I didn’t mean to own over 100 houseplants, it just escalated very quickly. It all started with one ZZ plant…. And 99+ more after that. At the beginning, I was humble. I thought that I couldn’t keep a plant alive, so when my local plant shop (who served as a pick up and drop off package location) mentioned that they had these hardy ZZ plants that lived in a hotel before, I thought I’d give it one last shot. If it can survive a stuffy hotel, it can certainly survive in my home, right?
She sure did, and I’m proud to say I still own her and she’s thriving! About six months later, I purchased a snake plant. And then an orchid. Then my partner bought me another type of snake plant. And then things escalated. The bulk of our collection was purchased in under a year! Now, after one year of many wins and losses, I believe it is my responsibility to shine some light on the hard truths of being a houseplant parent. When I first researched this topic, I found mostly positives and not the negatives. Don’t worry – I got you.
Houseplant Environments Vary:
Houseplants certainly aren’t a “one environment fits all” and sadly, I’ve lost a few due to this. Always research what your potential new friend needs in order to thrive prior to purchasing! Resist the urge to impulse buy.
Light is another big one. Does your home provide the plant baby with the type of light that it requires? And what about the soil? You’ll probably have to buy a few different mediums and mix them together in order to give your plant the best setup.
Tropical plants are gorgeous, but they need just that. A tropical climate. If you live in a cold, dry area, you will need to purchase humidifiers, grow lights, and perhaps even a greenhouse set up for some of the pickier ones, such as anthuriums.
Believe me, if your plant isn’t thriving in your environment, it will let you know in a dramatic sort of way, and often, it won’t be a happy ending. You absolutely must do your homework.
I’ll also mention pets in this section. If you have any pets, especially ones who like to snack on plants, please do your research. We are lucky that our cat typically prefers to rub up on plants, but we also don’t keep anything overly toxic in case he decides to bite (which has happened before). For example lilies (not peace lilies)? Fatal to cats.
Houseplants & Pests:
The anxiety this one gives me… I was aware that pests were a thing, but quite ignorant in thinking it won’t happen to me. Not only did it happen, it’s a recurring problem.
It’s possible that only having a few plants means you’ll avoid pests, but once you start collecting? It’s just a matter of time. First and foremost, inspect all houseplants at the shop to make sure they are clean. You’d be surprised how many places sell them already infested. Then, all new plants must be rinsed down to wash away any uninvited guests that may have tagged along. After that, I recommend spraying with neem oil or a gentle anti-pest spray (nothing heavy duty as it may damage a plant, especially if she’s clean!). Finally, quarantine her for a month, away from the rest of your plant friends. They spread more quickly than you can blink…
Personally, I’ve dealt with aphids, mealybugs, and thrips. The latter being a problem I am currently dealing with. Usually, I’m quite good at handling a pest situation. However, I’ve been fighting this last thrips infestation for a few months now and I’ve lost some plants to it, and I believe I’ll lose a few more.
It’s a bit easier to treat in the US, but in Europe, most effective pesticides are illegal, which makes it that much tougher to completely eradicate the problem. If I had known how frustrating and disheartening pests are, I never would have purchased so many plants so quickly and placed them all together. Let this be a warning to you.
One Houseplant At A Time:
So, you’ve got a few houseplants and you’ve been bitten by the green bug. I get it, I’ve been there myself. This does not mean you need to sell out your local plant shop. I promise you, the plant babies will always be there.
Plants need time to acclimate to a new home environment. Give your current houseplants the time to do that because I promise, a few of them will show signs they are not content. You don’t want this to happen on a massive scale. On top of that, it is real work. Different watering schedules, fertilizer, dust cleaning, neem oil upkeep… It’s a lot and certainly time consuming!
Start learning your current plants and their different needs, their tells, and just level up your overall plant parent credibility.
A mistake I did, aside from coming home with 5-10 plants a pop whenever I went to the store, was getting into the mystery boxes online. Sure, they’re super cheap and it’s always exciting receiving a package and not knowing what’s in it. I did it a few times and seeing as how each package was about 8 small to medium sized plants… you can imagine how quickly my collection grew. This also meant that you can’t inspect a plant prior to purchasing. While I don’t think any of my mystery boxes harbored thrips, I can’t say for sure.
Just take your time with it and buy one or two at a time, max. Which brings me to my next point…
Grow What You Love, Not What’s Trendy:
Following up on the mystery boxes I previously mentioned, I ended up with a ton of cute plants that were never on my radar in the first place. I love all plants, but that doesn’t mean I want to own all of them, either.
Go for houseplants that actually make your heart happy, and not the ones that influencers or Reddit are convincing you that you need.
Keep in mind that trendy, popular plants are very much overpriced at first due to supply and demand. Give it a few years, tops, and you’ll find them at large surface stores, guaranteed. The Monstera Thai Constellation is a wonderful example of that. She started off in the hundreds at first and can now be found at Loewe’s or Jardiland for 25€, if that. I’ve found one for 15€, personally.
Finally, trendy plants or even impulse purchase plants are often very difficult to care for. Just because it’s cute or wanted doesn’t mean it’ll be a breeze to own. Anything variegated has additional needs and can be quite a pain to keep happy. If it’s not? It may revert back or, well, go to the light… And believe me, seeing your hundreds of dollars waste away is devastating. I got about three anthuriums in my mystery boxes, which are notoriously hard to care for (some more than others). I’ve lost two out of three, with the third not doing too hot. I can tell you this was never a plant I wanted for that exact reason. I am not surprised they ended up in the mystery boxes.
Overwatering Your Plants:
I’m going to keep this point short and sweet. We’ve all been there and overwatered our plants. Don’t be that person. Your plant can (usually depending on the family) handle a bit of dryness, and it will be fine.
The large majority of houseplants will show you when they are thirsty. They will droop, start to shrivel up at the edges, or become soft in the case of succulents. However root rot? Good luck backtracking from that death sentence!
I’m not kidding when I say I water my ZZ plants every 3-4 months. I promise, it’ll be okay. Just pay attention to their tells.
Placement > Aesthetics:
I know, I know. A houseplant would be perfect in your bathroom with zero windows! Low-light tolerant doesn’t mean it can live with no light, and certainly not thrive. And just because you have this idea of greening up your house doesn’t mean it’s best for that plant.
They should be placed based on their own personal preferences, as mentioned above. Some like full sun, others bright, indirect light. Others will literally loose all of their leaves and throw a fit if placed by an area with a breeze. You have to adapt to their needs, not the other way around.
This led to us to create a plant nook in my office as it gets the best light exposure for the large majority of our plants. It wasn’t the original plan, but they are much happier now.
You Will Have Wins and Losses – It’s Okay:
Houseplants can be finicky. You can have the best of intentions and do everything right and for some reason, the plant says “nope” and goes to the plant graveyard. It’s okay. Don’t be hard on yourself. It will happen.
You will probably make some rookie mistake and perhaps, feel guilty about it afterwards because you should have known better. Such as buying a coconut tree from IKEA and assuming it’ll be fine outside during a Swiss winter (I don’t want to talk about it). Or not noticing an infested plant who passed it on to her housemates. It’s okay, just don’t repeat your mistakes – learn from them.
And you will have wins! Seeing a complicated plant push out a new leaf. A pothos doubling in size. Your orchid reblooming. Bringing back your Venus fly trap from the brink. All of these happy little wins make houseplant parenthood so worth it. Just don’t beat yourself up over the losses and make sure to celebrate the wins.
Final Thoughts On Houseplants:
I truly hope you were able to learn a thing or two before starting your own houseplant journey. It is a rewarding hobby, but the learning curve can be much smoother if you are armed with the right knowledge and expectations.
If you’re curious on what houseplants you should purchase and which ones you should avoid as a newer plant parent, be sure to check out these two blogs with all of the details (and why!) below:
- 7 Beginner Plants I Recommend (As Someone Who Owns Over 100)
- 7 Plants I Don’t Recommend (Beginner Traps)
And here are some of my favorite tools to keep my houseplants happy and healthy.
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Stay Chaotic,
Tess
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