How to Take Care of Indoor Plants

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Learn how to take care of indoor plants with these five easy tips! Check out the mistakes you might be making, and how to fix them.

how to take care of indoor plants

When we moved from NYC to LA, we bought our first houseplant. I truly had no clue about how to care for them or what they needed, but I was excited to add a little green to our apartment.

We named our first plant “Planty” (because we were obviously feeling highly creative that day) and just crossed our fingers that he didn’t die.

When we bought Planty, he was about knee-height. Now he’s taller than I am. Along the way, we’ve amassed quite a batch of houseplants (and yes, most of them have names) and a good amount of knowledge about how to keep them thriving.

While some of our plants are in bright rooms, we have plenty of low light indoor plants in other rooms that are also thriving.

After we rescued our fiddle leaf fig from near death we figured it might be worth sharing our hard-won wisdom. So here ya go, our best beginner tips on how to take care of indoor plants!

Find Your Indoor Plant’s Happy Place

You know how you have that certain spot on the couch that you fit right into, or the chair that you like the best? Plants are the same, and while you’re learning how to take care of indoor plants it’s important to find a place that they love.

Some of them like being by the window, some of them like snuggling into the corner, some like sun and some like shade. You’ve gotta feel it out with each individual plant.

I usually start somewhere near a window with plenty of filtered sunlight. If you find that your plant isn’t thriving there, gently move it to a new place with different conditions.

You’ll usually be able to tell within a couple of weeks – it might yellow or lose leaves if it’s in a place it doesn’t like.

If you have a particularly sensitive plant, you might even find that it can be affected if it’s positioned near a vent or area with a draft. Be aware of all of the factors that may affect the health of your indoor plant.

Good, Clean Soil

At the time of writing this post, we repotted some of our plants that needed some extra nutrients and it helped quite a bit. We tried Miracle-Gro Expand N’ Gro and it turned out to work well for our smaller plants.

It’s a little different than your usual potting soil — you add water and it expands to about three times its size. It holds 50% more water than ordinary potting mix as well, so plants that like moist soil stay nice and hydrated.

Our larger plants are potted in standard soil that’s meant for potted plants.

If you find that your plants aren’t thriving, look into the type of soil that you’ve used. You may need to search for a soil that’s more appropriate for your type of plant.

Another soil issue that we encounter at times is fungus gnats. If your soil remains too damp, sometimes little gnats can take up residence in your soil (which can be so frustrating).

There are a few solutions to this (oils, watering routines, etc. — I’ll do a post on this soon!), there have been times in the past when nothing would get rid of ours but repotting a plant in completely fresh soil. So keep that in mind if you ever run into the same issue.

how to take care of indoor plants

keep Your Indoor Plants on a WAtering Schedule

Learning how to take care of indoor plants revolves quite a bit around a regular watering schedule. It’s best for your plants to keep them on a regular schedule so that your soil moisture level stays consistent.

You might find that some of your plants need a bit longer in between watering, so take note of which plants need watering and do so accordingly.

Most of our plants are once weekly. However, our fiddle leaf fig likes to be watered every ten days.

If your plants start looking droopy and tired, chances are that you need to decrease the number of days between watering.

Yellow leaves, mushy plants, or heavy pots with soggy soil are signs that you may be watering too frequently.

We found that they really do best on a schedule, partially so that we never forget, and partially because it means their water levels stay nice and even. It might take a while to adjust to what your plants need but the fine tuning is worth it.

Rotating Your Indoor Plants

I’m guilty of often forgetting this one, and we end up with some plants that are reaching toward sunlight or way longer on one side than the other.

Plants naturally grow and reach toward their nearest light source. This results in more lush growth on one side, or perhaps a plant that leans to one side as it grows.

It’s a good idea to rotate your pots every couple of weeks so that growth stays even — a crucial part of how to take care of indoor plants.

If you rotate, you’ll find that your indoor plant growth is even on all sides and your plants are healthy and happy!

how to take care of indoor plants

Don’t Be Afraid to Prune Or Trim

Even houseplants need pruning! I know it kills you to cut off perfectly good leaves or branches, but it’ll make way for fresh growth and keep your plants healthy.

And especially be sure to prune away dead leaves or fronds. It may feel like you’re cutting away the fullness from your indoor plants, but really those dead or dying leaves just leach nutrients and energy from the plant.

If you prune them, the plant is able to send nutrients and water to all of its healthy leaves or branches and keep those looking beautiful.

When it comes to how to take care of indoor plants, this tip was key for us as we were nursing our fiddle leaf back to life. We cut away a few half dead leaves and twice as many fresh green ones sprung up in their place.

Bonus Tip: More DIYs Your Plant Will Love

These DIYs were ones that we created to help keep your plants looking great!

Hope these tips help you get your plants happy and healthy! xoxo

colorful room with indoor plants
How to Take Care of Indoor Plants

How to Take Care of Indoor Plants

Yield: Healthy Indoor Plants
Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $20

These five tips will help you learn how to take care of indoor plants!

Materials

  • Plants
  • Soil

Tools

  • Gardening tools

Instructions

  1. Find a place in your home that is suitable for your particular plant with regards to sunlight, etc.
  2. Use good soil in your pot, possibly fortified with nutrients for indoor plants.
  3. Water on a schedule.
  4. Rotate your plant regularly to avoid uneven growth.
  5. Prune away dead leaves.

Notes

Even houseplants need pruning! I know it kills you to cut off perfectly good leaves or branches, but it'll make way for fresh growth and keep your plants healthy.

And especially be sure to prune away dead leaves or fronds. It may feel like you're cutting away the fullness from your indoor plants, but really those dead or dying leaves just leach nutrients and energy from the plant.

If you prune them, the plant is able to send nutrients and water to all of its healthy leaves or branches and keep those looking beautiful.

When it comes to how to take care of indoor plants, this tip was key for us as we were nursing our fiddle leaf back to life. We cut away a few half dead leaves and twice as many fresh green ones sprung up in their place.

This post was sponsored by Miracle Gro. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience. This means that I receive a small commission should you make a purchase via one of these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you as always for your support!

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