Some well placed house plants can make all of the difference when you’re designing a room. They brighten the place up and give it a more natural feel, and they’re good for your health as well because they clean the air.
They’re especially good if you’re working from home because they’ve been proven to increase productivity. If you don’t have any house plants in your home you should definitely get some.
You wouldn’t think that there are many things that you can do wrong when you’re using house plants around the home but there are actually a lot of big mistakes that people make. Here are some common mistakes you should try to avoid.
Having Too Many
Plants are great and they can really improve your home, but you can have too much of a good thing. It’s easy to get carried away with plants because there are so many different types, but it’s important that you don’t go overboard.
If you start buying too many plants and filling every available space with them, your house is going to start looking like a bit of a jungle. You’re also in danger of blocking out the light in certain rooms if you’ve got a lot of large plants around, so you’ve got to be careful with placement.
You don’t want to kill off your smaller plants because you’ve got too many big ones blocking the light source. If you are looking for a more natural vibe with a lot of different plants, you’re better off making a terrarium. You’ll still get that nice natural look with a collection of different plants but it won’t take over the entire room.
Over Watering
Plants need water, so if you water them loads, they’ll be healthy, right? Actually, that’s not always the case. Every plant has different needs and while some will need water every couple of days, others will only need watering every couple of weeks because they retain it a lot better.
One of the main reasons that people kill their plants is because they think that they all need loads of water and they end up over watering them. The most common plant that this happens with is orchids and a lot of people think that they’re really hard to care for, but they aren’t. They’re a great plant and as long as you do some research into phalaenopsis orchid care, they’re really easy to keep alive.
Whenever you get a new plant, you should always research the care requirements and make sure that you follow good advice. If you just try to guess how much water they need, you’ll end up killing your plants.
Wrong Amount Of Light
People make a similar mistake with the amount of light that plants need because they assume that all plants need as much light as possible. However, that isn’t always the case.
Some plants do need a lot of light to survive but there are a lot of plants that don’t need much light at all. These plants don’t do well if they’re in direct sunlight and they can quickly die. Plants that do need a lot of sunlight will also die easily if they’re not placed near a window. If you are going to put plants on a windowsill, just check that they’re not going to die if they’re exposed to sunlight.
Moving Them Too Much
It’s nice to move things around in your house from time to time, it just freshens things up a bit and gives you a new look, but you need to be careful that you’re not doing this with plants.
When you place a plant in a certain place, it will adapt to the level of sunlight, the temperature, and the amount of water that you’re giving it. But if you’re constantly changing the conditions, your plant might struggle to adapt and settle in properly.
Plants need a consistent environment so you should try to avoid moving them around if possible.
Not Rotating Plants
Most people don’t think about rotating their house plants on a regular basis but it’s actually very important. If you’ve got plants that are leaning to one side or there are certain areas that don’t look as healthy as others, it’s probably because you haven’t been rotating them often enough.
Only one side of the plant is in direct sunlight and it will grow towards the window unless you rotate it every week or so.
The most important thing that you need to do when you’re looking after house plants is research the different types so you know what their specific needs are.
Got Something to Add?
Do you keep plants in your home? Got any tips to share? Let us know by commenting below.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Helen, Nial and Lewis.
Welcome to Pikalily, an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle blog. We are Nial and Helen, a happily married couple from Northern Ireland, who share a passion for food and travel among many things. We became parents to our beautiful boy Lewis in 2017. Follow our adventures through the blog.
