Keeping Your House Plants Healthy

Despite what many people may think, there is no real difficult trick to keeping your house plants healthy. In fact, this simple fact is actually the "trick" that many people overlook. It can honestly be said that keeping your house plants healthy is so easy that it is hard, and that is what makes it deceptively tricky. Instead of throwing your hands up in disgust at the sight of another sickly house plant, take a few moments to learn the basics.

• Get the mix right. One of the key elements to keeping your house plants healthy is being sure that you get the potting mix just right. Often, people will use an incorrect potting mix, and be puzzled as to why their plants aren't growing as well as they should. A great general recipe for potting mix is to use two parts garden loam, two parts leaf mold or perlite, and one part sand. This recipe will be good for many kinds of plants, but feel free to experiment until you find exactly the recipe that gives you the results that you want.
• Containers are important. Containers are often an overlooked element of having healthy house plants. Many times people will look at a container and believe that all of them are equally usable. Before you choose a container, be sure that you know what the added care requirements they will bring are. For example, if you have clay pots, you need to be aware that they are fairly porous. This means that they will allow more air to pass through to the roots, which entails more watering.
• Periodically check your potting. Periodically you should check to ensure that your potting efforts are still good. This means that you need to check to ensure that the roots are not turning into a root ball. If necessary, repot the plants into a larger container. In addition, take time to periodically add a little plant food to your potting mix to ensure that the plants are getting all the nutrients that they require.
• Keep an eye out for bugs. Just because a plant is inside doesn't meant that they aren't susceptible to bug infestations. Periodically check to make sure that there are no little creepy crawlies lingering around, and hampering the plant's growth.
• Dusting is for plants, too. Dust can actually be pretty harmful to your plants. This means that you should take the time to dust your plants. On the average you should dust your plants every time that you water them to help ensure that they grow large and stay healthy.