Spring Houseplant Care

Spring is the active growing season for your plants. Here are a few key things you can do to keep your plants happy and healthy this spring.

Watering

As the the hours of daylight and temperature increases so should watering. Don’t go crazy with it. Overwatering is the easiest way to kill your plants. Gradually increase watering and keep an eye on your plants. If the pots are soggy for a couple days, water less. If the plant is wilting, water more. If your plants are drying out too fast you could add some rocks of pebbles to the top of the soil to help prevent evaporation. Also, terracotta pots dry out quickly so keep that in mind.

This does not apply to cacti and succulents. They need to dry out between waterings.

Maintenance

Plants benefit from spring cleaning as well!

Prune away dead/dying stems or leaves. This stimulates growth and helps prevent disease and insects that are attracted to dead plant material. (Always make sure to monitor plants for pest, especially spider mites! They are hard to get rid of once they are many)

Plants may have becomes leggy over the winter. Pruning away this weak growth will promote fuller growth.

It’s also good to dust the leaves of your houseplants. They gather dust just like our shelves. The dust can block the plants pores preventing photosynthesis.

Sunlight

The amount of hours of daylight will increase and become more intense with the season. Most houseplants thrive in indirect sunlight, as extended periods of direct sun can cause leaf burn. Consider moving plants depending on their needs. Remember plants can become shocked when moving from dark to bright or vice versa so do moves gradually. If your plants are reaching, you can rotate the pot occasionally to get even growth.

Again, cacti & succulents like direct light and heat so this does not apply to them.

Temperature

As it heats up many of us will switch on the air conditioner. Your plants will not like being blown with cold air in the spring/summer. It’s best to move them away from your AC unit.

Your plants will benefit from an open window. Some fresh air and humidity will do them good.

Moving outside

Some tropical plants can be moved outside if you have space as temperature rise (should be steadily above 50F).

If moving your plants outside, do so gradually. The plants will be shocked going directly into bright sunlight. Move them into shady area first.

Make sure they are protected from wind or they may break. Pots should also have drainage holes so they don’t flood when it rains.

Re-potting

Spring is the best time for re-potting plants. This can mean re-potting the plant with new soil into the same pot or giving it a larger one to grow into if it has become cramped in its current pot. There is a nice guide to re-potting plants here.

Your plants will really appreciate the love and care. Kick off their growing season right this spring!