I watch various YouTubers and in one video it talked about collecting plants vs growing a thriving plant. I am working toward getting my plants to be the best they can be and try and limit buying new ones for a bit. Now I am convinced they all have something wrong! Any words of wisdom? Trying to not be down on myself that I thought I was a decent plant mommy and have been downgraded to a fair mommy at best.
Plants are living things. Imperfections are natural. Just like you can give your kids a great environment and lots of love, they can still get bumps and bruises. Have some attitude. I’d focus on enjoying the plant parenting journey and the joy of caring for your plants over achieving aesthetic perfection.
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Stay calm, everything will be fine. You are still a good plant mom. Everyone has an opinion, don’t let their opinions bring you down. Plants take time, patience, and practice.
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Some people get joy from collecting lots of plants. Others like to start from a cutting and nurture a plant until it is fully developed. Starting with too many can leave you frustrated especially if the plants have varied needs and you are new to raising plants. I recommend starting with a few with similar characteristics such as growing pothos varieties which are easier to manage. It’s trial and error most of the time. Narrowing down your collection to a few of the same types can make it easier to sharpen skills. 🪴🍀
1 like I have been collecting for a few years and have started to hone in on what I like, or what just doesn't do well with me. We moved 6 months ago and I have struggled with light. I know a few plants I would like to get....but not until I get my existing ones in better shape.
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Do you have grow lights? My natural light is lacking and grow lights helped a ton.
1 like Yes, I have grow lights. Still trying to get it all right. I had one light and it just wasn't working in a spot but works great in another. I don't love the look of alot of them. I would like some better ones in the future.
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Don't be too hard on yourself. You mentioned you moved 6 months ago, and plants can be fussy about moving. This is a chance to discover the joy of learning that you can improve your plants' health! It will make you a more confident plarent in the future.
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My tip: learn about how your plants like to grow in nature. For example orchids don’t grow in soil, they grow on the sides of trees in tropical environments, hence why most grocery-store-bought orchids tend to die when they’re sold in soil and have instructions to water with ice. My mom had a big orchid that lost all of its roots to rot (yes every single one) and she asked me to try to help it. I watched tons of videos on saving orchids since I’ve never cared for one before. I sat it on top of sphagnum moss and continually kept it moist and humid, but after a few months nothing changed. The leaves began to wrinkle due to dehydration because she had no roots. So I did some more digging and found out that orchids focus on root growth in the summer months. I realized in my air conditioned home it probably wasn’t warm enough, so I moved her to a warmer spot (we happen to have a snake with a heat lamp so I moved her near that). Within a few weeks she had already sprouted a couple new root buds. After a couple more weeks she has 6 new roots forming and I’m able to pot her back up into a proper orchid pot where she’ll hopefully continue to grow. Growing plants is literally a science, you just gotta do a bit of research to see what works best for you and your plants and how they thrive.
3 likes Good points. Thanks.
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I don't think there's any right or wrong way of being a plant parent. It should be about answering the question: What gives you joy with your plants? The only right answer is your answer, not anyone else's. For me, I've enjoyed branching into collecting philos, ficus, fittonias, aglaonemas...I'm loving my variety and most are thriving. Also, I'm finding joy, for now, in "collecting" plants needing a little TLC and getting them to healthy stage or watching little starters grow. A year from now my answer maybe different, and that's OK. You do your plants in whatever way you need for them to give you joy. If needing to focus on current ones in order to get them thriving, before adding any more, that's OK. It's where you are at this moment. I apologize for my lengthy response.
2 likes I LOVE getting new plants but I just don't want them to die. I seem to have the best luck with agleonema, philosophy, and my random hoya that loves where it is. Fittonia....love them....they don't love me!
2 likes Love this. It’s like when my husband made me realize I don’t actually enjoy cooking, I just love accumulating cookbooks and watching cooking shows 😂
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