Plant Care FAQ.
The question isn't really how much, but how often.
We hear a lot of people say that they water their plant with a cup of water every few days.
This really isn't ideal for long term plant health, and can easily lead to over and underwatering.
When a plant is watered this way, not all of the roots are getting saturated with the water they need, while the top of the soil is staying moist. This can lead to fungus gnats and yellowing leaves.
We find the best practice for watering is to take your plant to the sink or bathtub, and let room temperature water flow through for atleast a minute. Always in a pot with drainage, you want to make sure the water runs through so you know all of the roots have had a good drink. Flushing the soil this way also helps to keep out any pests that might be getting too comfortable in your soil.
After watering, allow your plant to finish dripping any excess water before setting it back in it's home. This way, you can space out your watering typically anywhere from once a week to 3 weeks depending on the plant.
There are a few things to look for when it's time to repot.
1. Are roots coming out of the bottom drainage holes?
2. Does the plastic grower's container feel tight?
3. Is the plant's growth recently stunted, or it looks like it's not thriving like it used to?
These are all signs that it's time for a repot!
When repotting, it's always best to go up in size of about 2" at a time. So if you're plant is in a 6" diameter grower's container, move it up to an 8".
If a plant is moved to too large of a pot too soon, it can get overwhelmed and quickly lead to overwatering.
For larger houseplants, typically a repot every 2 - 3 years is suggested.
And always be sure to repot your plant into a pot with proper drainage!
We measure and size our plants based on the top diameter of the plastic grower's container. Knowing the grower container sizes will help you to chose the right size pot for your plant!
If you have a 4” plant, you'll want to look for a 4” - 4.5” pot.
We measure from the bottom of the grower's container to the top of the plant.
As a general answer, all houseplants will do best in a well draining soil mix.
Soil is a very personal thing for a lot of plant parents! You can play around with creating your own mix.
We like to use a base of peat-based soil like our ProMix Tropical Soil, and add in some Orchid Bark Mix, and perlite for added drainage.
You can find all of our Pet Friendly Plants here!
We find fertilizer isn't always a must-have, but it does help provide your plants with added nutrition and can help to speed up growth.
Fertilizer should only be used during a plants growing season, which is typically May - September. You can start with a gentle houseplant fertilizer, like Schultz 10-15-10.
What do these numbers mean? The numbers represent the % of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in the fertilizer.
It's important to know that when it comes to fertilizer, don’t assume that more is better. Over fertilizing can lead to burnt leaves, or even a dead plant!
All that said, if your plant is happy and you haven't fertilized it, don't worry about it!