LIGHTING

Lighting is (almost) EVERYTHING! It’s important to make sure that the plants you buy are a good fit for the light levels in your home so your plant will thrive. 

Keep in mind that the light level depends on the exact spot where you want to place your plant. The simplest way to determine what plant will thrive in its desired space is to think about the direction of the windows. A southwest facing window is considered high light. An east or west facing window is considered medium light and a north facing window is considered low light.   

Once you figure out the light level for the spot where you intend to place your plant, then browse for plants that will thrive in that exact spot:  

Bright Light Lovers: These plants must receive strong sunlight most of the day, usually in a southwest facing room.   

Medium Light Lovers: These plants are perfect for east or west windows that receive partial, filtered, or indirect sunlight.  

Low Light Tolerators: Some examples of a low light condition include a room with small windows, a room with natural foliage or an awning outside blocking the sunlight from the window, or north-facing windows. Have no fear! We source plants with these conditions in mind. We want everyone to have the opportunity to bring life to any room they choose, regardless of the light situation.  

WATERING

The frequency in which you will water your plants will vary depending on which plants you choose for your space and how much light they are receiving. Something to take into consideration before choosing your plants is how much attention you are willing to give to each plant. 

You can read a ton of different information out there on the internet about watering opinions but we like to keep it simple and have broken watering down into a few easy to follow tips: 

Ditch the plant apps!

There are a TON of factors that would determine when you should water and only you will know what they are.  Some of the factors include: what kind of light the plant is in, what kind of plant it is, the weather outside based on the season, size of the plant, etc. There's no way an app is going to be able to tell you when to water because it doesn't know all these conditions. The best thing to do is to check in with your plants and learn their signs for thirst! 

Check the soil!

Checking the soil is the most foolproof way to know when your plant needs water. Stick your finger in the soil of your plant. Is the first couple of inches damp or wet? Walk away! Your plant isn’t ready for water. Is the first couple of inches of soil dry and crumbly? It’s time for a thorough soak! If you don’t want to stick your fingers in the soil you could get a wooden dowel. Imagine sticking a toothpick in a cake you’re baking…same concept but with soil. If the wooden dowel comes out clean and dry, it’s time to water! Lastly, keep in mind what type of plant you’re watering and what it needs from you. There are some plants that thrive in drought tolerant conditions and it would be best to go by time between watering. The plants that should go by time between watering are snake plants and ZZs. 

Drainage is key! 

Regardless of the type of plant you purchase, every time you water anything it will want a thorough soak of all the soil and roots. Every plant needs to be in a container with a drainage hole so that when you water the water can run fully out of the drainage hole. This will ensure the water gets to the roots. This will also prevent overwatering. Nothing can be “overwatered” if your plant is potted in a container with drainage holes. You could dump gallons of water onto your plant’s soil but as long as water is running out of the drainage holes it can not possibly be overwatered. If there are no holes in your pot your plant's roots will not receive the oxygen they need to thrive and will eventually, most likely, die a slow death.

We understand that most of the gorgeous, aesthetically pleasing pots do not have drainage. We work hard to source pots that nursery pots, with drainage, can nest perfectly inside. This makes it very easy for watering (and redecorating). Simply remove the plant and nursery pot from its decorative pot and water into your sink, tub, or plastic trays. We provide plastic trays with all trees and larger plants so that you can lift them out of their pretty pot into the plastic tray, and visually see the water running out of the nursery pot’s drainage holes into the plastic. And then once you’re finished you can lift the tree or large plant back into its decorative pot. Once you get to know how much water each plant takes for a thorough soak but not extra you can leave your plant and drip tray in the decorative pot to water.