Happy House Plants All Summer Long

6 Tips and Tricks For Your Greenery To Thrive

With warm, summer days and cool, breezy afternoons just a couple of months away, your house plants are as excited about the golden season ahead as you are. Plants thrive with increased light and fresh air moving through your space, keeping those green darlings growing and blooming like never before. For the optimal health of your plants, there are a few mindful practices we recommend, like monitoring and maintaining humidity levels in your home (essential!), the placement of plants (window sill or corner?), and the proper way to water your variety of plants.

Incrementum wants to help you make the most of this growing season by providing you with our 6 most valued tips and tricks. Let’s thrive, together!

Tip 1. Humidity Heals

Summer months in climates like Colorado (our home base) means a hot and dry home with very low humidity. Now, we know that not everyone loves humidity (or their hair doesn’t), but trust us…you love humidity. 😏 Our skin and hair is often at its healthiest in more moisture-driven climates, and it’s the same with our plants.

First and foremost, buy a humidifier! Do it…like now. And if you can, set up a humidifier in every room to give you—and your plants—a happy, humid home. Second, try bunching plants together to create a microenvironment wherein the leaves, stems, and flowers transpire to create more humidity. Pebble trays are another excellent practice to create a wetter climate for your green babies. Start by filling a tray with rocks, add water, then place a few potted plants on the tray. This offers them a wet environment created from the evaporated water below.

Tip 1. Humidity Heals

Tip 2. Cold Vents No More

Those scorching hot days are bound to creep in amongst the temperate ones, and that’s when we turn up the AC to chill out. Since most plants do not enjoy those cold drafts with artificial air, make sure the ones set close to AC units or vents are moved to a new spot. If possible, place them somewhere in your home or office where they can receive natural air flow from open windows or doors—their leafy, green limbs will thank you!

Tip 2. Cold Vents No More

Tip 3. Sun In Smaller Doses

Plants need the sun to survive and thrive, yes, but with the sun out longer during the summer, it’s important to give plants a break from intense direct light. Learning the signs of stress from your plants helps you to know if their light exposure is too much. Look for burned, browning leaves on plants and if need be, relocate them to a shadier spot. Consider putting up sheer curtains to diffuse the light in brighter rooms.

Tip: succulents and cacti are the exception and will be stoked about their lifestyle in the direct light.

Tip 3. Sun In Smaller Doses

Tip: succulents and cacti are the exception and will be stoked about their lifestyle in the direct light.

Tip 4. Deep Waters

Plant-lovers and phytophiles, we know how much you love seeing new growth on your monstera or bird of paradise. This is a gentle reminder that the way you water your plants is crucial to their well-being, and that common problem of overwatering actually happens when you water your plant too frequently. Deep watering, our recommended practice, is when you water them until water comes out the drainage hole, then removing excess water so plants aren’t sitting in a puddle. We recommend deep watering your plants all year round, but especially during the hottest, driest times of the year.

Tip 4. Deep Waters

Tip 5. Check For Stress

Bringing a mindful eye towards your plant life helps you notice even the smallest changes that occur. Here are a few ways to check for heat stress on your leafy, green friends come summertime:

Droopy leaves

Hydrophobic soil, which happens when a plant is lacking water and soil appears cracked like a dry desert and cannot retain water.

Do not prune or fertilize if your plant is showing heat stress or during a heat wave.

Tip 5. Check For Stress

Bringing a mindful eye towards your plant life helps you notice even the smallest changes that occur. Here are a few ways to check for heat stress on your leafy, green friends come summertime:

Droopy leaves

Hydrophobic soil, which happens when a plant is lacking water and soil appears cracked like a dry desert and cannot retain water.

Do not prune or fertilize if your plant is showing heat stress or during a heat wave.

Tip 6. Fertilize Your Friends

Plants, just like us, need nutrients and food to thrive all season long. For those of you who haven’t started a fertilizer care routine yet, we encourage you to do something sweet for your very, verdant lovelies this summer.

First, let’s demystify fertilizing your plants. It can feel a bit daunting at first, but once you develop a routine it can become integrated into your everyday life. Many house plants come from tropical climates (South America & East Asia) with regular rainfall and nutrient-rich soil. Because our home and office plants lack access to this environment and instantly lose nutrients once they are potted, it’s vital to give back to them what they lost. Remember that every houseplant has a recommended fertilizer type and frequency—some of you may find delight in making a flowchart of your findings, and others not so much. Good news: most houseplants can thrive with a similar type of fertilizer and schedule.

Quick and easy guide to fertilizing your friends *ahem* plant friends:

Fertilize once a month, starting at the beginning of April until the end of September.
Water your plants before you fertilize, and make sure to remove any excess water in pots and trays after fertilizing.
Use a general liquid fertilizer and dilute to half strength. This allows the majority of plants to be on the same fertilizer schedule.
If your plants are in low light areas you should fertilize them less often. Start with every other month.
Plants you should NOT include in this schedule: Succulents, cacti, African violets, umbrella trees, rubber trees, fiddle leaf, Audrey and snake plants. We recommend researching and developing separate schedules for these varieties.

Can you get away with not fertilizing your plant friends? Yes, but if you love seeing new growth and vibrant colors from them with less bacterial growth and pests, then fertilizing is for you.

Tip 6. Fertilize Your Friends

Quick and easy guide to fertilizing your friends *ahem* plant friends:

Fertilize once a month, starting at the beginning of April until the end of September.
Water your plants before you fertilize, and make sure to remove any excess water in pots and trays after fertilizing.
Use a general liquid fertilizer and dilute to half strength. This allows the majority of plants to be on the same fertilizer schedule.
If your plants are in low light areas you should fertilize them less often. Start with every other month.
Plants you should NOT include in this schedule: Succulents, cacti, African violets, umbrella trees, rubber trees, fiddle leaf, Audrey and snake plants. We recommend researching and developing separate schedules for these varieties.

Can you get away with not fertilizing your plant friends? Yes, but if you love seeing new growth and vibrant colors from them with less bacterial growth and pests, then fertilizing is for you.