8 Tips And Tricks To Help Care For Indoor Plants

Indoor plants can really brighten up an apartment or home. We might fool ourselves into thinking that a cozy living space is all about the furniture or decorations, but without any houseplants, your space just isn't going to look the same. That being said, not everyone is born with a green thumb, and growing plants and keeping them alive might not seem worth the hassle. Luckily, these 8 must-know tips & tricks for plant care will show you easy ways to keep your plants going and growing strong! With just a few pointers and new ideas, your living space will be filled with vibrant plants and cool new ways to grow and display them!

1. Avoid Water Overflow

You'll Need:

  • sponge

Here's How:

1.1 To keep excess water from leaking out of your flower pots when you water your plants, place a sponge underneath them. Now if you give your plant too much water, it will get absorbed instead of making a huge mess!

2. Put Your Cactus Back Together

You'll Need:

  • durable drinking straw
  • knife

Here's How:

2.1 If part of your cactus broke off, don't worry – there's an easy fix! Use a durable straw to poke a hole in the mother plant where the section broke off.

2.2 Push the straw into the section of the cactus that broke off and, while the straw is still in place, cut a small section off of the end of the cactus. When you pull out the straw, you should be left with a small peg attached to the part of the cactus you want to reattach.

2.3 Now you can insert the broken piece of the cactus right back onto the mother plant, and with time it will heal itself!

3. Cute Plant Friend

You'll Need:

  • pantyhose
  • scissors
  • empty toilet paper roll
  • grass seeds
  • sand
  • string
  • 2 thumb tacks
  • 2 googly eyes
  • craft glue

Here's How:

3.1 Cut 1 foot off of a pair of pantyhose, then pull it over 1 end of an empty toilet paper roll. Using the toilet paper roll as a funnel, fill the foot of the pantyhose with some grass seeds and sand.

3.2 Remove the empty toilet paper roll and tie the pantyhose shut. Wrap some string around a small section of the sand to make a little nose.

3.3 Dip the filled pantyhose in a glass filled with water.

3.4 Once some grass starts growing out of the filled pantyhose, glue some googly eyes to a pair of thumb tacks and stick then on either side of the little button nose you made. How cute!

4. Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Dinosaur

You'll Need:

  • chia seeds
  • water
  • plastic wrap
  • toothpick

Here's How:

4.1 Place some chia seeds on a plate and soak them in some water.

4.2 Cover the plate with plastic wrap and use a toothpick to poke some holes in the top. Let the chia seeds soak for about 10 minutes.

4.3 Spread the soaked chia seeds over the surface of a plastic dinosaur and watch its new huge hairdo grow! 

5. Propagate Spider Plants

You'll Need:

  • spider plant
  • bobby pin
  • scissors

Here's How:

5.1 Bend the spider plant so that one of the offshoots can be planted in the potting soil, either in the same flower pot as the mother plant or in a new one. Make sure that during this process the offshoot stays attached to the mother plant. Keep the offshoot in place by securing it with a bobby pin. The easiest way to do this is to stick the bobby pin directly into the soil with the branch of the mother plant inside.

5.2 Once roots have grown from the offshoot, you can cut the branch from the mother plant off and take care of it as you normally would. After just a few weeks, you'll have another thriving spider plant!

6. DIY Automatic Drip Irrigation System

You'll Need:

  • empty plastic bottle
  • screwdriver
  • lighter
  • Q-Tip
  • hot glue gun
  • duct tape
  • wooden dowel

Here's How:

6.1 Use a lighter to heat up the end of a screwdriver, then stick it into the cap of the bottle in order to create a hole.

6.2 Unscrew the bottle cap, flip it over, stick a Q-tip through the hole, and use a hot glue gun to secure it in place. Make sure that the cotton on the Q-tip fully sticks out of the top of the hole in the bottle cap.

6.3 Fill the plastic bottle with water and screw on the cap with the Q-tip attached.

6.4 Attach the water bottle to a wooden dowel or stick with duct tape.

6.5 Stick the wooden dowel or stick into the soil in the flower pot of the plant you'd like to water, making sure the bottle facing downwards. Now your plant will automatically be watered just the right amount!

7. Water Saturation Test For Soil

You'll Need:

  • pencil

Here's How:

7.1 Stick the tip of a pencil into the soil in your flowerpot. If there is no residue on the pencil when you pull it out, it's time to water your plant. If the tip of the pencil has some soil sticking to it, you can wait a little while before checking again.

8. Trick For Keeping Soil Damp

You'll Need:

  • diaper
  • water
  • soil

Here's How:

8.1 Put a diaper in a casserole dish and soak it in some water.

8.2 Cut off the outside of the diaper and keep the damp absorbent material that's inside, then mix it together with some potting soil.

8.3 Place the soil mixture inside a flower pot and plant the plant of your choice inside. Now the soil will stay damp for longer!

Plants make everything better, so giving them the right kind of care is important. These plant hacks will help you take care of your plants the way they take care of you!

Get the instructions for the Clever Plant Hacks and Tips For Vibrant Plants.

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