The 10 Commandments of Houseplant Care

1. Thou Shalt Not Water Thy Plant When in Doubt 

It was a hard call for what the first commandment of plant care should be. Number 2 could easily take the number 1 spot. But when you consider how quickly the act of over-watering can turn into a death sentence that breaks houseplant-parent hearts, it won the number one spot. When in doubt, don’t water. Following this commandment will save (plant) lives.

2. Thou Shalt Let There Be Light

The classic plant care directions to provide ‘bright indirect light’ can be tricky to interpret, but getting light right is the biggest part of having happy houseplants. Yes, even more so than getting watering right. 

The majority of plants fall into 4 groups when it comes to lighting requirements. Direct light: These guys are the sun-bathers of the plant world. Bright indirect light: What I like to think of as ‘bright shade’. This is the group where the majority of our tropical houseplants hang out. Medium indirect light: Where you can put so-called ‘low light tolerant’ plants and have them survive. Low light: Pretty much a death sentence. Sounds dramatic but if you can’t easily read fine print without the lights on, plants don’t belong there. I’d be getting a grow light for most low and medium light spots. 

Grow lights also mean more spots to put more plants. Happier houseplants, happier you!
If light levels are too low for your plant’s preferences, it doesn’t always mean sudden death. Sometimes it happens quickly but typically it’s a long, slow, drawn-out death. Ouch. Thank goodness we’re spoiled for choice these days when it comes to affordable grow lights for indoor plants >

3. Thou Shalt Not Water According to Thy Calendar 

Where were these commandments when I was new to the houseplant hobby? Yes, I admit it. I watered on a schedule when I was an indoor plant parent newbie. Thank goodness the addiction hit in summer and where I lived at the time was plant heaven so my plants dried out again super-fast. Had it been winter, my regular Sunday watering sessions would have been bad (and sad), news. 

It’s super important to water only when your plant needs it, not according to the day of the week or how it’s been since you last watered. Too many factors change the rate plants use up water. Learning to read your plants and knowing when to water comes naturally with time, but until then, see commandment number 1!

PRO TIP

Water meters > are a huge help until you learn your plants needs. I still use them now, mainly for my bigger plants in deeper pots where I can’t tell how wet the soil is down by the roots, especially those too big to move to judge the ‘water weight’ of the pot. But no matter what type of water meter you have, beware the trap of watering only when they say so. You still need to take your plant into account, such as how moist they like to be and watching out for other signs they’re thirsty. 

4. Thou Shalt be Attentive to Pests

Say it with me: Check for pests. Regularly. I remained blissfully ignorant in my early days in the hobby. The plant groups were full of ‘what pest is this?’ and here I was, pest-free. Well, except for the fungus gnat infestation that almost led me to give up on the hobby. So annoying!

But as far as the vampire plant pests - the sap-sucking nasties like mealybugs, thrips, scale and mites - I remained touched by an angel. Until I suddenly wasn’t. To be fair, my first encounter with a vampire pest was mealybugs on my hoyas, and hoyas are notorious mealybugs magnets. But unbeknownst to me, they also had root mealy. They’re MUCH worse. There was also that time I bought cut-flowers from the garden inside to enjoy, only to find I’d bought thrips in with them. That was a huge mistake. 

PEST PRO TIP

There’s one place all those vampire plant pests are most likely to be hiding. Once you know where to look you can spot them before it’s too late for your plants. Here’s the secret hiding place sap-sucking pests love >

5. Thou Shalt Not Kill Yellow Leaves

Put. Down. The. Snips. Do not cut off yellowing leaves! Sure, it could be from something minor and easy to fix, like forgetting to water or a nutrient deficiency if you don’t fertilise (what a meanie, see commandment #9). But yellowing leaves can also be a sign of something FAR more serious like the dreaded root rot. 

In general, take yellowing leaves as a sign your plant may be on life support. What it can’t get from the roots, it’s now stealing from itself to keep it alive. Before you cut off a yellowing leaf, find out and fix what’s wrong. Until then, don’t unplug your plant from life support by chopping yellowing leaves off too soon.

PS: For help working out if those yellowing leaves are no biggie or panic stations, check what to do (and not to do), when you find yellow leaves >

6. Thou shalt not repot thy plant in haste 

Don’t rush to repot! As well as when you first bought your plant home and it had to adjust to entirely new conditions, repotting is also top of the list of The Most Stressful Time for a plant. 

And if you’ve ever dealt with transplant stress, you’ll know it’s no joke. Don’t get me wrong. Some (if not most), indoor plants not only bounce back fast after repotting, but get a new lease on life, gleefully putting out new growth like never before. But some embrace their inner drama queen and survival can be touch-and-go.

REPOTTING PRO TIP #1

There’s one simple step to add BEFORE repotting that can make all the difference for a speedy recovery. Do this before you repot >

REPOTTING PRO TIP #2

Roots love warmth! Although it varies by plant, the ideal general temperature range for happy roots is between 15 to 30 degrees (around 60-85° F). If repotting is necessary, but conditions aren’t ideal for recovery, or you already know your plant is a fusspot, pop your newly re-potted plant on a plant heat mat > to help recovery. Heat mats are also superb for propagating right through winter, and if you’re worried about root rot from an accidental over-watering mishap, pop that plant on a heat mat stat. 

7. Thou Shalt use Small Pots for They are Safer

This one’s a bit controversial. By all means go crazy and pot your tiny plant in a massive pot. But there are more bad reasons NOT to do that than good reasons to go big. Potting up just one or two pot sizes at a time helps protect plants from over-watering, makes it easier to judge correctly when to water, reduces the risk of root rot and more. Plus even in a huge pot, indoor plants still benefit from repotting into fresh substrate every year or two so a huge pot for a little plant won't get you out of your repotting duties. Find out why we put plants in small pots indoors (and the risks of going too big too soon) > 

PS: I had no clue what ‘one to two sizes’ meant in all the overseas plant repotting guides. In NZ terms it means going up around 2cms to 5cms in pot size, for example, from a 10cm pot to a 12cm to 15cm wide pot. Remember if you go both taller and wider in pot size, that extra space soon adds up to a LOT more substrate (and the bigger the change in substrate volume the higher the risk). To keep a close eye on root health and moisture level, I always go for clear pots >

8. Thou Shalt Provide Ample Water

The fear of over-watering leads some plant parents to water ‘little and often’. Poor plants. The amount of water you give your plants does NOT increase the risk of root rot. When you do water, water heavily. Your plants will thank you for it. Yes, even for succulents and other houseplants that ‘dislike wet feet’.

That’s because over-watering is not how MUCH water you give your plants when you water them, but how OFTEN you water them. Water again too soon and the risk of root rot goes way up. 

When you do water, make sure to fully saturate the substrate, top to bottom. This helps avoid some roots missing out, prevents ‘dry rot’ (a cause of root rot when roots die from being left dry too long or missing out by watering too little), it also helps distribute nutrients throughout the substrate, makes it easier to know when it’s time to water again, avoids pockets of substrate becoming unable to rehydrate and more. As long as you have your plant in a good substrate which naturally creates pockets of air, and your pot has drainage, you can’t use too much water.

Under-watering means two things. Not watering often enough AND being stingy on the water so the substrate never goes back to fully hydrated. Be generous when it comes time to water, just get the timing right.

9. Thou Shalt Not Starve Thy Plants

Don’t laugh. Considering I now own a plant store and the best sellers list is dominated by fertilisers, you’d think I’d have been a fertiliser-fan from way back. But no. And wow. When I did start feeding what a difference! Until I saw it for myself, I hand-on-heart would have told you my plants were doing fine without fertiliser. Little did I know. I actually feel bad making my plants go without for so long.

I may not be a fan of ‘little and often’ when it comes to watering, but that is 100% my go-to when it comes to fertiliser. No forgetting to fertilise that way either. I just fertilise lightly, even time I water, job done. No excess, no deficiencies. It's called the Weakly Weekly Method > (no, it’s not literally once a week).

10. Remember to Rest 

From being a new plant parent, to expanding your collection to a new plant family you haven’t grown before, nailing this whole plant parent thing can be worry-inducing. Although you can learn a lot from guides like this, the best lessons for knowing what to do (and not to do), when caring for your plants is to have learned from experiencing it yourself.

Be gentle on yourself if you experience any plant trauma along the way. Try not to be like me and get too many plants too quickly. Slow down. Give yourself time to really learn their needs.

Things I used to worry about soon became second nature after a bit of trial (and my fair share of errors). And to be fair, I am a worrier by nature. My desire to learn everything I can to help avoid making mistakes in the first place, is a big part of what lead me to start my plant store and this blog to help other worried plant parents. I do hope this guide and my other free plant guides in the Love That Leaf library > help bring more joy and less stress to the houseplant hobby for you 💚