A Spring Refresh for your Houseplants is so Easy-peasy

Spring season is here, and all of us would soon shoot out on our spree to clean every nook and corner of our homes. In this time, everybody wants some easy and effective tips and tricks to do the job better.

This phase is when we are beginning to loosen up after months of thermals and quilts. The sun seems friendlier in this part of the year. Needless to say, the houseplants are easing down with time too. They too, much like us, need a Spring Refresh, that will help them with the transition.

Here are a few steps to perform, which will make your green friends happy and supple for the coming times…

1. Prune

It is basic hygiene to clean your plants every few days, but this is the time to snip off any brown leaves you see. The experts say there is no scope of a fully-browned leaf to go fresh green ever again. So why make your plant work more to pump water into that dead leaf, only to eventually drop it into soil? Just cut it off, and save the plant’s efforts. It stimulates its growing tendency, and spring is the time!

2. Dust

Plants absorb their share of sunlight through their leaves. But when dust clogs those leaves, they stand a risk of wilting in no time. Thus, it’s important to cleanse a leaf’s surface and make it more ‘vulnerable’ to sunlight. Simply spray the leaves with a tender stream of clean water, and wipe off with a soft microfiber cloth. However, some plants with furry leaves must be left alone rather than harming with this trick.

3. Fertilize

While Sunlight is the ‘diet’ for plants, their ‘home’ is the soil. The upcoming season is a great time for them to fetch all the sunlight they can, and thus, their home must be opened up. End of March and beginning of April are a great time to nourish the soil with an added support of fertilizers. The best ones are Nitrogen-free, and grant a more natural, sustainable support. This is an important step for unraveling a plant’s full potential.

4. Water

The direct formula to keep a plant from wilting is “More sun, more water”. As the brighter, warmer days come up, our watering routine must go one level up too. While plants go a long time in winters with very little water, they need more of it in summers.

However, keep an eye in case you’re over-watering them. If the leaves begin appearing slightly patchy, with brown patches, they’re clearly burst cell walls due to over-hydration.

Also, all plants cannot handle the same sort of direct sunlight, and stand a risk of drying up. Move a few plants here and there if need be, and let only the passive sun reach them.

Change homes (Optional)

If you’ve ever knocked your knuckles against a plastic planter, and it’s appeared rock-hard, you’d know that its plant has outgrown the pot. That hardness comes from roots hitting against the pot’s insides.

While this is not a very common occurrence, the plants that have grown well must be moved to newer, bigger planters. It must be done with caution, preferably by a trained gardener.

Also, while you’re at it, feel free to toss in some newer soil for the newer requirements. However, it’s strongly advised to keep the roots locked in the old soil itself, as it contains the important microbes the plant is habitual of.