General plant care

General plant care for your house plants.

Always check your plants soil before watering, no plant is set to a fixed watering schedule. Especially during the winter months plants do not require as much water as the growing months so there is always a risk of overwatering once winter comes around. If you need a helping hand you can always get yourself a watering meter to double check if you aren't sure whether your plant is due a water. 

Plants can normally cope from lack of watering but it can be difficult for a plant to recover from being over watered.

In the growing season, usually from spring to summer, you should feed your plants regularly. You can continue to feed if your plants are actively growing. Always use a good quality plant food and follow the manufacturers guide lines. We use and stock Growth Technology.

Having a high quality, well draining soil comes in handy also as it helps prevent root rot. Always keep your plants in nursery pots if you are using decorative pots. I would always discourage from planting straight into a pot as there is a higher risk of over watering. This also means that you can keep an eye on the roots so that you can see if your plant is ready for to move into a larger pot.

Some of the fussier plants in your collection may prefer rain water to tap water. Some plants will get brown marks on their leaves from the chemicals in tap water.

Try to clean your plants leaves regularly with a wet cloth or a showering in the bath or hose down in the garden. This is a particularly good thing to do if before the winter months when it isn't so light outside as this will help the plant so it is able to soak up the light in those darker winter months. 

Frequently check your plants for pests, they are usually very hard to see so keep an eye out for any damage that may be visible on your plants leaves. We always will advise keeping any new plants separate from your collection for a week or two to make sure there are no pests and prevents the spread of bug throughout your collection. Please see our page on pests for more tips and advice.

Where possible try and keep your plants away from any draughts or heat sources.