The Dirt on my Favorite House Plants

If you have been following along on my Instagram @acarriedaffairdesigns then you know my love for greenery & flowers. However, keeping them alive longer than a couple weeks has always been a struggle for me. To the point I was making a bi-weekly trip to our local garden shop to replace our house plants. Well friends, the cost of doing that was adding up quickly and definitely wasn’t a good long term solution. So I did some research as well as got advice from some plant aficionados and let me tell you, it made all the difference in the world. I am happy to report that after following the plant aficionados advice, I am no longer making those biweekly trips. With that said, I am sharing some of my favorite greenery, the benefits of them, and how to keep them thriving. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it!

Now let’s talk types of greenery

I currently have all of these plants in my house and they all have made it past week 3! Can you believe that?!? Me, keeping plants alive? It only took all my life. Moving on…

Now let’s talk benefits & care tips for each of these plants

Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

This tree has quickly become my favorite plant in our house. The fullness and the various green tones have me all sorts of heart eyes. Maybe the seagrass basket it’s in has something to do with it being my favorite. 🤔

Update

The above picture is of my Fiddle Leaf Fig when I brought it home in May 2017. The below picture is what it looks like as of March 2018. Proof that I’ve been able to keep this baby alive & thriving. 😂 Too bad I cannot say that about all of the plants from this post.

Benefits: Produces high levels of oxygen and cleans the air of allergens.

Care Tips: Bright consistent light. Turn the plant every few months (once the plant starts to lean towards the light). Keep away from drafty areas.

Watering: Stick your finger in the top of the soil. If the soil is dry about an inch down, then it is time to water your fiddle.

English Ivy

Benefits: Reduces mold spores, benzene, and formaldehyde in the air of your home. To lean more about the benefits of English Ivy read THIS.

Care Tips: English Ivy is poisonous and should be kept out of reach from children and pets. 

Watering: If the soil is dry to the touch, then it needs water. If the soil is most at all, it is fine.

Update

I tried really hard to keep my Ivy alive but to no avail, they died. RIP. However, I was able to keep them alive a lot longer than my first ones.

Rubber Plant

The rubber plant is almost impossible to kill, which is probably why it is still going strong! 😂

Benefits: This plant purifies the air and reduces airborne bacteria. It also produces oxygen and eliminates mold spores in the air.

Care Tips: The leaves tend to get dusty. I just wipe them with a damp towel.

Watering: Rubber plants do not require a lot of water. Actually, they are better off under-watered than over-watered. If the soil is completely dry then it is time to water, but if there is any moisture, you can wait to water.

Boston Fern

Benefits: Removes formaldehyde from the air and acts as a general air purifier.

Care Tips: Needs indirect sunlight & humidity.

Watering: Keep the soil damp at all times. I also mist the leaves twice a week to create humidity.

Heart Leaf Philodendron Plant

Benefits: Removes formaldehyde and carbon monoxide from the air. 

Care Tips: Poisonous. Keep out of reach from children and pets. 

Watering: Keep the soil damp. If the leaves turn yellow that means the plant is getting too much water. Brown leaves mean not enough water.

Update

I am happy to report that all of my Heart Leaf Philodendron are still alive and thriving! These plants are super easy to maintain. I water them once every two weeks on average and they have continued to thrive.

Succulents

Benefits: Removes formaldehyde.

Care Tips: Needs a lot of sunlight and well drained soil. I added rocks to the bottom of this snack bowl turned succulent planter and topped the rocks with soil. Doing this will allow the soil to drain.

Watering: Once every 3-4 weeks.

Tip: Clip some of the the leaves off and lay on damp soil to propagate and grow your succulent garden.

Areca Palm

Benefits: Natural humidifier. Removes, benzene and formaldehyde from the air. 

Care Tips: They need bright indirect light. Direct sunlight with make the leaves turn yellow.

Watering: Keep the soil moist. I water mine about once a week.

Asparagus Fern

Benefits: Improves indoor air quality.

Care Tips: Needs humidity and indirect sunlight. Can prune.

Watering: Mist the plant daily to create humidity. Water when the soil is dry to the touch.

Golden Pothos (Devil’s Ivy)

This is a new addition to my favorite house plants. I love that they look similar to an ivy plant and some even have the long flowing vines (like the one pictured above). These plants have proven to be the easiest to take care of. All the pothos in this photo have been going strong for months with little effort.

Benefits: Natural air purifier. Helps prevent cataracts & glaucoma. Removes formaldehyde from the air. 

Care Tips: They can thrive basically anywhere in your home, except in complete darkness. You can easily propogate pothos by simply pruning a leaf and putting it in soil.

Watering: Keep the soil moist. I water mine about once every week and a half to two weeks. If the water is still moist I wait to water it.

Additional Care Tips

Tip 1: Use planters that have a hole in the bottom. If your planters don’t, put rocks at the bottom so there is room for the water to go. Letting your plant sit in the water can cause the soil to mold.

Tip 2: If you use city water to water your plants let the water sit out overnight before using it. City water has traces of chlorine which can make your plants die.

Tip 3: The advice I got from a gardener at our local garden shop is to push your finger into the soil around the roots, if the soil is still moist then no need to water it. If the soil is completely dry and/or looks like it is separating from the sides of the planter then it needs water.

Tip 4: Put a weekly reminder on your phone to check the plants.

We all have busy schedules, so it is easy to forget about watering your plants if they look ok at a glance. I set a weekly reminder on my phone to check my plants in the evening.

Well friends, that’s all for this post. I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or you can message me on Instagram @acarriedaffairdesigns

Until next time. xo

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