Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 27, 2025

9 Essential Tips for Keeping Your Houseplants Healthy

9 Essential Tips for Keeping Your Houseplants Healthy

No matter which plants you have in your collection, they all have similar basic needs. Here's how to keep them in tip-top shape.

If you're a new plant parent, all of the care that goes into keeping your houseplants happy can feel a little overwhelming at first. However, most of your plants won't need constant attention to stay healthy.

Other than remembering to water, there are plenty of easy-care houseplants that will only need a little maintenance a few times each year.

When you do need to step in and do some pruning or snip away a few leaves that are starting to turn yellow, these tips will give you the knowledge you need to care for your plants with confidence.



1. Watering Your Houseplants


All houseplants have slightly different watering requirements, depending on how they're grown and changes in plant growth through the seasons. It's best to water on an as-needed basis rather than by a set calendar schedule. In general, plants grown in well-drained soil in an appropriate-size container should be watered when the top 1/2 to 1 inch of soil feels dry. Cacti and succulents need less water; flowering plants usually need slightly more. Overwatering is one of the most common causes of houseplant death. If you're not sure how much to water, it's better to err on the dry side than to give your plants too much moisture.

2. Fertilize Your Houseplants Periodically


Like watering, there's not an easy rule to know how much to fertilize: It depends on plant's growth rate and age, and the time of year. Most houseplants put on a growth spurt in spring and summer, so this is the best time to fertilize them. During the short days of fall and winter, most houseplants don't need much, if any, fertilizer. Follow label directions to know how much plant food to use.

Like overwatering, it's important to avoid overfertilizing your houseplants. Too much fertilizer can burn their roots and stunt their growth. For flowering varieties, use a fertilizer in which the three numbers on the label (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, respectively) are relatively equal. If the nitrogen content is too high, the plant may grow a lot of leaves, but few flowers.


The leaf stems of African violets will root and form new plants when suspended in water.

3. Propagate Houseplants


Once in a while, houseplants benefit from being propagated through division or other methods, much like outdoor plants. It helps rejuvenate them and encourage more growth. Plus, it's an inexpensive way to get more plants out of the ones you already have.

Somem houseplants, such as bromeliads, send up new shoots at the base of the plant called offsets that you can divide and put into new pots. Climbing houseplants such as philodendron and pothos form new roots where their stems come into contact with soil, so they're good candidates for starting new plants from cuttings. And you can stick single leaves of African violets in a jar or water to root new plants.

Other houseplants, such as spider plant and strawberry begonia, reproduce by sending out runners with new plantlets at the end. It's super simple to root these to start new plants; usually, you just need to soak the base of the plantlets in water for a few days to help them develop roots, and then you can plant them in soil.

4. Repot Overgrown Houseplants


Not sure if your houseplants need repotting? Check the root systems. If the roots are circling the inside of the container, it may be time to repot the plant. If the plant has outgrown its pot, you can transplant it into a slightly larger container. If you'd like to keep it in the same pot, trim off some of the roots with sharp scissors or pruners and replant it into the container using fresh potting soil.

As you repot your houseplants, it's also a good time to divide those with multiple stems to create new plants. Spring and summer are the best seasons for repotting your houseplants.



5. Remove Dust From Leaves


Almost all houseplants look better with regular cleaning. Dust collects on leaves, so wash them with a gentle shower of room-temperature water or dust them with a soft brush if the plants have hairy leaves (they trap moisture that can encourage diseases). For plants with smooth leaves, you can also use a cloth to gently wipe away any dust that collects on leaves. Not only does this improve your plant's appearance, but it'll actually help it soak up more light.



6. Prune and Pinch Houseplants


The main reasons for pruning houseplants are to make them look better and keep them from getting too large. You can prune any time of the year, but fall is a natural time to break out your pruning scissors after a summer of growth. If one of your plants has a branch that's too long, cut it back to a side shoot or main stem. Also, remove any dead or diseased leaves and stems to help prevent the problem from spreading. Rejuvenate overgrown houseplants by cutting them back to 4-6 inches tall. This technique is effective in encouraging new growth for trailing plants such as Swedish ivy and pothos that may have become bare at their bases.

Pinching means removing stem tips, either with your fingernails or pruners. Pinch out the tip of a stem and the topmost leaves to encourage growth of side buds. Plants that grow rapidly often look best with frequent pinching to keep them compact and fuller.



7. Deadhead Flowers and Remove Dying Leaves


Trim faded flowers from your plants to keep the plant blooming longer and help prevent disease problems. While you're at it, be sure to remove yellow, brown, or withered leaves. Use a narrow-blade hand pruner or sharp scissors to make a clean cut without tearing the plant's stem.



8. Control Insect Pests


Several insects commonly attack houseplants. Insecticidal soap is an easy-to-use, effective treatment for most soft-bodied pests such as aphids and spider mites. A forceful spray of water from the hose helps knock down the population of these pests, too. You may need to treat plants once a week for a month or so to eliminate these fast-reproducing pests.

Rubbing alcohol is effective on insects with waxy coatings such as scale and mealybugs. Dip a cotton bud into the alcohol and apply it to the pests you see. You may need to do this treatment a couple of times to completely clear up the problem.

Fungus gnats are tiny black flies that buzz around the soil, and a common houseplant pest, though they're often confused with fruit flies. You typically see fungus gnats in large numbers when plants are overwatered. Allow the soil surface to dry between waterings and clean up any dead leaves on the soil surface. You may also want to try repotting your plant into fresh soil.



9. Watch for Houseplant Diseases


Remove and destroy diseased houseplants or affected leaves or stems as they develop to prevent the spread of the disease. Some diseases spread by insects, so keeping the insect population in check helps prevent these problems. A few common houseplant diseases to keep an eye out for include powdery mildew (looks like powdery white spots on leaves), fungal leaf spots (can be yellow, brown, or black spots on leaves), and root rot (mushy, dark-colored roots usually caused by overwatering).

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×