Home floriculture is not only a fascinating process, but also a very troublesome hobby. Indoor plants need care, and regular care. And, as a rule, the more experience a grower has, the healthier his plants look. What should those who have no experience, but have a desire to have at home not elongated, stunted specimens, but beautiful and healthy indoor flowers that do not cause a feeling of guilt due to their fading? For beginners and flower growers who do not have much experience, I will tell you about the main mistakes in caring for indoor plants, which are easy to avoid, but the consequences of which can be very difficult to correct.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants.
Caring for indoor plants: choosing the wrong plant
When choosing a houseplant, you need to try to find out as much as possible about it and evaluate your care capabilities, find out how suitable your room is for it? There are often people who may not water their flowers for months - they simply forgot. It would be great if they had no desire to purchase any plant. But no - they also want to decorate their interior with green pets.
Such people are categorically not recommended to buy decorative foliage and flowering plants; they cannot withstand the forgetfulness of their owners. One could recommend that they turn their attention to succulents and cacti, but the idea that they can not be watered for months is wrong. Yes, they can be watered less frequently than other plants, but they cannot be left unattended for a long time either.
A cactus near a computer monitor is a special case! Those lovers who put the poor plant in a dark corner, in the hope that it will save them from harmful radiation, hope in vain - it will not save them! A cactus is a living organism; it needs sunlight to live. Without this, he will simply die slowly.
Having decided on the choice of a specific plant, you need to evaluate the seedling:
- Leaves should be clean and healthy, without dry edges, spots or specks. Even a small spot of plaque can be a sign of disease or the presence of pests.
- The growth points of a healthy plant should be alive, and young leaves should indicate that the flower is growing.
- If the chosen plant is a tree or shrub, then it is desirable that it has enough branches - the decorative effect should not be impaired.
- Flowering plants prefer to have buds - the more of them, the longer they will bloom.
- The soil in the pot should not be too dry or green, and there should be no roots sticking out of the drainage holes.
When buying a flower in a store, it is not always possible to choose an absolutely healthy specimen. This is especially true for flowers that go on sale. Some plants look absolutely deplorable, but the price is quite affordable. You can also buy such copies, but you need to be ready to provide him with the necessary help.
For one plant, immediate resuscitation will be required, while for another it is enough to be in suitable conditions. Therefore, if you have no experience in floriculture, and no desire to study this topic in depth, then it is better to refuse such a purchase.
Features of watering a home greenhouse
Some gardeners are sincerely convinced that watering a plant on a window means throwing a mug of tap water into the pot. These wrong actions are repeated every day, winter and summer, turning into a tradition. It is not surprising that with such care, even unpretentious plants quickly die. Watering does not mean turning the soil into a swamp, and if a puddle forms in the pot, the conclusion is that too much water was poured.
To begin with, you should remember that the root system needs not only moisture, but also air, and an excess of one necessarily occurs due to a lack of the other. And where there is only dampness and no oxygen, diseases of the roots and the entire plant begin. The rules for watering are extremely simple. First of all, find out all the conditions for keeping your plants. If they are unpretentious and do not require special care, then ordinary tap water will do, even if it is not suitable for drinking. However, growing flowers usually involves an individual approach to each variety.
House plant root disease
And very often something in tap H2O may not suit the flower: composition or temperature. Therefore, in order to avoid mistakes, it is highly advisable to leave the water in some container, at least overnight, so that the temperature of the liquid rises and the chlorine evaporates. But you should not water indoor flowers with boiled water; it contains practically no salts and minerals, without which growing flowers is impossible.
Determining that indoor plants need water is not difficult. If they are moisture-loving, the soil in the pot should be constantly moistened. Run your finger over the surface of the soil; if a crust has formed or the soil turns to dust under pressure, it means the flowers have not been watered for too long. You can detect drying out of the soil earlier by placing a napkin on its surface - if it is not wet, then it’s time to take the watering can.
Moisture-loving indoor plants
If the plant requires moderate irrigation, then you need to immerse your finger in the loose soil half of the first phalanx; if you do not feel moisture, then the roots also lack water. Such soil inspection on hot days with proper care must be done every day, and in autumn, winter and early spring - every 2-3 days. It is very important to observe during the watering process how well the water is absorbed into the soil. If it lingers on the surface, forming a puddle, you need to loosen the substrate that has formed the crust, acting very carefully so as not to damage the roots.
But it also happens that moisture does not stay in the soil, but immediately begins to flow out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. This means that the substrate has turned into a lump, having separated from the walls of the vessel. The ideal way to solve the problem is internal watering: the pot with the plant is lowered into a deep container to the ground level so that water penetrates inside through the drainage holes and saturates the soil. Then we lift the pot and allow the excess moisture to drain, while the soil settles. This method can be found in the video.
Plants with fleshy and small leaves do not need daily watering, unlike overgrown flowers. In addition, indoor flora needs less water in winter than in summer, and plastic pots retain moisture longer than ceramic ones.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants: inappropriate lighting
When choosing a houseplant, you need to immediately think about where it will stand and whether there is sufficient lighting in this place. That’s why you need to find out as much as possible about the plant – is it shade-tolerant or does it need bright sunlight? Most flowering plants need sun and if your windows face north, they will not bloom there.
Sometimes you see a flower standing in a dark corner in a spacious or not so spacious hallway. To the question “how does it grow here, are there no windows?” They answer: “This is a shade-tolerant plant.” So, no shade-tolerant plant can withstand the complete absence of light for a long time.
Those with southern windows can afford to grow both light-loving and shade-tolerant plants, because even in a sunny room there is a “shady” corner. It’s a little more difficult for everyone else, but there is a great way out - to master decorative foliage plants.
Aglaonema, scindapsus, philodendron, syngonium, all kinds of ferns do without bright sunlight and are distinguished by beautiful, gracefully shaped leaves, sometimes with very original patterns. They will not amaze you with lush flowering, but they will be beautiful not at certain times, but all year round, and, as a rule, they are easier to care for.
When choosing a houseplant, you need to immediately think about where it will stand and whether there is sufficient lighting in this place.
What should you consider when planting home flowers?
If you have experience working in a garden or vegetable garden, you probably remember that almost all plants are divided into light-loving and shade-tolerant. Indoor flowers can also be classified as one or the other type. Moreover, all of them, without exception, need at least a short stay in the sun, since the growth of stems and leaves is based on photosynthesis.
Light-loving indoor plants
Actually, this is the first factor that makes it easier to grow flowers with proper care - well-chosen lighting, taking into account the characteristics of the plant. Equally important is correct and timely watering, the subtleties of which will be discussed in more detail below. It is also very important to maintain a comfortable temperature in the room for plants, which prevents the room from being ventilated in winter with the windows wide open (overheating is also undesirable).
Watering indoor flowers
Even unpretentious indoor crops cannot withstand sudden changes in temperature. For some varieties, strictly defined air humidity, for example, slightly higher than natural, plays a very important role. In both cases, the microclimate will have to be created artificially. And, of course, it is necessary to promptly identify and eliminate the causes of flower diseases, which make growing some crops difficult.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants: incorrect temperature conditions
Most indoor plants easily adapt to normal indoor conditions, but if the room temperature is higher or lower than acceptable limits, then this problem will have to be solved. And here it is also necessary to know what a particular flower needs and under what conditions it grows in nature.
If the air temperature in the room is below normal, the plant's leaves may curl, turn black and fall off. When the temperature is too high, the lower leaves, flowers and buds fall off, and the shoots stretch, giving the plant an untidy appearance. With sudden changes in temperature, many plants' leaves turn yellow and fall off.
Especially often, indoor plants that are not properly cared for suffer in winter, when dry hot air comes from the radiators and it is cold on the windowsill. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pots - place wooden or foam boards under them and insulate the window sill. It is better to cover the battery with a blanket or come up with another way to protect the flowers from the hot air. If possible, it is better to move the plants to another location.
Feeding calendar
Winter
During the cold season, most indoor plants enter a dormant period, when they no longer need regular fertilization, and many (succulents) no longer need watering. The exceptions are azaleas, cyclamen, phalaenopsis, poinsettia, and Schlumbergera (“Decembrist”) that bloom in winter. They need to be fed with potassium fertilizer or a complex for flowering plants every 2-4 weeks.
Phalaenopsis can bloom all year round. Starting from March, they are fed once every 7-10 days, and from November to February - not so often: once a month is enough
More information about feeding orchids is described in the article on our website.
Spring
Already in February-March, plants make their awakening known by the formation of new buds and shoots. For active development they require nutrients, especially nitrogen. It is correct to start applying fertilizers with small doses, gradually increasing them as they grow. For example, when diluting a concentrate at first, use not one volume of water, but two.
The lucky ones who have a summer cottage or garden plot can pamper their indoor flowers with “delicious” humus. It is more convenient to do this during spring transplantation.
You need to take care of adequate nutrition when preparing the substrate for planting and during each subsequent transshipment.
Summer
During the period of intensive growth and bud formation, flowers need additional nutrition, which is added every week or 2 times a month, depending on the type of plant and its condition. It is preferable to feed with liquid fertilizers.
During the summer, indoor flowers, along with garden and garden crops, can be watered with herbal infusion, unless, of course, you are bothered by the specific smell that appears during fermentation. At home, it is better to prepare such a remedy from nettle alone, pouring the crushed grass with warm water for a day. The resulting infusion is filtered and used for watering every two weeks.
In the warm season, “green pets” are taken out into the fresh air if possible, placed on a balcony, loggia, terrace, yard or garden
Autumn
Most house flowers, starting in September, experience a slowdown in growth, therefore, the need for additional nutrition decreases. The root system stops working actively. If you continue to fertilize, the fertilizer will accumulate in the substrate and have a toxic effect, damaging the roots.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants: insufficient humidity
Many novice gardeners make a serious mistake, believing that if a plant likes high humidity, it needs to be watered more often. This misconception is the main reason for the death of many indoor plants.
Plants, especially tropical ones, need sufficient air humidity, and in our rooms, as a rule, it is below normal. Watering the soil in a pot practically does not change the air humidity, but the soil can become acidic.
In this case, the plant will stop growing, its lower leaves will begin to fall off, and its entire appearance will cause pity. Such a flower can only be saved by an urgent transplant with a complete replacement of the soil. In this case, the root system must be washed in clean water and do not forget to wash the pot itself and the drainage if it is intended to be reused.
You can increase the humidity by simply spraying from a spray bottle, but for this you need to take settled water at room temperature. Flowers with pubescent leaves - violet, cyanotis, ginura, koleria and many others, as a rule, do not like moisture on the surface of the leaf plate, so such plants cannot be sprayed.
We are also not happy about water getting on the inflorescences and some flowering plants. In this case, the pots are placed in flowerpots with water. Pebbles or decorative crushed stone are poured into the bottom of the flowerpots, on which containers with flowers are placed. The bottom of the pot should not be in water - this is important.
You can also increase the humidity in the room using a humidifier - there are many offers of such devices today, and their prices are quite affordable.
Watering the soil of a houseplant does not provide air humidity.
Where to begin
What's great about growing flowers? This useful hobby helps you decorate your interior and bring some life into your life. In addition, flowers purify the air in the house and lift your spirits.
Answer simple questions
Indoor plants do not require the same attention and constant care as, for example, a cat or dog. But all the same, in order not to regret the ruined plant and not waste money, it is worth preparing,
- If someone in your home is allergic to certain types of plants, then you should look for hypoallergenic varieties. For example, orchids, phelenopsis, guzmania, cambria or begonia.
- If you often leave home for more than a couple of days, then you will have to ask one of your friends or neighbors. If this is not possible, choose plants that can be watered once every two weeks or less.
- If you have children and pets in the house, then species with thorns or poisonous sap are most likely not suitable for you.
Determine a place for flowers
The first step is to find a suitable place for green pets. How much space are you willing to allocate for a potty? Is it a well-lit room or is it in the shade most of the day? What is the average temperature at your home in winter and summer?
The east or west side is most suitable. In this case, the sun will illuminate them only part of the day, which suits most flower crops.
Not all flowers like direct sunlight, so the south side is not very suitable for organizing a green corner. Plants that prefer diffused light will grow well in the northern part of the house, in hanging flower pots, or on shelves nailed to the walls.
Your next step: selecting flower pots, preparing soil and drainage.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants: lack of rest period
A period of rest is necessary for any plant, and everyone has it, but in one flower it is clearly pronounced, while in another it is barely noticeable. At this time, plants rest from rapid growth and flowering, on which the entire reserve was spent, and accumulate strength for a new period of growing season and flowering.
As a rule, our indoor ones rest in the autumn-winter period, and here each specimen has its own requirements for resting conditions. In some, such as amaryllis or gloxinia, the entire green part dies off and the pot with the tuber is put away in a dark, cool place for the winter, while others, and these are the majority, need only a slight decrease in temperature and reduced watering.
It is necessary to water the plants at this time, but do it less often and not as abundantly as during growth. No fertilizing or fertilizer is applied during the dormant period - this is a general rule for all indoor plants.
To ensure the correct rest period for your plant, you need to know where it comes from, because the inhabitants of the tropics, subtropics, deserts and semi-deserts spend their “hibernation” differently.
In the spring, when the day begins to slowly arrive, the plants gradually wake up and emerge from the dormant period. You also need to gradually increase watering, and from March-April you can start fertilizing.
Caring for indoor plants: mistakes when replanting plants
Beginning gardeners often make one serious mistake when replanting plants. We are talking about the size of the pot. Logically reasoning: “my flower, when it grows up, will be a big plant, I’ll plant it in a big pot so that there is room for the roots,” the unlucky lover practically kills his flower.
The fact is that if the root system is small, then the plant will need some time for the roots to entwine the earthen ball. If this takes a long time, the soil in the pot may turn sour, the flower will stop growing and ultimately die.
What indoor plants are grown from seeds: (read more)
Therefore, it is important to adhere to this rule: replant young plants every spring, increasing the diameter of the pot by 1-2 cm. If the container is larger than required, then you need to add more drainage to the bottom. Not all adult plants need annual replanting; for many, it is enough to simply replace the top layer of soil with a new one.
Some flowers, such as orchids, do not like unnecessary intervention and are replanted only when necessary, when there are problems with the roots or when the plant grows out of the pot.
In order for the transplant to be successful, you need to choose the right soil. In gardening stores today there is a large assortment of all kinds of soil mixtures and you can easily choose what a particular plant needs.
Drainage must be required, and it does not matter whether it is expanded clay, crushed brick or walnut shells, the main thing is that the drainage layer should be 1/5 of the height of the container.
What else I would like to pay attention to is the drainage holes. This is very important for proper care of your indoor plant! Usually flower pots are sold with pre-made holes, but often they are too small. It should be taken into account that the plant will have to spend a year in the container, and during this time the small holes will most likely become clogged with soil and water deposits and will no longer allow water to pass through. Therefore, having bought a pot, we enlarge the holes and add, if necessary, ourselves.
Transplantation is stressful, so the transplanted plant is not fertilized for 2-3 weeks, is not exposed to drafts and is not exposed to direct rays of the sun.
Young plants need to be replanted every spring, increasing the diameter of the pot by 1-2 cm.
Natural and artificial lighting for house plants
In the kingdom of flora, everything is interconnected, and a lack of heat or light often causes disease or attracts insects to the roots or above-ground parts of the plant. The condition of flowers is especially affected by improper lighting, the lack or excess of which can destroy the plant. Therefore, before placing indoor flowers on the windowsill of a south-facing window, where there is the most sunlight, find as much information as possible about the selected varieties.
For example, cacti prefer a lot of ultraviolet light, and growing monstera, ficus and violet is possible in shaded areas of the room.
Growing Monstera
When growing flowers, do not rely on the common misconception about shade-loving plants - they do not exist, everyone needs light to a greater or lesser extent. Be prepared for the fact that pots with flora will have to be moved from place to place throughout the year. In spring and summer, the intensity of sunlight increases to its peak. In March and April, indoor flowers only need to be shaded on south-facing windows at midday.
In the summer season, it is better to move plants away from direct sunlight, for example, to place them on western and eastern window sills. In autumn, growing flora will be more successful on the south side, since at this time, due to frequent cloudy days, flowers lack light. In winter, we even move shade-tolerant varieties there. It should be noted that artificial lighting cannot fully replace natural lighting, but it helps in winter, when the daylight hours are much shorter than the dark ones.
It should be created in dark corners, as well as along walls, away from windows. At the same time, incandescent lamps are completely unacceptable, since they heat the air around too much. Ideally, it is better to use special phytolights, but fluorescent light bulbs are also suitable as an alternative. The height at which you need to hang the lamp above beautifully flowering plants should not exceed 30 centimeters, but for decorative leaves it can be in the range from 30 to 60 centimeters. Therefore, choose models that are adjustable in height and tilt.
Phyto-lamp for indoor flowers
Growing flowers is quite possible in diffused light, if it is bright enough. Therefore, in rooms with windows facing north, it is better to paint surfaces in light colors, increasing their reflectivity. It is imperative to monitor the cleanliness of the glass; dust settling on them significantly reduces the illumination of the space in front of the windows. You should never move flower pots immediately from light to shade and vice versa.
Just gradually change their position in the house over the course of several days so that indoor plants get used to the new conditions. Caring for flora can also be expressed in shading it using screens made of tissue paper or gauze. You can watch the video to see how to do this. With too much light, plant leaves become faded; at midday, the leaves droop and dry out over time; dark spots can often be seen. A lack of light on the leaves is reflected by cessation of growth, yellowing and drying out, the variegation of color is replaced by monotony.
Mistakes in caring for indoor plants: diseases and pests
Despite the fact that indoor plants usually grow indoors, they, like their outdoor counterparts, can be affected by various diseases and pests. To avoid serious problems, and ultimately to avoid losing a flower, you need to regularly inspect the leaves, flowers and soil in the pot.
Often the appearance of problems is visible to the naked eye - dots and holes on the leaves, plaque in the form of rusty spots or mold, a lethargic appearance of the plant. If they are detected, you should try to find out the cause and immediately take corrective measures. If there are other flowers near the affected plant, the patient must be urgently isolated.
Some indoor plants are affected by fungal diseases - powdery mildew, late blight, gray rot and some others. The disease manifests itself with the appearance of plaque in the form of spots on the leaves. If this problem is detected, you need to spray the plant with a fungicide. The earlier treatment is started, the greater the chance of saving the flower. If it is neglected, you have to cut off the above-ground part, or even say goodbye to the plant altogether.
In addition to fungal diseases, indoor plants are threatened by viral and bacterial diseases. They all have their own symptoms, but not all of them can be cured. Sometimes, sadly, a plant has to be removed so as not to endanger the rest.
The most likely insect pests are aphids, whiteflies, scale insects, spider mites and scale insects. Conventional insecticides are used to combat parasites, but to prevent their spread, healthy plants are also sprayed for prevention.
Most often, insects settle on the underside of the leaf, so when inspecting plants you need to examine leaves on both sides.
On a note! Don't let the problems of caring for indoor plants described above scare you! Growing indoor plants is not difficult at all if you are ready for it. The main thing is to choose a suitable flower, give it everything it needs, watch its development, cope with problems in time and... while admiring it, rejoice.
Maintaining optimal air humidity
Caring for indoor plants also includes their correct arrangement. At intervals, it is customary to place on indoor window sills those house flowers that do not need high air humidity, that is, they are unpretentious in care. Conversely, those varieties that cannot be grown without a high moisture content in the environment are best placed in groups, then after watering a separate microclimate is created around them. But it must be borne in mind that too many plants in a group will create the danger of dampness in their location, which can cause gray rot to disease some varieties.
Correct placement of indoor plants
The easiest way is to increase air humidity by spraying the surface of the leaves with a spray bottle. It is better to carry out this treatment in the morning so that the water evaporates by the time the coolness of the night sets in. But it is imperative to take precautions. The fact is that plants require more moisture in the air in the summer, and if a flower pot is placed on the window, droplets on the leaves will begin to collect the sun's rays in bunches, like lenses, causing burns. You can purchase a humidifier. In this case, it is enough to place the device under the windowsill on which there are indoor flowers, the cultivation of which requires an abundance of water, and caring for them will immediately become much easier.
The third method is especially interesting, for which you will need 2 vessels: the pot itself for planting the plant, and a larger container. Several such sets are needed, depending on the number of landings. At the bottom of a large container we pour any substrate that absorbs water well enough and retains water for a long time. For example, you can put a layer of sphagnum moss. Then we place a pot with a flower on a loose cushion and pour the same substrate almost to its edges on the sides. We saturate the loose mass with water; later, as it evaporates, it will create higher humidity around the plant than in the rest of the room.
Sphagnum moss
Whether the level of moisture in the air around the flowers is sufficient can be determined by several signs, although in most cases the plant ends up in a deplorable state. First, pay attention to the leaves. If they turn yellow at the edges, become dark brown at the tips, as if baked, or fall off completely, but you are sure that there is enough watering, it means that there is insufficient air humidity around the plant. The same thing is signaled by fading and crumbling buds and flowers. Leaves, stems and inflorescences affected by gray rot, on the contrary, indicate an excess of moisture in the environment. To avoid waiting for these signs, find out more about your plants in advance.
