Indoor Plant FAQ!
While I was filming today’s Plant Tour video I thought it’d be a good idea to put up an FAQ of some of the plant questions I get asked really regularly. So let’s jump straight into it!
How do you get rid of fungus gnats?
Fungus gnats breed in your soil. One of the main reasons for gnats hanging around is soil that is: moisture.
Soil left moist for too long, or drip trays with standing water will attract breeding gnats.
Firstly, make sure there is no standing water. If your plants have drip trays, after you water make sure to empty the trays (approx 30-60mins after watering is fine, the plant will have taken what it needs by then).
Second, choose a soil mix (or blend) that suits what kind of plant and what kind of pot you have. For example, a terracotta pot will dry out soil faster than a plastic pot. You will need to decide your pot-typed based on your watering habits. To help prevent water sitting logged in the soil try adding some perlite into your soil blend when potting up a plant.
Third, if you have a large plant I’d recommend sprinkling some Ceylon cinnamon onto the top layer of soil. Ceylon “true” cinnamon will help dry out the soil and prevent the fungus growth that the gnats like to breed in.
Where do you get your plant pots?
Here are a few of the places I get pots:
· Ivy Muse (for more expensive, decorative pots)
· Pop Wilder (my ‘standard’ faux concrete pots)
· Adairs (sleek but $$)
· Big W (cheap, for growers pots and drip trays)
· Ikea (cheap, cover pots only)
Where do you like to buy plants?
In Melbourne, these are my favourites:
· Pop Wilder (St Kilda)
· It Plantae (online)
· Gardenworld (Elwood)
· Fitzroy Nursery (Fitzroy)
· Interior Jungle (online)
· The Gardner’s Corner Store (Brighton)
What are the easiest plants to look after?
Some of my suggestions for easy plants (especially for beginners are)
· Pothos
· Monstera Deliciosa
· Fat Plant
· Heart-Leaf Philodendron
What soil mix do you use?
I tend to make blends depending on what the plants need. For example, some plants are tropical plants, which means they would require different soil to a cactus. Think about where your plant would ‘originally’ grow, and do your best to give it a similar soil.
Some soils I have in containers and use to make blends:
· Organic potting mix
· Perlite
· Sphagnum Moss
· Peat Moss
· Orchid bark
What fertiliser do you use?
I like to stick to the basics. I tend to use diluted fish emulsion, or I will use worm castings from my worm farm (keep re-using those scraps!!)
How do you get your plants to grow up the wall?
The best way to train your plant to grow upwards and develop a strong structure is to give it a training pole (moss or coir). You can pick these up at hardware stores for relatively cheap, or they’re quite simple to DIY if you’d prefer to do that. I’ve always found that the ones that train on a pole first are much stronger and more developed than ones I try to trellis straight up a wall.
Use twine to hold the plant onto the moss pole and encourage it to climb. When you water your plant make sure to also water (or spray) the moss pole to give it moisture to encourage aerial roots (if your plant has them).
Once your plant is strong enough and outgrowing the pole set it up against a wall or in a corner and use clear hooks (just so they appear ‘invisible’) to hold it in place up the wall. As long as it has supports it will continue to grow.
Beware, some plants, like a fiddle leaf philodendron, will grow roots that are strong enough to rip the paint off your wall.
Where did you get your plant light?
I got my plant light from this online store. I realised that in winter the light doesn’t come quite as far into our house so I set up two. I leave them on during the day time and turn them off at night so that they’re not left on unattended.