Everyone loves indoor plants, right? You’ve probably tried making your space look better with the help of some indoor plants but somehow they don’t turn out to be as you want them to.
Maybe you’ve been making these mistakes. In this article, we’ve listed the six most common indoor plant mistakes that people usually make and tips on how to avoid them completely!
Overwatering
Watering is an important task for plant keepers. It’s no secret that plants need water. So, the more water you put in, the better, right? However, this is not the case, especially for indoor plants. Most indoor plants only need a little water from time to time. It’s not like people don’t mean well but overwatering is not good for plants at all.
How to avoid Overwatering?
Firstly, study the plant you have and its watering needs. Before watering, always check its moisture level by sticking your finger in the soil. If the first inch feels dry, water it. Otherwise, use a moisture meter to check your plant’s moisture levels.
Wrong Lighting
The second most common mistake after overwatering is undoubtedly wrong lighting. Some people put indoor plants that don’t need direct lighting in a place with a lot of sunlight whereas others keep plants that need a lot of lighting in places where they don’t receive a lot of light.
How to avoid wrong lighting?
Again, research is the key. If you want to keep your plant at a certain place in your house, let’s say on a table in your living room, make sure that you observe how much lighting the spot gets throughout the day and pick a plant accordingly.
Close attention to what direction your windows face can be a good way to determine the amount of natural light it gets. Keeping shade-loving plants in south-facing windows may be a bad idea as it can get direct light throughout the day. On the other hand, north-facing windows generally won’t get any direct light.
Wrong Amount of Fertilizer
Just like the mistake people make with overwatering, even with good intentions, people unknowingly add too much fertilizer to their plants often. It can cause a lot of problems and one of the most common ones is burnt plant roots.
How to avoid over/underuse of fertilizers?
Most commonly, people tend to over-fertilize houseplants as tropical indoor plants don’t need too much fertilizers. However, people have misconceptions about the amount of fertilizers to put in. We generally think the more the better whereas it is exactly the opposite.
Plants in low-light environments need very little fertilizer. On the other hand, houseplants that get more light do need monthly fertilizing during their growing season.
Purchasing Plants Based on Aesthetics
“Oh, that plant’s beautiful! Would look great in my bedroom on my dressing table!” – You probably have heard this one a lot or maybe you’re guilty of saying it yourself. This is a pretty common mistake.
Most of the time people ask what’s wrong with their plant because it has fungal issues, yellowing, or rapid dropping of leaves, it’s because it is not where it should be.
How to avoid it?
Simple – Research before buying plants including their lighting needs. You need to purchase plants that fit in the environment of your home.
Lack of Pest Control
Many house plant owners fail to take into consideration that there may be pests on their plants. Some also expect to find a species of plant with no pests. However, that is not possible. You can’t expect to never get them.
How to control pests?
Once you realize you have pests on your plants, isolate and treat the infested plants, and also make sure you do once over any of the nearby plants just to make sure it has not spread on them.