There is a wide variety of houseplants so they need a wide variety of care-giving. For example, some plants love lots of light, and some thrive in very little light. Some plants need lots of water, and some thrive with very little water. When you buy a houseplant there should be a little tag in the soil that describes the specific care directions for that plant. Follow those directions while growing and caring for your plant. Here are a few tips that will help make every houseplant in your house grow big and live long.
Watering—you should make a watering schedule and stick to it. As you get into the habit of watering according to the schedule, you will reduce your chances of killing your plants by over or under watering them. You might make a weekly schedule where you water all of the plants on Mondays and then the more thirsty plants are watered again on Thursdays. One trick for proper watering is to water the plants enough so that the water drains out of the bottom of the pot. This flushes the salt out of the soil that can otherwise build up from water and evaporation. If you ever notice the telltale white build up, you should definitely flush out the soil so that the salt doesn’t inhibit the growth of your plant.
Placements—watch your plants for signs that they are not well suited to the place that you have them sitting. If plants are not getting enough light, they will begin to look pale and sickly. You will notice that new growths are undersized and reach toward the sun. If this starts happening, move the plant to an area in the house where they will receive sunlight that is more direct. You should also watch for exposure to drafts. Especially if the plant is a tropical or a blooming plant, exposure to drafts can slowly start to kill your plant. Look for dying leaves as an indication that plants are too close to drafty doors or windows. The other place that you want to avoid putting plants is near a heat source. Radiators and heat ducts will turn your plant leaves brown because they suck the moisture out of the soil.
Re-pot regularly—you don’t want your plant to become root bound because it will restrict the growth of the plant and eventually it will kill the plant. If you notice that your plant starts to dry out quickly, or if the water pours right through the soil, your plant has most likely outgrown its pot. The best thing to do when one plant outgrows a pot is undertake a big repotting project. You can buy one larger pot for the plant in question and then “hand down” the pot that you take the plant out of to a slightly smaller plant in a slightly smaller pot. By handing down the pots, you ensure that all of your plants get new pots on a regular basis. Plus, if you re-pot several plants at once, you will save yourself a ton of time and hassle.
Fertilize your plants—there are plenty of plant fertilizers and plant “foods” available anywhere that sells plants. Almost all of these products have nitrogen as a main ingredient. It is nitrogen that makes the plant leaves green so adding nitrogen to the soil is the best way to grow nice looking, beautiful green plants. When you buy a plant food product, be sure to follow the directions on the box. Over fertilizing your houseplants is just as bad (and maybe worse) than under fertilizing them.