Things you shall understand before jumping into Indoor Planting — Plantilia
Hey there, seems like you are a beginner. Great! Want to learn about indoor plant care? But first, let’s dive into the list of things you shall understand before making it into the Indoor Planting.
Indoor planting seems pretty fun and easy right? It definitely is, but you shall understand these things before straightly diving into it. It’s so that your first planting experience goes smoothly.
Ohh! Here’s a summary in bulleted list before we start, so that the skimmer buddies between us can get an overall idea of this blog and don’t have to read the entire blog.
- Plants require caring and love just like we give to our pets.
- Every plant is unique and requires different type of caring.
- Plants require time to adjust in new conditions.
- Every plant has it’s own season for everything.
- Besides watering, light and planter can be a reason for stopped growth too.
- You need to keep a good eye on it.
- You will need a schedule for it.
- Not every soil/potting mix is same.
- Balanced watering is a must.
- Pruning is good for the plant.
Done with that? let’s go and know them in described words.
1. Plants too require caring and love:
Plants requiring caring and love may sound like obvious, but is it limited to that?
I don’t think so. Caring for plants is not just limited to watering them once a week or on a schedule.
Plants in general are sensitive as much as our pets. So, the caring and love that we give to our pets, is a must for a indoor plant too.
And if there’s a question in your mind about the word love in the sentence, there’s something you need to know.
Plants are sensitive to the environment around them too. By saying environment, I don’t mean the air or humidity, they also affect. But the plants are also sensitive to what we behave to them too.
That’s why, we shall maintain a good environment when around them.
2. Every plant has different needs:
We all know every plant is unique. But, is uniqueness is only limited to the physical appearance? Definitely, that’s a big fat “NO”.
Plants have different needs too. Not only different species of plants but even every individual plant has different needs.
A bigger Jade plant may need more or less water than a smaller ZZ plant, there’s no certain amount fixed for needs of the plants. So it’s our duty to study and understand what is suitable for our plants(By just simply experimenting different things like water amount and places receiving different lighting.)
3. Plants need time to adjust:
This point is for you, if you have bought a plant instead of growing it on your own. The plants we buy are mostly developed on vastly different conditions than our home. That’s why they(Plants) sometimes die.
In some cases, when the person who planted the new plant sees the plant having trouble, starts ignoring it and at last, the plant dies.
To avoid such kind of accidents, give more caring to your plant when it’s in need, When it’s trying to cope in the new environment. Give it some time to adjust itself in the new conditions, while you care and love your plant.
4. Plants have their own seasons:
Plants mostly have their own Biological seasons (Yes! I call it, that) for everything. Starting from flowering to the falling of leaves. So in these seasons, if the plant is loosing leaves, don’t freak out as it’s a completely natural thing.
Don’t freak out if it’s late and other plants from the same species have grown flowers, just make sure you have patience and give the plant freedom on it’s personal biological seasons for different things.
5. Reasons behind ceased growth of a plant:
Often the ceased growth of plants have different causes than just high or less watering.
Ceased growth can be because of many reasons. It could be less or more watering than the plant’s needs. But watering is not a very common cause for that.
One of the more common reasons for ceased growth can be, Lighting. Sometimes wrong type or amount of lighting can lead to a ceased or decreased growth rate. So make sure you are having the right type and amount of lighting for your plant.
Just like lighting, the planter size could also be a reason for the ceased growth of your plant.
Many times, we just forget to use the right sized pot(that is, we use smaller pots than it’s actually needed), which makes it hard for the plant to grow further. So make sure to get a pot at least 1–2 inches bigger than your plant’s root system.
Psst! Bonus tip: Change the planter every 1 to 2 years for a good and even growth rate.
Choosing the planter for your plant is being hard? Check my handpicked list of planters for indoor plants that you can use as décor
6. Keep a good eye on your plants:
This might sound silly, but is very necessary. You shall look at your plants thoroughly at-least once a day. The concept behind this is that plants are affected by pests and diseases very easily.
These pests and diseases, when treated at the right time and with right procedure, can be cured. But after a time limit, they are more probable to become incurable. So it’s better to identify and get rid of them as early as possible.
7. You need a proper schedule:
By saying that you will need a proper schedule for planting, I do not mean to say, “Wake up and start utilizing your time in planting and caring for the plants.”
But, what I actually mean is, Make a schedule to check your plants thoroughly, water them(it can be 1 week or 2 or any time period that your plant is suitable with), using plant food and other works. You might need some time to do it, but once done, you can’t miss it.
8. Not every product for plants is same:
As a beginner, you might think something like that. Even I thought all the soil types, plant foods and potting mixes are the same. But the actual answer to this is a “NO”.
Not every potting mix, you see are the same thing. In the same manner, not every soil or plant food are the same thing.
The products and their uses differ according to the plant they are for. Sometimes, the products are personalized for a species of plants rather than for a large variety of them. So make sure you use the right products for your plants.
9. “Balancing” is a skill, you need to learn for planting:
A balance, is always required to plant any “Plant” perfectly, especially in watering the plants.
Over-watering can cause rotting of roots, whereas less-watering can lead to some other kind of problems for your plants(different problems are seen in different type of plants)
But, don’t worry. This skill of knowing the balance between the “over” and “less” is not that difficult. And you will learn it over time.
10. Pruning is both good and bad for plants:
To those friends, who don’t know what pruning is, Pruning is basically the process of cutting some leaves or branches off the plant.
At this point, you might think, “how come cutting the plant is good for it?” Ok, then let’s see how come is cutting/pruning good for the plant.
We all have seen plants that are either over-grown or partially diseased(a part of the plant such as a branch or leaf is suffering from some pest or diseases). In that case, either to make the plant stay in a good shape and size or to stop the disease from affecting other parts of the plant, it’s better to prune it.
But, there’s a catch here. Pruning doesn’t mean to cut any of the branches or leaves off the plant. Make sure you cut only the part that is either diseased or over-grown.
Key Takeaway:
That were some of the things a beginner should understand before jumping straight into planting. After understanding and following steps suggested, you are ready to dive into the beautiful ocean of planting. This will also make a better chance for you to get more successful in planting.
Happy Planting : )
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