How Too Keep Houseplants Alive - 3 Ways Absolutely Anyone Can Do It

If you're a houseplant serial killer, never worry - we have 3 surefire tips that will help anyone know how to keep houseplants alive.

How To Keep Houseplants Alive - Lower Your Standards

The first "how to" in how to keep your houseplants alive is to lower your plant standards!  If you have trouble keeping houseplants alive then you need to start with easy to manage houseplants. If you gravitate toward a houseplant that is more high maintenance or requires more expertise, you're just setting yourself up for failure. Pick houseplants that don't have complicated watering needs such as succulents.  Another good tip is to avoid houseplants that require different types of light at different times.  Find a low light plant or plant that is not high-maintenance with light.

Today.com wrote an article on forgiving houseplants.  Two of the plants they highlighted were:

"POTHOS

Why you want it: First of all, this indoor plant has an air-purifying quality that can absorb and strip toxins (like formaldehyde) from materials in the home (like carpet). How neat is that? It has trailing stems and works well in a hanging basket or as a climbing plant with some training onto a trellis or whatever object that will support it

How to care for it: This indoor houseplant can produce stems that trail 8 feet or longer, so just cut them back when they get too long and your plant will continue to look full, and healthy. It can thrive in an array of lighting conditions, but low light may diminish the leaves' variegation. Allow soil to dry somewhat between watering. Pothos does well in an array of normal room temperatures.

ALOE

Why you want it: This succulent with long, pointed leaves have medicinal properties, as you probably well know. It can also grow 3-feet high to make a big impact indoors. Smaller varieties, like the popular aloe vera, work great in small, sunny indoor spaces.

How To Keep Houseplants Alive - Don't Overwater

A common amateur mistake when it comes to how to keep houseplants alive is in overwatering.  When a plant isn't doing well, often the gut reaction is to water the plant more.  It makes sense on a certain level - when humans are dehydrated, the best thing you can do is to drink more water!  However, that isn't always a great answer for houseplants.  Often, plants will suffocate or flounder due to overwatering.  In the end, too much water could be the thing that turns you into a plant serial killer.

Better Homes and Gardens wrote a houseplant watering guide that is very useful.  They said,

• "Rainwater, well water, and bottled water generally agree best with houseplants. Collect rainwater in a barrel or plastic garbage can at the base of a downspout. Keep in mind, though, that in some parts of the country, the air sometimes pollutes rainwater. Similarly, well water sometimes can be too alkaline for acid-loving houseplants. Bottled water is excellent but expensive. Chlorinated water will not damage houseplants.
• Tap water is OK if not too hard but avoid softened water. Softened water contains salt, which builds up in soil over a period of months.
• Avoid spotting the leaves of fuzzy-leaved plants by using tepid water. Fill your watering can after each watering session and let it sit until next time. That way, the water will reach the right temperature for watering these plants.
• Water in the morning if possible. This gives any moistened foliage a chance to dry out during the day. Plants with dry foliage have less chance of contracting disease in the cool evening hours.
• Water less during a houseplant's dormant period. Most plants grow rapidly in spring and summer and require lots of water at this time. During late fall and winter, however, they stop growing and require far less water. The opposite is true for a few houseplants, which may need little watering in spring and summer, and quite a bit of water during their active period in fall and winter."

How To Keep Houseplants Alive - Choose The Correct Container and Placement

Lastly, the last tip in how to keep houseplants alive is to choose the right container and put your plants in the right place.  Using a container with no drainage or other problems, for example, will kill a houseplant right away.  Secondly, you need to place the plant where it can thrive.  Although a particular plant might look nice in a particular spot - that area might not be suitable in light or other aspects for that type of plant.  Too much light or too little can potentially kill a plant right away.

Containers and placement are everything. Better Homes and Gardens also outlined the difference in natural and artificial light when it comes to houseplants. About this topic they said,