If you have ever tried to grow house plants but it just never seemed worked out, this is your sign to give it another try! Moriah Pettway has the steps to get you started.
This story originally aired as part of our WNUR News Touches Grass Special Broadcast.
[Music: Instrumental Beat by Moriah Pettway]
Growing plants is a hobby many of us have tried. Some people have succeeded and some have downright killed plants. And by some I mean me. I heard that succulents were the easiest to grow so I decided to take it upon myself and grow one of my own. Three days went by and I found my succulent brown and crunchy.
(Nat sound: Crunched leaves)
Plant Biology and Conservation Ph.D. student Sarah Wetterer is an owner of over 300 plants. She says that succulents are not as easy to maintain as they seem.
[SARAH WETTERER] Actually one of the myths that I fell victim to when I was starting in plants is the idea that succulents are the easiest because it really depends on how you think you’re going to be watering and for me, I really wanted to take care of plants and so I wanted a plant that I could really look after and succulents just don’t need that and so if you’re really watering it like every couple of days or paying a lot of attention to it a succulent will die.
However, Medill junior Joyce Li has found the key to succulent survival. It’s all about how you soak the soil.
[JOYCE LI] With succulents, you’re supposed to like soak the soil so I just pick it up and I just like pour water into it and then when the water comes out on the other side, I put the pot back down and thats what I do.
Li says that her tillandsia plants, commonly known as air plants, are also low-maintenance.
[JL] I have a couple of air plants this year that I got at Trader Joe’s, that just need to be sprayed with a spray bottle those I tend to just do whenever I feel like it.
I don’t know about you but that sounds like a great option for me. But if you’re looking for a plant that requires little effort and is very rewarding Weinburg junior and three-year plant enthusiast Mary Clayton says that a Pothose hanging plant is actually the best plant to start with.
[MARY CLAYTON] They’re super easy, because they grow fast. So you get like, the gratification of growing a plant and seeing new leaves pretty quickly, like within a couple of weeks. And then they’re also really resilient, so if you forget to water it for a couple of weeks, they’ll still come back to life if you just decide to water it.
It seems like there are a few options for those who want to start growing plants. Although some of these plants won’t die if you forget to water them for a day, remembering to water them is still important. Li said she uses Google Calendar to keep track of the watering schedule for her eight different plants.
[JL] I have little Google calendar notifications now for the ones that require more watering, but usually, they all just need to be watered once a week or once every two weeks. So it’s usually something I remember to do every like Friday.
Clayton also uses an app to keep track of watering her plants. Unlike Li, she uses an app called Planta, which tells you when to water your plants, and also keeps track of growth.
[MC] So some of the plants I’ve had since I guess like four or five years now on this app which is cool.
While watering your plants is a vital part of plant health, so is sunlight. Weinberg sophomore Maxine Van der Donk says that it is tough to find sufficient sunlight in a dorm.
[MAX VAN DER DONK] The hardest part for me honestly, was finding a good place in my room to place them so they get enough sunlight. I think that is something that’s part of dorms is if you get a bad room that doesn’t get a lot of sunlight your plant needs, like some plants need direct sunlight, some need indirect some need alot of light, some need a lot less so if you get stuck with a dorm that doesn’t have the kind of light you need it’s a little bit hard.
Having a busy schedule can make it hard to water your plants, but now you know of some apps like Google Calendar and Planta that can remind us to water our plants. We can check that obstacle off the list!
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But what about the most uncontrollable factor of them all –The Housing assignment?
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Let’s say you don’t get your sunlit dorm options of Schapiro Hall or Allison Hall. Instead, you are placed in a dark dorm room like Bobb Hall, East Fairchild Residential College or Jones Hall.
Well don’t feel because Wetterer recommends a plant for this scenario.
[SW] Within those conditions Sansevieria do very well – that’s the snake plants.
She recommends a few other options as well.
[SW]I would say pothos will do very well in low light any of those trailing philodendrons.
She says that Hoyas can bloom indoors.
[SW] Its H-O-Y-A and they’re beautiful house plants and those can actually bloom indoors. We have one that’s been blooming for the past like couple months blooming off and on so those are really nice for dorms too I would say.
Trial and error are a huge part of the plant-growing process so don’t be afraid to start. And hopefully, some of these tips will help you start your journey off successfully.
[Music: Instrumental Beat by Moriah Pettway]
Music by Moriah Pettway.
For WNUR NEWS, I’m Moriah Pettway.
