Both indoor and outdoor plants play a huge role in improving the aesthetics of a home or office. They help purify the air we breathe and make rooms look beautiful. Additionally, most of them are very low maintenance. However, just because these plants are easy to grow it doesn’t mean that they can die. There are several mistakes that people make that end up killing their plants. In this piece, we’ll talk about the most common mistakes that people make and give you some basic tips you help your plants live longer.

5 common mistakes that beginners make with their plants

Plants, just like people and animals, are living things that need proper care to thrive. If you want healthy plants you need to provide them with water, sunlight, and fertilizer.

It doesn’t matter if you just got your first plant or if you’re on your 100^th – at some point, you’re bound to make one of these mistakes:

1. Not considering your indoor environment before buying the plant

The most important thing to do first is to check the conditions in your house. For example, if you live in a dark apartment, you shouldn’t get a light-living plant. Don’t just pick a plant because it’s “trendy” or because your friend has a similar one.

2. Overwatering or underwatering

This is a very common indoor plant care mistake. If you water your plants too much, their roots rot and they can’t take up the necessary nutrients so they end up dying. If you notice any browning at the tips of your plants, that’s a sign that you need to cut back on the watering. Don’t forget to add drainage holes at the bottom of the planter so that the soil doesn’t get logged.

Underwatering your plants does not make sense. So many people forget to water their plants for weeks if not months. Why buy plants if you’re going to forget all about them?

3. Too much or too little fertilizer

Plants require organic fertilizer or a layer of compost so that they can stay alive and healthy. Some people leave their soil to deplete causing the plants to grow weak.

Remember that overfertilizing doesn’t cause the plant to grow faster. It results in defoliation, browning of the leaf tips, and yellowing followed by wilting of the lower leaves.

4. Not enough light

Many plants die either because they were exposed to too much light or because they didn’t get any sunlight at all. The latter happens especially during the winter months.

If the plant isn’t getting enough sun, the leaves start getting oddly small and turning pale green.

5. Repotting inappropriately or not repotting at all

Repotting a small plant in a huge pot doesn’t mean that it’ll grow exponentially. Large pots overwhelm the plant because the extra soil holds additional moisture. This can easily lead to root rot.

Some people leave their plants in the same pot for years and the roots start circling around themselves inside the pot which is restricting. This is one of the most common repotting mistakes.

Methods to avoid the above-listed mistakes

Let’s face it, gardening isn’t a walk in the park especially if you don’t know how to much about plant care. Now that you’ve seen how easy it is to kill plants, it’d be nice to know how not to kill them. We’ve put together a few care tips that’ll help you get the best out of your plants:

1. Do proper research

If you don’t have enough knowledge about the plants you’re planning on growing, chances are high that you’ll fail in growing them. Each plant has its specific requirements so you should do some deep reading about the plant you want to buy.

2. Avoid overwatering or underwatering

Giving your plants too much love when it comes to watering, does them more harm than good. Most house plants only need water at least once a week.
Also, you shouldn’t forget your plant such that it goes for weeks without getting a lick of water.

3. Feed your plant regularly and correctly

Most houseplants aren’t heavy feeders but they need regular fertilization to get all the nutrients they need. Ensure that you only add the right amount of fertilizer as recommended by the manufacturer.

4. Expose your plants to enough light

Another thing you should do to avoid the death of houseplants is to consider moving your plant strategically near windows. Keep in mind that excessive exposure is harmful to the plants. Always make sure that the plant is getting adequate sunlight depending on their requirements.

5. Repotting properly

Small containers don’t give the roots room to expand. When you’re repotting your plants, you shouldn’t reuse old soil and should only increase the pot size by about two inches every time.

Houseplants From UPHK

Plants are beautiful, vibrant, can never go out of style, and make any space spring to life. There are so many plants that can be incorporated into any type of exterior and interior design. If you’re looking for decorative plants, here are some of the most common plants you can choose from:

1. Snake Plant

This hardy plant is also known as mother-in-law’s tongue and may be used either as outdoors or indoors plants. It adds a unique touch to any room you put it in, thanks to its dark-green and strap-like leaves with white stripes.
Snake plants do well with little to moderate watering and can tolerate poor light, dry air, and drought. Water it every 10 days.

2. Lime

Even though this dwarf plant can survive indoors, it does better outdoors, especially when planted in a pot. Lime plants are characterized by white fragrant flowers that grow into round-shaped fruits with high citric acid content.
You should only water this plant at intervals of 2 days.

3. Brazil Bougainvillea

This outdoor evergreen plant is native to Eastern South America and is commonly used as a formal hedge or ground cover. It has thorns, can grow anywhere from 3 to 40 ft, and thrives in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates.
Take your Brazil Bougainvillea indoors during the rainy season and water it every 1 week.

Conclusion

It’s everyone’s goal to have a house full of thriving healthy plants. We hope that this piece will help you avoid common plant care mistakes so you don’t have to learn from experience when caring for indoor plants. Avoid these mistakes and your plants will live for years.

Have fun taking care of your plants!