Here’s How You Can Take Care of Your Plants When Living in an Apartment
Apartment dwellers have learned firsthand or heard from friends that bad lighting can be bad news for many indoor plants. Indeed, some house plants thrive in darker areas. However, well-known indoor plants such as succulents, and fiddle leaf figs, can’t be happy without bright lights.
Fortunately, a few strategic design tweaks can make a difference in lighting your home, from transforming a dim and dark apartment to a bright, functional mini-jungle. In addition, ensuring that you take proper care of your plants while living in an apartment doesn’t have to cost as much as others assume.
Here are some tricks to sneak light into an otherwise dim apartment.
Use LED Lighting
LED lighting is a plant growing light. It’s energy efficient and low heat, so you don’t spend significantly on bills when lighting your plants. Using plant grow lights is highly effective in helping your greenery thrive in an apartment. For flowering plants, use a red light; for foliage plants, use a blue light.
At first, there will be a lot of trial and error involved. But that’s just part of the process! Look for signs that more exposure time in growing lights is necessary, such as lighter leaves and weak stems. It’s recommended that your plants get artificial overhead light for about 12-16 hours daily.
Fertilize With Coffee Grounds
Many gardeners at apartments use this hack to fertilize their plants. Almost every household consumes coffee.
You can reuse your leftover coffee grounds for your plants instead of tossing them out. It’s an all-natural fertilizer replacement that keeps pesky pests and bugs at bay. Although, since coffee grounds can increase the soil’s acidity, it can be dangerous if you add it every day. Consider composting it instead.
Use Hanging Planters
Do you lack the floor space or room for that extra lighting? Your plants that are small enough to fit in a hanging planter can be advantageous in room decor and ensure plenty of room left to walk around. Also, hanging your plants is an excellent way to get more customized lighting solutions.
You can hang your plants only if your ceiling is sturdy enough to hold the planters. Then, you can take the design to the next level by hanging a pole from the ceiling and hanging numerous plants near a light source or a window.
Purchase Magic Mirrors
Magic mirrors can make your space feel bigger and add a certain aesthetic appeal. But, more than that, you can help brighten up the dark corners of your room that are typically dim and gloomy. You can do this by angling the mirror to reflect light on your plants.
A mirror is perfect if you don’t plan to move your plants around near your window. If you don’t have room for a mirror, you can purchase mirrors that have the option to be hung or leaned against a surface.
Repot as Needed
A hermit crab has to find a new shell when they feel like they’re getting bigger. Your plants are just like this. However, they can’t repot themselves. As owners of these plants, you must repot them (when needed).
The best time to repot your greenery is springtime before regrowth or growth begins. However, before repotting, look for signs that your houseplants need a soil upgrade. For example, if the soil is less absorbent and you notice that it’s dried out, the growth is slowing.
Another sign of slowed growth is when the roots are starting to grow through the drainage holes. It means its roots are too long and large for the pot to contain them. Thus, it’s now time to repot your plant!
Water It at Consistent Times
As gardeners, we’re all aware of the dreaded droopiness that occurs when the plants are under-watered. Unfortunately, when you don’t set a routine when it comes to gardening, there will be a high chance that homeowners will become too lazy or unmotivated to water their greenery. Thus, make some routine you’ll always abide by in the mornings.
You can also set an alarm so that you won’t forget. A good time to include it into your morning routine is to squeeze it in while you prepare breakfast and wait for your toast and coffee to finish. Ensure you don’t do this while cooking something on the stove to avoid burning your dish.
Final Thoughts
For aspiring green thumbs or those with natural green thumbs, indoor plants are a must in their homes. Adding plants to a home can bring life to living spaces. In addition, house plants provide numerous health benefits, like cleaning the air, enhancing memory, and boosting our moods.
Having plants at your home can also offer a forest and greenery experience. Once in a while, we must go out and be with nature to relax our minds. It's a necessity for city dwellers. Plants add natural beauty and love to homes.
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