Caring for houseplants properly is important. If your plants regularly die under your hands and don't thrive much, then this article could be helpful for you. Read these 6 helpful tips now to keep your plants healthy.
1. Watering correctly is the be-all and end-all
To ensure that your plants are really healthy, you should create a watering schedule. Yes, you heard right: a timetable for watering your plants. Because most houseplants at home are not cacti and succulents that you can forget about. Many of our beloved houseplants are true divas. So find out exactly what water requirements are right for your plant.
Too much irrigation water can lead to waterlogging in the substrate and thus rot of the root system. This is not good for your plant at all. Also be careful with the quality of the water, because unlike your digestive system, the plant cannot easily get rid of certain substances. For example, if the water contains a lot of lime, the lime it contains can influence the absorption of other substances in the substrate. Due to the soil, which is limited by the walls of the pot, certain substances cannot be washed out but are retained.
2. The right location for houseplants
What many houseplants hate? Yes, that's right, if it's drafty in the room and if your feet are cold. To be more precise: Plants don't like to stand on cold tiles, on window sills with hot and dry heating air or in nooks and crannies where there is a draft. Choose the most comfortable location in your home for your plant, as if it were your grandmother, because that's exactly how your houseplants want to be treated: with the greatest care and courtesy. Careful selection of the location is part of caring for plants.
Optimize humidity
It helps to combat the dry heating air if you use a spray bottle to ensure higher humidity and thus a better room climate. Bow hemp, spider plants, ferns and dragon trees are particularly easy to care for.
3. Care for plants: remove dust
Plants not only need their leaves to photosynthesize, they also need their leaves to breathe and sweat. They have so-called stomata on their leaves, small openings through which they can absorb and release substances. If there is too much dust on your plant's leaves, it can no longer do exactly that. So if you notice that the leaves of your plant look suspiciously cloudy, then it's time to dust them off again.
4. More light for your plant
The plant leaves its leaves drooping, the leaves appear bleached, they are slowly turning brownish - an absolute worst-case scenario for every plant lover. Fertilizer is quickly bought, the plant is given more care, but nothing seems to help. In the end, it could be a simple lack of light that is causing your houseplant to suffer.
Many plants, especially houseplants, come from areas of the world where it is warm most of the year and the solar radiation is much more intense than in Central Europe. So don't be shy, give your plant a location with sun! They really like it on the windows of your apartment. But be careful: If you have a tropical plant that originally comes from the rainforests of the world, it will not be happy with direct sunlight, but will prefer a shady spot.
5. You are what you eat - fertilize houseplants
Make sure you choose the right substrate for your houseplants, it should be high quality and provide them with the right amount of nutrients without over-fertilizing them. After repotting, you should wait about 4 weeks before fertilizing for the first time, as this is how long finished soil substrates usually contain a sufficient supply of nutrients. Afterwards, liquid fertilizers ensure the best effect because they work immediately. Fertilizer sticks often do not dissolve properly - and do not give the plant what it needs. This can have a particularly negative impact during the growth phase. You can use our FARBIO® Nitrogen Bio-Boost leaf fertilizer in addition to an NPK fertilizer to support the growth of your houseplants and make plant care easy.
6. Care for plants: Check for pests
Oh yes, a very unpopular topic: plant pests on green plants. Who doesn't know the annoying flies that suddenly settle on the potting soil of your houseplant and seem to multiply every second. Many pathogens, including pests, can have entered your home through the plant itself with the substrate. Others develop over time due to the climate in your home, such as fungi.
Sometimes it helps to repot the plant and replace the substrate. In other cases, the pests have to be combated specifically; there are now some sustainable and biological crop protection products as an alternative to pesticides, insecticides or herbicides. For example, the use of so-called beneficial insects - insects that are predators of the harmful insects. Fertilizers with copper also help to activate the self-protection mechanism of plants.
Are you overwhelmed with controlling pests and caring for plants? There are more tips for care on our Instagram account !
