Tags
gardening, growing, hobby, house plants, indoor, indoor gardening, planting, plants, Top Ten Tips
I love plants. I mean I really love them. My flat is filled with plants.
Plants in my living room
Plants in my living room
Plants in my living room
Plants in my living room
Plants in my living room. The Mother-in-Law’s Tongue is 8 years old and the lilly is 6.
Plants in my living room
Plants in my living room
My friends call my flat my ‘jungle’ 🙂
So I’m going to post a bit about indoor planting. I’ll do a few posts covering a few different topics.
Growing plants is one of the most rewarding things you can do and you don’t have to have a garden to enjoy doing it.
I’m going to post just a few tips for basic house-plant growing today but something I’m beginning to research and experiment with is terrariums and Wardian cases. So look out for posts on that in the future.
Also ‘bottle gardens’. I’ll do a full post about them soon. As well as that I’m researching and soon to be experimenting with indoor water gardens – 
The possibilities for indoor gardening are endless and it is becoming a small obsession of mine. I might as well share what I learn with you!
So anyway here are my top 10 simple tips for basic indoor gardening:
- Never over-water your plants. This is one of the most common mistakes people make. Water until the soil is damp only. You get to know your plants over time and how much water they like. There are signs that can guide you in this –Too much water:
- The edges of leaves turn brown
- Leaves that are low down turn yellow and fall
- succulents and cacti look bloated
- you find soft black and brown patches on the leaves
- you find brown dry patches
- Leaves, stems and rosettes start to rot
- New growth is pale and soft
2. Equally though be careful not to under-water. Again there are signs. Not enough water:
- Leaves and stems begin to wilt
- The leaves lower down dry up and fall off
- You find brown crunchy patches on the leaves
- buds drop off
- flowers die very quickly
- succulents and cacti shrivel
- If your soil becomes completely dry all the leaves will drop off
- The soil shrinks away from the sides of the pot.
3. Where possible, don’t use cold water. Use tepid.
4. Don’t transplant new cuttings until they have been growing for about 6 or 7 months.
5. Don’t place plants next to direct heat like a radiator or fire.
6. In general don’t put plants where it is cold and draughty.
7. Don’t take a plant from a room with warm conditions into a cold room -unless the plant is in resting phase but then the room ought to be cool but not cold.
8. Use rain water to water your plants as much as possible. You can keep a little container outside to catch the rain for this purpose.
9. Keep any seeds in a cool, dry place until you need them.
10. Use a fork to gently turn the top layer of earth every few months. This stops top soil from becoming mouldy.
Post any questions you might have or any topics you’d like me to cover on the topic!
