Old Plants, New Life
In our closing blog of 2022, “A Love Letter from Incrementum”, we shared our sentiments around valuing and loving on the plants that are already in our home. Less really is more. And while we know all too well that urge to splurge on a new green goddess for the home or office, we are reminded how powerful it is to honor what it’s in front of us and look for new ways to celebrate the growth of our plants—and ourselves.
As we journey further into the first few months of the year, I invite you to find time to be still alongside your plants. Consider this the first step in finding new ways to love your current plant life in your space.
Follow this guided meditation with our friend, herbalist, and educator extraordinaire, Andrea Rossi. The plants just might whisper their desires directly to you.
Whether you want to learn more about your plant species and their needs or refresh your space with a DIY potted plant project, Incrementum’s guide to repurposing, propagating, fertilizing, and indoor plant designing can help bring new life to your old plants.
- Propagate for Regrowth
- Design a Little Differently
- Repurpose Pots + Containers
- Fertilize for New Life
- Propagate for Regrowth
Take a look around your space for a moment, making notes of the plants that have shown great growth over this last year. Ask Yourself:
Do you have trailing plants whose leafy tendrils could use a little trim? Are your pothos plants showing an abundance of new leaves overflowing their potted home?
One of the single best ways to manage quickly growing plants while repurposing their growth for more indoor house plants around the home is to try the method of plant propagation. We recommend using the stem-cutting method if you are new to propagation, which involves cutting a portion of the mother plant’s stems intending to pot that new growth into water and eventually soil.
Begin by using clean scissors (rubbing alcohol works great), and then cut the desired part of the stem that has 2-5 leaves on the end. Make sure you are cutting the stem at a leaf node. Store this newly trimmed stem in fresh water in a bright and warm location and simply watch its roots begin to grow. This can take a month or so depending on the species of plant. When their little roots are developed, take your cutting and plant it into soil and water as normal. This process of plant propagation is an excellent way to evolve your beloved plant collection while also learning how to handle and care for your plant babies. The love and joyous vibes your indoor house plants have always brought you have just been multiplied right before your eyes! And it has us singing…
“I got chills, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control
'Cause the power you're supplying
It's electrifying!”—Grease
2. Design a Little Differently
New year, new vibe. Does your home or office space need a visual refresh or a touch of something new to revive your inspiration once again? For those of you who spend your work hours at home, you may especially love this indoor house plant repurposing approach from our design dream team.
Look around your space and ask yourself:
Where is my eye drawn when I look into the room? What brings me joy? What feels stagnant and old? What do I want to feel when I enter this space?
An indoor house plant design edit could be as simple as moving a trailing plant from the countertop to a hanging ceiling plant or swapping out a plant from another space to bring new life into the room. Just make sure the plant swap honors the plant’s needs for specific light, humidity, and temperature before a big move. At my home, I have such a wildly diverse collection of plants that it often feels like the jungle has taken over. To create a more visual and organized plant space, I love using plant stands to vary the height of the plants. When decorating your living room with indoor plants, for example, you can play with placing taller plants in the back, like a cactus or palm and layering the foreground of the space with smaller, shorter plants, like a monstera or croton. Try punctuating some of the gaps with flowering plants for a kiss of color.
At Incrementum, we understand the desire to invest in new plants each month, and we are excited about how they will fit into our space, bring new energy into our lives, and provide us with more connection to the natural world. We want to remind you that the gorgeous green babies you have cared for might just be enough. Take a moment to listen to your plants’ needs, get creative with new potting styles, experiment with propagation, and check in with their soil health to ensure you are providing for the life you have already invited in.
3. Repurpose Pots + Containers
We love a DIY moment…spending a Saturday with our hands in the soil, listening to our favorite vocalists over the airwaves, and speaking sweet nothings to our plant babes.
If you are looking for fun and innovative ways to repurpose your current indoor house plants around the home, you will love these re-potting and planting methods that are both easy and affordable. You can begin by propagating some of your favorite plants you already have—perhaps a philo heart or fishhook whose growth is so good it needs to be spread around the space. Consider using unexpected household objects to plant your rooted clippings into. We especially dig repurposing colorful or uniquely-textured trash cans that you are no longer using into large pot plants as well as ceramic dishes, vintage teapots, and even painted plastic bottles or containers. With the right soil and some styling, your new potted plant designs are ready to be placed in thoughtful areas around your space.
Go ahead plant lovers, let your creative liberties run wild, and tap into that resourceful mind of yours to discover new ways to celebrate the beautiful growth within and around you.
4. Fertilize for New Life
If you find yourself struggling to keep certain plants alive or are noticing a lack of growth in other plants even though you have tried placing them in ideal light conditions with regard to humidity and temperature, we recommend putting your plants on a fertilizer care routine. Just like us, plants require nutrients and food to thrive.
Plants behave differently throughout each season, making it important for you to check on their soil health and trim dead leaves during fall, summer, winter, and spring. Beginning a fertilizer care routine for your plants can be a serious game-changer and is actually not as daunting as it may sound. Firstly, remember that it is best to fertilize plants when they are actively growing so they can benefit the most from fresh nutrients.
We recommend treating your plants to this delicious soil love from early spring to late summer.
Secondly, it’s important to remember that your house plants typically come from tropical climates worldwide (Asia, Central America) and have traveled far to make their way into your space. To provide your plants with nutrient-rich soil similar to their homeland, consider fertilizing once a month with a general liquid plant fertilizer diluted to half strength. Trust us, your verdant lovelies will thank you.
Most indoor house plants can thrive with a similar plant fertilizer and schedule, meaning more time for you and less time managing another household duty. If your plants are in low-light areas, you should fertilize them less often, beginning with every other month. Plants you should never fertilize include succulents, cacti, African violets, umbrella trees, rubber trees, fiddle-leaf, Audrey, and snake plants.
Schedule a discovery call today to learn how to elevate your space with new and existing house plants. Our services include residential and commercial plant design projects, from living plant walls to standing greenery that brings the beauty of the outdoors to the indoors. Our plant care services are the best way to ensure your investment in your living beauties pays off. We also offer plant check-ups, plant babysitting, and regular water and soil care services.