How to Care For Hanging Plants Indoors
Plants in hanging baskets make a nice feature to any home. However, hanging plants require care that isn’t needed of plants found in your garden. Here’s a complete guide on how to care for hanging plants indoors.
Growing plants in hanging baskets indoors is a great way to add nice greenery and interest to your home. However, hanging plants require care that isn’t needed of plants found in your garden. Since they live indoors, their needs will differ from those of your outdoor plants.
With proper sun, water, and love, your hanging plants will thrive and beautify your home. Here’s a complete guide on how to care for hanging plants indoors.
Hanging baskets full of wet soil and large plants can get quite heavy. Therefore, you need to ensure that the hook you’re hanging it from is secure and can hold the weight of the plant.
Invest in hooks that can handle the weight and make sure to secure them properly. Always test the hook before trusting it with your plants to ensure it can hold the weight. The last thing you want is a plant that has fallen and shattered all over your floor.
Most commercially available potting mixes can be quite heavy, especially when they’re wet. You can make the mixture lighter by adding some perlite. Perlite keeps the soil loose, aerated, and well-draining, preventing water accumulation and ensuring the roots get plenty of oxygen. However, since it improves the drainage of the soil, you will need to water your plant more frequently.
When growing hanging plants indoors, it’s important to select the most suitable hanging pot. For example, peat or coir-lined hanging baskets are unsuitable because they’ll drip water all over your floor every time you water them. Furthermore, terracotta pots are generally too heavy, especially when you add the weight of the potting mix and the plant.
Therefore, choose attractive plastic hanging pots that have saucers or reservoirs attached to the base. The saucer will catch the excess water and prevent your plant from making a mess on the floor.
If you really love ceramic hanging planters, then make sure these don’t have drainage holes or use plugs to fill the holes. Then, place your plant inside the planter in its plastic pot. This way, the planter will catch the excess water that drains out of the plant. If you do this, check the planter regularly so that your plant is not constantly sitting in water.
All plants need light so that they can photosynthesize and continue to grow. However, the variety of plants that you’re growing will determine how much light it needs. For example, plants with large, dark green, and glossy leaves will tolerate lower light conditions than those with lighter-colored leaves and produce flowers.
Many hanging plants do best when they’re hung near a window but protected from direct sunlight. Usually, south or east-facing windows are best for most indoor plants. However, you should research your plant species to ensure you are giving them their ideal light conditions.
Plants grown in hanging baskets or planters tend to dry out quite quickly due to the increased airflow around the planter. Furthermore, the air near the ceiling of your home is usually warmer and drier than the air that is closer to the floor, which only further increases transpiration.
Therefore, these plants need to be watered more regularly than other plants grown in large pots on the floor. The best way to water your hanging plants is with a small watering can that has a long spout. You may also like to have a small step ladder handy so that you can reach your plants easily.
To check whether your plants need water, poke your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle. If the soil feels dry to the touch, it’s time to give your plant some water. An easier way to do this is to invest in a moisture meter. These meters have a long spike that you poke into the soil and will tell you how much moisture content the soil has.
It’s also a good idea to periodically take down your hanging plants and put them outside in the rain on a dull day. Rainwater is so much better for plants than standard tap water. If you do this, say every couple of months, your plants will really benefit and reward you with extra growth.
However, make sure to research your plants further to understand their water needs. For example, some plants need consistently moist soil, while others can go weeks without water.
All plants grown in pots need regular applications of fertilizer. This is because the plant roots will quickly deplete the nutrients in the potting mix as they grow. These nutrients are critical for a plant’s health and growth.
How much and how often you fertilize, once again, depends on the species of plants that you’re growing. The season is also a factor, as plants will need more regular feeding during the warmer months than in winter.
As a general rule, you should apply some liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks during warmer months. If your plants aren’t actively growing during the winter, you can reduce this to once every four to six weeks.
Alternatively, you can apply some slow-release fertilizer granules to the soil after you’ve watered the plant. Adding fertilizer to dry soil can easily burn the roots of your plants. In general, slow-release fertilizers only need to be replenished every six months or so.
All hanging plants need a little care on a regular basis. Once a month or so, take your plants down and inspect them for any problems. At this time, you also want to give them a little trim and remove any dead leaves or long, straggly growth.
For plants with large leaves, give these a wipe with a damp cloth to remove any dust that has accumulated on the leaves. This dust will clog up the pores in the leaves, called stomata, and prevent the plant from absorbing light and carbon dioxide from the air. This reduces the plant’s ability to photosynthesize and provide food for strong growth.
You can also place the plant under the shower for a few minutes to “wash” the leaves. Ensure that the excess water can easily drain out of the soil so that you don’t drown your plant. Leave the plant to drain fully before hanging it back up again.