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Indoor plants are an excellent ally to give life and a more natural atmosphere to our homes. Its presence helps us not only to give a pleasant aesthetic touch, but to maintain a healthier environment, whether it is indoor plants with flowers or plants that do not have flowers, such as ferns.
Keeping indoor plants healthy is easier than many think and you just have to follow a few basic instructions so that they continue to accompany us in their best form. If you want to learn how to get durable indoor plants, keep reading us in this Green Ecologist article in which we tell you how to take care about inner plants offering you various tips and tricks as a practical guide.
How to care for indoor plants - basic tips
Each species of indoor plant has its specific needs and care, but all plants share basic needs: irrigation, light, temperature and substrate. The first three are always very specific to each plant species, while the substrate can be more of a more general aspect, but with some exceptions.
Taking into account an irrigation of the appropriate frequency, the necessary contribution of light, a climate according to what the plant needs and a good substrate, your indoor plants will always show an enviable health. Therefore, we recommend that you take these into account aspects to take into account when caring for indoor plants:
- Watering the plants in pots and with a dish.
- Light and location for indoor plants; always away from radiators and air conditioners.
- Pot substrates appropriate to the species and its size.
In addition, we advise you to take into account what we indicate in this other article about What plants need to live.
How to water indoor plants
This is the most important point in the care of the vast majority of plants, no matter if they are indoor or outdoor plants. Most plants appreciate a frequent and infrequent watering that maintains a certain level of humidity in the substrate, always without flooding or flooding the plant. However, it is necessary to consult the specific water needs of the plant species before you have to water it.
- How to water succulents indoors: some plants, such as succulents or succulents, or other species adapted to dry climates, are very resistant to drought, and will be able to tolerate spaced irrigations. In fact, they tend to be vulnerable to excess moisture, which can lead to fungal attack or root rot. These types of plants usually need watering when the upper layer of the substrate is completely dry and not before. You can check it by digging a finger into it. Learn more about how to water succulent plants in this other article.
- How to water tropical indoor plants: they need a constant level of humidity. These plants may need to be watered even more than once a day, and may even require water to be sprayed on their leaves to cool them and give them moisture.
When watering, the ideal is to use rainwater or weakly mineralized water, although many plants tolerate tap water without problems. If you use it, you have to let it rest overnight so that its minerals settle to the bottom and thus the excess of these does not fall on the soil of the plant.
In addition, always water with a watering can with fine holes and trying to wet the substrate and not the plant itself. Following these tips for watering indoor plants, you will save yourself a lot of fungus and rotting problems. This is especially important when learning how to care for flowering indoor plants, that you always have to avoid getting wet.
Find out more about how often to water in this other practical gardening guide on When to Water Your Plants.
Light and location for indoor plants
All plants need light to carry out photosynthesis, although the degree of incidence of this that they require is highly variable. In general, an indoor plant will not need too many hours of direct sunlight.
Even so, place indoor plants near a window or balcony It is always a recommended option for them. Just in case, check the specific light requirements of your plant species to see which ones will do well in semi-shade and which ones need more light.
Something similar happens with the location and the climate. Even when we are talking about the interior of the home, the local climate influences the temperature. Some plants need certain temperatures to develop properly, and some plants do not tolerate drafts, while others do. For all this, it is vital that when acquiring a plant you inform yourself well about the needs of the species and ask all your questions to the professional who attends you.
Substrate and pot for indoor plants
Most plants need a light substrate enriched with organic matter, which also offers good drainage. We recommend a universal mixture with one part peat, one part worm castings and one part coconut fiber, to which we will add vermiculite and perlite, on a gravel or pebble base at the bottom of the pot. It is a universal mixture that works on most plants, although some, like succulents, may require more specific substrates. Also, keep in mind that, as humus is very nutritious, you will only have to add fertilizer or organic matter in the warm months according to the needs of each plant.
At potted plant care It is also very important that the pot has drainage holes, which help us avoid flooding. If you put a plate underneath, always empty it ten minutes after watering. Additionally, most plants will appreciate an annual or biennial transplant to a larger pot. Here we leave you a practical guide on when and how to transplant a plant.
How to care for indoor plants in winter
In winter many plants need to enter vegetative rest to be able to rest and return to growth and flowering activity in the warm months. Normally, you have to avoid putting them near heaters, radiators or air conditioners and greatly reduce irrigation and fertilizer intake. In this way, you will allow your indoor plants to enter the state of vegetative rest they need. However, make sure your plant species needs it before you start reducing these aspects of their care.
Learn more about How to care for indoor plants in winter with this other practical guide.
How to care for indoor plants in summer
In summer, unlike in the cold months, the needs of indoor plants of water and nutrients multiply. Make sure that its leaves do not turn yellow due to dryness or an excess of sun and add organic matter or fertilizer to the substrate or in the waterings. If you see that your plant begins to turn yellow, see this other post about Yellow leaves in plants: why they come out and solutions.
If you are going to leave for a few days, consider getting self-watering pots or prepare them capillary irrigation to your pots. We recommend you consult this other article to learn How to make a home drip irrigation system and this other post to learn more tricks on How to water plants on vacation.
Find out more about how to care for indoor plants in summer here. In addition, to finish this practical guide on how to care for indoor plants, we leave you a video on this interesting topic.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to take care about inner plantsWe recommend that you enter our Indoor Plants category.
