.plant plant plant mother.

summer 2018, I didn't do anything major, didn't go away to any faraway places, didn't do anything too exciting. with everyone coming back to campus, I was so stressed for the "what did you do this summer?" question. 

until,

I adopted a bunch of plants. 

all in one go: spent two hours in a hardware story and then a couple hundred on eleven plants, ceramic pots, dirt, and soil treatment solutions. (well worth it.)

I did it for two reasons:

1. improve the space in my office. having plants means there's something pretty to look at; they create a nice, relaxing environment.

2. plants purify the air. the air in my office gets a bit stuffy from time to time.  usually entering into the fall, there's an increase in fires in my area, so there's lots of smoke and other particles polluting the air. 

after I did this, I became a plant mother to six english ivies, one fancy plant (think: mini palm tree), one aloe vera, one fairy washboard succulent (I call her verona) one golden pothos (I call him filo), and one mojito mint (rip, sweet baby). 

since then, I've adopted a spotted succulent (steven), inherited two succulents from a birthday bouquet, gifted a polka dot plant (hello dottie), and picked up a new fairy washboard succulent for at-home (theodora, or theo for short - thanks haunting at hill house). 

below is some of my accumulated plant knowledge, which has been requested by a couple of friends since becoming a plant mother. read on to learn a thing, if you so desire. 

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PLANT KNOWLEDGE

so first - repotting. you’re gonna wanna get it out of the nursery pot - make sure the new pot has a hole for drainage and a plate to catch overflow / or keep it placed outside. as you're repotting, massage bottom of roots to break away soil & encourage growth in the new home. 

there will be a short period of time as the plant adjusts to its new home so some leaves might react - this is normal. 

then with watering: with most potting soil, you can water once a week to a week and a half. to check, you press your finger on the soil and there should be a good amount that sticks to the pad of your finger. 

be careful not to overwater because it can lead to root rot, which will hurt the plant worse than under-watering. if there’s a splatter pattern in the leaves, then it’s too much water, so the veins are bursting - just adjust by watering less. 

if leaves are withering and ultimately, just prune them off. keeping them dilutes the plant's energy too much and hurts new growth. 

there a few supplemental liquids you can dilute in water and then feed once a month to your plant. b1 vitamin concentrate helps plants adjust to new pots. seaweed extract helps plants generate new growth. 

with sun exposure / placement. go off of what’s indicated on the tag but experiment if you’re noticing it’s not thriving. most plants tolerate high sun exposure well. 

watch a Jenna Marbles video where she talks about her houseplants. she drops some major helpful tips too. 

 "a tour of my plants" by jenna marbles on youtube, published on mar 13, 2019

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most of my information about plants comes from a mix of an enthusiastic dale hardware employee (thank u, joseph, u angel), a bit of google, and a bit of miscellaneous word of mouth.

if you want updates about the plants and which ones make the move, let me know!

until next time, 

emily renee