Empty windowsills? Does only a couple of dollars remind you of the greenery in the house? If you want to make a difference, decorate your home with indoor flowers and learn how to properly care for them.
Seat selection
take care of indoor flowers
Photo: © Depositphotos / yasonya
It is necessary to choose a place for a "pet" from the very first days of the appearance of a flower in your home. But how to understand which plants like the sun's rays and which ones prefer to stay in the shade? Look at the leaves!
soft and thick? Then there is a "forest" plant in front of you. Place it away from direct light.
thin, needle-like? This means that the plant likes to bask in the sun.
big dark green? These tropical guests love partial shade.
It is very easy to understand that the light mode is not suitable for a plant:
if the leaves are pale, drooping, then there is not enough light;
if parchment-like spots appear on the leaves, it means they "burned out" in the sun.
By the way, if you need to temporarily rearrange a flower pot, then you should return it to the same place in which it was located. The fact is that any plant is a real "conservative" who may not like the new place so much that the flower will die.
As for direct sunlight, even light-loving plants often cannot stand them. Therefore, it is best to protect flowers with a sheer curtain.
Humidity
For most plants, moisture should be relatively high: 40-60%. However, most of us live in houses with central heating: for almost half a year the batteries are “scalded”, reducing humidity and harming indoor flowers.
To solve the problem, it is recommended to periodically spray the plants with water at room temperature: this will not increase the humidity in the apartment, but it will bring relief to the flowers.
Watering
The more leaves a plant has, the more often it needs to be watered. For example, gardenias or begonia like "every other day" watering, money tree and aloe are better to irrigate once every 4 days, and cacti - no more than 1 time a week.
At the same time, you need to understand that even a moisture-loving flower cannot stand the state of "wet feet": the roots of plants need not only water, but also air. Therefore, 30 minutes after watering, check if there is water in the pan, if there is, drain it immediately.
Top dressing
In the spring, vitamin deficiency occurs not only in our country: after hibernation, plants also need feeding. But the main thing here is not to overdo it, to use fertilizers for their intended purpose at the right time in the right place. In general, there are many subtleties.
So:
if the leaves turn yellow or change color at the edges, it means that you overdid it and "made" the flower. Remove damaged leaves and transplant the plant into new soil.
if the leaf crown is gorgeous, but there are still no flowers, then you have oversaturated the earth with nitrogen. Change fertilizers.
particles of complementary foods that have fallen on the leaves must be washed off with water.
As for the main components of fertilizers, these are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus:
if you want beautiful foliage, a higher nitrogen content is needed. The ideal proportions are 17% nitrogen, 5% phosphorus, 13% potassium;
if the flower does not have enough strength to form buds, use phosphorus fertilizers. In this case, the best ratio is considered to be 5% nitrogen, 50% phosphorus, 17% potassium.
"Folk" remedies are also widely used:
water infused for several days on eggshells, as well as fresh tea leaves are a wonderful "spring" fertilizer;
mineral water is useful for tropical plants: carbon dioxide, which is part of it, prevents the formation of limescale on the walls of the pot;
decoction of potatoes (pre-cooled) is able to activate soil microorganisms, which improves the "microclimate" in the pot.
Transfer
A common thing: they bought a flower in the store, and he pleased with the buds for a week or two and ... fumbled. Therefore, do not wait: immediately after purchase, or as soon as flowering has stopped, transplant the plant into a larger pot with new soil. It is better to transplant in spring or summer, long daylight hours will help the plant "recover from stress" and adapt faster. By the way, after a couple of years, you will have to pick up a larger flower pot. The best option is to increase the diameter of the pot by 1-2 cm:
We will not go further into the jungle: all of the above is applicable in general cases and will help you in caring for flowers. It may seem too complicated at first, but believe me: all these worries and attention are such a trifle compared to the joy of the blooming species of houseplants!
Plant happiness in your home and don't let it wither!