Springtime Refresh for Your Indoor Houseplants

It’s always a fun time for me when I step into The Home Depot. Whether I’m picking up cleaning supplies or paints to do a room refresh, it’s a must to stop in the Garden Center and see what new plants and pots are in stock: and this day was no different. I managed to find a super full ZZ plant, a lush dieffenbachia and some really cute snake plants laurentii to bring home.

Since more than a few of my plants at home had soil that was compacted or nutrients depleted, I thought it made sense to grab some quality soil substrates to mix for my tropicals. I had the pleasure of meeting with an employee that was exceedingly helpful in pointing me to the direction of Vigoro All Purpose Potting Mix. I use my own special blend of soil, charcoal, worm castings, perlite, and orchid bark to provide my plants the chunky growing medium they need to help promote healthy roots and luscious foliage. From the time I walked in to when I checked out—I (as well as the other customers around me) received some top-notch service and care on a busy Sunday. So now I was prepared to do my plant maintenance.

When it comes to plants, we all start off as beginners and most knowledge is gained from trial and error—and there’s nothing wrong with that! I implore you to take it just a step further to save you some heartache and headache and read up a little bit about the plants you’re bringing into your home. It’s helpful to investigate what your plant usually gets in its natural habitat and try to mimic that somewhat in your home. Thankfully, there are many options now that can assist you in that, but one thing you should think about is the type of soil/growing substrate that can assist in your plants’ growth. Most of my indoor houseplants are aroids and enjoy a breathable, chunky soil mixture. To achieve this, I used roughly part Vigoro All Purpose Potting Mix, part orchid bark, and equal parts charcoal and perlite to make up the last third.

I make this in large batches and use it to pot multiple plants at once. The last few weeks, I saw one plant of mine (a monstera pinnatipartita) rapidly turning yellow but still putting out consistent growth. This was an indicator of stress, probably due to being root bound, and, after inspection, I did see the roots spiraling in its pot. Generally, this is a good indicator that your plant needs some “new shoes” and should move up in pot size. I opted to go from a standard 4” nursery pot to a 5” deeper nursery pot to give it more room to “stretch its legs”.

After potting the plant into a slightly larger pot, I decided to finally add some Vigoro Bagged River Pebbles on top for a little “razzle dazzle” effect. I love adding pebbles on the top of my potted plants for three reasons. First, this is an easy way to add a more polished look to the plant. Second, during the drier months this can help to ensure that the top layer of soil doesn’t lose moisture too fast. Lastly, this provides a highly effective barrier to keep pesky fungus gnats at bay. After a thorough watering, we were good to grow!