra water out. Never allow a plant to go so dry that it wilts, however.
- When you bring a plant home, do NOT re-pot it right away. Give it six or eight weeks to get used to its new environment before you make it. You have to get used to a new container, too. And generally, re-pot no more than one size bigger (for a 4-inch pot, to a five or six-inch pot; an eight or ten-inch diameter pot could go up about two inches bigger). Be sure to find out what kind of soil your plants need. African violets have special soil, as do orchids, cacti, succulents, and citrus.
- Always, always, always read the directions on ANY product you will use on your plants—whether it’s a pesticide or fertilizer. MORE is NEVER better. Too much of something can actually kill a plant.
- When you move your plants out for the summer, make sure ALL danger of frost is past. Then, move them GRADUALLY into the sun. Plants can sunburn like people. Remember that some plants would be happier under trees’ bright shade without going into direct summer sun.
Now, be sure to enjoy that new plant!