I’m notorious for killing my houseplants. Much as I try to be a good plant parent, I inevitably end up with wilting, sad, shriveled greenery staring me down disappointedly from around my room only weeks after adopting new, previously thriving plant children.
My consolation? Knowing that I’m not alone in this plight, especially as a busy college student.
I visited Louisville plant and pottery store Plante (pronounced “plawn-tay”) for some advice from co-owners Trevor and Kyle on how I, and my fellow remorseful plant killers, can turn over a new leaf (pun very much intended) and enjoy the mutually beneficial relationship plants have to offer us and our spaces.
This shop and its owners may ring a bell; they operate a plant booth for CU Boulder students outside the UMC at the start of every fall semester.
Here’s what they had to recommend for us less-than-stellar plant parents.
Q: What plants would you most recommend to busy college students who may not have a ton of sunlight in their living spaces, like, say, in a dorm?
A: (Trevor): There are a lot of plants that can take low light. The best are the snake plants. There’s also plants called ZZ plants, some classics called pathos and philodendrons, some taller plants called dracaenas, and money trees. And there’s also a few succulents that can take a little lower light, like some jades. I would also say spider plants and Chinese evergreens.
The plants I would avoid would be ferns and palms, and things that need a lot of humidity and frequent watering.
A: Kyle: I really love pothos in general, because they’re really easy to propagate. So, you get a pothos, and a year or two later, you’ve got 10 pothos all over your house from cuttings that you took. Umbrella trees and monsteras would also be ones that I’d add. They get nice and big, and grow really fast, so they’re really rewarding, as well as being pretty forgiving.
Q: What’s the most common mistake you see people making in caring for their plants?
A: Trevor: Over-watering. People tend to either not understand how frequently their plant needs watering, and they put it on a daily [watering] schedule, or a multiple times a week schedule, which is usually too much. Or they don’t have a pot that has a hole, and they don’t realize that their plant is drowning. Or in some cases, they get a pot that’s way too big to start, and it doesn’t dry out, so you kind of get the same over-watering problem.
A: Kyle: I would say not repotting your plants after buying them. A lot of the time when you get a plant, it’s nice and healthy, and ready to go up into a bigger pot. And if you take it home and leave it in that plastic pot, it’s just going to be all roots [crowded] in the pot, and then it can be under-watered.
Not using high quality soil is another big mistake that I see. Getting the right soil can make a really big difference in how easy it is to care for your plant going forward.
Q: On that note, what soil would you recommend for beginners?
A: Trevor: We actually recommend our soil, just because we make it ourselves. We haven’t found any good, ready to use soil that we can thoroughly depend on for a general purpose. We tend to get all of our ingredients in raw form, and then we’ll blend them together accordingly. Cacti, or succulents, or African violets, or orchids, have very specific soils. But in general, I think making your own and understanding what goes into it is actually a better approach than trying to find one that’s pre-made.
Sometimes you can find a good one, but if it’s stored outside, then you might get fungus gnats, you might get bugs. Or, if you have soil that says it’s for indoor or outdoor, usually it’s for outdoor. And you might get too much of something you don’t need, or not enough of something you do need.
Q: What makes your shop-made soil so good at keeping plants alive?
A: Kyle: The base of [our soil] is composed of coco coir and peat moss. And then we add some perlite in there, which is expanded volcanic rock, and that’s really porous, and helps control the moisture. We also put in some worm castings, which is a really awesome nutrient base for the plants to work with. And then there’s also some mycorrhizae, which are the organisms that mushrooms grow out of, and they form a symbiotic relationship with the plant, and really contribute to the plant’s root health. Then there’s also some bio fungicide in there, which can help prevent against things like root rot or fungus gnats.
Q: What is a product or practice that you wish more people employed in caring for their plants?
A: Trevor: More active fertilizing. Even if you’re just doing it a few times a year, that [will] keep your plant from yellowing. It might prolong how long it can stay in that pot, because it will have more food. I also think people need to rotate their plants more. [If one single side of your plant is facing] into the window, it becomes one sided, and maybe it falls over.
A: Kyle: I would 100% second the fertilizing. It took me a while to get that one, and once I did, it really changed my view on plant care.
I would also add pruning your plants. If you’re fertilizing and then pruning, you’re gonna have really awesome, beautiful plants.
Q: Filtered versus unfiltered water—What’s the lowdown?
A: Trevor: I think filtered water really does help. I’ve seen a lot of plants get leaf burn pretty quickly from what’s added to the tap water. Could be the chlorine, fluoride, or other minerals. Most plants at some point are going to exhibit some kind of visual stress from [those chemicals], because they don’t really know what to do with them.
Q: How important is temperature in caring for your plants?
A: Kyle: I find that it matters less than people tend to think that it does. That being said, you do definitely want to avoid the extremes. 40 degrees is generally the rule for succulents. As long as [temperatures] aren’t up in the high 90s, [most plants] tend to not be that affected.
The one thing about temperature that I think is most important to note is that it has a very close relationship with the watering needs of the plant. In lower temperatures, plants are going to be drinking a lot less water. So, if I’m out of town for a week or two, I turn my temperature down to 60 degrees, and my plants can go days longer before they need to be watered. Likewise, if it’s the middle of summer, and I’m not running my AC, there’s a number of plants that I will want to check on every other day, if it’s in the low 90s or something, because those plants are going to be drinking a lot more water.
Q: What are some common issues that arise for beginner plant owners?
A: Trevor: Not recognizing when you have a pest. Keeping a close eye on your plants—literally getting really close to your plant to see if you can see, like little bugs or, you know, white fuzzy things or things crawling around—[is helpful]. Most plants will have some susceptibility to getting a pest or a disease, but if you can catch it early, then it’s way easier to treat. Just being more intimate with the plant, as far as seeing how it’s doing on the surface, [is important].
Q: Is it true that talking to your plants, or having a spiritual connection with them, can help them thrive?
A: Kyle: The science does back it up. There are pretty consistent [positive] results about saying nice things to your plants. There clearly is something there. You give love and nice things out [into the world], and that’s what’s going to come back to you. I think that’s what happens with plants: you put that energy into them, and they want to reward you, and they just feel better. Maybe they just feel good because it feels good to be loved.
A: Trevor: From a crystal standpoint, an energy standpoint, pretty consistently, when people have quartz crystals in their plants, that seems to give a boost [to the plant’s health]. I do think there’s some type of energy or frequency or, you know, unseen thing that’s happening that does affect [the plants], either positively or negatively, depending on what energy you’re [giving them].
Q: Is there any truth to some people having more of a natural green thumb than others?
A: Trevor: I don’t think so. I think most of those people have learned one way or another how to take care of plants. And what most people find, especially with house plants, is that less is more. I think what people kind of confuse as a green thumb is really more of a standoffish approach, as opposed to a hovering approach.
A: Kyle: I would second that. I have found, when I talk to people who are really great with plants, they tend to have a relaxed, laid back nature about it. I think that there is something to be said about how taking care of plants is supposed to be relaxing and healthy for us, and when you approach it from that sense of, ‘this is a relaxing, fun thing,’ I think that there’s some reciprocity there from the plants.
Q: Is there still hope for those of us who can’t seem to keep plants alive?
A: Kyle: A resounding yes! We will not even try and count the number of plants that the two of us combined killed back in the day when we were first getting going. We’ve been there, and it’s a learning process. We’re still learning stuff today. You can keep going with it, and there’s definitely still hope.
A: Trevor: I’ve made every mistake at this point that one could make with every house plant. Just don’t get discouraged. That’s the big thing: keep trying. Take note [of your mistakes]. There’s a plant out there for you, and for your space. You just have to find it.
After an insightful and educational chat with Trevor and Kyle, these are some of my main takeaways, that will hopefully aid you (and me) in feeling more confident in our plant care:
- Good beginner plants include: snake plants, ZZ plants, pothos, philodendrons, dracaenas, money trees, jade succulents, spider plants, Chinese evergreens, umbrella trees, and monsteras.
- Soil matters, and Trevor and Kyle’s custom Plante blend can help you start off on the right foot in caring for your plants.
- Making a connection with your plant, and maybe whispering a sweet nothing to it every once in a while, can make a genuine difference in its wellbeing. (Science says!)
- Keeping some quartz in your pots might help, too.
- Depending on the type of plant, lack of bright light in your dorm, apartment, or house may not be as integral as you think in keeping your plants thriving. A quick trip to Plante and a chat with Trevor and Kyle can help you figure out which plants work best for your space.
- Filtered water really does make a difference. But be careful about the amount of water you give your plants, as over-watering is a common mistake.
- Temperature only matters when it comes to extremes. Below 40 degrees or above 90 are your danger zones. Otherwise, there’s no need to swaddle your plant babies or douse them in AC.
- Keeping an eye on your plants for pests, diseased soil, or other micro issues early on, can make a big difference. Like Trevor said, don’t be afraid to get up close and personal with your leafy friends.
- Consistently and intentionally pruning and fertilizing your plants can help keep them healthier long-term.
- Having a laid back, mutually-beneficial view on caring for your plants can make all the difference.
- If the money tree Trevor recommended brought cash to our spaces as well as oxygen, it really would be the perfect plant for a college student.
- With patience, persistence, the right plant for your space, and an eye for improving past mistakes, there’s still hope for us infamous plant killers yet.