a supersized post on how I care for my houseplants!

I am a proud plant parent and can’t shut up about it – here’s everything I want you to know about how I care for my houseplants!

did I ever tell you about the time I was a houseplant killer?

I looked back at the one and only post I’ve written about houseplants before today. It was almost exactly 10 years (!!!) ago and it was titled “a houseplant for killers“. Seriously.

This is because – although I was a garden designer and aces at keeping all manner of annuals, perennials and shrubs thriving – I could absolutely not maintain a houseplant.

I accepted that this was a flaw that could not be changed, and moved on with my life.

my new house (and a good friend) changed everything!

When I moved into my current house almost 6 years ago, I struggled with accessorizing. I love love love how many windows this house has, and how much beautiful natural light we get, but there’s not a lot of blank wall space for hanging/leaning/decorating.

Enter my talented friend Annie – who makes everything she touches look effortlessly beautiful. I asked her advice when she was here one day, and she immediately said “Plants”.

And I had no choice but to listen. I bought just 2 large, hard-to-kill plants and tucked them into 2 corners of my living room. I loved the way they instantly and perfectly transformed the room, and I was now ready to vanquish my plant-killing past for good!

an aesthetically pleasing site (with AMAZING customer service) changed everything even more!

I knew I wanted to get more plants, stat, but didn’t know where to start. And then the most lovely looking site came across my social media feed and I instantly clicked.

Enter The Sill.

I am a serious sucker for good design and I just loved the whole look and feel of this web site. It seemed to be speaking to me, saying, “Sheri, you’ve got this plant thing. We’ve got YOU”. At the time they had a subscription program where every month you’d receive a plant in a clean, simple planter (in your choice of color and size).

I couldn’t sign up fast enough! I was so excited to receive my first plant, and though the subscription required a 3-month commitment I continued long beyond that until they sadly cancelled the program.

I LOVE The Sill!

That said, I have continued to order from and love The Sill. Their customer service is exceptional and they offer so much support and education that you’re pretty much guaranteed to have healthy, thriving plants – regardless of your nefarious past.

I’m now officially obsessed with houseplants!

It’s been a few years now on this indoor-horticultural journey and I wanted to share with you all of the things that I do/love/purchase to keep my plants in good health. All the pictures here are plants I’ve had for a while now, and you can see how well they are doing – I’m so proud!

Let’s dig (hahahaha) in!

this plant food changed everything THE MOST!

Okay – if you do NOTHING else after reading this post, click on this link and order a bottle of Happy Happy Houseplant Plant Food. You guys. I do not know what the science is behind this formula but all I can tell you is that my plants have exploded since using. I have seen new growth on every plant I own and they are truly in the best shape ever.

And Mandi has thought of everything beyond creating a truly stellar product. The kit comes with the jug of fertilizer that you transfer into the cutest apothecary style dropper that sits beautifully on your counter. I use it every time I water every single plant so there is no thinking about time of year, or which plant needs what nutrient.

A warning about Happy Happy Houseplant: you are going to be obsessed. This site has so much good information on indoor plants and plant care, and if you love my propagation wall but don’t want to build your own (though if you do head over to Annie’s post for the how-to!), Mandi sells the cutest propagation planters!

all of my other resources are right here!

Like all of us, I’m busy. Which is one of the reasons I avoided having indoor plants. It was just “too much” – from what kind of potting mix to use, to knowing which plants thrive in bright light or low light, and ALL THE WATERING. But here’s what I do to make the whole process of growing and caring for plants in my home as streamlined as possible.

planters!

As you can see from the pictures, most of my planters are simple black or white ceramic. These are the planters that came with the plants I received during my subscription with The Sill. I went back and forth between the small and medium sizes, as well as the color from black to white. The planters with the straight sides have drainage holes and came with trays; the ones with the more rounded bottoms do not (I’ll get to how I deal with those types of planters shortly).

I also love to pop a plant that’s in a plastic planter into a more decorative container. Two favorites are my beloved Uashmama paper bags, and charming handpainted baskets from Closed Mondays – a Rockaway based company.

Finally, you can never go wrong with a classic terracotta pot!

If a container does not have a drainage hole you have 3 options:

1. Drill a hole – I’ve never done this but there are plenty of videos that show you how.

2. Use with a plant that’s already in a container with a drainage hole – I’ll do this with several plants, especially if I’m using a basket (which I wouldn’t want to get wet anyway), and then just remove the plant to water in the sink.

3. Place a layer of lava rocks at the bottom of the planter – I always have a bag of lava rocks from The Sill on hand, and will place a layer of them in the planter before adding potting soil. This gives any excess water a place to drain so that the roots don’t get water logged (and rot).

plant stands!

I mostly have my planters on tables and shelves – or just sitting right on the floor. But plant stands allow for visual interest if you vary the heights, and take up little to no room.

I got this stand on Amazon and it filled a really tight spot while adding color and warmth.

For this area next to my sofa I snagged one of those trendy Serena & Lily stands on sale, and got the other stands you see on Amazon and The Sill.

grow lights!

I had two Zoom calls with the plant expert at The Sill, where I literally walked around showing her my plants and the kinds of light they were exposed to. She suggested grow lights for a few of them and told me that you can actually put a grow bulb into a regular lamp! She sent me the specs for the grow bulbs and I was able to find these simple lamps from Target, that worked perfectly.

My family room only gets a bit of morning light so grow lights were also necessary for a few of the plants. I didn’t have the option for a table lamp here but these clean, minimal grow lights work beautifully (I don’t have one in the ZZ plant because it can thrive in low light).

the Greg app!

Okay, here’s where things get geeky. I counted up my plants and currently have 30. And I am telling you that if I didn’t have the Greg app they’d all be dead – or on their way to dead.

What is the Greg app? It’s a genius app that – once you input the information about any given plant – tells you: a) when to water, and b) how much to water.

So basically, once you put in a plant profile (which takes less than 5 minutes), you literally do not have to think about watering ever again. Each day I’ll get a notification (assuming there are plants to be watered) letting me know which plants need attention. For me, this has been the most foolproof and easy method for watering my plants without losing my mind. 10/10, people!!!

various and sundry things!

I’ve obviously gone “all in” on this plant parent thing – items like plant food and grow lights are relatively small investments that make a big difference to the quality of your plants’ health. Houseplants need nutrients, water and light – and I’ve seen that, over time, I can have a house full of thriving greenery with minimal effort. Having plants indoors during cold, gray, New York winter months makes me incredibly happy, so let me share with you a few more tips to keep in mind!

fungus gnats OMG

When I started seeing little bugs flying around the base of some of my plants I went ape wire. I soon learned that I had fungus gnats and I was NOT HAVING IT. So I took a 3-pronged (yes, I know, I’m insane) approach to killing these suckers:

1. Bonide granules – fungus gnats breed in the soil so you need to get in there to fully address the problem where it starts. These granules are applied at regular intervals to the surface of the soil, and then watered in to activate, killing the eggs that are lurking in the soil.

2. Mosquito dunks – I wasn’t taking ANY chances so I also kept a jug of water filled with a mosquito dunk and would use to water until all signs of infestation were gone.

3. Yellow sticky traps – apparently fungus gnats are attracted to the color yellow so I placed these in my planters to attract and kill any live gnats.

leaf cleaner

I didn’t realize that dust – particularly on large-leaved plants – can both inhibit light getting through as well as harbor pests. No thank you. I’m not the best at this, but I do periodically clean the leaves on my larger plants with Happy Happy Houseplants neem oil system. The difference in the leaves is remarkable and I always say I’m going to do it more often.

That’s pretty much it!

I’ve linked to everything I shared throughout this post as well as below, and would love to know what you think, or if you have any questions! I was not compensated for this post; these are companies and products that I genuinely use and love and – as always – want to share with you all!

[show_boutique_widget id=”1188086″]

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. As a Rewards Style influencer I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases – at no additional cost to you.

About the author

Sheri Silver

Sheri Silver is a New York-based food photographer and recipe developer who has been cooking and baking for over 30 years. She works with brands, authors and restaurants to create recipes that are as beautiful as they are foolproof - and every recipe on this blog has been made, tweaked and eaten in her own kitchen.

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