20 Houseplant Care Tips for Your Indoor Plants

Whether you’re new to caring for houseplants, or you’ve had plants for many years – here are some quick tips to help you care for your plants to keep them healthy and looking great.

To learn more about specific plants, make sure to check out my Plant Profiles and Houseplant Visual Index.

If you have additional tips to add to this list, please share in a comment below.

The links in this post contain affiliate links. I’ll receive a small commission (at no expense to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. 

Plant Care Tips

Tip #1 – Get To Know Your Plants

When you ask questions and learn as much as you can about a particular plant, you’ll be able to mimic that plant’s natural environment in your own home – giving it its best chance for survival and growth. If you can’t provide the conditions a plant needs to live, it’s best to pass on that particular plant. Researching a plant and its needs before you bring it home will set you up for better success.

Tip #2 – Quarantine New Plants

When you bring a new plant home, make sure to look it over carefully for any signs of pests or disease. It’s a good idea to keep the new plant separated from your other, established plants until you’re sure the new plant is pest-free. Keeping new plants quarantined for a week or two is generally a good idea.

Tip #3 – Water Needs

More plants die from overwatering than underwatering. When you’re not sure what your plants watering needs are, it’s best to underwater versus overwatering. Overwatering plants can cause the roots to rot, which will kill the plant. See How to Water Houseplants for more details.

Tip #4 – Light Needs

Every plant requires light to grow – some need more light than others. Make sure you’re providing enough light to meet your plant’s needs.

• Plants that need a lot of direct or indirect light should be placed near a window that receives six or more hours of sunlight a day (south-facing windows).
• Plants that need moderate light should be placed where they’ll receive four to six hours of sunlight a day (east- and west-facing windows).
• Plants that require low light should be placed where they’ll receive three hours or less of sunlight a day (north-facing windows).
• For plants that need direct sunlight – make sure they are closest to the window so sunlight falls on the plant. For plants that need indirect light – place them either six or more feet away from the windows, or behind a sheer curtain.
• If you’re growing plants in an area that has no natural light, make sure to use a grow light bulb to make up for the lack of natural sunlight. NOTE: Plants do require a period of darkness as well. Set your grow light on a timer so that your plants get at least 8 hours of darkness a day.

Once you have a plant in its optimal position for light (and temperature), it’s best to leave the plant in that location. If you do need to move a plant to a different location, make the change as gradual as possible to help plants acclimate to the new location.

Need to add more natural light to a room? Add mirrors! Mirrors placed on the wall opposite windows will help reflect the light around the room, making it brighter. They also add interest to a space.

Tip #5 – Rotate Your Plants

It’s important to rotate your plants periodically. Plants naturally grow toward the sun – by rotating them, you’ll help them stay straight and grow evenly for a much fuller look.

Tip #6 – Dust Those Leaves

Plants use their leaves to collect sunshine so they can photosynthesize. When there is dust and debris on the leaves, the leaves can’t perform their task efficiently. Wipe down the leaves of plants to keep them dust-free and healthy. A good rule of thumb is to check the leaves for dust buildup every time you water the plant.

Tip #7 – Prune Your Plants

Prune your overgrown houseplants to encourage new, thicker growth. Most houseplants can be pruned  – use a sharp scissor and cut just above new shoots or leaves to prune. It’s also a good idea to remove any dead or dying leaves and stems.  NOTE: Use the cuttings from when you prune to propagate new plants.

Tip #8 – Check for Pests

It’s a good idea to periodically look over your plants to inspect for pests. Use a magnifying lens if you need to in order to get a close-up view. Common pests for houseplants include aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, and fungus gnats (just to name a few). When you spot the pests early, you have the best chance at removing them before they do too much harm to your plant. Insecticidal soap and/or Neem Oil is a quick and efficient treatment for most comment pests. Continue treating your plant until the pests are completely gone. Click How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats for more information.

Tip #9 – Fertilize When Needed

To help indoor plants grow and thrive, you can add fertilizer to the soil. An all-purpose, balanced fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20) can be used in either granular form or liquid form. Apply fertilizer during the active growing months (the warmer Summer months). Make sure to follow the instructions for the fertilizer you decide to use.

Tip #10 – Proper Placement for Temperature

Houseplants are mostly tropical plants from other native areas. Therefore, they need temperatures of 55-degrees F or above in order to survive. When displaying plants in your home, make sure to keep plants out of drafty areas (such as near air conditioning vents, open doors, or drafty windows) and away from areas with excessive heat (such as near a stove in use, baseboard heaters, or heat vents). If you live in a cold climate and like to put your houseplants outside in the Spring – make sure the overnight temperatures are 55-degrees F or higher before leaving plants outside.

Tip #11 – Pick the Perfect Pot

The pot you choose for your plants is important to the health of your plant. Pots with drainage holes are preferred over pots without. Some pots work better for air circulation on the roots – such as terra cotta and clay pots. Ceramic pots and plastic pots tend to hold moisture longer, so you may need to adjust your watering schedule to avoid overwatering.

If you find a pot you absolutely love, but it doesn’t have a drain hole, you can use a drill and a specialized drill bit to add a drain hole. Carbide bits work well for ceramic, and diamond-tipped bits work well for porcelain and glass. These bits are usually around $10-$15. If you don’t want to drill a hole in the pot, put the plant in a plastic grower’s pot (with drain holes) and slip that pot into the non-drain hole pot. When it’s time to water, just remove the grower’s pot – water and drain the plant – then slip plant back into the decorative pot.

Tip #12 – Soil Matters

The type of soil you use for your houseplants can play a large part in their growth and survival. Using a well-draining soil is always best, as this will help prevent the roots from rotting in too much moisture. An all-around indoor potting soil can be amended by adding perlite or pumice for better drainage. A cactus potting mix is another type of soil that can work well for most indoor plants. You can mix half cactus soil with half regular indoor potting soil for a nice mix. Adding peat moss to an indoor potting soil can help the soil retain moisture for those moisture-loving plants. NOTE: When potting a plant, make sure to leave about an inch of space between the soil and the top of the pot – this provides space for the water to be contained when watering.

Tip #13 – A Breath of Fresh Air

Houseplants benefit from fresh air. Open your windows when weather permits to bring in the fresh air. If the weather doesn’t allow you to open windows, use a room fan to move the air around – your plants will thank you.

Tip #14 – Adjust the Humidity

Since most houseplants come from tropical locations, many require higher humidity levels than most homes have naturally. For plants that require more humidity, place them on a pebble tray of water to increase the humidity around that plant. Grouping humidity-loving plants together is another way to increase the humidity among the plants, and of course, adding a small room humidifier is another way to increase humidity for your plants. Some plants also like being under a glass cloche to keep the humid air around the plant.

Tip #15 – Aerate the Soil

Over time, the soil in your planters compacts and can make it harder for the roots of the plant to grow. An easy solution is to use something like a pencil or chopstick to aerate the soil – just poke a dozen or so holes in the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot.

Tip #16 – Repot When Needed

As plants grow, they can become root-bound where the roots are packed so closely together they don’t have room to expand and grow. When this happens, repot the plant in a slightly larger pot with fresh potting soil. This will allow the plant to grow faster and the fresh soil provides more nutrients to the plant. Some plants do prefer their roots in tight spaces, so make sure to research your individual plants to see which ones would benefit most from being repotted.

Tip #17 – It’s Okay to Experiment

Obviously, we all want our plants to live. But sometimes things happen and a plant doesn’t survive. This is how we learn how to care for our houseplants. Experiment with different lighting, different soil types, adjust the amount of water you give a plant, try different types of pots. By experimenting and asking questions, you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.

Tip #18 – Keep a Journal

Keep a journal or notebook to record specific needs and notes for each plant in your collection. This will help you remember plant needs- such as water, light, and any other special care a plant may require. The journal also is a great place to record growth over time – include photos if you’d like! Think of this journal as the ‘baby book’ for your plant babies.

Tip #19 – Read a Book

There is a lot of information about houseplants on the internet – including right here on this website – and that is a great way to learn more about plants in general, and about the specific plants you want to add to your collection. Books are another way to learn more about plants – here are just a few to help get you started:

• The House Plant Expert by D.G. Hessayon – This is a great book for troubleshooting problems with plants, as well as identifying a variety of houseplants. 
• American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques by Alan Toogood – This book teaches you how to propagate practically any plant, using a wide variety of techniques. A must-have for plant lovers who want to grow their plant collections.
• Plantopedia: The Definitive Guide to Houseplants by Lauren Camilleri – This book includes information on more than 130 different plants, including tips and tricks to help houseplants grow and thrive. The images also help with plant identification.

Tip #20 – Connect With Other Plant Lovers

Connect with other people who love houseplants! It’s a great way to learn about new plants, discover helpful tips for caring for plants, and is a place you can share your joys and plant accomplishments. There are many online groups you could join, such as Facebook Groups and Reddit Groups. Some groups are local, others are international. Find a group that fits your style and needs, and network with others. There may also be local garden groups in your area that you could join. Ask the owners of the shops where you buy houseplants if they know of any local groups.

If you’d like ideas for displaying plants and creating your own garden room – feel free to join a houseplant Facebook Group I lead – hope to see you there!

Share your tips in a comment below!