Indoor Plant Care Tips, Ideas In India

Indoor Plant Care Tips for Beginners in India

Here, today in this article we are going to discuss indoor plant care tips for beginners.

Topics are going to cover in this article are listed below;

Introduction to Indoor Plants.
Caring tips for Indoor Plants for beginners.
How to choose Indoor Plants?
Best Plants for Indoor.
Suitable containers for Indoor Plants.
The best soil for Indoor Plants.
Suitable temperature for Indoor Plants.
Humidity.
Water requirement for Indoor Plants.
Pests and Diseases of Indoor Plants.
Nutrients Required for Indoor Plants.
Harvesting Tips for Indoor Plants.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Indoor Plant Care Tips

Indoor Plants are a very fantastic addition to any home. Indoor Plants are very popular because they are very easy to take care of, provide many health benefits, and can be used in a variety of indoor decorative themes. Indoor Plants are a great option for people who have little yard space for an outdoor garden. They clean your air, brighten your mood, and even help you to grow your green thumb. Growing Indoor Plants is an excellent way to not only purify the air but also beautify your home as well.

Indoor Plant Care Tips for Beginners

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Light

Light is the first most essential part of indoor plant care. When you purchase an indoor plant you need to provide the required amount of light for your indoor plant, and then make sure to check the tag on the plant when you purchase it. If the indoor plant is given to you, ask the person giving it to you what kind of light it requires. Generally, Indoor Plants need bright, light, high, medium, and low light on their dependency. Beyond this, Indoor Plants may need direct (bright) light or indirect (light) light.

Bright or direct light – Light that comes from a window will be bright or direct. From a south-facing window, the brightest light will come in.

Indirect light – Light that comes from a light bulb or sunlight that has been filtered through something, like a curtain is known as indirect light.

High light Indoor Plants – If the indoor plant is recommended for high light, then that plant will need five or more hours of bright light, most preferably near a south-facing window. The high light indoor plant needs to be within 6 feet height of a window.

Medium-light Indoor Plants – For proper indoor plant maintenance of medium light, they should be exposed to several hours of indirect light. This light can come from a window.

Low light Indoor Plants – low light Indoor Plants require very little light. Typically, these Indoor Plants do very well in rooms that have a light but no windows. Low light plants need light of some kind. If a room has no windows and the lights stay off most of the time, then the plant will not survive.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Water

Water is the second most essential thing for Indoor Plants. The general rule is ‘dry to the touch’ that means you need to water an indoor plant if the top of the soil feels dry. Watering in this way is correct for most Indoor Plants.

A few Indoor Plants, particularly succulents and cacti, you only need to be watered when the soil of those plants is completely dry and for other plants, you may need to keep constantly moist. The Indoor Plants that have special water requirements will be marked on their tag when you buy them. If there are no special markings or instructions for watering on the tag, then you can go by the rule mentioned above.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Temperature

Most of the Indoor Plants are tropical plants. So, they cannot tolerate cold temperatures. The care for tropical Indoor Plants requires that the Indoor Plants be kept in rooms that are between 18-21 °C. These are the temperatures that most Indoor Plants prefer and require. Many other Indoor Plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 13 °C, but they will not survive at temperatures this low for too long.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Fertilizer

For indoor plant care, plants can be fertilized in two different ways. Choosing the method is up to you and both the methods work well.

The first is through the water

Fertilizing through water, you will need to add a water-soluble fertilizer also known as a liquid fertilizer to the plant’s water about a month in a warm climate and once every two months in a cool climate.

The second is through slow-release fertilizer

If you want to use this method, you need to mix it to the soil once every two to three months.

How to Choose Indoor Plants?

Select easy-care plants – If you travel a lot, then you need to select plants that don’t require a lot of care and watering. This way you can go away without worrying about your Indoor Plants. Try a terrarium plant, which creates its atmosphere and requires little care. They only need a better and a good start and an occasional burst of fresh air.

Best Plants for Indoor

African Violet
Aloe Vera
Croton
Fern
Ficus
Ivy
Lucky Bamboo
Peace Lily
Pothos
Rubber Tree Plant
Snake Plant
Spider Plant
Swiss Cheese Plant

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Choosing Right Container

There are many different containers available for Indoor Plants. You can have that related to your interior designer or you can have your taste in choosing the right containers for your Indoor Plants. Containers or pots range in many sizes but four sizes are most commonly used for Indoor Plants. For most Indoor Plants, enough pot sizes are 6 cm, 8 cm, 13 cm, and 18 cm. If you want floor-standing plants or large trees, you may need to pick a container that ranges 25 cm to accommodate them properly. There are even saucers available in matching sizes for the containers or pots to stand in. Just make sure there are drainage holes on the bottom of the container you choose. If you choose the material that happens to be copper, don’t panic. You can adjust your indoor plant in one of those plastic pots which have drainage holes at the bottom, and then you need to set a drainage dish inside the copper pot, and set the plastic pot on that. For example, if you choose a terrarium plant, use something neat, clear, glass, or plastic.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Choosing Best Soil

The particular plant needs a particular type of soil. So, your potting soil should be matched to the type of indoor plant you choose. For example, coarse, well-drained soil is preferred by Cactus, succulents, and rosemary. If you want to start with a seedling, then it should be grown in a light, moisture-retentive, soilless mix. Other plants like African violets and ferns prefer soil with a high humus content, which can be achieved by adding leaf mold or shredded bark.

The composition of peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite will be a good indoor potting mix. These soilless mixes tend to dry out very quickly but absorb moisture very well and resist compaction. You must provide your plants with plenty of fertilizer because they do not contain any nutrients. By adding a soilless mix to your plant there will be no chance of introducing pest or disease problems because is sterile.

Most people add organic components to their indoor growing mix for the healthy growth of the plant. These organic components include leaf mold, finished compost, composted peat, or rich garden soil. A soilless mix dries out fast but a growing medium that contains 10 to 20 percent organic matter will usually not dry out as fast as a soilless mix. Growing medium also allows you to introduce beneficial microorganisms and nutrients.

Suitable Temperature for Indoor Plants

Most of the Indoor Plants vary in their minimum and maximum temperature requirements. For example, cool-loving plants suitable for locations where temperatures drop to the low 50°s at night and 60°s during the day. They are Cyclamen, Wonder Plant, Fatshedera, Japanese Aralia, and Fatsia. For their optimal growth, not all Indoor Plants have the same temperature requirements. In cool temperatures, nearly about 72°F Indoor Plants like Cast Iron Plant, Aspidistra, and ferns grow better. If the temperatures are 90°F – 95°F other tropical plants grow best. Such temperatures are very rarely allowed indoors.

The best temperature range for Indoor Plants is 70°F – 80°F for day and 65°F – 70°F for the night.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Having Right Humidity

Most of the Indoor Plants can usually survive at 30% to 40% of humidity but they are happiest when the relative humidity is 50% or higher. If they are unable to absorb enough water through their roots to keep up with the water lost through their leaves, then air is much drier than that. Indoor air often has humidity as low as 10% to 20%, especially in the winter.

In the winter, use a warm-mist humidifier to increase humidity. Misting your plants helps, not only for an hour or but also so on. A better solution is to use a cool vapor humidifier for your plants. To release moisture into the air you need to cluster your plants together. So, that they will even humidify their neighbors too. Arrange your plants on a gravel-filled tray about ¼ inch of water after the water evaporates, it will humidify the air around your plants. Pots should not sit directly in the water. So, be aware of it.

Indoor Plant Care Tips – Water Requirement

Most of the Indoor Plants die due to overwatering than from anything else. The best advice is to maintain a regular schedule to water your Indoor Plants. If the climate has been warm or sunny then your plant requires frequent water. If the climate has been cool or cloudy they don’t even require a drop of water more than a requirement. Be sure of checking the soil at least once in a day and water your plants only if it feels dry to a depth of ½ to 1 inch.

When you water your plant, make sure to wet thoroughly until the root ball gets full of water. Then in this way you can ensure that the entire root ball gets moistened. Chemically softened type of water should not be used for your water because it contains salts that may be very harmful to your Indoor Plants. Consider demineralizing attachment, if your water is very hard.

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Indoor Plant Care Tips – Pests, Diseases and Control

The most common pests are mention below;

Aphids
Caterpillars
Cyclamen mites
Earwigs
Eelworms
Mealybugs
Red spider mites
Root mealybugs
Scale insects
Thrips
Whiteflies

If you want to treat your plants from these pests then you need to spray them with a concentrated insecticide diluted in clean water.

The most common diseases are mentioned below;

Blackleg
Botrytis
Leaf spot
Powdery mildew
Root rot
Rust
Sooty mold
Various viruses

If you want to treat your Indoor Plants from these diseases then you need to dust your plants with compost. Dusting plants is also an effective way to get rid of all the indoor plant diseases.

Indoor Plant Care Tips Nutrients Requirement

Indoor Plants are usually not satisfied with fertilizers. You should not overdo it this is the most important thing to remember. Before applying any type of fertilizer you need to water your plants. Most of the Indoor Plants require a standard formulation of 10-10-10.

You need to supply your Indoor Plants with an organic amendment like fish emulsion or with liquid seaweed will provide some of the trace nutrients lacking in inorganic plant fertilizer. Another important way to add organic nutrients is the top dressing of compost or worm castings. To correct the sensitivity of the plant you need to add the right fertilizer. The sensitivity should be maintained to a perfect pH level. Drench the soil with clean water to avoid the buildup of fertilizer salts.

Harvesting Tips for Indoor Plants

If possible, harvest your plants after the morning dew has dried away. In the morning, the plants will be fresh and plump with moisture.