Things you must know before becoming a plant parent

We understand how exciting it must be for you to become a new plant parent. You must be dreaming of becoming a plant parent for many plant babies. Isn’t it? Beginning your gardening journey is easy but thriving and striving to keep all the plants alive can be a bit daunting.

If you are confused about whether to start this gardening journey and how to go about it? Do not worry, planting stories has made it easier for you by listing the things which you should be aware of before getting your first plant at home.

We in the house of planting stories want to encourage everybody to start their gardening journey. To make it easier we have listed down certain important things which you must know before becoming a plant parent. 

Here are the points to know before becoming a plant parent and make sure you don’t miss on the 4th point.

1. Don’t treat this as a hobby, take it as a responsibility

It is necessary that you set time in your daily routine for taking care of your plant babies. A living thing is coming home and you have to do all the care that it needs to survive. 

There are certain skills that you need to learn in order to become a responsible and good parent. Purging and trimming are the few basic skills that need to be learned before getting your plant babies home.

2. Choose your plant wisely

There might be various reasons behind becoming a plant parent, you might want your space to look pretty or to add a hint of green to your space for the benefits it brings. 

But let’s understand the fact “not every plant is the same” 

If you live in an apartment which doesn’t get direct sunlight then the choice of the plant should be made accordingly. Or if you are someone who travels a lot then you must bring low-maintenance plants. It’s important to choose plants that can survive in your place rather than something which you would like to have.

3. Don’t get overwhelmed by getting a lot of them initially.

‘Slow and steady wins the race.’ Yes! You might be tempted to bring a lot of plants home initially. But a lot of plants altogether at once, will not be a clever move. Bring a couple of them initially and once you get familiar with those plants, you can bring a few more gradually.

This will make sure that you are taking care of your existing plants well and will give you assurance whether you are ready for a few more or not.

4. Research, research, and more research

Have you heard the saying ‘Prevention is better than cure? It is better to be well-researched and informed before getting a plant rather than looking for solutions after the problem occurs.

The most common things which you must research about a plant before getting them home is

• How frequently it needs watering and what is the best way to water the plant
• The kind of soil in which the plant blooms to its fullest
• The nature of sunlight, whether it requires direct or indirect sunlight.
• The best humidity/temperature the plant needs

5. Rotate your plants often

Not literally! not your plants. We mean to rotate the pot once in a while. Because it is very important that every part of the plant gets an equal amount of sunlight. The equal sunlight will make the plant grow equally from all sides. This should be done consciously in winter as the intensity of sunlight is a bit low in that season. This is done mainly to prevent the plants from getting lopsided.

6. Learn to draw a line between ‘ample’ and ‘excess’

Everything should be done adequately. Once we cross the line of adequacy, nothing remains pleasing and harmless. 

The same goes for plants as well. Yes, they need water, sunlight, fertilisers, etc to survive and to grow wholesomely. But everything should be done according to their needs and requirements. Too much watering, sunlight, and fertilisers can kill them too. You heard it right. Your excessive love can be severely harmful to the plants. 

Overwatering can make the roots rot and the excess sunlight can kill them very quickly. It's important to note that fertilisation should be done once a month during their growing season. Never give fertilisers directly, always make sure that you dilute them.

7. A cleaner plant is the happier plant

You must be wondering how to clean plants. The dust that accumulates on the leaves is often left unnoticed and untouched. Many people don’t understand that it may act as a hindrance for a plant in getting an ample amount of Vitamin D. 

What you could do is, wipe off all the dust on the leaves with a piece of cloth or shower the plant by spraying some water. 

8. Potting rules

Rule-1 

Whenever you get a new plant from the nursery, never report them immediately. Give it some time like 5-7 days before repotting. If you change the environment of the plant too quickly, that may give shock them and result in growth hindrance. This usually happens because of the unfamiliar environment. 

Rule-2

Always make sure that there is a hole at the bottom of the pot where the roots can drain away excess amounts of water. When there will be no place for draining excess water then the root might end up becoming rot. 

Rule-3

When you see the root coming out of the drainage hole at the bottom, then that is an indication that the plant needs to be repotted. 

Now that you know all the important things to be taken care of, you are ready to bring home a new plant baby and start your journey of becoming a plant parent. We are so excited for you and wish that you fall in love with gardening and end up making a jungle of your own in your house.