Now that you are an empty nester, you may be looking for new activities to fill your free time. Learning to care for houseplants may be a great activity for you. The reason this may be a great activity for empty nesters is that it allows us something to care for. With our children gone from the home, those new to empty nesting may need to care for something, and houseplants are a great way to fill that need. Plus plants bring life to any room; a refresh to any decor without spending a lot of money on new furniture!

Selecting A Houseplant

The first step to learn how to care for houseplants is selecting the correct type of houseplant for your house. When looking for houseplants, select plants that will grow well in the type of light you have in your house. If you have many south-facing windows, you should be able to grow just about any houseplants your nursery offers. However, if you have a house that doesn’t have many windows or mostly north or east-facing windows, then you should look for plants that grow in low-light settings. Also, pay attention to the watering needs of the plant you select. This will help you know how much attention you will need to give to the plant after taking it home.

After selecting a plant or plants at your local nursery, you will need to also find a few supplies to make potting (or planting) your houseplants a success. The supplies you will need are a pot, potting soil, slow-release fertilizer or plant food, and gardening gloves. Using these supplies will give your houseplant a good start for success.

Potting A Houseplant

The next step to learning how to care for houseplants is learning how to pot a houseplant. Potting houseplants is not hard, so don’t be intimidated! Houseplants purchased from a local nursery will usually come in a plastic pot. You will want to repot the plants into a ceramic pot. Ceramic pots serve two purposes. One they are prettier than the plastic pots! The second purpose is if you tend to overwater your plant, the ceramic plants will help wick away the moisture from the plant. To be honest, I have killed more plants by overwatering than underwatering. So, ceramic pots are a must for me.

When potting a new plant, start by removing the plant from the plastic pot it came in. Look at the plant roots before putting the plant into its new ceramic pot. If the roots are growing around the outside of the soil, you will need to separate them. Don’t be scared to do this, it is the best thing for the plant. If you don’t loosen the roots, they will become root bound, which is not healthy for your plant. So go for it, and ruffle those plant roots lose. You’re going for a bad hair day look! You want the roots to be sticking out everywhere.

Once you have the roots loosened, put some potting soil at the bottom of the ceramic pot. Then place the plant in the ceramic pot and fill around the edges with additional potting soil. Add only enough potting soil to fill the empty spaces between the plant and the pot. Don’t add additional soil to the top of the pot at this point. Fill only to the level of the original soil level the plant had in its plastic pot. Add the slow-release fertilizer or plant food according to the package directions. Then water the newly potted plant until water runs out the drain hole in the bottom of the pot. Place the plant where it will receive the required amount of sun described on the plant description tag. Now let the plant settle into its new home.

Learning To Care For Houseplants

A day or two after you have potted your houseplant, check to see if the potting soil settled and additional potting soil needs to be added. At least once a week, check to see if your plant needs water. To check, stick your finger approximately one inch into the soil about halfway between the pot edge and the base of the plant. If it is dry one inch down in the soil, you should water the plant. If it is still moist one inch into the soil, check again in two to three days. Water needs will change throughout the year depending on how much heat, humidity, and sunlight the plant is getting. Make adjustments to watering and sunlight as needed to keep your plant healthy. Apply additional plant fertilizer or plant food according to package direction, usually every three to four months.

Now that you have learned how to care for houseplants, give it a try. You may have a few failures along the way, but we all do. It’s just part of it. But don’t give up, keep trying! You will find your success and the types of plants that grow well in your house. It’s very similar to parenting, you make mistakes along the way, but you never give up.

Enjoy empty nesting and this new activity of learning to care for houseplants! Your green thumb awaits!