• Home
  • DIY
    • Accessories
    • Art
    • Drywall
    • Lighting
    • Flooring
    • Painting
    • Tools
    • Window treatments
    • Woodwork
  • Decor
    • Closet
    • Dining room
    • Guest bedroom
    • Hallway
    • Kitchen
    • Living room
    • Office
  • Life
    • Home ownership
    • Organization
  • Archives
  • Get the latest updates
  • FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
  • Get your wall prep freebie!
    Social Icons
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hello home, girl!

making a home on a tiny budget.

07/18/2022

5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants

Over the last two and a half years of caring for my house plants, there are a few lessons that I have learned in my time as a new plant owner. If you are thinking of becoming a plant parent, these 5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants are for you!

A woman holds a green standard pothos plant. 5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants.

5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants

Side note: I resent the term “plant parent.” I usually just say I have plants. I don’t like to refer to myself as a parent in any regard!

You will kill several plants!

In the last two and a half years, I’ve probably killed ten plants out of the twenty I’ve either purchased or propagated. That means I have about a 50% success rate. I’ve experienced many failures – from the occasional overwatering/underwatering, to figuring out the right soil mix for a particular kind of houseplant.

You’re bound to error when you are learning how to care for something you haven’t cared for before. That’s no big deal! Don’t become discouraged and instead keep trying different techniques and/or house plants until you are successful!

Remember, most house plants are replaceable. If you fail, just get another one.

Entryway cabinet with a basket and abstract painting on the wall.

Your plant needs more sunlight than what the label says.

Notoriously, many of the information cards that come with your new house plant will convince you that a plant can survive in low light. That might make you feel that your plant can survive in any room in your house, i.e. putting a snake plant in your small, northeast-facing bathroom with a single window.

Sorry – that probably will not work! There’s a chance you could make it work (probably with a grow light), but it will not be as simple as leaving your plant to thrive on its own.

Conversely, some plants’ information cards say that a plant likes bright, indirect light. It can be frustrating because you may be thinking, “What does bright, indirect light look like in my house’s southeast facing room?”

A still life of a heart leaf philodendron house plant in a pink ceramic plant pot from the 99 cents store. It sits on a gold plant stand by Hilton Carter from Target.

To clarify this light conundrum for you, let’s take a common pothos plant. It can survive in low light, but it will barely grow.

So, although it can survive in low light, it may not thrive in low light. Therefore, it would be better for your pothos plant to live in bright, indirect light.

That is why my pothos in my southwest facing room (where I keep the curtains closed most of the time) died, while my pothos in my north facing window flourishes!

Pick your battles: Heat or plants.

That southwest room I just alluded to is a bedroom. Naturally, It gets extremely hot there in the evening, as the sun sets in the west.

As a result, I choose to keep that bedroom cool by closing the curtains. Sadly, no house plants survive in that environment! In that bedroom, I choose human comfort over plant comfort.

Mirror wall
Adding many textures/mirror wall fun

In most cases, I choose to keep certain rooms in my home as cool as possible. Thus, I have to move all of my plants to my north facing windows. House plants probably prefer your home hotter and more humid than you probably like it.

Be careful gifting plants.

Gifting folks a responsibility may not be the best move! Sometimes, people really enjoy having an easy plant like a pothos to try plant ownership. Others couldn’t care less.

If you do want to spread the joy of having house plants, it makes for a great opportunity to propagate from your more mature plants! However, make sure you choose the right person to whom you give your propagated plant.

Make it as easy as possible on them. Gift an easy plant like a pothos or heartleaf philodendron and provide all the essentials that the plant needs to your plant newbie friends. Think plant food and a cute pot!

5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants. A golden pothos, a neon pothos, and a snake plant.

You probably won’t be able to nurse that plant back to health.

If the plant looks sickly in the store, it’s probably not worth buying. It’s hard to nurse plants back to health and is probably not a beginner friendly endeavor.


Those are my 5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants.

Those are 5 valuable lessons learned in two years of house plants under my care. Experienced green thumbs: Are there any lessons I left off the list that you think I should add? Plant newbies – have you experienced any of these five lessons yet? I’d love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Felicia.

Related

Life

Posts you may like

  • New homeowner? Buy these six tools now!

    New homeowner? Buy these six tools now!

  • DIY is not easy.

    DIY is not easy.

  • How does buying a house make you feel?

    How does buying a house make you feel?

Want to know the next post?

Reader Interactions

4 comments

  1. Carly says

    07/21/2022 at 7:35 pm

    Ah that elusive “bright, indirect light!” … I’ve learned to be honest with myself vs being ambitious. The limits of my home (and plant-destroying cat) mean that if it won’t fit on my kitchen windowsill, it won’t survive!

    Reply
    • Felicia | hellohomegirl says

      07/21/2022 at 8:11 pm

      That is a good lesson to learn. Realistic too!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Post
Next post

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Felicia.
Welcome to hellohomegirl.com, my passion project about the musings of home decor, DIY, homeownership, and life. Here, you'll find helpful tips to creating your home with a lot of heart and a tiny budget.
Archives
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
Latest Grams

hello_home_girl

Stop procrastinating. Yup...there are lots of th Stop procrastinating. 

Yup...there are lots of things I did incorrectly in this video. Yes, I still have more to do. However, I can close the door without it sticking for the first time since we bought the house.

A win is a win!

I let all of the things that had to be perfect stop me from just completing the simplest task. Sometimes just getting something done is better than getting it perfect.

Just do the thing.

#homerenovation #motivation
I'm just too broke to do otherwise, beloved. ❤️

---

(I'm kidding mostly)
#diyhome #diyprojects #strugglebus
I want to hear from you: What is the best advice I want to hear from you:

What is the best advice you've ever been told?

Mine was a question. My mom asked me, "Why do you like people who don't like you?"

Really digging my new print in my bathroom. Double exposure shot on film. Love it. A little joy on my mom's birthday. Thanks for the guidance, Mama.
Bumped my head on the chandelier one good time and Bumped my head on the chandelier one good time and my heart fell in my stomach!

#diningroomdecor #chandelier #maximalistinteriors #westelm #cleaningup
A modest summertime moment from 2022. This was one A modest summertime moment from 2022. This was one of the most relaxing stays ever. Waking up to an unobstructed mountain sunrise was amazing. 

Hopefully, we'll visit this spot again in 2023.
Shout out to @pinterestcreators and @headspace for Shout out to @pinterestcreators and @headspace for the wellness package! ❤️♥️💕

If you were to make a wellness package for someone, what would you include? LMK in the comments! 

(And extra shout out to the folks who save sturdy and cute boxes.)

#wellnesswednesday #pinterestinspired
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Footer

About
  • Just a little about me…
Privacy
  • Privacy
Recent Posts
  • The best primer for cigarette smoke in 2023
  • 5 quick and simple ways to create a cozy home
  • How To Repot Pothos Plants For New Plant Lovers
  • Drawer Organization Ideas: Get Rid Of Your Mess Now!
Hello home, girl! © 2023. Design by Kate.