Houseplants 101 Guide

We love all houseplants here at Jungle House Plant Shop and know that each type of plant has unique care needs. However, there are some common care tips that work for most plants, so we thought we'd put them in one easy guide here for you!

Watering 💧

Water is one of the main elements to a plant's overall health and happiness. Many people water on a schedule, like once a day (this is wayyyy too often!), once a week, or once a month (and this usually isn't enough). However, you will have better results if you get to know your specific plant and figure out its watering needs. But how do you figure that out?

Here are our top 3 tips:

1. Use a water meter reader. These are inexpensive tools you can pick up easily online, and they take most of the guess work out of watering. Stick the end of the reader into your plant's soil slowly, and it will show you where your plant is at on a scale from dry to moist to wet. If it is more moist or wet, it probably doesn't need water yet, but if it's mostly or fully dry, that's a good indicator it's ready for a drink. By sticking it in the soil slowly, you can see exactly how wet the soil is at the top, middle, and bottom of the pot too. If the top half of the soil is dry but the bottom is still moist or wet, you can look at the plant's foliage to help determine if it needs water (see tip 2). If you're on the fence and aren't sure, wait another day or so and test it again. 
2. Stick your finger in the soil. This is basically the free version of using a water meter reader. If it feels completely dry and dusty, get out that watering can and give your plant a drink. If the soil still feels somewhat moist but not wet, I'd recommend waiting another day or two and check again. If the soil is mostly wet though, give it more time until you water.
3. Check out the foliage - aka leaves. If the leaves look limp, curled, and dull, that's a great sign it's time to water. You can also feel the leaves, and if they're less stiff and bend easily, that is also a good indicator it needs water. If you start noticing yellow leaves though, that can be a sign of overwatering, and you'll need to check out a few more things that we'll discuss soon. 

Common Problems: Overwatering and Underwatering

For most houseplants, I recommend erring on the side of under watering than over watering, but both can cause major problems for your plant if not remedied quickly. 

Signs of overwatering:

• Yellow, droopy leaves
  
• Mushy leaves and stems
• Musty/rotten smelling soil
• Lots of fungus gnats flying in and around the soil

How to fix overwatering:

• Let the soil fully dry out before you water it again.
• Make sure the pot has drainage holes.
• Improve airflow by using a stick to aerate the soil (gently poke holes).
• For severe cases, repot the plant into new, dry soil. Make sure the soil has enough perlite (small white bits in the soil) to allow for better airflow and drainage.
• Moving forward, water the plant less often (obviously 🙃).

Signs of underwatering: 

• Curled, wilted, shriveled or limp leaves
• Brown, dry leaves (sometimes there will also be yellow leaves that fall off)
• Leaves start falling off
• Soil is very dry and pulling away from the edges of the pot.

How to fix underwatering:

• Give your plant a nice, big drink. Make sure to fully soak the soil. This is a good time to bottom-water your plant.
• If the soil has become hydrophobic, meaning water runs right through it/it can't retain water, you may need to repot the plant into fresh soil.
• Increase how often you water your plant moving forward.

Another thing to consider if the type of water you're using to water your plants. This may seem like a strange thing to worry about, but some tap water can be too hard, or too soft if you have a water softener. You may want to switch to rain water if you have a rain barrel or start using distilled or reverse osmosis water. Rain water is ideal because it still has trace amounts of nutrients for your plants, however if you use distilled or RO water, you'll need to add back in the missing nutrients with a common houseplant fertilizer.

The second most important thing to consider to keep your houseplant happy and health is...

Sunlight ☀️

We all need sunlight to survive, and this is no different for your house plant friends. My number one tip for keeping that photosynthesis going in your plants is to give them bright, indirect light. Now, just like with watering, some plants will need more or less light than others, but if you're not sure what kind of light to give your plants, this is a good place to start. But what does "bright indirect light" really mean? 

Direct vs. Indirect Sunlight 

Direct sunlight means the sun rays are shining directly on your plant during the day. South-facing windows provide the best direct sunlight for plants throughout the day, where east windows provide direct light in the morning, and west windows provide direct light in the afternoon/evening.

As you can see in the picture to the right, our dog Piper is in direct sunlight, and the plants in the background are in indirect sunlight with a grow light for added light.

Common houseplants that generally prefer direct sunlight are cacti, succulents, euphorbia, and Hoyas. Most tropical plants, including philodendron, pothos, monstera, peperomia, and pilea can appreciate a little direct sunlight during the day too, but avoid giving them too much because it can burn their leaves. If you notice you plant's leaves turning pale, brown, or red, that means it's time to move it back from the window or completely out of the window, so it gets indirect light instead. 

Indirect sunlight means that sun rays don't directly shine on your plant, and the light is filtered by sheer curtains, trees or buildings outside, or the plant is farther back or off to the side of the window. Like we mentioned before, bright indirect sunlight is a great option for most plants, and this means that your plant is in a space that still gets good sun light but isn't sitting right in the window. Placing your plant off to the side of the window, back in the room several feet or adding a sheer curtain to the window are all examples of how to provide bright, indirect light. Indirect light can also come from north-facing windows or even east or west windows depending on how much light you get in the morning and evening. 

Low Light

One of the most common questions we get is "which plants can live in low or no light environments?" Unfortunately, there aren't any plants that can survive in an area with no light at all, and the majority of houseplants won't do well in low light environments either. Low light can slow down or even stop growth, cause foliage to become much smaller and less variegated, and cause stems to become "leggy." Though we don't recommend low light for any houseplants, the most common plants that can survive in low light are snake plants, ZZ plants and even some pothos 

and philodendrons. That being said, these plants will all be happier in medium to brighter indirect light.

Grow Lights

If your home doesn't have much natural light at all or if you've run out of space near your windows, grow lights are a fantastic alternative and allow you to put plants anywhere in your home. You can even get grow light bulbs and transform any lamp into a grow light!

Other Common Care Tips 🪴

Water and sunlight are the top two elements to worry about when caring for your plant. However, there are other factors that can influence and change your plant's health and wellbeing. If you've figured out your plant's watering and light needs and it still isn't thriving, you may need to consider some of the following factors.

Humidity

Other than succulents, cacti, and some common types of bonsai, most houseplants originate from tropical locations with naturally higher humidity levels. The majority of house plants will be just fine in the normal humidity level of a home (30 - 60%). However, some plants are more sensitive to humidity levels, and if you live somewhere that has a drier climate or cold, dry winters, you may need to supplement with some added humidity for all or some of your tropical houseplants. 

The most common house plants that usually need higher humidity levels (60 - 85%) to thrive are:

• Begonias 
• Anthuriums
• Alocasia
• Ferns
• African Violets

If you notice any of your plants getting brown, crispy edges on their leaves or looking more droopy and dull despite having ideal water and light conditions, it may need a higher humidity level. 

Tips for adding humidity to your plant's environment:

• Use a humidifier - humidifiers are great tools to increase humidity in a larger space, however, they do need to be cleaned very regularly to make sure mold and mildew isn't building up and causing an air quality problem in your home. 
• Group plants closely together - placing your plants together somewhere in your home can increase the humidity just enough in their small area to make all your plants happier.
• Use a terrarium or grow cabinet - if you're ready to take your plant obsession up a notch, invest in a grow cabinet or even a terrarium for plants with very high humidity needs. Grow cabinets are a great option for increasing humidity for your plants inside the cabinet but not increasing the overall humidity too much throughout your home.

A few don't:

• Mist your plants - some people recommend misting your plants to increase humidity, however, this will only increase it for a short amount of time and can cause other issues for your plant like rotting leaves.
• Use pebble trays - this isn't going to hurt anything, but a pebble tray with water won't increase humidity levels enough or for an extended period of time, so we don't recommend them.

Pests 🐜

Pests are by far the worst part of owning plants, in our opinion. When you get a pest infestation, it generally takes weeks or even longer to completely eradicate them, and sometimes they can do so much damage it's better to throw the plant out than continue treating it and risking your other plants getting infested.

Here are a few common types of pests and how to get rid of them:

• Fungus gnats - While fungus gnats won't necessarily harm your plant, they are a nuisance. There are several ways to decrease the amount of fungus gnats in your home like sticky traps, a hydrogen peroxide/water mix in the soil, or our personal favorite, Zevo light traps.
• Spider mites - These are probably the most common (and most annoying in our opinion) pests you'll encounter along your houseplant journey. A few signs that your plant is infested with spider mites are:
  • Yellow, dull leaves
  • Tiny white, brown and/or red specks, usually on the underside of the leaves
  • Webbing on the leaves and stem

If you find spider mites on your plant, isolate the plant or plants immediately from the rest of your collection, and rinse them off thoroughly with water. Spider mites prefer dry environments, so this is a helpful first step. To fully eradicate these annoying little buggers, we recommend using an insecticide like Captain Jack's Dead Bug spray, which is approved for organic gardening and is less harsh than some other pesticides you may find. You can also try more natural methods like a water/isopropyl alcohol mix or need oil, however, we haven't found these methods to work very well. Be sure to treat the infested plants multiple times and observing them over several weeks or so to make sure you have fully gotten rid of the mites before putting them back with your other plants. This process may take several weeks or so.

• Mealy bugs - If you find small, white, cottony spots on your plant, these are likely mealy bugs. They are unfortunately relatively difficult to fully get rid of, and depending on how bad the infestation is, it may be better to get rid of the plant to avoid infesting any of your other houseplants. If you find mealy bugs, immediately isolate the plant(s) affected and follow the same process you would if you find spider mites. One additional step you can take is to individually wipe off each mealy bug you find on the plant with a water/isopropyl alcohol mix because mealy bugs don't easily come off by simply spraying the plant down with an insecticide.
• Thirps and scale - These are really nasty pests that are very difficult to get rid of and can cause a lot of damage to your plants. Thirps are tiny, fast moving pests with wings, and scale are tiny, immobile, armored pests that look like small, brown spots on your plant. If you notice any brown spots on your plants, it's best to try wiping them off to see if it's just an imperfection in the plant or scale. Both thirps and scale feed off your plant by sucking the sap from the leaves and stems, which will deform and kill your plant over time. If you find either of these pests, isolate your plant(s) immediately. For thrips, spray the plant(s) down thoroughly with an insecticide and/or systemic treatment that you water into the soil. Scale can be removed manually by trimming off affected foliage and/or using an insecticide.

Soil 🪏

Soil can play a big factor in your plant's health. If your plant's soil doesn't have enough 

perlite or is too peat-heavy, you may notice signs of overwatering or root rot because the soil isn't able to dry out enough after being watered. If your plant's soil is hydrophobic, aka very dry, dusty, and pulling away from the edges of the pot, you may notice signs of under watering because the soil won't absorb and hold water. For most of our plants, we use a common houseplant soil mix you can pick up at any garden center or home improvement store and add extra perlite, the small white pieces in the soil, for added drainage. You can pick up bags of perlite at your local garden center or online. 

For some of our larger plants and aroids, we use a chunkier soil mix with large perlite,

orchid bark, coco coir, and other amendments to allow for healthy root growth and proper drainage. However, if you're a beginner and want to keep things simple, using the common houseplant soil with added perlite is perfect.

While there are many things to consider when it comes to houseplant care, the number one most important tip we want you to remember is to have fun with it! Houseplants are a great way to bring joy and life to any home, and we hope this information will help you get started growing your green thumb. If you ever have a specific question about houseplant care, please feel free to reach out to us on Instagram or send us an email at thejunglehouseplantshop@gmail.com. Happy growing!