Ever hear a fact about plants and think to yourself, "There's no way that's true"? Well, you're probably right. There are many 'hacks' and facts about plants that get around, but are simply not true. One I hear a lot is that indoor plants need fertilizer in order to grow. This is not necessarily true. Houseplants will still grow without the addition of fertilizer, but just slower. Fertilizer is a way to add extra nutrients and speed up growth, but a big drawback to using fertilizer is that you can actually burn your plants with too much nutrients. This is just an example of some of the crazy things i've heard about keeping your houseplants happy. Here are my top 5 myths that I hear all the time!
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MYTH 1. Misting will increase the humidity around a plant.
SOOOO many people believe that misting a plant is helping them out, increasing the humidity JUST around the plant. I hate to break it to you, but that is just not true. It may increase the humidity around the plant for about 5 minutes, but with the modern ventilation of our houses, the air gets moved so much and so often, that the humidity will dissipate throughout the room and then eventually out of the room as the air in our house gets filtered. The best way to increase humidity in a room is to get an actual humidifier. Another option is to put a pebble tray as a saucer underneath your plant to increase humidity slightly, but the humidifier is the best bet to make a real difference!
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MYTH 2. Repotting in a bigger pot will give you a bigger plant.
This is a big one. So many people think "oh this is a tiny plant, if i put it in a huge pot it'll get massive. And this is just simply not true. If you put a small plant in a pot, over 2" bigger in diameter than the original pot, then you are going to run into problems with your plant and most likely kill it. Potting into a pot thats way bigger than the plant will allow the soil to hold onto more moisture than the plant needs, promoting the growth of harmful fungus and leading to root rot. Always remember when repotting to go up no more than 2" in diameter!
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MYTH 3. Houseplants will die in the winter.
This one is my favorite myth because........just........no. The whole point of houseplants is that we get to appreciate them all year round! You can grow basically anything inside if you give it its ideal environment and enough space! The only thing that does happen in winter is a slow down of growth, so if its winter and you see that your plant hasn't sprouted anything new in a while, don't be alarmed. It is natural for plants to slow growth as there is less sunlight and their enzymes involved in driving biochemical reactions inside the plant don't function as well in the cooler weather. Just as there is an optimal temperature for your body to drive its necessary biochemical reactions, there is also one for plants.
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MYTH 4. Some plants are 'Impossible to kill'
Many people believe plants like succulents such as cactus, sansevieria, hoya, and plants like zz plants are basically impossible to kill. This is not the case. Just because they live in tough environments, doesn't mean you can just neglect these plants. They still need love too! Everything has a set of parameters that need to be met in order to keep them alive and if you choose to slack off, your plant will most definitely be affected. To make sure these plants don't get neglected try to keep to a consistent schedule of just checking your plants and their soil. Checking the soil on a schedule is best, rather than watering on a schedule, so you don't end up overwatering your plants. After you get used to what your plants need it will be easy to take care of them. Always remember both overwatering and underwatering a plant can kill it!
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MYTH 5. Having a lot of plants will give you oxygen poisoning at night.
This is another one that is simply just not true. It isn't even possible to fit enough plants in one room to release the amount of oxygen needed to give someone oxygen poisoning. In order to release enough oxygen to kill an adult human being you would need over 600 million plants!!
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So there you have it, some of the stupidest things I've heard regarding houseplants. Leave a comment of the craziest myths or 'facts' you've heard about houseplants! Subscribe if you like this content and want more!
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