Sweet Shoppe Mom | Phoenix Lifestyle & Mom Blogger

  • Home page
  • life with teens
  • home
  • style & beauty
  • food
    • dairy-free
    • Paleo/Whole 30
    • Keto
    • main dishes
    • side dishes
    • breakfast
    • snacks
    • desserts
    • cocktails
  • Arizona
  • travel
  • holidays
    • birthdays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • graduation
    • Father’s Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Super Bowl
    • Christmas
    • New Year’s Eve
  • About
    • Contact
    • Work with Us

7 Houseplant Tips for Success

By: dmvollmercomment

Raise your hand if you added more plants to your home in 2020. Many of us did, some for the first time.

I love the color and life that they add to your home. They’re a healthy addition to your home with their air-cleaning properties. Also, there’s the joy they bring when they thrive, the feeling of success. They can bring a feeling a calmness as you spend time nurturing them. Plants are therapeutic. They can help when dealing with depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

zz plant

I’ve always had houseplants since I’ve lived on my own. In college, it was violets (my sorority flower) and they thrived. Off and on over the years, I’ve had a few plants. Some thrived but more died. I never really paid attention as to why some thrived and others died. In recent years my collection has grown. This past year with more time at home I really started to focus on why some were doing great and others weren’t. I started to add plant varieties that I had previously killed. This past year has been tough for everyone. The last few years have been a lot of change personally. My houseplants are selfcare.

I’m not a gardening master. Far from it. If you really want to dive deep into growing plants, there are gardening forums filled with experts. I have joined a few Facebook groups to learn some simple tips (especially for seeking out those ‘easy to grow’ varieties). I have, however, finally achieved houseplant success with a few simple changes. I share photos of my plants on my Instagram stories and get so many questions and comments that I decided to write a few posts.

house plants tips for growing

7 Tips for Successfully Growing Houseplants

ONE – Distilled Water. This depends on your water source but straight tap water here in Phoenix is not good for some houseplants. Some plants do fine with tap water, others were getting huge brown spots, brown tips, and dying. Over time, I’ve learned which of my plants need the distilled water – I’ve moved them all together so that watering is easier.

If you have a well or water that is naturally softer, tap water might work fine for you. Some people collect rainwater which is another great source. Living here in the desert, rainwater isn’t a consistent source. 

Fluoride in water can also cause issues for some plants. In places with high fluoride, people have found success with letting their water sit out overnight (this only helps for fluoride and does not help with hard water issues).

TWO– Feed your plants. Plants need nutrients to grow. Especially if you have overwatered because this can flush the nutrients out of the soil over time. But with anything, it’s a balance. Too much fertilizer can burn the plants and kill them. Research the fertilizer you’re using and your plants to find out how often to fertilize.

house plants tips for growing

THREE – Plants need good soil drainage. Choose a good soil mixture for the type of plant that allows drainage. For houseplants, I mix my soil with perlite and bark. For succulents, I use a cactus mix and add in pumice. Choose a pot with drainage holes (not absolutely needed, but good if you tend to water on the heavier side). Buy pots with holes in them or add your own using a drill and diamond bit.

FOUR – Don’t overwater. Too much water will cause root rot and kill a plant. When a plant isn’t doing well, the instinct is to give it more water. Because root rot is occurring below the surface, it’s not obvious why your plant is dying.

Using a moisture meter was the best thing I ever did for my plants. I thought I had cut back on watering but once I started using the meter, I realized I was still watering them too much.

Some plants do best when you allow the soil to dry out between waterings. Others do best if you don’t allow the soil to dry out. Research and also this is something you will learn with time.

Too little water and a plant will also die but it’s more common than it’s too much water. Of course, a neglected plant that isn’t water will die but I’m referring to when plants that you are taking care of regularly. 

Pothos house plant

FIVE – Correct amount of sun. Low light plants still need light. Many low light plants will do better with more light.

For some plants, direct sunlight is too much and will cause them to die. Most common house plants thrive on lots of indirect sunlight in my experience.

SIX – Use the proper size pot. For years I was replanting my pots after bringing them home into much larger pots. Plants often need to stay in the current pot when first coming home and then when you repot only go up slightly in size. Some plants thrive on being rootbound (such as Snake plants) and some need replanting sooner. But a plant doesn’t start growing the leaves as much until the roots have become more established in the current pot.

snake plant

SEVEN –  Start with ‘easy houseplants’. There are plants that are relatively easy and forgiving. Others are so finicky that if you look at them a certain way, they will die. Now that I have more experience and have started to really understand my plants, I am trying some more difficult ones – String of Pearls and Peace Lily are the ones I’m focusing on right now.

  • 6 Easy Starter Houseplants

string of pearls succulent plant

 

What tools do you need to take care of your plants?

  • The best tools for getting started with houseplants

Want to learn more about plants? Here are a few of my favorite sources for education and inspiration

  • Planterina on YouTube
  • Soulsistaplants on Instagram
  • Succulents and Sunshine blog

7 Tips for Houseplant Success

Related Posts

  • 10 Tips For Organizing Your Fridge For a Healthy Lifestyle10 Tips For Organizing Your Fridge For a Healthy Lifestyle
  • 6 Easy Starter Houseplants6 Easy Starter Houseplants
  • 6 Two-Story House Hacks To Make Your Life Easier6 Two-Story House Hacks To Make Your Life Easier
(Visited 169 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hi there and welcome to Sweet Shoppe Mom. My name is Dana and my son is Brendan, also known as B. Welcome to our blog where we chat about every day life with tweens and teens.

more about us

#chucksandpearls Were you wearing them yesterday? #chucksandpearls Were you wearing them yesterday?

I’m still taking in all that happened yesterday. Hopeful for what lies ahead. Breathing easier with an administration focused on unity and equality.  One that is making dealing with this pandemic a top priority. One that is making science a priority.

No matter what side you’re on, history was made. This is election will be really be the first one my son remembers. First female Vice President, first black and first South-Asian VP.

#madamevicepresident #kamalaharris #bidenharris2020 #inauguration2021 #wediditjoe
#nationalbagelday has me thinking about NYC ✈️ #nationalbagelday has me thinking about NYC ✈️🚕

Rainbow bagels at @chelseamarketny from my trip a few years ago

#bagel #nyc #visitnyc #nycfoodie #nyceats #travellust #travelfoodie #instayum #rainbow #nycbagels #foodholiday #
Kicking off New Years day with festive 2021 pancak Kicking off New Years day with festive 2021 pancakes.

Happy New Year!! 🍾 We survived 2020 and I’m excited to see what 2021 brings. Looking forward to planning the year and setting goals (both personal and business).

#2021 #pancakes #breakfast #instayum #pancakeart #arizonamom #momofteens #momofteenagers #momlife #funfood #whatsforbreakfast
Merry Christmas 🎄 We skipped Santa photos thi Merry Christmas 🎄 

We skipped Santa photos this year (way past the believing in Santa years but its still a fun tradition...hopefully next year). #flashback Friday to Bs 1st Christmas (2006), and then 2017, 2018 and 2019.

#christmas #christmas2020 #teenlife #momofteenagers #teenagersareawesome #boymom #momofboys #thisis14 #highschooler
Merry Christmas Eve 🎄 How are you doing? Scram Merry Christmas Eve 🎄

How are you doing? Scrambling to get things ready for tomorrow or enjoying hot cocoa by the tree? We mommas take on so much of the holiday prep so I would expect most of us are still getting things ready.

I wanted to share MY two best tips for holiday prep and I’d love to hear YOURS

Tip 1 - Santa Sacks. We invested in these years ago. Pop in the gift and pull on the drawstring and you’re all set. We use these for gifts from Santa and wrap the others. Time saver and saves a ton of wrapping paper, thats a win!

Tip 2 - Put a lock on a closet and turn it into your gift closet. No worries about your kids discovering their gifts AND easy to find all your gifts. Who is still searching for gifts they can’t remember where they put them. A closet in a guest room or office is perfect.

#christmas #christmas2020 #momofteens #arizonamom #christmaseve #holidayprep
B and I had a blast playing with @superimpulse’s B and I had a blast playing with @superimpulse’s #tinyarcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and #microarcade Frogger. So fun and an awesome idea for stocking stuffers.

We put together a huge list (over 100 ideas) of stocking stuffers for teenage boys (link in bio). They can be so hard to shop for and not so helpful when you ask for ideas.

#superimpulsepartner #videogames #frogger #teenagemutantninjaturtles #boymom #momofboys #momofteenagers #momofteens #teenagersareawesome #arizonamom #stockingstuffers #christmas2020 #giftideas #giftlist #giftguide
What holiday item do you collect? Did you know # What holiday item do you collect? 

Did you know #nutcrackers are a German tradition thought to bring good luck and fight away evil spirits?

Having trouble finding spaces to display some of my holiday decor as many of my surfaces are covered with plants now 🌱❤️ and then I realized these wall shelves were perfect. I stashed away the art that is usually sits on these shelves (and hides the huge doorbell box and security system glass sensor) and replaced with our @traderjoes #adventcalendar and #nutcrackers 

#holidaydecor #nutcrackercollection #myhome #arizona #arizonamom #christmasdecor #momofteens #momsofteenagers #boymom #christmas2020
Do you know a super fan of The Office? We’ve put Do you know a super fan of The Office? We’ve put together a #holidaygiftguide with over 20 fabulous gift ideas (link in bio)

B is a super fan. He has watched the series at least 10 times on @netflix. He was super excited when his @pewpewlasercraft personalized name plate arrived.

#theoffice #giftguide #boymom #momofteens #momofteenagers #giftguideformen #giftguideforteens #teenagersareawesome #dundermifflin #dundermifflinpapercompany #thatswhatshesaid
This is freshman year, 2020. He’s on a zoom wit This is freshman year, 2020.  He’s on a zoom with his class. Chatting on a call with classmates who are also virtual. Also planning his run for class president. One thing 2020 has taught him is technical skills and multitasking.

Do your kids sit in unusual positions when studying/virtual schooling? For 2020, what ever works. He has a 4.0 and all caught up on assignments. He’s staying to connected to his classes and friends. School is still open for in-person but we decided to switch him to virtual after Thanksgiving because we thought numbers would rise (and they did). 

Oversized poofy chair from @costco It was going to be a Christmas gift but I decided to give it him early since he’s home now 🎁 

#coronalife #2020 #virtuallearning #highschooler #teenlife #momofhighschooler #boymom #momofteens #arizonamom #teenagersareawesome
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Search This Blog

disclosure & privacy policy
copyright 2012-2020 Sweet Shoppe Mom

Copyright © 2021 · Modern Blogger Pro Theme By, Pretty Darn Cute Design