Dr. Ossola has recommended a smartphone application called Planta, which can identify your houseplants, share care and location recommendations and provide reminders for water.
Mr. However, Satch says that rather than relying on a watering schedule, he recommends that people check each plant every few days by sticking a finger in the ground, about two knuckles deep, and that they only water when the soil is dusty feel and dry. “If it even feels a little damp, wait another day,” he said. (Mr. Satch is not a fan of moisture meters: “I have not yet found any of them that worked properly,” he said.)
As for how to water, Mr. Satch said, it is best to use lukewarm rather than cold water because cold water can shock plants. He said to also water slowly – otherwise the water will flow through the soil and not be absorbed. The purpose is basically to saturate the plant with water as if it had just been through a rainstorm. “The trick is to imitate nature,” he said.
Prune if you are not happy with how your plant looks.
I will be honest: Pruning scares me. I’m always afraid I’m going to cut off an essential part of the plant. So I was relieved to hear that even if you do not know much about pruning, “the chances are high that you will not kill the plant,” says Michelle Bidwell, a horticulturist at Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, NY.
You do not either has to prune most houseplants. “Pruning indoors, for the most part, is an aesthetic choice,” he said. Satch said. You can prune if your plant becomes too tall or too bony, for example with long stems and scattered leaves, but you can also leave it alone.
Some outdoor plants, on the other hand, benefit from pruning. Flowers such as marigolds and petunias, for example, should be dead-headed, Mr. Satch said – which means dying flowers need to be removed to promote the growth of more. Ms Bidwell often gives her hanging container plants “baking cuts” when the tops are not growing well, she said, because it promotes more top growth.