How to Take Care of Houseplants

Houseplants can help clean the air in your home.

Caring for houseplants also cares for the health of the indoor environment. Houseplants add beauty and oxygen to indoor spaces. A healthy houseplant's photosynthesis process converts carbon dioxide into oxygen and microorganisms in its organic potting soil can transmute some toxins. Ficus, English ivy, dracaena and asparagus fern are common indoor plants that serve this dual purpose. The heart-leaf philodendron is an easy houseplant to grow that thrives in the most adverse indoor conditions. All houseplants need adequate light, food and soil nutrition for healthy growth.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Containers sized for each plant
• Tray with pebbles
• Organic sterile potting soil

1. Assess the amount and quality of light where the plants will be placed. East or west windows have bright light; a north window has medium light and a south window has direct light. Trees and shrubs outside may create a screened shade effect. Chinese evergreen, Boston fern and heart-leaf philodendron tolerate low light conditions.

2. Avoid extreme temperature changes and blasts of air from fans, air conditioners or radiators. Houseplants prefer daytime temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with nighttime temperatures 5 to 10 degrees lower.

3. Place houseplants on a water-filled tray of pebbles to increase humidity. Misting plants continuously with a hand-held sprayer increases humidity only temporarily. Misting also increases the incidence of disease.

4. Choose containers with holes in the bottom for good drainage. Plant or re-pot with a commercial sterilized potting soil mixture or homemade potting soil. Homemade potting soil contains 1/3 soil, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite.

5. Water plants according to their individual needs. Size, species, light, temperature, container size and soil type affect a houseplant's water needs. Some houseplants need moist but not soggy soil; some require slightly moist soil at all times and some prefer to dry out thoroughly between watering. Cactus and succulents require less frequent watering.

6. Feed houseplants with organic fertilizer during their growing season, March to September. Use liquid, granules or powdered fertilizer and follow label directions carefully.

Tips & Warnings

• Organic fertilizer for houseplants is derived from all natural sources such as mined rock phosphates, animal manure, plants, and seaweed and fish products.

• Do not use garden soil to pot or re-pot houseplants unless it has been serialized. It may contain disease or insect organisms.

• Do not fertilize houseplants during their months of non-growth, October to February.

• Over-fertilization may result in excessive growth and a weakened plant.

References

• Practical Asthma; Can House Plants Solve Indoor Air Quality Problems?; Hal Levin
• University of Illinois Extension; Houseplants; Susan Grupp
• Texas A&M University Extension; Houseplants; Welsh, et al.