by Jess Catherine, Purchasing Assistant
Houseplants made a new appearance in some living and working spaces over the past year, and for good reason!
Common sense will tell you that having living plants in the home adds color and beauty along with reducing stress and brightening your mood. NASA recommends adding indoor plants to your home environment to help clean the air and overall improve indoor air quality.
You might just be getting started or already be an avid companion planter. In any case, I have gathered up some basic guidelines for a small collection of houseplants I picked up from the Co-op the other day!
These are considered to be low-maintenance home and office plants, meaning they are easy to grow, even if you do not have a green thumb.
One way of observing plants and how they grow can be done by water propagation. This is a surprisingly simple way to cultivate your own plants with limited materials. And for an added bonus, you get an unusual botanical display. I have found that spice jars in particular make an excellent vessel for this process because they are clear and tend to taper towards the top. Candle and baby food jars come in real handy too!
Water propagation is using water as a medium to root succulent cuttings. The common knowledge about succulent plants is they do not like to sit in water and sitting in water promotes root rot. So water propagation might contradict what we have come to believe about caring for and propagating succulents. Tip: top off the water as needed to keep the roots covered, and periodically refill the vase with fresh water.
Dracaena Plant (the spiky one)
These make a great addition to your houseplant family or even as part of a trio, for instance. I found a glass dish that I no longer needed. Since it didn’t have drainage holes, I added some smooth stones at the base and a rocky soil mix we carry that is great for succulents and cactus plants. The rocky soil helps to irrigate the roots.
Dracaena plant care involves keeping the soil of houseplant dracaena moist, but never soggy. Drooping or yellowing leaves indicate over-watering or poor drainage. If you want to bring your dracaena outside in the summer months, you can. Just find a full-sun location with sometimes partial shade and enjoy. Just don’t forget about it before the nights cool down again. It will need to return indoors.
Jade Plant
One of the most important things when you care for jade plants is to make sure that they are watered properly. Never let a jade plant dry out completely. But also, do not water a jade plant too often, as this can cause root rot. Don’t water your jade plant on a schedule. Rather, water your jade plant when the top of soil is just dry to the touch. If your jade plant is losing leaves or has leaf spots, this is most commonly caused by too little water
Another important aspect of the care and maintenance of jade plants is how much sun they receive. They need full sun in order to grow properly. If they do not have full sun, they may become stunted and leggy.
How to Grow Succulents Indoors
Because of their special ability to retain water, succulents tend to thrive in warm, dry climates and don’t mind a little neglect. This makes them well adapted to indoor growing and ideal for people desiring low-maintenance houseplants. If you’re choosing succulents for the first time, follow these steps for successful care of your new plants.
Choose an appropriate succulent for your indoor conditions.
Most succulents like direct sunlight, but if all you have is a shaded corner in your house, go with low light-tolerant plants like mother-in-law tongue. If you plan to grow your succulent in a hanging planter, a trailing variety like string of bananas is a great choice. Always read the plant labels to determine the sunlight needs, size, and spread of your succulents.
Provide a very well-draining potting medium.
Nurseries tend to plant their succulents in soil that’s too rich and retains too much moisture, so you’ll want to repot your succulent as soon as you bring it home. Start with a coarse potting mix with good drainage and aeration. You can find special cactus and succulent mixes or even use an African violet mix.
Choose your container.
When repotting, use a container that has a drainage hole and is at least 1 to 2 inches larger than the nursery container. Glass terrariums and mason jars will work if adding about 50% rock solution and good sunny location.
Most succulents prefer at least six hours of sun per day, so try to place them near a south- or east-facing window. You may notice your succulents becoming spindly or stretching toward the light if they don’t get enough sun.
Allow the potting mix to dry out between waterings.
The number-one mistake many people make with succulents is overwatering them. It’s best to water more, but less frequently. Saturate the potting mix thoroughly (while ensuring water flows out of the drainage hole properly) but allow the mix to dry out slightly
before the next watering. If the potting mix stays consistently wet every day, the plant may eventually die.
Additional Succulent Care Tips
Can you use sand to plant succulents?
Though it may seem like succulents thrive in sand out in the wild, they actually prefer loose, rocky soil and need nutrients to grow well. When used on its own, sand has a tendency to compact over time, causing too much water retention in a container. The best potting medium for a succulent is one specially formulated for cacti and succulents, or a well-draining mix of potting soil, coarse sand, and perlite/pumice.
Why are my succulent’s leaves falling off?
Like many plants, the lowest leaves on the stem (closest to the potting mix) will eventually shrivel up and drop. This is normal and nothing to worry about. If the topmost leaves are dying, it could indicate overwatering, pests, or disease.
I hope this gives you a little guidance if you are looking to dig into houseplants, but not exactly sure how to start.