I’m So Excited to Become a Plant Mom

I’m so excited to show off my new babies.  Becoming a plant mom during this quarantine has been a rewarding past time. It’s more than just visiting a plant shop, finding the cute pot of soiled vines, purchase, and bring home to a cute spot in the window sill.  There are different things to discover and think of before becoming a plant mom and bringing that natural life into your home.

Due to living in a small apartment in NYC, light is not on my side for most plants, but just happens to be enough when I don’t want to get up in the morning. LOL  So I tend to go for plants that have a low to moderate need for sun.  In the past, I would go for any type of plant because they looked cool to have, but during this quarantine, health and wellness have been more important than the look of the plant.

Did you know there are plants specifically for improving air quality in your home?  The specifically remove certain toxins and pollutants within the air such as, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Xylene and Tolune, Tricloroethylene, and Ammonia.

Types of Plants

• Air Purifying Plants

  • Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum Wallisii
  • Mother In Laws Tongue – Sansevieria Trifasciata
  • Barberton Daisy – Gerbera Jamesonii
  • Dragon Tree – Dracaena Marginata
  • Weeping Fig – Ficus Benjamina
  • Areca Palm – Dypsis Lutescens
  • Pygmy Date Palm – Phoenix Roebelenii
  • Boston Fern – Nephrolepis Exaltata
  • Spider Plant – Chlorophytum Comosum
  • Corn Plant – Dracaena Fragrans

• Common House Plants

  • Spider Plant – Chlorophytum Comosum
  • Aloe Vera – Aloe
  • Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum Wallisii
  • Jade Plant – Crassula Ovata
  • African Violet – Saintpaulia
  • Weeping Fig – Ficus Benjamina
  • Baby Rubber Plant – Peperomia

• Easy and Low Light

  • Cast Iron Plant – Aspidistra Elatior
  • Corn Plant – Dracaena Fragrans
  • Mother In Laws Tongue – Sansevieria T
  • Dragon Tree – Dracaena Marginata
  • Parlor Palm – Chamaedorea Elegans
  • ZZ Plant – Zamioculcas Zamiifolia
  • Lucky Bamboo Plant – Dracaena Braunii
  • Spider Plant – Chlorophytum Comosum
  • Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum Wallisii

Not only is the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum Wallisii) a common plant, it is also easy to care for and provides clean air.  My mom has had a peace lily plant for over a year and in her condition, she’s been able to still keep it alive. I said perfect, this is the right plant with a pretty flower for me to try out and have in my home too.

Other types of plants include: Flower Plants, Foliage Plants, Cactus Plants, Indoor Palm Plants, Hanging Basket Plants, Trailing and Climbing Plants, Bulbous Type Plants, Christmas, Tree Type Plants, Air Plants, Office Types, Succulent Plants, Fern Type Plants, Living Stone Types, and Large Plants.

How to care for Plants

According to Exotic Angel Plants, the Mini White (Fittonia Argyoneura) plant enjoys low light.  However, in the week that I had her, she didn’t do too great in the low lit window .  Once I placed her in a window with indirect sunlight and spritzed her with some water, she perked back up.  I love when plants “talk” to you in this way.  They will let us know when they are not happy.  This plant in particular loves humidity,  I would love to try and place this plant in my bathroom once I find the imperfect light source .

Droopy plant because of too much sun

Spritzed and placed in the shade

While the facts card inserted in the plants, suggest the care needed for each individual plant, you should pay attention and “listen” to what your plant needs in your home.

Re-Potting Plants

All plants should be reviewed at least once a year.  This would mean taking the plant out of it’s potter and placing it in a bigger one to allow the roots to grow.  As we know all plants are not the same, so you should be mindful of which type of soil to purchase and re-pot with.  For my new babies, I haven’t moved them from one pot to another yet.

What I have done is review the leaves of the plant, clean up any dead leaves and make the sure soil is not too dry.  I received a tip from a lovely lady on Instagram to care for my new babies when I first bring them home. With a little peppermint oil or diluted organic peppermint soap (like Dr. Bronner’s), I gently wipe the leaves of each pot.  It not only cleans the leaves of any dirt and debris from its travels leaving the leaves so shiny. It also repels any tiny bugs that may have wanted to tag along.

Terms for a Plant Mom to Know

In order to purchase and care for plants, you must know every term about caring for and keeping your plants alive.

Common key terms to planting

• • Dry – Water only when the soil is quite dry. Plants that prefer dry conditions may be susceptible to root rot disease if kept too wet. Dry plants will need little to no supplemental water once established, if they are planted in the ground.
  • Exposure – the optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive
    • Full Sun – 6 or more hours of direct sun a day
    • Partial Sun or Partial Shade – 4 to 6 hours of direct sun a day
    • Full Shade – less than 4 hours of direct sun a day
    • Dappled Shade – areas where there is a mixture of sun and shade, generally because a deciduous tree is nearby. Dappled shade is similar to partial shade.
  • Fertilizing – To add nutrition to your plants using either commercial or non commercial fertilizers or compost.
  • “Hair Cut” – Using a sharp pair of scissors or shears to trim the ends of the branches off a plant, cutting an even amount off all parts of the plants, like your stylist giving you a haircut.
  • Needs Good Drainage – These plants do not do well if they remain wet for extended periods of time and should be planted in locations or containers where water quickly drains.
  • Normal – Water when the top of the soil in a pot is dry to the touch.
  • Normal to Wet – Water when the top of the soil in a pot is dry to the touch but err on the side of wet rather than dry. Plants that like Normal to Wet conditions will prefer that the soil be constantly moist and will not tolerate dry soils well.
  • Prune – Using pruning shears, scissors, a knife, or loppers to shape or rejuvenate a plant, not to increase branching. Generally pruning is much more drastic than pinching.
  • Roots – The underground parts of a plant that uptake nutrients and water.
  • Saturation – This is when the entire root zone of a plant is moist after watering.
  • Stem – The main axis of a plant, the central stalk.
  • Watering – Plants differ somewhat on how much water they require and will generally fall into 5 categories. These categories are most relevant for plants in containers but also apply to in ground plantings.
    • Dry – Water only when the soil is quite dry.
    • Dry to Normal – Water when the top of the soil in a pot is dry to the touch but err on the side of dry rather than wet.
    • Normal – Water when the top of the soil in a pot is dry to the touch.
    • Normal to Wet – Water when the top of the soil in a pot is dry to the touch but err on the side of wet rather than dry.
    • Wet – These plants need soil that is constantly moist to wet.