Taking care of Indoor plants with zero knowledge.

I know I’m not a qualified enough to write about indoor plants but that is the whole point of this post. I have damaged enough plants to get to this level, at this point I can say I have officially made most of them survive a year (Alhumdulilah) =D

I got the plant love from my mother she’s the best gardener but I’m not because the weather conditions don’t support my gardening skills.

So, I am going to introduce you guys with my very own indoor plants and will let you know my struggle of keeping them alive with little care.

ALOE VERA :

If you guys know me and have been following me, you’d know how crazy I am about organic skincare and DIYs. So, after the sunburn this year I was desperate in finding out aloe vera gel to make a few DIY recipes to get rid of the burn and while I was searching for it in stores I thought ‘why not just buy a plant and use it instead’ .. Best decision made right there!! Bought the plant .. 100% organic (Check!) and saved quite a few bucks as well. The plant was quite big and I wanted it to grow more so what I did I placed the plant under the shade outside my apartment as you can see. Now the problem is, in summers it’s 21 hours of light (minimum, I live in Sweden) and in winters it’s almost no light and heat as I live on the shady ground floor. So, here’s where it will become tricky.

• If you are living in a warm country, place the plant under a shade where it doesn’t get direct light and heat. Water it once a week. Very little water is needed and too little during winter.
• My plant has almost survived 6 months and is still strong in October’s cold winds but if you live in a Scandinavian country like me, it might die at some point due to no light and no heat so better make use of that gel when you notice that it starts to die soon and there’s no rescue. Keep the plant indoor in your most heated and lighted room to make it survive most of the winter.

You can buy it online here: Aloe Vera

PEACE LILY / SPATHIPHYLLUM :

This is my favorite plant among all maybe because it didn’t give up on me like others who betrayed lol. From day one when I saw it I chose it as my corner plant it had big lush green leaves with lilies in the middle. Lilies disappeared when the winter hit but the plant stayed good. Worst happened when we planned to go away on vacation and left it with my aunt for two months. It was almost dead when we came back .. We took it back home put it back at it’s usual corner and after watering and taking care of it, it started growing little green leaves again (as you can see the new leaves in the picture Mash Allah =D ) Lesson learned:

• Be very careful when you move your plant. Every little change in the environment and care can effect them. It’s just like leaving your pet with someone.
• This plants gets thirsty specially in summer but don’t over water otherwise it will die. You can touch the top of the soil and feel if it’s little damp you don’t have to water it.
• About light, I keep it beside my window where the light comes in but not direct light!
• I do spray it with water for extra humidity.

Buy it online here: Peace Lily

 

POTHOS /SCINDAPSUS :

Now this one is my favorite because it’s the most easy going plant.. Not moody at all !! It just stays there smiling from a corner and making you happy. If you want a kid do pray he/she turns out as good and low-maintenance as  Pothos. Too many jokes ? =|

• It can stay in the dark corner with little light and little water. I did over watered it once and some leaves started getting brown and yellow so I backed off.
• It grows fast and grows bigger and I love it. If you cut the branches short it will become more thick from the bottom but for me I really like the long spiral shaped branches.

Buy it online here: Pothos

This is how long it grew.

SPIDER PLANT :

Look how beautiful it is.. Also, needs minimum care and minimum water. I have it on my table in my kitchen but the best thing you can do with it to hang it above so it can grow bigger. Haven’t seen any flowering yet but heard it may flower once a year.

• Check the soil before watering it and keep it in light but not outside.

 

ZZ  PLANT / ZAMIOCULCAS :

If you are bad with plants just like me, you need this plant in your life.

• Can survive in shade
• Can survive the dark Scandinavian weather
• Minimum amount of water even if you forget it won’t mind =P
• Best for indoors

You can also order it online from: ZZ PLANT

 

Re potting Of Plants and Fertilizers: 

Do notice when your plant needs Re-potting. Re-pot them when you see them getting bigger and growing fast so they keep on growing. About fertilizers, different plants have different fertilizing seasons. I however, fertilized them twice a year. You can learn more about them from websites.

 

CONFESSION:

I will be honest here .. I don’t know the name of this plant nor I have any idea about what is wrong with it. tried everything and it’s still dying so I just recently placed it with a new coffee plant =P

I will do one more post on the positive effects of indoor plants because that was the main reason why I bought them in the first place. Stay tuned. Share my words of wisdom !! and follow me on Joikhtiar

–I buy my plants from Ikea Sverige  &  Blomster Landet  

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