How to Keep Gift Plants Alive

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to truly enjoy all our blessings, including the lovely gifts we may have received. If you received a plant this holiday season, you may be worrying about how long you’ll be able to maintain it. It’s easier than you think to keep gift plants alive.

Even if you’ve failed in the past, don’t give up on having thriving houseplants. With some basic information about houseplant care, you can discover your hidden green thumb. And it won’t cost you much time or money either.

The Dating Sites Are Right – Compatibility Is Important

In order to survive, houseplants need a few essential elements. Because they have developed in many different environments, different plants need different things.

At first this sounds potentially confusing and difficult, but it’s not. For the most part, all plants need water, sunlight, nourishment, and room to breath. Every plant has a different level of these needs, but they are the four core areas you’ll address.

The easiest way to understand their needs is to read the plant marker that likely came with the plant you were gifted. If you do not have a plant marker, simply look up the name of the plant online and you’ll discover a wealth of care information.

Once you understand the needs, commit to following up. For example: if your plant needs daily watering, work it into your normal routine. If it needs weekly watering, be sure to schedule it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone so that you don’t forget.

Technology is Your Friend

Chances are that your previous failures were at least in part the result of improper watering or not providing adequate light. These are two big reasons plants die prematurely.

Well, now you can be a friend to your plants. Even if you forget to water them once in a while and leave the drapes closed more than you should, you can revive a plant.

Advances in plant keeping have given us products like space age water retaining polymers and comprehensive light spectrum bulbs. They are easy to find and a snap to use. These products are inexpensive and make it easy to provide good houseplant care, even when you forget to do your part.

One of my favorite resources to have to is a plant watering bulb. Typically made of glass, these bulbs water your plants automatically while you are away from home. A wonderful gadget to have, especially for times when you’ll be traveling!

You’ll Have Help

Plants want to survive. They will help you help them by giving you signs that they are in trouble. Just because you haven’t succeeded in keeping plants in the past doesn’t mean that all houseplants have a death wish.

Sometimes plants will exhibit brown and curled leaves because they are trying to provide their own moisture to create humidity in a desperate effort to survive. If you’ve ever seen a plant straining into the light, you know that plants make an effort to adapt. Plants have a language, and learning a little plant vocabulary will help you keep houseplants healthy.

Houseplants brighten up a room and your life. They make inexpensive focal points on tables, entertainment centers, and in hanging baskets. They help lower your blood pressure, and clean the air, too.

Once you have the hang of taking care of your gift plants, consider adding more to your home. Try a Chinese evergreen in a low light spot, or put a cast iron plant in a place of honor next to your television. Adopting a few easy care plants is a great way to start building a houseplant collection in your home or apartment, too.