🪴HOW TO & TIPS
100 lessons from 100 editions
Right, here we go. Grab a coffee.
💧 Watering & Moisture
1. Overwatering is the single most common houseplant killer, because waterlogged soil suffocates the roots. Water because the soil is dry, never because it's a particular day of the week.
2. Root rot is caused by a lack of oxygen, not water itself. That's why cuttings thrive in clean, oxygenated water but rot in soggy soil.
3. The finger test only samples the top inch, which dries far faster than the root zone. Push a finger two to three inches deep, lift the pot to feel its weight, or use a moisture meter at root depth.
4. A moisture meter takes the guesswork out, but only check once or twice a week, and don't leave the probe buried. The tip corrodes over time.
5. Match watering to the mix. A chunky perlite-and-bark mix feels dry on top while holding deep moisture, whereas dense peat-heavy soil can feel dry up top and stay waterlogged inches below.
6. Never water your whole collection on one fixed schedule. A cactus, a Calathea, a terracotta pot and a glazed pot all dry out at very different rates.
7. Always water thoroughly until it drains from the bottom, then empty the saucer within about 30 minutes. Don't let the plant sit in standing water.
8. Avoid watering at night. Cold, damp evenings encourage stem and root rot. Water in the morning so the plant uses the moisture during the day.
9. When bottom-watering, fill the outer pot about a third full, check the next day, and judge by the pot's weight whether it needs more.
10. Master the "soak and dry" cycle for succulents like String of Pearls. Let the soil dry out completely, then water deeply. They hate sitting wet.
11. Letting soil go bone-dry too long doesn't just droop the leaves, it slows nutrient uptake and photosynthesis, because water powers the whole plant.
12. If you suspect overwatering, unpot the plant to air out the soil, move it to brighter light to speed water use, and repot into fresh well-draining soil with a drainage hole.
13. Before reaching for the watering can, loosen the top few centimetres of compacted soil or poke air holes with a chopstick. Suffocated roots often look exactly like a thirsty plant.
14. Flush soil periodically with rainwater to clear the white crusty buildup of chlorine, fluoride and minerals from tap water. Soft, slightly acidic rainwater especially suits Calatheas, prayer plants and ferns.
☀️ Light
15. Measure light in lux with a digital light meter instead of guessing at "bright indirect". A corner that looks bright can be barely 200 lux, while a sunny sill hits several thousand.
16. Most "low-light" plants are merely surviving, not growing. A light meter helps you reposition them where they'll actually thrive.
17. Grow lights work because they emit the blue and red spectrum plants use for photosynthesis, at high intensity. Ordinary household LEDs won't cut it.
18. Position a roughly 10W grow light about 30cm from the leaves, moving stronger bulbs farther back. Place lights above and slightly to the side so plants don't grow facing downward.
19. Rotate plants regularly so all sides get even light. Most will lean toward the strongest source and grow lopsided otherwise.
20. The sun's angle shifts through the year, so a safe winter spot can scorch a plant by late spring. Watch where the bright patches fall and move plants or add a sheer curtain as needed.
21. After winter, or any move into stronger light, increase exposure gradually over a couple of weeks. Sunburned leaves don't recover.
22. Even shade-loving plants can sunburn, developing pale, bleached or crispy patches. Ease everything into brighter light rather than dropping it straight onto a sunny windowsill.
🌡️ Humidity & Temperature
23. Use a digital hygrometer and act when humidity drops below about 40%. Central heating dries indoor air and crisps the edges of sensitive plants.
24. Keep humidity-lovers like ferns and peace lilies away from radiators, and off windowsills above radiators or beside wood burners, where the air is hottest and driest.
25. Keep tropical plants away from cold drafts, frequently opened doors and cold glass. Aim for stable temperatures of roughly 16–24°C (60–75°F).
26. Group plants together to create a shared humid microclimate through transpiration. Bonus: it makes watering and pest checks easier too.
27. Improve airflow by cracking a window for 20 minutes a day or running a small fan on low nearby. It reduces fungus gnats, mould and leaf fungus while building sturdier growth.
28. In winter, keep rooms with plants no colder than about 10°C. If you go away, set the thermostat so they don't suffer an indoor cold snap.
🪨 Soil & Potting
29. Never use garden soil indoors. It's too heavy, compacts, suffocates roots and often brings pests. Use a proper indoor mix with perlite and bark.
30. Add perlite to aerate soil, keep roots oxygenated and prevent waterlogging.
31. A reliable base mix for most plants is about 5 parts coconut coir, 2 parts perlite and 1 part horticultural charcoal. Add orchid bark for aroids that like to dry faster.
32. Use a chunky aroid mix of soil, bark and perlite for philodendrons and monsteras. Water deeply, let it drain fully, and wait until the top layer dries before watering again.
33. Keep soil neutral to slightly acidic (around pH 6–6.5) so roots can absorb nutrients. Too alkaline and your fertiliser is largely wasted, so test and use a "pH down" product if needed.
34. Don't reuse old potting soil directly between plants, because of cross-contamination. Compost it or sterilise it with heat, staying under about 93°C (200°F) to avoid forming toxins.
35. After sterilising soil, reintroduce beneficial mycorrhizae. The heat kills the good microbes along with the bad.
36. Line the bottom of a pot with a used coffee filter before adding soil. It stops soil escaping the drainage holes while still letting water drain and wick.
37. Reuse plastic nursery pots and choose peat-free mixes for a more sustainable collection, customising with grit or LECA as each plant needs.
🪴 Repotting
38. When repotting, don’t go too big. An oversized pot holds damp soil with no roots to drink it, which invites root rot.
39. Wait for active spring growth before repotting if you can, but repotting in winter still beats leaving a plant badly rootbound.
40. If a plant is already in a large pot and you don't want to upsize, just refresh the top 5cm of soil with fresh mix and a little fertiliser.
41. To keep a plant in the same pot, root-prune by trimming no more than a third of the root ball. Roots poking out the drainage holes can simply be cut.
42. Some plants, like snake plants, actually prefer being slightly rootbound, so don't rush to upsize everything.
🌱 Fertilising
43. Feed actively growing plants a balanced liquid fertiliser diluted to half strength every two weeks, on already-damp soil, rather than full strength once a month.
44. Cut feeding back to once a month, or stop entirely, in autumn and winter unless a plant is actively pushing new growth. Unused nutrients build up and can burn roots.
45. Skip kitchen scraps like coffee grounds, eggshells and banana peels as fertiliser. They deliver unbalanced nutrition and rot inconsistently. Compost them and use a proper houseplant feed.
46. Plants grown in water or LECA need full-spectrum hydroponic fertiliser, since they can't draw nutrients from soil.
47. Match the nutrient to the goal. Peace lilies flower best with a potassium-rich feed, while Alocasia produce more corms with extra phosphorus and potassium.
48. Soak the roots of newly shipped plants for about 24 hours to wash off the growth inhibitors suppliers spray on to keep them dormant in transit.
✂️ Pruning & Grooming
49. Always cut just above a node (about half a centimetre above), where dormant buds and new growth emerge. Long stubs rot back and invite disease.
50. Avoid removing more than a third of a plant in one session. Leaves are how it makes food, so do major overhauls in stages over two or three months.
51. Pruning in spring is best when an awake plant has the light and energy to push new growth and heal wounds quickly.
52. Use clean, sharp tools. Dull blades crush stems and leave slow-healing wounds open to infection. Use snips for soft stems and bypass pruners for woody ficus and rubber plants.
53. Strategic pruning encourages fuller, bushier growth on plants that branch from the growing tip, like pothos, philodendron and coleus.
54. Snake plants, ZZ plants, monsteras, succulents and most cacti won't bush out from pruning. Multiply them by division or grouped cuttings instead, and just remove damaged growth at the base.
55. Wipe leaves with a damp cloth every few weeks so they can photosynthesise, using a soft old toothbrush for textured leaves like Calatheas and ferns. Skip leaf-shine sprays, they clog the pores.
🌿 Propagation
56. Propagate in damp, not wet, medium. Excess moisture is the number one cause of cuttings rotting at the stem.
57. Strip the lower leaves from a cutting so no leaf tissue sits in water or soil, where it would rot and degrade the stem.
58. Use an inert, nutrient-free medium like perlite, plain water or potting soil to root cuttings. A rootless cutting can't use compost's nutrients, and its bacteria will rot the stem.
59. Give cuttings as much bright indirect light as possible to trigger rooting, and resist constantly pulling them out to check, which damages developing roots.
60. When rooting in water, submerge a node while keeping leaves dry, change the water weekly, use an opaque or dark vessel to stop algae.
61. Variegation usually doesn't carry through leaf-only cuttings, so include a piece of stem when propagating variegated plants, or the new growth reverts to solid green.
62. A single Hoya Kerrii leaf won't grow into a full plant unless a piece of stem is attached.
63. Drop a pothos cutting in with more stubborn cuttings. Pothos releases natural rooting hormones that can speed everything along.
64. Propagate trailing plants with almost no effort by pinning a node onto a nearby pot of soil and separating it once roots form.
65. Spring is the best time to propagate, since longer days and stronger light root cuttings faster. Pothos can show roots in as little as a week.
66. Start cuttings several weeks to months ahead of any deadline like Christmas. Most need that long to root strongly enough to gift.
🐛 Pests & Disease
67. Fungus gnats signal soil that stays too wet for too long, not "bug-attracting" plants. Letting the soil dry properly between waterings breaks their breeding cycle.
68. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on the soil surface to fight fungus gnats. It's mildly antifungal and helps dry out the surface where they lay eggs.
69. Tiny yellow specks, fine webbing or speckling usually mean spider mites or thrips. Isolate the plant and spray with insecticide or neem oil every few days until clear.
70. Check the undersides of leaves in winter. Spider mites and thrips love warm, dry, centrally heated rooms. Clear dead leaves off the soil where pests shelter, too.
71. Powdery mildew usually comes from poor airflow and low light rather than too much water. Improve spacing, add a fan and give brighter light.
72. Keep wet leaves dry on mildew-prone plants like Polka Dot Begonia by watering only at the soil, never overhead. Good airflow is the best prevention.
73. Quarantine every new or returning plant and inspect rootballs and leaf undersides for slugs, vine weevil grubs and mites before it joins the others.
74. If pests keep returning after repeated treatment, isolation and cleaning, removing the infested plant entirely protects the rest of your collection.
75. Be cautious putting plants in humid, poorly ventilated bathrooms. Stagnant damp air encourages mould, mildew and pests.
🔍 Diagnosing Problems
76. For yellowing leaves, work through the usual causes in order: over- or underwatering, too little light, pests, being rootbound, or simply old leaves naturally ageing off.
77. In cooler months, treat yellowing leaves as a sign of overwatering rather than thirst. Slower growth means plants use far less water.
78. A few yellowing lower leaves are often just natural ageing as the plant sheds old growth, not a crisis.
79. Brown, crispy leaf tips usually mean dry air or sensitivity to tap water. Raise humidity or switch to filtered or rainwater, and use a conditioner to neutralise chlorine.
80. Drama-queen plants like peace lilies and Fittonias wilt dramatically when thirsty and perk back up within an hour or two of watering, so don't overcorrect.
81. To judge whether a struggling plant is saveable, unpot it and check the roots. Trim a few mushy ones, but a black, foul-smelling, disintegrating root system is past recovery.
82. By late winter a healthy plant should at least be holding steady. If it's kept declining since autumn despite correct care, it's likely exhausted its stored energy.
❄️ Seasonal, Winter & Holiday Care
83. In autumn and winter, water deeply but less often, always checking the soil first. Cooler air and weaker light mean a summer schedule will quietly drown plants.
84. Move plants closer to windows in autumn without letting leaves touch cold glass, clean the leaves to capture every bit of light, and rotate weekly.
85. Bring outdoor plants in before nights drop to around 15°C (60°F), and prepare gradually rather than waiting for the first cold snap.
86. Before bringing plants indoors, hose down the leaves and stems, flip the pots to check rootballs, and repot if needed to avoid importing hitchhiking pests.
87. Know your plants' drought tolerance for holidays. Snake plants, ZZs and succulents last 2–3 weeks, while most leafy tropicals are fine for 7–10 days.
88. For holiday watering, use terracotta spikes or globes, a wicking shoelace from a water reservoir, or stand thirsty plants on wet towels in a bath with an inch of water.
89. If your plants run entirely on grow lights on a timer, feed and water based on active growth rather than the calendar, and keep the daily light cycle constant year-round.
🌳 Species Notes
90. Give Monstera and pothos a moss pole to climb so they mature into large, fenestrated leaves. Left to trail, they keep producing small, solid juvenile leaves.
91. Water Monstera only after the top two inches of soil dry, using a chunky bark-and-perlite mix. Sitting wet is its number one killer.
92. Fiddle leaf figs want bright indirect light, watering when the top 2–3 inches dry, steady 18–24°C temperatures and a weekly quarter-turn. They hate being moved or fussed over.
93. Ficus settle best with bright consistent light, a predictable routine and being left in one place. Expect leaf drop after any move while they adjust.
94. The ZZ plant stores water in potato-like rhizomes, so let its soil dry out fully (roughly every 2–3 weeks in summer, less in winter). It tolerates low light better than almost any plant.
95. Keep a climbing philodendron's moss pole evenly moist so aerial roots grip it, and give crawlers like gloriosum a wide, shallow pot to stretch along.
96. Pot orchids in bark-based mix rather than soil, water only when the roots turn silvery-grey, and leave most aerial roots intact since they absorb moisture from the air.
97. Rebloom a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus by giving it 12–14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night for 6–8 weeks, in a cool, bright spot with no fertiliser.
98. Separate a snake plant pup by following it back to the mother's rhizome, cutting cleanly with as much root attached as possible, then potting in a very free-draining mix kept on the dry side.
99. String of Hearts grows small aerial tubers along its vines that can be snapped off and planted straight into soil to start a whole new plant.
100. Variegated plants like Monstera Albo need brighter light than their all-green forms, because the white, chlorophyll-free parts can't photosynthesise, and the plant grows slower to compensate.
And that's 100.
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