The first things I learnt about plant care as a beginnger plant owner – mistakes and all!

I only got into plants at the start of the year and before that, I had almost zero knowledge about plant care! Some of these things may be really obvious to some people, especially if you are a plant lover already.

Even if you’re not, I expect you probably already know most of these things. Like I said, I didn’t know anything about plants before I started taking care of them in March. I just wasn’t interested in plants so I guess I didn’t like any plant information live in my brain.

You see, I’m the type of person who gets obsessive about the things I care about. Every so often I’ll get a new special interest and I’ll suddenly find out all the information about it I can until I become an expert. And let me tell you, I’ve spent hours and hours watching videos about venus fly traps and fittonias.

So here are some of the first things I learnt about plants as a complete beginner:

Please note that these are just the things I’ve learned that related to my plants. I’m sure there’s loads of ‘beginner plant care tips’ videos out there but this is more about my personal experience than teaching others. I am no way qualified to be giving out plant tips!

You can’t give all plants tap water

This was a shock to me – but not all plants do well with tap water. This is because tap water can contain chemicals and other things that are harmful to some plants. So some plants, like my venus fly traps and prayer plants need rainwater or distilled water.

Actually, all plants do better with rainwater. I have a 5-litre bottle that I use to collect rainwater with. I use this for all my plants unless we’ve not had a lot of rainfall and my supply is there, then I just give it to the plants that need it.

Water should be at room temperature

Watering your plants with cold water can be bad for them, so you should always use room-temperature water. You can just let water sit overnight for this.

It can:

• Shock the roots
• Cold water can slow down their nutrient absorption, leading to poor growth or even root damage.
• Slow down their metabolic processes like photosynthesis and respiration which may stunt growth and lead to plans looking unhealthy.
• Cause leaves to wilt and drop
• It can cause leaves to brown, especially in some plants that are sensitive to temperature drops.
• Weaken their immune system – the stress of cold water can make them more susceptible to disease or pest infections.

It’s easier to overwater than underwater

I was always worried that I would forget to water my plants, but I’m much more guilty of overwatering. I made the mistake of just watering all my plants at the same time, not considering that some plants need more or less water depending on the type of plant, size or amount of sunlight they’re getting.

Once your plant is overwatered, you can’t really undo it and have to wait for it to dry out. Some plants need watering sooner than others so you need to learn about your specific plants. Many people will stick their finger in the soil to see if it’s dry, then water if it’s dry an inch or two down. I use this moisture meter because it just makes it easier to tell.

You also need to make sure your plant isn’t sat in water. If your plant pot is inside a bigger pot, you might not realise that your plant is sitting in the water and this is a mistake I made. I kept thinking some of my plants needed watering and actually I was overwatering them so they were just sitting in water all the time!

At least if you underwater a plant, all you need to water it. When it’s too wet you need to wait it out. You may actually need to report it especially if the overwatering has caused root rot.

Venus fly traps eat flies

Everyone knows that? Right. Well, I guess I did kind of. I’ve obviously seen Venus fly traps eat flies on cartoons or whatever and I know it’s called FLY TRAP but I never sat down and really considered that a fly trapped them and digested them as nutrition.

It’s both disgusting and amazing. It’s also quite sad how they can only eat so many and then the trap dies, but the nutrition helps grow new traps on the same plant.

Venus fly traps can count

So, fly traps snap shut when a fly enters the trap. But it’s not that simple. It takes a lot of energy for a trap to shut so a venus flytrap will count their prey movements and will only snap shut when two of its sensitive hairs are triggered within 20 minutes. This helps the plant avoid wasting energy on false alarms.

You need to clean the leaves of your plants

I am such a hypocrite saying this, as I hardly do it myself, but you should clean the leaves of your plants as dust and dirt can block sunlight which reduces photosynthesis. It’s also a great chance to check the leaves of your plants for pests.

You can wipe them with a damp cloth, rinse in the shower, mist and wipe or use a mild soap and wipe. Different plants need different care so check which works best for your plants.

Humidity Trays are a thing

I love a pebble tray! If your plant needs more humidity, then you can pop them in a pebble tray to help! They work because you put water in the tray, and it falls between the pebbles without touching the bottom of the plant pot. This means the roots don’t sit in water. Then the water evaporates around the plant, increasing humidity.

So many pots, so few holes

Not a tip, but an observation.

There are so many pretty plantpots out here that don’t have holes! I don’t understand why. I mean, I get you can put a pot inside the pot but some plants can be quite difficult to take out of the pot due to their size and weight and it’s quite inconvenient when watering. If you water it in the pot, you risk the roots sitting in water and you can’t really see if it’s been watered enough.

I see so many pots that look like they have a water tray under but they don’t even have a hole. I get having some pots that don’t have holes but why aren’t there more pots with holes and a matching saucer?

That’s your lot from me.