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Anyone who grows houseplants knows that seeing them grow and thrive can be greatly rewarding. But houseplants are no different than garden plants in that they do require care. The key to being successful at growing them is knowing what each plant requires in the way of care. Knowing this is the key to keeping plants happy and healthy.

LIGHT:

Some plants thrive in direct light, while others are more adaptable to

low light conditions. Dieffenbachia, pathos, philodendron, Chinese Evergreen, Lucky bamboo, Wandering Jew, spider plants, ferns, and coleus are all plants that will do well with low light.

Most cacti, succulents, brugmansia, Adenium roses, jasmine, croton, hibiscus, bromeliads, hoyas, and some orchids prefer bright light. Other plants like oxalis, African violets, and Epiphyllium or orchid cacti prefer bright but filtered light.

TEMPERATURE:

Although plants can generally adapt to the temperatures in which they are grown, some plants are much more finicky than others, and for those plants, it's important to be mindful of their temperature requirements. Most houseplants don't like to be faced with extremes of temperature, so keeping in a spot where the temperature is consistent is helpful.

Cacti, bromeliads, living stones, orchids, dieffenbachia, Amaryllis, brugmansia, plumerias, hibiscus, jasmine, Adenium roses, air plants, African violets, and all other tropical houseplants are originally from climates where the temperatures are warm. The low temperatures never get below freezing.

For plants like these, since they are used to warm temperatures, try to keep them in a place where the temperature rarely dips below 65 degrees. Most other houseplants will do okay in comfortable but not extreme temperatures.

HUMIDITY:

Many tropical plants are native to areas that are hot and humid. Providing some humidity during the winter is helpful. Even if you don't have a whole house humidifier, smaller humidifiers can help. Keeping a pot of water on a radiator is a way to help the water evaporate, although it will happen more slowly.

In a place that is really dry, if no humidifier or radiator is available, put a pan of water on the stove, and allow the water to come to a boil. Once the water is boiling briskly, turn the heat down very low and allow it to simmer. You will have to keep an eye on the pot to make sure that the water doesn't evaporate.

Another way to provide plants with some humidity is to put them in the shower. You can do this when you water them. Turn on the shower for a few minutes and close the bathroom door. If you use warm water, the room will get humid. When you turn off the water, close the door and allow the plants to remain in the bathtub or the shower.

WATERING:

Different plants have different water requirements. If you have a lot of different kinds of houseplants, they will inevitably have different water needs. Some plants are more tolerant of neglect while others won't survive at all if neglected.

Pathos, philodendron, Chinese Evergreen, lucky bamboo, any type of cacti, Adenium Roses, Aloe Vera, bromeliads, and succulents are all plants that don't require large amounts of water. For each of these, allow the soil to dry out between waterings. If you are uncertain, stick your finger as far down into the soil as possible.

Garden centers and specialty plant stores often sell water meters. A water meter is simply a long probe that can be inserted into the soil to determine how moist it is as far down as the probe can go.

Croton, hibiscus, orchids, brugmansia, peppermonia, polka dot plant, coleus, ferns and African violets all need regular water. Be careful not to over water them. With some plants, too much water can lead to root rot. In general, when watering plants, water them until the water leaks out of the pot. When the water leaks out of the bottom of the pot, then you know that all the soil is evenly moist.

FERTILIZER:

Houseplants don't have the luxury of space that plants grown in the ground have. Although it can be very tempting to fertilize them every month or more often, that is not a wise thing to do. Most plants go through a resting period during the winter. Depending on where you live, the rest period can start as soon as September or as late as the end of October. During this period, up until about April or May, plants should not be fertilized at all.

During the height of the growing season, for flowering plants, I prefer to use a bloom boosting fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and highest in phosphorus. Nitrogen encourages leaf production and leaf growth. For flowering plants, we want to fertilize them to encourage flower production. I use a fertilizer that I can mix with water.

For African violets and orchids, there is fertilizer that's made especially for those flowering plants. During the growing season, use the food intended for them about every month. If you are concerned about hurting the plant or the tender roots, feed the plants a weaker concentration of fertilizer.

Most regular green plants don't really have to have fertilizer. I generally use a long acting fertilizer like Osmocote or the spikes that you just put into the soil. Osmocote is designed to last for several months, so there is no danger of over fertilizing anything, burning roots, or causing anything to happen to the leaves.

POTTING AND SOIL:

Most houseplants will do well in average size pots. Unless they are extremely large, there is no need to use very large pots. For cacti and plants that don't like to stay in wet soil, clay pots may be a better choice. Since clay absorbs moisture, it is a good way to ensure that plants won't sit in excess water. For plants that like a lot of water, including hibiscus, brugmansia and other tropical plants, using plastic pots is a good idea. Plastic tends not to dry out as quickly.

Most regular potting soil contains a fertilizer. Personally, I don't think that it's necessary for soil to have fertilizer. Potting soil also tends to lack things that will improve drainage or help it breathe. That would be peat moss, Perlite, sand, gravel or anything of that kind. Because of that, I almost never use a potting soil as the sole medium I plant my houseplants in. If I cannot easily buy peat moss or Perlite, I will use African Violet soil mix or a cactus mix or even an orchid mix.

Some people add packing popcorn, or the absorbent material from baby diapers to the bottom of pots. This will help drainage. Adding rocks also helps. To prevent soil from leaking out of the bottom of pots that have holes in them, coffee filters -especially the kind designed for Mr. Coffee coffee makers work really well. Place the filter over the hole.

WHEN TO RE-POT:

Sometimes it is obvious when a plant needs to be re-potted. If you can turn the pot over and the entire plant falls out in a big wad, it's obvious that the plant was root bound. Sometimes the roots will start to grow out of the bottom of the pot, and when that happens, it's also clear that the plant is root bound.

When it's not so clear, if it seems like there is little room for the plant to grow, or the plant isn't growing as fast as it previously had been growing, then it may be time to re-pot the plant. Some plants, particularly brugmansia, won't suffer any ill effects from having the roots trimmed. If the plant is root bound, it's a good idea to loosen the roots by using your hands to crumble the soil ball and release the roots.

After freeing the plant from it's captivity, center it in a new pot and fill the pot with soil. Be sure the soil has some peat moss and perlite. Once the pot is filled with soil, water it thoroughly. Some plants look like they are suffering from shock after transplantation. The shock usually doesn't last for long, but a good way to bring them out of transplant shock is to use an aspirin water treatment.

Being vigilant about caring for plants and knowing what they need is the key to having happy and healthy plants. If plants suffer from disease, get rid of them immediately so that the disease doesn't spread to other plants. Discard the soil that diseased plants were planted in and do not put it in the compost heap. It isn't difficult to have healthy plants. Plants can tell us a lot about their health if we take the time to look at them. When they are healthy, they look happy, and that makes us happy, too!

Learn more about this author, Theresa Rose.
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