Starting Your Own Houseplant Collection

Starting your own houseplant collection can be a little scary. How do I take care of it? How much water does it need? Why do they all keep dying? We're all living some pretty busy lives, and we can often forget to take care of things in the process. But taking care of a plant can be easier than it seems if you follow some basic tips. That's why in this video, I'll be sharing three pieces of advice on keeping your living things happy and healthy.

Tip 1: Understanding Water Needs

To start off, we all know that plants need water, right? Well, except for when they don't want water, like when they're cacti or succulents, or when it's winter and they're dormant, or when it isn't the right temperature of water, or it isn't the right kind of water, or when they want to be more humid but not more wet. Water makes it humid, but water also makes it wet. But dry is bad, so water is good. Clearly, things aren't so clear.

Taking care of one plant might not be the same as taking care of another plant, just like taking care of you might not be the same as taking care of me. My best advice is to know what works best for your specific type of plant. The same goes for you too. You aren't just some human that needs food, water, and a place to live. You have your own personality, your own things that you like, and you should do the things that you like to do, even if it might not be what your friends and family like for themselves. Your plants all like certain types of soil, certain pots to live in, certain lighting conditions, and maybe even certain watering conditions. Not all plants are that high maintenance, but I find that those that ask for more also give more in return when they're treated well.

Tip 2: Finding the Right Pot

A lot of people think that pots are just decorative and that plants can keep living in the same pot forever, but that's not always true. You might think that plants grow above the soil, so sky's the limit, right? But a plant can only grow as big as its root system will support it, and the root system is confined by the pot that it's in. If you've ever taken a really old plant out of a pot before, it might have been something called root bound, which means that there was not enough room for the plant to keep growing, so the roots just keep circling and circling around the bottom of the pot, preventing the plant's growth.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, our environment is preventing us from growing and being our best selves. If you're not given the proper room to grow, if your friends aren't supporting you as friends should, or if your mental and physical health are being neglected, you might feel like you're going in circles too. My advice is to take a look at the pot that you are planted in and see if it's right for you. If you need more room, less room, a different kind of pot—whatever you think the issue might be—you're allowed to make those changes to better suit your needs. In the same way, if your plant isn't looking too happy, maybe they're being held back by their pot too.

Tip 3: Prevention

Have you ever had a plant that looked good at first but then you started to notice some yellowing or browning leaves, some spots or droopiness, or worse, maybe even some bugs living around your plants? These things can be annoying or gross, and we might choose to just ignore them and go back to our usual plant care routine in hopes that things will go back to normal. But ignoring these problems won't make them go away. If anything, they're signs that you should do something now before it gets worse.

In order to keep your plant healthy and happy in the long run, you need to take preventative measures and pay attention to signs of distress. And again, the same applies to you too. If you notice yourself feeling a little more down than usual, if you're not enjoying the things that you used to enjoy, these are your human signs to look out for, just like yellowing leaves or pesky bugs on a plant. You have to remember to always keep loving and caring for your plants, even on the days when they're not looking that pretty.

Conclusion

So those are my three tips on keeping your plants (or people) healthy and happy. If you follow this advice, I can't guarantee that your plants will be award-winning garden masterpieces, but I think they'll be a little better off than they were before. Whether this advice is applied to your plants or yourself, I hope it helps you create the best conditions to thrive and bloom.