- To give your houseplant the best possible care, use the suitable soil and lighting.
- Before watering, check the top inch of the soil and adjust as needed for the season.
- Use room temperature water to water your indoor plants first thing in the morning.
- Regularly feed your plant to ensure it has the nutrients it needs to grow.
- To maintain your plant looking and feeling healthy, clean or prune it.
Plants in the home provide several advantages. They not only add some natural greenery to your home, but some of them can help purify the air, lower blood pressure, and enhance sleep. Your plant family, however, is only as robust as the care you provide for them. Use these straightforward suggestions to maintain your overall happiness and theirs.
Choose Plants That Suit Your Space
It might be challenging to cultivate some sun-loving houseplants without a grow lamp if your apartment just has a few north-facing windows. Rest assured that there are still many options available. In fact, some plants prefer less light (have a look at our list of low-light houseplants for ideas). Similar to this, if your home is more like a greenhouse, pick plants that thrive in this kind of tropical environment all year round. Before you purchase an unfamiliar indoor plant, read the plant tag to determine whether your home is suitable for its requirements.
Start With The Right Soil
A houseplant needs soil that is similar to the environment that it would naturally grow in in addition to light. Learn about its natural environment for a moment before placing it in a potting mix that will maximize its chances of success. For instance, African violets thrive in slightly acidic soil, whereas cacti prefer soil that drains quickly. Classics like philodendrons, spider plants, and dieffenbachia thrive with Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix, a recipe made for container plants. Once you’ve selected the proper soil, check to see if the pot it’s in has drainage holes. Without such, root rot will eventually affect your cherished houseplant, which is unpleasant for both of you.
Know When and How Much to Water
It’s critical to take a few precautions to preserve moisture surrounding your indoor flora because indoor conditions are frequently drier. Consider it a day at the spa for your plant.
- Examine the soil. Check the soil’s wetness before watering by inserting your finger at least one inch deep. Your plant needs water if it seems dry. Another choice is to bury a wooden stick in the ground, such a popsicle stick or a simple chopstick. Ten minutes later, take it out and check to see if the stick is damp. If not, watering is necessary.
- keep the moisture. Use a long-neck watering can to water your plant so you can get to the middle of the container. Pour enough room-temperature water onto the saucer or tray underneath so that some runs out of the drainage holes. After an hour, drain any remaining water from the saucer to prevent overwatering your plant (plants also dislike having their bottoms wet). Water in the morning for best results so that the soil has a chance to dry out during the day (if your plant sits in wet soil for too long, it can develop root rot). You can also scatter some moss, mulch, or even some pebbles around the base of your plant to help keep the soil moist.
- Seasonal changes in water. Your houseplant’s water requirements will change with the seasons even if it’s in a generally stable environment indoors. Most plants, but not all, grow more quickly in the spring and summer and less quickly in the fall and winter. Recognize its growth surges and just give it a drink when necessary.
- Do not overwater. Although humans enjoy staying hydrated, houseplants have a different need. The root rotto, one of our favorite enemies, can take hold when airflow is blocked by overwatering. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you accidentally drink too much water; this happens frequently. Just keep an eye out for signs of stress from overwatering, such as yellowing leaves, wilting, or drooping. Try drying out your plant or repotting it in new soil if you see these signs or it doesn’t appear to be its usual vivacious self.
Create a Feeding Schedule
Houseplants require nutrition, so feed them frequently to prevent hanger and to help them continue to develop robustly and lushly. Make life simpler by selecting a superior all-purpose indoor plant food, such as Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food. Alternately, utilize a product created expressly to meet the nutritional requirements of your plant, such Miracle-Gro Succulent Plant Food. Whichever option you select, pay attention to the label instructions because they will tell you whether you need to dial it back during the colder months. Despite the fact that your plant is indoors, its growth fluctuates with the seasons, so it may not require as much nourishment in the winter.
Clean, Groom, or Prune
Your houseplant can require a little polishing or pruning, depending on what it is. Broad-leaf cultivars, like monstera deliciosa, benefit from an occasional light dusting. You can dust its leaves with a feather duster or a moist towel. When their fronds dry up, other plants, like Boston ferns, require pruning. Others, like pothos, benefit from reshaping if you prefer a little bushier appearance. Know what your houseplant likes before you attack it with a duster or pair of scissors because some plants, like the fiddle leaf fig, don’t like to be handled very much.
Although some of their requirements may be slightly different from those of people, plants all value some basic care. If they’re not feeling so great, they’ll show it, and if they’re joyful, they’ll appear upbeat. If you take care of your plants, they will take care of you. Family is meant for just that!
Can I feed indoor plants Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food?
Water Soluble Miracle-Gro Both indoor and outdoor plants can benefit from the usage of All Purpose Plant Food. Apply it to your garden by simply combining the powder with water in a gardening can or in your Miracle-Gro Garden feeder.
For best results, be sure to completely immerse each plant’s base. Depending on the makeup of your soil, this plant food should be applied again either every week or every other week.
Can Miracle Grow be used on indoor plants?
All kinds of indoor and outdoor plants can utilize this multipurpose fertilizer. Before feeding plants, you must mix the granular plant food with water. Since the N-P-K ratio is 18-18-21, all types of plants benefit greatly from it. Every one to two weeks, according to the makers, plants should be fed.
In addition to these three essential minerals, the plant food also contains traces of magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. For every gallon of water, only one teaspoon of plant food is required.
How often should potted plants be treated with Miracle Grow?
Plants require water, sunlight, and nutrients to flourish throughout the season in order to produce big, gorgeous Miracle-Gro results. It’s Water Soluble Miracle-Gro When used as instructed, All Purpose Plant Food is guaranteed not to burn and is safe for all plants. It also begins to work immediately. Use on all plants, including roses, houseplants, flowers, veggies, trees, and shrubs. When plants are actively growing, feed them every 7–14 days for the greatest results.
Why should you avoid using Miracle-Gro?
Miracle-Gro may include high levels of salt, which over time deplete your soil of its natural nutrients and prevent plants from absorbing them, leading to a form of “lawn burn,” depending on the Miracle-Gro products you use.
The majority of novice gardeners also think that adding more fertilizer will improve their gardens, which leads to overapplication, consumer abuse, and a number of negative side effects like salt buildup and burned lawns.
- Follow the directions carefully while using Miracle-Gro because if you use too much, your plants could be burned, killed, or the chemical balance of your soil would be destroyed.
- Overuse of Miracle-
- Gro causes unwell plants, which are more susceptible to illness, damage from the cold, and occasionally even death.
- Check the weather as well. Rainwater can diluted and wash away all of your inorganic fertilizer if you put it to your lawn or garden.
- If you care about the environment, Miracle-Gro emits more greenhouse gases than organic fertilizers. However, Miracle-Gro works immediately whereas organic fertilizers can take longer to see benefits and are more progressive in their use.
Which fertilizer is ideal for indoor plants?
Best Picks
- Miracle-Gro All Purpose Food is a general-purpose fertilizer for both indoor and outdoor plants.
- Osmocote Smart-Release Plant Food is a smart-release plant fertilizer.
- Espoma Organic Holly Tone Fertilizer for Acidic Soil Plants.
- Jobe’s Organics All-Purpose Fertilizer Spikes are an organic plant fertilizer.
What happens to plants if you apply too much Miracle-Gro?
Although you might be tempted, doing so won’t necessarily result in your plants growing more quickly or producing more flowers.
Can you overfeed plants with Miracle Grow?
Due to their inability to absorb water, your crops end up scorching when Miracle-Gro is applied excessively.
The buildup of salts in the product is to blame for this. A surplus of it could cause your plants to wilt as well.
Thus, excessive fertilizer has the opposite effect, stunting plant growth and making plants weak and vulnerable to pests and diseases.
Other overfertilization symptoms you should look out for in your plants include thin or sparse leaves, short twig development, dead branch tips, and the have to prune your plant frequently.
Recommended Amount
The suggested dosage is one tablespoon of liquid to be combined with a certain amount of water, typically one gallon. Your indoor garden can be 10 square feet in size with this amount.
How frequently should I give my plants Miracle Grow?
- Choose a water-soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food if you wish to feed plants right away and simultaneously with watering. Pour the mixture directly into your watering can after measuring and mixing it, or use a sprayer (like the Miracle-Gro Garden Feeder) with your hose for bigger areas. Plan to feed every seven to fourteen days.
- For less frequent feeding, use continuous-release plant granules like Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food. To begin the feeding process, scatter the simple-to-use dry granules over the soil’s surface, gently rake them into the top few inches of soil, and then thoroughly water.
Can I grow indoor plants in Miracle-Gro potting soil?
The horticulturists we spoke with insisted that while selecting a generic potting mix that will accommodate a variety of plants, you shouldn’t be overly picky. Nobody offered anything that was unaffordable, and they pointed out that you can find the majority of items in your neighborhood Lowe’s, Home Depot, or gardening store. The Miracle Grow potting mix works excellent when I’m caring for someone else’s plants, according to Medlin. She uses it “across the board for practically every plant that I take care of for my work including regular house plants, seedlings, and even the occasional succulent,” and she uses it for both indoor and outdoor plants. She claims that most potting mixes are about the same, although you can spend more money if you want to. She continues, “I’ve never had one that killed my plants.
According to Medlin, you can typically rely on the labeling on the bags if you’re unsure whether a typical potting soil mix would work for your plant. She advises choosing a conventional potting soil mix if you are in a store and your unique plant is not listed on a plant-specific mix. Here is one that is suitable for potted plants both inside and outside.
Should I feed my indoor plants with fertilizer?
Fertilizers are available in granular, slow-release, stick, liquid, and tablet forms in nurseries and garden centers. Even though sticks and tablets are simple to use, some gardeners dislike them because they believe the fertilizer is not evenly distributed throughout the pot.
You can fill your watering can straight with liquid fertilizers. Some are designed to be used either every other time or each time you water. To find out how much and when to apply a product, read the label.
Slow-release Pellets with a resin coating are used for time-released fertilizers like Osomcote. Every time you water them, some of their nutrients are progressively released.
Slow Release Fertilizer
Despite being more expensive than other types, slow-release fertilizers can persist for months after one application.
For the majority of indoor plants, general-purpose fertilizers work perfectly. They include three crucial macronutrients: potassium (K) for strong blooms, phosphorus (P) for strong roots, and nitrogen (N) for healthy leaf growth. Micronutrients like magnesium, boron, and manganese are also found in some fertilizers.
Use specialized fertilizers made for African violets, tropical plants, cacti, and specific other houseplants for optimum results.
How frequently should indoor plants be fertilized?
When indoor plants are actively growing in the spring and summer, fertilize them. Use a fertilizer that is complete and contains potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Fertilizers for indoor plants can be found in liquid, crystal, granular, spike, and tablet form. Depending on the product, application frequency might range from once every two weeks to once every three to four months. Read the directions on the label attentively.
During the winter, avoid fertilizing indoor plants. Winter is when most indoor plants do not grow vigorously and do not require fertilization.
Answer:
Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food can be used whenever, according to the manufacturer. It is advised to water the plant before using the product if the soil is extremely dry or if there is a drought affecting the plant. It’s safe to use in light to moderate rain before or after. It is advised to wait until the morning after the rain has ended to apply the product if there is a chance of storms or heavy rain.