Treat Your Plants to a Spa Day

Indoor plants have added great value to our lives by beautifying our spaces and cleaning our air. They are even able to perk up our mood on a gloomy day. All they require from us is a watering every couple of days and a bit of nutrition added to their potting medium. Isn’t it time to bond a little with your plants? Treat your plants to a spa day!

Plant leaves can build up dust particles over time, and yes, not even a good dusting will be able to eliminate all the particles clogging their stomata. To remove all dust, you can wash their leaves in a tub. This also gives you a moment to pay attention to your plants. Are there any unwanted diseases or lurking insects? Does your plant need a pruning? Leaves do die as your plant matures, and these should be taken off the plant. Does your plant need fertiliser?

How to treat your plants to a spa day:

• Give you plants a good shower. Place all your plants in a bath and give both sides of the leaves a gentle wash with cool water (not too hot or cold) to get rid of any dust. Use a soft cloth on the leaves to remove stubborn dirt.
• Now is also a good time to fertilise your indoor plants. Leave the plug in the bath while showering your plants and add a liquid fertiliser to the water. This will be absorbed by the growing medium.
• Inspect the leaves and remove severely damaged and dead leaves. This will also help eliminate pests and diseases living off dead plant material.
• Check the soil in the pot. Does it need filling up? Exposed roots at the surface are a stress factor for plants. The surface roots will dry out causing a poor functioning plant that will deteriorate. Fill with a good potting medium and mulch with small pebbles or bark chips.
• We all love having a pamper and then getting into clean clothes. If your plants are in pot covers, give them a good wash, removing old dirt and water stains on the inside of the pot.
• Allow your plants to drain the excess water taken up. Dry excess water on the leaves and dry the pot, placing it back into the clean pot cover.
• As a final treat, plant food sticks can be pressed into the soil. The sticks dissolve over time and supply your plants with the nutrition they need.

READ MORE: Reading a plants needs – find out more about indoor plant care here