With the arrival of spring we feel like being surrounded by nature and now that we spend so much time at home, there's nothing like bringing nature into your home. That's what the heal does: choose, package and deliver inspiring plants to your door so they can bring more joy and peace to your life. They believe that, by learning to take better care of the plants that live with us, we learn to take better care of ourselves as well. Plants have a soothing power and numerous other scientifically proven benefits. It is for all of them that there has been a growing tendency to bring nature inside, especially in the city where we are exposed to an ever faster pace, especially recently in confinement.
With this mission in mind, Sofia - founder of Curae, leave us here the which considers the ABC of plants, the must have to take into account in your care, which consolidates in the next 5 tips.
It is important to consider our experience with plants. Plants take on impressive colors and textures that captivate us, and make us want to adopt them without criteria (I’ve been there!). My suggestion will be to start with almost self-sufficient plants, the most resistant ones, which are equally beautiful and will help us to gain our confidence in this care process. I speak, for example, of Sansevieria (famous Sword of S. Jorge), of Lírio da Paz, of Ficus and of Pothos.
As a rule, plants will grow faster and happier in bright places. As a rule, plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight, at the risk of burning their leaves. There are indeed plants that tolerate low light, such as Monstera, Zamioculcas (famous ZZ) and Dieffenbachia – these will be equally happy in less luminous environments, but will tend to grow more slowly.
Rules of thumb for most indoor plants: 1) water only when the soil is dry; 2) water the entire earth, letting all the water run through the holes in the pot. Over watering can cause root rot, so the grandmother's water dish trick should be avoided.
Some plants may benefit from watering from below, especially when we cannot see soil on the surface, which can cause water to accumulate in the leaves and its consequent rot (this is the case of Sedum Burrito and Peperomias).
So how do I know if I can water now? Either by placing your finger on the substrate, or using a humidifier, a small and magical device. I say magic because it really brought me self-awareness of the exaggeration of water I gave my plants.
Our plants come to our house, generally, in the plastic technical vessel. Rule #1 is to let them be in this pot for the first few weeks. There are many changes for them that they spend energy on, and we can minimize that effort by giving them time.
Seedlings should happen in spring when the plants are most active, but it may be necessary (albeit avoidable) to change them at another time to keep them healthy, such as when there is a clear sign that your current house is too small (the roots out through the pot's drainage holes), the substrate dries too quickly and lacks nutrients, or the substrate is soaked and has not dried for a long time. It is very important that the new pot has a hole for the water to drain, promoting air circulation, allowing the plant to breathe.
More than rules, we need to listen to our plants, understand their language, adapt, because each plant is a unique and special being. Gaining more confidence, we start to know the weather of our plants (which of course varies with the colder or drier seasons). They communicate with us. Nowadays I water when I feel, I fertilize when I feel, I bring them to the light when I feel they need it. They tell us everything and there is the power to care. Thanks to them, I feel more confident.
