How to properly care for indoor plants? Home Flower Growing Tips for Beginners

Summer is a great time to green up your home. Plants at this time tolerate transportation better, which means that their choice in flower shops becomes much wider. “Lenta.ru” talks about what nuances should be taken into account when choosing home flowers and proper care for them.

Indoor plants create coziness in any space and can refresh a bored interior. Nevertheless, it often happens that plants do not take root in any way – even the most unpretentious cacti die. This happens when a person takes care of flowers intuitively and haphazardly, not taking into account many nuances. To prevent this from happening, it is important to know certain rules – after all, caring for indoor plants is very important and not as simple as it seems at first glance.

How to choose the right house plant?

“Choosing a flower is more about a smart approach than a spontaneous purchase, because after all, a plant is a living organism, and it has its own requirements for what conditions should be,” he says in an interview with Lenta. ru” florist, florist and owner of the flower shop “Makkiya” in Moscow Ksenia Dracheva.

And in order to approach the purchase wisely, you need to start with an analysis, the expert says. It is important to consider where you plan to place the flower. As a rule, the most common option is an apartment. In this case, it is important to analyze how things are with lighting, humidity and temperature.

If a person already knows the specific place where the flower will stand, then you need to think about whether there are heating devices next to him, whether you need to purchase a humidifier. “Only after analyzing these factors, you can go to the store and see on the spot which plants fit the desired parameters. You can also ask for help from a consultant, but I do not recommend always relying on him, as there is no guarantee that this person will have accurate knowledge about a particular flower, ”explains the expert.

Many, having bought a plant, bring it home in a clay pot, simply put it in the chosen place and water it periodically (for example, once a week). But this is not enough, Ksenia Dracheva is sure.

To avoid this, she recommends purchasing a prophylactic along with the purchase of a flower, which will at least prevent the appearance of pests or destroy those that have already appeared.

“If you are a beginner, it is almost impossible to see these pests with the naked eye, so it is better to act preventively,” the grower emphasizes. – Of these prophylactic agents, I can advise Green soap, Epin, Fitosporin. Instructions are always attached to them – you can safely follow it.

After this stage, it is important to put the flower in the place chosen for it and not disturb it for a week or a half. This is the time required for adaptation, the expert explains.

How often should house plants be watered?

According to Ksenia Dracheva, the volume and frequency of irrigation is always calculated individually by experiment. “As a rule, when buying, the instructions or description for each flower indicate how often and in what quantities to water. You can also ask a consultant about this or on the Internet. But all these recommendations must be correlated with the real conditions that are available in the apartment, ”she explains. So, with high humidity in the room, the amount of watering, of course, should be less than recommended in the instructions.

That is, the flowers should not be watered with cold, but rather with warm water. And yet, the main thing is not theory, but practice, the expert is sure. After the flower has adapted, two to three weeks of watering will be enough to understand its individual regimen. “There are two options here. Either the plant will show that it does not have enough water or too much of it. Or it will try to adapt, but at one point it will not succeed, and it will still show its discontent by changing its appearance, ”Dracheva notes.

However, it is better not to wait, she adds. The sufficiency of watering can be checked independently. “You just need to immerse your finger or spatula three or four centimeters into the ground and see how wet it is, whether the water has reached the bottom,” says the grower.

What lighting and temperature should be in a room with plants?

All plants love a lot of light, Ksenia Dracheva is sure, so a well-lit room is best for them. “You might object that there are those flowers that can be safely placed in the dark corners of the apartment. But they are simply more tolerant of the absence of light, and do not like it less than others, ”explains the specialist.

At the same time, she warns: do not confuse sufficient light with open sunlight. In the winter season, daylight hours are significantly reduced, and therefore, to maintain favorable conditions, you can use a special lamp.

“You don’t have to worry too much about the temperature. Yes, some plants like heat more, others prefer cold, but, as a rule, room temperature is the same everywhere, and it is quite comfortable for any kind of plant,” says Ksenia Dracheva.

At what temperature does photosynthesis increase?

Meanwhile, room temperature in winter is usually 15-21 degrees, and in summer – 22-28 degrees. That is, in general, the air temperature in the apartments is quite within the framework necessary for photosynthesis throughout the year, the florist draws attention.

Really sharp temperature changes can harm flowers – because of this, problems with the roots can begin, leaves and stems will also suffer. Perhaps only cacti will react relatively calmly to such changes. But it is unlikely that something like this can happen in an apartment.

Do ornamental plants need fertilizers and top dressing?

Fertilizing plants, according to the expert, is an important topic, because flowers are living organisms. “Like humans, they need vitamins, and feeding from time to time is necessary. But it’s important to do it wisely. With their overabundance or lack, this or that disease can develop. Therefore, you must always act strictly according to the instructions, ”the expert explains. Vitamins and nutrients, according to her, allow the plant to reveal itself in its full glory.

Types of fertilizers for indoor plants:

One of the factors that you can rely on is the price, says Ksenia Dracheva. “As a rule, the more expensive the top dressing, the more effective and concentrated the composition of the fertilizer. The most important thing is to remember that fertilizers are applied to wet soil, ”she notes.

How to transplant house flowers?

According to the florist, there are two main types of soil: pure and with additions. Pure, in turn, is divided into acidic and alkaline. “But, as a rule, only experienced flower growers resort to such a division. They can already understand which soil is suitable for a particular category of plants. Also, if necessary, they can independently choose the composition of the soil and a number of additional fillers necessary for a particular type of indoor plant, ”says the florist.

The only thing is that you need to purchase drainage for it – expanded clay or charcoal, which is poured onto the bottom of the pot and insures against overflow, does not allow the roots to rot, absorbing excess moisture, emphasizes Ksenia Dracheva.

If the soil is still chosen incorrectly, then the flower will let you know about it, the expert is sure: “For example, if a plant is flowering, it will not give the maximum result in flowering. Flowers may appear, but rare and small, or they will not be at all.

As for transplantation, it is better to do it at any time of the year, except for winter, with the exception of emergency situations.

How to transplant flowers?

1. Choose a pot with a drainage hole that is a couple of centimeters larger than the previous one, lay drainage on its bottom.

2. Remove the plant along with the earthen ball from the pot. If there are rotted parts of the roots, carefully cut them off.

3. Place the flower in a new pot, but not too deep, fill it with earth, tamping it a little. You can water the plant again only two to three days after transplantation.

How to deal with pests and diseases?

There are quite a few types of flower diseases and pests that cause them. Most often, indoor plants are harmed by aphids, whiteflies and spider mites, Ksenia Dracheva clarifies.

“This should be done if you see that the plant has changed for the worse, defects have appeared on it, for example, the leaves have begun to bend, turn yellow, or plaque has appeared on the leaves,” the expert recommends. According to her, fertilizer will not hurt as a preventive measure – even if there is no certainty that the flower is really sick.

How to care for indoor plants depending on the season?

“Flower growers have different opinions about caring for indoor plants at different times of the year. Someone says that in winter the flower needs to be watered more, while someone thinks otherwise. But I’m sure: it all depends on the individual conditions in the apartment, ”the florist emphasizes.

It is important to understand, she notes, that in summer this parameter is affected by the sun, and in winter by radiators. Rather, you need to adhere to such a rule that when the earth dries up below four centimeters deep, the plant can be watered a little. “Following this rule, you will set your own watering regime without harming the plant,” explains Ksenia Dracheva.

The main thing, according to her, is not to copy all the recommendations that are on the Internet: they provide generalized information, due to which, in some cases, the plant may wither. The main thing is not to forget to look at the reaction of the flower to specific manipulations in specific conditions of detention. Only the plant itself will tell you what it likes and what should be avoided, the expert advises in conclusion.