Out of topic request: I know that content on internet is to be taken with a pinch of salt but I’m having hard time identifying my snake plants. I have approx 20 different varieties and I find controversial information on nearly every one of them. The one I thought was a black dragon is labelled as black hahnii, a Kirkii star canyon is called granite callled copper tone in an other website. Even youtube channels can be very confusing when it comes to introducing different types of snake plants. Would you be able to make a video with your expertise and findings on sanse varieties?🪴
Soaking terracotta has a reason behind it. As someone from India, we use terracotta pots, and diyas for a number of uses. As earthen pots are porous, soaking them in water for 8-10 hours makes the moisture seep in which helps in steaming food and retaining the heat. clay is more brittle when dry than when it contains water. Furthermore, water has a high heat of evaporation, so it does mitigate heating. Therefore, soaking the pots prevent cracking by ageing and use.
Plants can actually get as much as 20 hours of light a day before their system obligatorily switches to rest mode but, for most plants, there's little benefit to give that long of a photoperiod. I have many grow lights set to varying photoperiods between 8-16h of light/day and my plants respond differently to the varying light spectrums, light intensities and photoperiods of my different growing areas. It really is something to play around with, especially if you have plants that are not doing well. For example, I got myself a Philodendron ''Spiritus Sancti'' last year and nearly killed it because I gave it too much light on too short of a photoperiod. As soon as I put it under weaker lighting on a positive photoperiod (>12h/day) it immediately started pushing out new growth at a much faster rate and the leaves doubled in size instantly. Now it's only been under this light for 4-5 months and it already needs a repot!
I’m brand new to indoor plants and got a golden pothos. I’m gonna get a grow light for the winter months as it gets cloudy and dark here. What would you recommend a decent time of lighting for a plant is?
Something else people desperately need to unhear: Misting your plants helps to prevent crispy leaves. It doesn't increase humidity for more than a few minutes. AND it brings on a whole bunch of problems. As you've said, getting the leaves wet during watering increases the risk of mold issues. This applies even more for daily or twice daily misting. Stop misting your plants, people!
I have a lot of succulents. I learned to only water 💧 them on major holidays. It helps me remember to water them, and there's a nice stretch of time in between so they don't get over watered.
I might have to try that. I'm an overwaterer, and in trying to avoid that I tend to just never water. This would be a good place to start in fixing that.
THANK YOU! I no longer need to do gimmicky things to water my orchids for fear of root rot. Instead, I can give them a proper drink of tepid water, knowing that I’m taking care of all the roots. No more ice cubes.
Love your humour I’ve been watching you for a long time, so happy you’re doin so well I live in Canada and your advice is always so informative, I have over 200 plants but all are easy and low maintenance, lots of cactus. I started having plants as a kid so funny to hear things my mom told me and now you’re explaining me the opposite, nice to learn from you Hope you enjoy the spring
I've never heard of any of these "tips" & now thanks to you I'll never unhear them! I'm well underway to achieving that crispy brown thriving look that I've been struggling to get. Thanks! 👍
I've heard that you should Soak terracotta pots in water for 30 minutes to prevent the white residue at the bottom of the pot, as it tends to dry out after being wet for the first time.
i have been a plant lover for many years. i learn so much from you. (im also unlearning many myths that ive been practicing for decades). I keep turning my monstera & never understood why it looks so strange. now, i get it. Thank you, Richard. your humor is wonderful, the One Direction references are priceless!
I learn a lot from you. Thank you. ? For you that I can’t find answer anywhere. I put English ivy in water, 2 branches, one get crispy and dies, the other lives. I have had this happen so many times, don’t have a clue why. Same container, same light, over and over again…one cutting always dies!
1:10 i'm watering my plant's under douche once a week. I have mold issues in my house(not related to plants) but mold does not my attack plant's at all. So I finding this practice very useful and enjoyable. Here's me reasons - my windows goes to the road, i always have a lot of dust collecting on plant leaves. Washing them under douche helping to get rid of it. It also imitate natural rain and some of my plant just having natural evolved structure to catch rainwater in such way. It is easy to do. Only problem that i have is clarity of tap water. I have a filter but it don't get rid of chlorine. But as by now i have only one plant that doesn't tolerate tap water and it is Calatheya. Everything else is thriving on it.
I've heard that "don't overwater your monstera!"-thing. Thing is I heard it after I had already had mine for about a year.... in a self-watering pot. My soil is always moist from the bottom watering it does and that puppy is THRIVING! 2 years old now, lots of leaves, and the holes have started to appear.
Interesting, I live in a very hot climate, and Im hearing different explanations for watering only in the morning - the soil in the planters dries up quicker than the plant can absorb it (for small planters that can be true), or that the heat and moisture within the planter can literally cook the roots (don't know about that). Any water on leaves will act as a prism, thru which the sun rays can make a burn on the leaf (that's true), so better let it dry up before the sun is in full heat. Indeed, for home plants none of these issues are acute.
@@SheffieldMadePlants it's not true. I have actually tried to reproduce it on the hottest summer days, and nothing ever happened. The droplets are not the right shape to form a lens. However, there was a study about this, and they found that under certain rare circumstances, when drops of water were suspended above the leaf surface by hairs on the leaf, slight burning could occur.
Here is a tip for dry, messy moss poles. I have switched to filling my poles with coconut coir chips from Amazon. Total game changer, stays moist much longer, the moss mess is gone, and the dark color is rich looking.
That's an awesome tip 😮 the moss in my pole started attracting some kind of weird insect (they don't go onto the plants, they are just happy with the moss) so I had to use neem oil to take care of them. I'm not super happy with the moss, so switching to coco coir would help How and how often do you water it? I imagine putting a bottle on top would make a huge mess
The real problem with getting the leaves of your plants wet when watering is getting water all over your floors and not mold infections on leaves. Most houses are so dry that the water that may sit on the leaves for an hour or so is barely going to cause problems with mold. If you do end up with mold issues, your house is probably so humid you're breeding black mold on the walls anyway.
Yes, the ice cube thing is daft. Also, many years ago, i learned to soak the terracotta pots. havent done that in a long time. common sense goes a long way, doesnt it? Thank you!
6:50 i always worry I mess up the soil. I currently repot for my pitcher plant, and I feel like I messed up by giving it too much perlite for drainage but at the same time I constantly check to make sure the plant has water.
When I finish my soda pop, I take the ice and put it in a hanging basket and let them melt out that way, but I water it from the bottom as well. Why not let that ice have a second chance;)
I feel like the terra-cotta soaking tip has something to do with rendered tallow and making the pots water proof. And people forgot the original reason why they were soaking and then came up with some dumb shit.... 😂
I am just saying during Diwali we soak the the terracotta dia in water ,this is done so as they soak up the water , because if we put oil directly in the dry dia it will most likely soak the oil and they wouldn't last long ,
And not me watering a Dracaena Janet Craig last night & spraying down the not dusty leaves too. I always hope it’ll prevent crispy leaves. I guess I’ll only do this if dusty now. I did increase the watering & no more crispy leaves! 🪴
I was told years ago to soak terra cotta pots. You should soak them for as long as it takes them to stop giving off bubbles and making the little noise they make when you do this. I don't remember who told me this but you only did this when you were going to repot. The idea being(i think) that the new soil wouldn't dry too quickly for the new plant. I was a teenager when I got into plants and I don't think it made any difference at all though I made sure i did it. I use wick pot for a lot of my plants now and they seem happy.
The ice cube watering is a new one to me. It makes no sense at all, for any tropical plants, or any plants for that matter. Not only watering the roots with ice-cold water but also possibly having a melting ice cube leaning against stems or leaves 🤔🤨 Thank you for the video 👍🏻 Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it
As far as humidity is concerned, with all our house plants, we have approximately 200. We group our plants together in a cluster and use a humidifier. We have plants on our lower level as well on our upper level. I have read that if you have plants in your washroom, steam from your shower is a great way to increase humidity levels.
In summer, I tend to water my plants in the morning as they will take a beating during the day, with temperatures of 32C and above for months on end and plants sitting in excess moisture during the night will be the least of my worries.
We have a Dendrobium Orchid and it seems to live no matter what happens to it. I read when the stem is about to die they produce a new keiki in order to carry on living...we have 7 plants now... The little glass of water was hilarious! I can imagine many people actually doing this. I soak mine from the bottom in a tub until it reaches 3/4 up and then leave them to drain.
I think the reason to soak terracota pots before use would be to prevent them from wicking water away from the plant newly potted in it, possibly shorting the plant's moisture need. Possible??
ice is 100% part of the orchid's habitat. orchids have spread across the globe and are found it all types of climates. orchids will actually push up through the snow in colder climates. ice cubes on orchids will not harm it at all.
The reasons why we say to water in the mornings are mostly to prevent overwatering (more evaporation during the day, obviously) and to prevent burning of the leaves by having water droplets onto leaves in the direct sun (also avoided by evening watering). There are a few more important points to support morning watering though: it's a lot less dangerous for a plant to spend the night in dry soil than to spend the day in dry soil (opposite is also true, less dangerous to spend the day in wet soil than to spend the night in wet soil). Also, there's a higher risk of developing fungal infections if your plants are wet during the night because of the temperature drop. Watering in the morning might seem counterintuitive but it is preferable if you're doing either/or. Personally, I water when needed. If your pots completely dry out in less than 24h, they're probably too small anyway.
Have anybody tried to paint their terracotta pots with acrylic paint? I have this idea for a while and I think it should prevent it drying out too fast🤔 But i am wondering how the paint will hold on, if it chips off with time or not
Thank you! I never understood why I was only supposed to water in the morning. It made no sense, as the plant would be wet at night anyway. I broke this rule from the beginniig as I felt it was better to water at night, than to leave it dried out and waiting until the morning.
@@SheffieldMadePlants By the way I would like it very much for you to eventualy do individual plants that you relate with :) I am making baskests this spring with all my plant babies. Some people will be new to house plants; I will be sharing a lot of your videos.
I water my plants in the shower- I try to get the leaves to get dust and possible pests off! I do have a LOT of grow light and pretty good air flow so maybe that’s why I haven’t had mold issues!
Orchid media can be tricky, bark is not always the solution. There are mixes that retain more or less water. If i used pure bark, i would have to water them twice a day during the summer. As foe humidity trays - just group plants together. Having 15 plants in one spot does up humidity for each of them. Hitting a 70+% is usually not needed and very hard to accurately mesure, but most common houseplants (phanelophsis orchid included) do well at the normal house humity, that being around 50%.
That is a good point, and it does depend on where you live. Where I live in Indiana, our most humid time is summer. And it gets really humid. Winter gets really dry because of the furnace constantly on. It gets really cold here in winter. In other states it gets dry in the summer, or never gets humid, or is always humid, or never gets very hot... so yeah, the care would have to be different depending on where someone lives. :)
I agree. Bark is not feasible for me - dries out way too quick, so i am doing most of it moss with bark at the top to prevent algea. I won't miss watering every 2 days.
I had a crazy idea that I wasn’t sure would work. Have you ever heard of putting Orbees(the kids toy) or other moisture retaining crystals into soil? I tend to consistently wait too long and then overwater. Working on this but I thought this might be a way to absorb some of the too much water and disperse it over time. Or keep a consistent moisture level for those plants that don’t like too dry out. So… crazy idea, or pure genius?
I'd recommend adding more draining ingredient to your soil if you find that a full watering is too much. or a smaller pot if your plants sit in big ones compared to them. A water retaining medium in your soil will only hold more water and make it wet for longer, the exact opposite of what you'd want
I've heard the opposite (although I've never tried it.) It makes sense, though. These crystals absorb moisture. Their job isn't to release it. So when you water your plant, the crystals grab the moisture, and when your plant dries out, the crystals are the last thing to release moisture. So you could be contributing to your plants drying out! I don't know if this is the case, but I've never been motivated to try using these, for that reason.
Love watching your channel, so thanks for all the helpful advise 💜 could you plz tell me how long i should leave grow lights on for? and are the bulb different watts like the ones we use in houses?
I usually water my indoor plants in the evening and part of my reasoning is laziness and the other part is that when I was a kid going out in the garden to help my grandma morning and night, the dew was usually thick and would wet the bottoms of my pants in the evening, so I figure if plants naturally get more condensation/dew outside at night then part of mimicking their natural habitat night waters make the most sense 🤷🏼♀️ I know my logic is flawed though and it's simply a childhood memory. I certainly don't wait if I have time in the morning 🤦🏼♀️ if I am using peroxide on my plants I do that and shut the light off though so they don't burn. Not sure if they would but why risk it
@@SheffieldMadePlants I also don't dilute my peroxide. I will use a cotton swab and remove anything that could be a pest and in the case of fungus gnats I'll literally just pour peroxide on the top, making sure to have a full layer. I don't know how this would work with very fine rooted plants but I even do it with my fiddle leaf figs. The peroxide will bubble and make noise for quite awhile as it works its way down and kills any nastiness. The peroxide I buy is 3%. Peroxide does a cool change and as it bubbles and kills unhealthy organisms it turns into oxygen. I personally feel like when I do this that I'm sorta airating the plants without poking a bunch of holes as oxygen is getting to the roots. I follow up with a good water about half hour later (the only time I don't fertilize). Unlike using rubbing alcohol, peroxide doesn't kill healthy tissue. The reason I shut the lights off though is BC it can be used in hair and even on teeth to help brighten or lighten and I don't want to do that to the plant.
hello! thank you again for your great content! i would like to learn more about growlights! You mention that 16 hours a day will be perfect for plants, i personally use the lights for 8 hours per day because i thought that in nature the sun time that plants have is near 6-8 hours. Other thing that i don't know for growlights is the distance of them and plants, i thing is depending with the light, i am experimenting with it but i would like some feedback from you. How you use your growlights?
I have mine on for 12 hours a day and normally about 20-30 cm away from the plants. You don't want it too close otherwise the leaves might burn. 6 hours won't provide much benefit.
I bought that water clarifier for fish tanks & it’s sitting in plain view for my family. Nice lil photo of a goldfish on packaging. 🐠 Waiting for a “oh no…don’t tell me you’re buying a fish tank!!!” comment from them.😂 So it’s to be used on calathea watering only?
I thought soaking the pot before first use was to also help leach out anything it may have taken in at the supply house or in transit. I think its silly generally speaking, but I always soak them before using when brand new.
Our local greenhouse stored water filter salt and terracotta pots together, the salt sometimes made it into the pots.. a soaking would remove anything that's come in contact with the pot that might burn the plant when activated by water
I’ve put all my plants on hydro. The best way to water them imo. And to feed them. Funny enough, I learned to water the garden in the evening, to prevent the foliage burnt by the sun shining through the water droplets, and the water not evaporate to quickly. I’m Dutch, so may be our plants are more resistant to water on their foliage.
Honestly, the idea that water will burn the foliage when the sun hits it kind of falls apart when you think about rain. Waiting until the hottest part of the day though puts the plant through a lot of stress. In the end what matters most is that your plants are getting watered consistently because stressed out plants are more disease prone.
@@sissymarie2912 when it rains the sun wouldn’t shine so bright. And it’s also not necessary to water the garden. But as I stated before, I’m in The Netherlands, so I can imagine that this is different in other climates.
I bought a baby orchid a few weeks ago. It came potted in spaghnum moss and I kept it in there and took care to soak it when the moss dries up (about every 7-10 days). I like to keep my plants in the pot they came in but listening to your video I'm thinking about repotting it into orchid substrate. What would you do? The orchid is doing fine, just needing a repotting soon anyway. The question is: again in spaghnum or into orchid substrate?
I'm a bad plant parent. I water them and drench the soil, leave the water there all day in the catch pot, and then drain it the next day. But then I leave them until they're dry. And 😂😂😂😂 at that small glass for watering. That's funny.
Some people suggest adding some kitty litter (not the clumping variety of course) to the potting soil, if you don't have perlite. What is your opinion on this?
Just coming back to orchids...I have some tree chips that are 'dyed' ( kinda reddish-brown) ... the question being is: Can I boil/wash etc the colouring off it and hopefully reuse this stuff to pot my orchids? I am from Australia.
I have a fern called selaginella apoda, and I have been told to spray over them to keep the humidity, should I keep doing it or there's a chance it will grow mold?
You are not right...We should water plants only from 5:30 a.m till 9:30 a.m maximum... It seems reasonable cause plants like other organisms wake up in the morning and ready to observe water/ fertilizer better as soon as it awake..but in very hot dry days of July-August we can add a bit water also afternoon ( before it gets dark)
With bottom watering should the top toil be moist when it’s had enough to drink. I generally leave them in their base plate or in the sink for about 15 mins when watering them but the top never seems to get wet. Should I be watering from the top too or just leaving them longer?
I’m confused,on one hand you say give your plants a good watering under the tap and drain well, then you say bottom watering is the best,which shows a plant sitting in a saucer full of water. Can you clarify this please. Thanks from Australia. Ps: I do enjoy your vlogs
Away from the topic I am curious to know what accent does he speak . I love learning new languages and accents ( as English isn’t my mother tongue.) thanks in advance ❤
The acidity of the vinegar helps with the soil’s ability to hang on to the salts a little longer I suspect. tap water is usually very alkaline - around 8 on the scale- and I’ve recently learned that fresh soil will balance this out as plants usually like a little more acidity - around 5-6 on the scale. Once the soil gets little older with lots of water running through it, it loses the ability to hold on to salt and this is what lines the bottom of terra cotta pots. So maybe your soaking it in viniger helps prevent this. 😀
Are there specific pots that Calethea’s do better in? I think it’s time for mines to come out of its original plastic pot I purchased it in do to growth but I don’t know if it will do well in a terracotta pot.
I have some terracotta pots that I've soaked for 24h, and some I've done nothing with. When I water plants with unsoaked pots, the water leaves a large dark spot, but for soaked pots nothing happens, even months afterwards. I think this means the pot soaks up less water if it has been soaked, but 30 minutes is probably not enough.
@@SheffieldMadePlants it's just temporary, it's the water soaking into the pot before drying out again and then the pot looks as it did before. It's usually in the bottom half of the pot.
@@amyjones2119 For me the pot absorbs the water all through it' so the dark spot encompasses the whole pot eventually. And then of course dries with the potting mix
Gloria A.....I know a plantuber that puts all of her plants in the tub every week for their drink and weekly shower so the plants don't get pests. Whatever works....just do it. That method would wear me out in no time :((
have been haphazardly caring for my house plants based on "vibes" and only killed one out of 6 n two years, not bad jajaja but im taking a silly undertaking of growing blackberrys indoors for my wine and have fell into a homebotanical rabbithole
my mom also grew up with a myth/tip that she still keeps telling me to this day, and i'm not sure where it came from but thought you'd find it entertaining! She always says to never repot or plant your plants at night because they'll die or just won't bloom well. no idea why, it's probably just one of those old wives' tales!
My mom was from the southern United States, and her superstition was, "never say 'thank you' for a cutting that someone gives you, if you thank them, it won't root." I have only heard it from other people from the South.
Fun paleobotanic fact: there used to be plants that could thrive in 24/7 light. Sadly they died out when global temperatures fall so low snow stay behind Arctic/Antarctic circle all year long some 30 millions years ago.
@@SheffieldMadePlants there are fossils of plants and pollen from places that were in high enough latitude to experience polar days. From mesozoic and early cenozoic period.
I always water all of my indoor plants as if it is raining outside, so all of the leaves get wet before it comes to the soil… my plants are all doing great because the water completely cleanes the leaves from dust. And it also seems pretty natural to get the leaves wet right?
It'd be natural if they also got the level of ventilation they get outside. Unless your house is just a roof I don't think they get nearly as much wind and general air circulation as they would outside.
Only water your plants in the morning! Of course we all know that only rains in the morning when the sun is bright. I think it's bonkers that people wonder why their plant is dry and dusty when it hasn't been wet in 6 months. Especially when the plant came from a Rainforest!
@@SheffieldMadePlants I thnk there is something to it when it's 30C+ outside that the top soil gets dry too quick. especialy if you don't have running water and get it out of the well. But for indoor it's irrelevant. That i can agree to
Hey, I think your interpretation of the soaking terra cotta misses the mark. The soaking isn't to combat the how terra cotta dries out quicker. You pre soak so that when you use the pot, the dry pot doesn't quickly dry out the new, moist soil you put in it. Good example is cooking with earthen ware like terra cotta baking dishes. You have to pre soak those too so that the dry pot does not dry out the food you cook in it before the food is done. You just soak the pot the first time before use so after you transplant a new plant to it, the pot doesn't steal all the moisture and so the pot and soil inside reaches an equilibrium.
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Out of topic request: I know that content on internet is to be taken with a pinch of salt but I’m having hard time identifying my snake plants. I have approx 20 different varieties and I find controversial information on nearly every one of them. The one I thought was a black dragon is labelled as black hahnii, a Kirkii star canyon is called granite callled copper tone in an other website. Even youtube channels can be very confusing when it comes to introducing different types of snake plants. Would you be able to make a video with your expertise and findings on sanse varieties?🪴
@@_evangelina__ it’s a bit of minefield. Most plant have lots of different names it’s hard to track em all down
I just start giving them individual names like ‘Viper’ and ‘Snakey’😅
I’ve never heard about soaking terracotta pots before using them. It does seem silly. Thank you for the good advice as always!
Thanks for watching 👍
Soaking terracotta has a reason behind it. As someone from India, we use terracotta pots, and diyas for a number of uses. As earthen pots are porous, soaking them in water for 8-10 hours makes the moisture seep in which helps in steaming food and retaining the heat. clay is more brittle when dry than when it contains water. Furthermore, water has a high heat of evaporation, so it does mitigate heating. Therefore, soaking the pots prevent cracking by ageing and use.
Plants can actually get as much as 20 hours of light a day before their system obligatorily switches to rest mode but, for most plants, there's little benefit to give that long of a photoperiod. I have many grow lights set to varying photoperiods between 8-16h of light/day and my plants respond differently to the varying light spectrums, light intensities and photoperiods of my different growing areas.
It really is something to play around with, especially if you have plants that are not doing well. For example, I got myself a Philodendron ''Spiritus Sancti'' last year and nearly killed it because I gave it too much light on too short of a photoperiod. As soon as I put it under weaker lighting on a positive photoperiod (>12h/day) it immediately started pushing out new growth at a much faster rate and the leaves doubled in size instantly. Now it's only been under this light for 4-5 months and it already needs a repot!
Nice thanks for sharing 👍
I’m brand new to indoor plants and got a golden pothos. I’m gonna get a grow light for the winter months as it gets cloudy and dark here. What would you recommend a decent time of lighting for a plant is?
@@MsOpium 10-12 hours is good
I appreciate the Cuba Libre suggestion
👍😁
Something else people desperately need to unhear: Misting your plants helps to prevent crispy leaves. It doesn't increase humidity for more than a few minutes. AND it brings on a whole bunch of problems. As you've said, getting the leaves wet during watering increases the risk of mold issues. This applies even more for daily or twice daily misting. Stop misting your plants, people!
I could put this in every video 😅
Crispy leafs can also be from too much chlorine or fluorine in the water, so misting them can even do way more damage.
Absolutely! I agree!
Preach! It’s a cute but also completely idiotic ritual
or buy a vivarium and get some plants that like to sit in a humid soup
I have a lot of succulents. I learned to only water 💧 them on major holidays. It helps me remember to water them, and there's a nice stretch of time in between so they don't get over watered.
That’s an intriguing schedule 🤔
@@SheffieldMadePlants Thanks 😊🌷
I might have to try that. I'm an overwaterer, and in trying to avoid that I tend to just never water. This would be a good place to start in fixing that.
This video reminded me of something my grandmother told me “Water the roots, not the leaves.”
Best Plant Dad on CZcams! Thanks for the great information good sir, always appreciated!
Thanks for watching 😁
You're the best plant teacher! I love learning from you ❤️
Wow, thank you!
THANK YOU! I no longer need to do gimmicky things to water my orchids for fear of root rot. Instead, I can give them a proper drink of tepid water, knowing that I’m taking care of all the roots. No more ice cubes.
Thanks for watching 😁
Love your humour
I’ve been watching you for a long time, so happy you’re doin so well
I live in Canada and your advice is always so informative, I have over 200 plants but all are easy and low maintenance, lots of cactus.
I started having plants as a kid so funny to hear things my mom told me and now you’re explaining me the opposite, nice to learn from you
Hope you enjoy the spring
Thank you so much!! Loving spring 👍
I've never heard of any of these "tips" & now thanks to you I'll never unhear them! I'm well underway to achieving that crispy brown thriving look that I've been struggling to get. Thanks! 👍
I always love your instruction. I have never had grow lights. I situate my plants near windows. Bam---plants lit. Literally.
Thank you 😊
I've heard that you should Soak terracotta pots in water for 30 minutes to prevent the white residue at the bottom of the pot, as it tends to dry out after being wet for the first time.
i have been a plant lover for many years. i learn so much from you. (im also unlearning many myths that ive been practicing for decades). I keep turning my monstera & never understood why it looks so strange. now, i get it. Thank you, Richard. your humor is wonderful, the One Direction references are priceless!
Excellent thanks!
Thank you for all of your time and energy into making the world a better (plant) place ❤
My pleasure 😊
I learn a lot from you. Thank you. ? For you that I can’t find answer anywhere. I put English ivy in water, 2 branches, one get crispy and dies, the other lives. I have had this happen so many times, don’t have a clue why. Same container, same light, over and over again…one cutting always dies!
That's weird. I don't have the answer I'm afraid. Not seen it before
1:10 i'm watering my plant's under douche once a week. I have mold issues in my house(not related to plants) but mold does not my attack plant's at all. So I finding this practice very useful and enjoyable. Here's me reasons - my windows goes to the road, i always have a lot of dust collecting on plant leaves. Washing them under douche helping to get rid of it. It also imitate natural rain and some of my plant just having natural evolved structure to catch rainwater in such way. It is easy to do. Only problem that i have is clarity of tap water. I have a filter but it don't get rid of chlorine. But as by now i have only one plant that doesn't tolerate tap water and it is Calatheya. Everything else is thriving on it.
It’s good you’ve got a system that is working for your house and plants 👍
Thank you for the tips. I'm a proud plant mom of 30 😊
Great job! 😁
Thanks Mr Sheffield for another informative video with a few comical quips thrown in!!!
You bet!
I agree with you 100% on all of these useless tips. Love your videos!
Thanks so much!
I've heard that "don't overwater your monstera!"-thing. Thing is I heard it after I had already had mine for about a year.... in a self-watering pot. My soil is always moist from the bottom watering it does and that puppy is THRIVING! 2 years old now, lots of leaves, and the holes have started to appear.
Moist is all good. Wet is troublesome
Interesting, I live in a very hot climate, and Im hearing different explanations for watering only in the morning - the soil in the planters dries up quicker than the plant can absorb it (for small planters that can be true), or that the heat and moisture within the planter can literally cook the roots (don't know about that). Any water on leaves will act as a prism, thru which the sun rays can make a burn on the leaf (that's true), so better let it dry up before the sun is in full heat. Indeed, for home plants none of these issues are acute.
I never bought the idea about droplets causing a prism. If this was a problem no plant would exist!
@@SheffieldMadePlants it's not true. I have actually tried to reproduce it on the hottest summer days, and nothing ever happened. The droplets are not the right shape to form a lens. However, there was a study about this, and they found that under certain rare circumstances, when drops of water were suspended above the leaf surface by hairs on the leaf, slight burning could occur.
Nnooooooo!!! I just bought a set of 3 of these! Terra Cotta pots inside a glass jar to help me not over or under water! Aaahhhh!
They’re still good! Just don’t bother soaking them 😁
Thank you so much for your helpful information!😊
Glad it was helpful!
Here is a tip for dry, messy moss poles. I have switched to filling my poles with coconut coir chips from Amazon. Total game changer, stays moist much longer, the moss mess is gone, and the dark color is rich looking.
Thanks for the tip 👍
That's an awesome tip 😮 the moss in my pole started attracting some kind of weird insect (they don't go onto the plants, they are just happy with the moss) so I had to use neem oil to take care of them. I'm not super happy with the moss, so switching to coco coir would help
How and how often do you water it? I imagine putting a bottle on top would make a huge mess
@@silviap4478 make sure it’s the coir chips
@@doreenkkurthmeyers2375 thank you! How do you water the pole?
The real problem with getting the leaves of your plants wet when watering is getting water all over your floors and not mold infections on leaves. Most houses are so dry that the water that may sit on the leaves for an hour or so is barely going to cause problems with mold. If you do end up with mold issues, your house is probably so humid you're breeding black mold on the walls anyway.
Soaking terracotta pots sounds counterproductive. Thank you for the great advice and how to filter out the bad advice we get online.Happy Easter 🤩
Thanks for watching. Happy Easter to you too
Yes, the ice cube thing is daft. Also, many years ago, i learned to soak the terracotta pots. havent done that in a long time. common sense goes a long way, doesnt it? Thank you!
💯
Another good video. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
6:50 i always worry I mess up the soil. I currently repot for my pitcher plant, and I feel like I messed up by giving it too much perlite for drainage but at the same time I constantly check to make sure the plant has water.
When I finish my soda pop, I take the ice and put it in a hanging basket and let them melt out that way, but I water it from the bottom as well.
Why not let that ice have a second chance;)
I feel like the terra-cotta soaking tip has something to do with rendered tallow and making the pots water proof. And people forgot the original reason why they were soaking and then came up with some dumb shit.... 😂
😅
I only keep my grow lights on for 8 hrs and my plants are beyond happy and thriving.
👌
Lmao a Cuba Libre really is a much better use of ice
Indeed it is
I am just saying during Diwali we soak the the terracotta dia in water ,this is done so as they soak up the water , because if we put oil directly in the dry dia it will most likely soak the oil and they wouldn't last long ,
Keep educating us
Will do 😁
I give 8 hours a day of full spectrum grow lights and it feels pretty well.( In the winter 4 hours is enough for winter crops)
👍
And not me watering a Dracaena Janet Craig last night & spraying down the not dusty leaves too. I always hope it’ll prevent crispy leaves. I guess I’ll only do this if dusty now. I did increase the watering & no more crispy leaves! 🪴
You're very diligent!
i keep all my plants under a bright light for 8ish hours then a lower brightness in the morning and after the 8 hours and theyre growing nicely
Nice!
I was told years ago to soak terra cotta pots. You should soak them for as long as it takes them to stop giving off bubbles and making the little noise they make when you do this. I don't remember who told me this but you only did this when you were going to repot. The idea being(i think) that the new soil wouldn't dry too quickly for the new plant. I was a teenager when I got into plants and I don't think it made any difference at all though I made sure i did it. I use wick pot for a lot of my plants now and they seem happy.
I don't see it making any difference 🤷🏻♂️
I stay away from orchids but I do sometimes mist my plants to remove dust, but only every couple months and no fungus.
I'll let you off the hook 😅
I did repot my orchid in soil bc i didn't have anything else. I guess I have to rescue her soon
The ice cube watering is a new one to me. It makes no sense at all, for any tropical plants, or any plants for that matter.
Not only watering the roots with ice-cold water but also possibly having a melting ice cube leaning against stems or leaves 🤔🤨
Thank you for the video 👍🏻
Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it
Exactly! Happy Easter to you too
I always rinse my leaves when i water my collection. I soap mine every few weeks in the summer. In my experience it helps keep bugs away
This is true 😅
As far as humidity is concerned, with all our house plants, we have approximately 200. We group our plants together in a cluster and use a humidifier. We have plants on our lower level as well on our upper level.
I have read that if you have plants in your washroom, steam from your shower is a great way to increase humidity levels.
Trouble is though that humidity will rise and then go back down. They respond better when it's consistent
@@SheffieldMadePlants That is so true indeed.
In summer, I tend to water my plants in the morning as they will take a beating during the day, with temperatures of 32C and above for months on end and plants sitting in excess moisture during the night will be the least of my worries.
Makes sense 👍
You And Amanda make Great Videos
You rock!
We have a Dendrobium Orchid and it seems to live no matter what happens to it. I read when the stem is about to die they produce a new keiki in order to carry on living...we have 7 plants now...
The little glass of water was hilarious! I can imagine many people actually doing this. I soak mine from the bottom in a tub until it reaches 3/4 up and then leave them to drain.
Hehe thanks
I think the reason to soak terracota pots before use would be to prevent them from wicking water away from the plant newly potted in it, possibly shorting the plant's moisture need. Possible??
Maybe but i think that'll happen either way.
ice is 100% part of the orchid's habitat. orchids have spread across the globe and are found it all types of climates. orchids will actually push up through the snow in colder climates. ice cubes on orchids will not harm it at all.
For outdoor plants it's often better to water in the evening. That way it doesn't evaporate and is actually absorbed by the soil.
The reasons why we say to water in the mornings are mostly to prevent overwatering (more evaporation during the day, obviously) and to prevent burning of the leaves by having water droplets onto leaves in the direct sun (also avoided by evening watering). There are a few more important points to support morning watering though: it's a lot less dangerous for a plant to spend the night in dry soil than to spend the day in dry soil (opposite is also true, less dangerous to spend the day in wet soil than to spend the night in wet soil). Also, there's a higher risk of developing fungal infections if your plants are wet during the night because of the temperature drop.
Watering in the morning might seem counterintuitive but it is preferable if you're doing either/or. Personally, I water when needed. If your pots completely dry out in less than 24h, they're probably too small anyway.
Have anybody tried to paint their terracotta pots with acrylic paint? I have this idea for a while and I think it should prevent it drying out too fast🤔 But i am wondering how the paint will hold on, if it chips off with time or not
Yes and varnishing (shiny or matte) when the design is dry will make it permanent
After painting it I modpodged it.
Don't tbh that not good in my opinion
Terracotta pots are great way to ensure that your soil hai good air pockets in it
Painted and coated mine with acrylic sealer. It will still dry out quickly, which is great for succulents but bad for tropicals.
Love your videos ! Was wondering if bonsai soil mix which is chunky would work for an Orchid ?
I’m not sure what’s in a bonsai mix?
Thank you! I never understood why I was only supposed to water in the morning. It made no sense, as the plant would be wet at night anyway. I broke this rule from the beginniig as I felt it was better to water at night, than to leave it dried out and waiting until the morning.
Exactly just water when needed
@@SheffieldMadePlants By the way I would like it very much for you to eventualy do individual plants that you relate with :)
I am making baskests this spring with all my plant babies. Some people will be new to house plants; I will be sharing a lot of your videos.
I water my plants in the shower- I try to get the leaves to get dust and possible pests off! I do have a LOT of grow light and pretty good air flow so maybe that’s why I haven’t had mold issues!
That’ll help 😁
Orchid media can be tricky, bark is not always the solution. There are mixes that retain more or less water. If i used pure bark, i would have to water them twice a day during the summer.
As foe humidity trays - just group plants together. Having 15 plants in one spot does up humidity for each of them. Hitting a 70+% is usually not needed and very hard to accurately mesure, but most common houseplants (phanelophsis orchid included) do well at the normal house humity, that being around 50%.
Very true. Most folks focus on high humidity whereas consistency is better
That is a good point, and it does depend on where you live. Where I live in Indiana, our most humid time is summer. And it gets really humid. Winter gets really dry because of the furnace constantly on. It gets really cold here in winter. In other states it gets dry in the summer, or never gets humid, or is always humid, or never gets very hot... so yeah, the care would have to be different depending on where someone lives. :)
I agree. Bark is not feasible for me - dries out way too quick, so i am doing most of it moss with bark at the top to prevent algea. I won't miss watering every 2 days.
I had a crazy idea that I wasn’t sure would work. Have you ever heard of putting Orbees(the kids toy) or other moisture retaining crystals into soil? I tend to consistently wait too long and then overwater. Working on this but I thought this might be a way to absorb some of the too much water and disperse it over time. Or keep a consistent moisture level for those plants that don’t like too dry out.
So… crazy idea, or pure genius?
Might be genius 😂. Might be worth trialling it with a couple of plants...
I'd recommend adding more draining ingredient to your soil if you find that a full watering is too much. or a smaller pot if your plants sit in big ones compared to them.
A water retaining medium in your soil will only hold more water and make it wet for longer, the exact opposite of what you'd want
I've heard the opposite (although I've never tried it.) It makes sense, though. These crystals absorb moisture. Their job isn't to release it. So when you water your plant, the crystals grab the moisture, and when your plant dries out, the crystals are the last thing to release moisture. So you could be contributing to your plants drying out! I don't know if this is the case, but I've never been motivated to try using these, for that reason.
Love watching your channel, so thanks for all the helpful advise 💜 could you plz tell me how long i should leave grow lights on for? and are the bulb different watts like the ones we use in houses?
12 hours normally. They vary in wattage. I have some 10w and some 30w
@@SheffieldMadePlants ok thank you 🙂
I usually water my indoor plants in the evening and part of my reasoning is laziness and the other part is that when I was a kid going out in the garden to help my grandma morning and night, the dew was usually thick and would wet the bottoms of my pants in the evening, so I figure if plants naturally get more condensation/dew outside at night then part of mimicking their natural habitat night waters make the most sense 🤷🏼♀️ I know my logic is flawed though and it's simply a childhood memory. I certainly don't wait if I have time in the morning 🤦🏼♀️ if I am using peroxide on my plants I do that and shut the light off though so they don't burn. Not sure if they would but why risk it
That all makes sense. If it woks then keep at it 👍
@@SheffieldMadePlants I also don't dilute my peroxide. I will use a cotton swab and remove anything that could be a pest and in the case of fungus gnats I'll literally just pour peroxide on the top, making sure to have a full layer. I don't know how this would work with very fine rooted plants but I even do it with my fiddle leaf figs. The peroxide will bubble and make noise for quite awhile as it works its way down and kills any nastiness. The peroxide I buy is 3%. Peroxide does a cool change and as it bubbles and kills unhealthy organisms it turns into oxygen. I personally feel like when I do this that I'm sorta airating the plants without poking a bunch of holes as oxygen is getting to the roots. I follow up with a good water about half hour later (the only time I don't fertilize). Unlike using rubbing alcohol, peroxide doesn't kill healthy tissue. The reason I shut the lights off though is BC it can be used in hair and even on teeth to help brighten or lighten and I don't want to do that to the plant.
@@MarisaAndChew you know your stuff 👍
hello! thank you again for your great content! i would like to learn more about growlights! You mention that 16 hours a day will be perfect for plants, i personally use the lights for 8 hours per day because i thought that in nature the sun time that plants have is near 6-8 hours. Other thing that i don't know for growlights is the distance of them and plants, i thing is depending with the light, i am experimenting with it but i would like some feedback from you. How you use your growlights?
I have mine on for 12 hours a day and normally about 20-30 cm away from the plants. You don't want it too close otherwise the leaves might burn. 6 hours won't provide much benefit.
Hi. Saw your short video of yours about a climbing plant entwined round a small piece of wooden art. Loved it. Where did you buy the art piece please?
Use SHEFFIELD10 for a 10% discount on designer plant trellises at Tréleaf with this link:
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3:40 ...this is insane. I've heard other orchid lovers swearing by leaving their pitchers sit full all week so the water is room temperature.
Well there is a brand of orchids called "just add ice" that is literally on their care card
😬
I bought that water clarifier for fish tanks & it’s sitting in plain view for my family. Nice lil photo of a goldfish on packaging. 🐠 Waiting for a “oh no…don’t tell me you’re buying a fish tank!!!” comment from them.😂 So it’s to be used on calathea watering only?
I got something similar from my better half 😂. I use it for all my plants
I thought about grow lights, but do I need to be worried about the cost of running it with the rising living costs being so ridiculous? 😢
They are LEDs these days so more affordable
I thought soaking the pot before first use was to also help leach out anything it may have taken in at the supply house or in transit. I think its silly generally speaking, but I always soak them before using when brand new.
I can’t see it making much of a difference 🤔
I agree lol. Its just one of those things that makes me itch if i dont
Our local greenhouse stored water filter salt and terracotta pots together, the salt sometimes made it into the pots.. a soaking would remove anything that's come in contact with the pot that might burn the plant when activated by water
I’ve put all my plants on hydro. The best way to water them imo. And to feed them.
Funny enough, I learned to water the garden in the evening, to prevent the foliage burnt by the sun shining through the water droplets, and the water not evaporate to quickly. I’m Dutch, so may be our plants are more resistant to water on their foliage.
water on leaves doesn't matter outside really it's only a problem indoors because it can't dry up and just sits there
I learned the same thing with garden plants from my parents
Honestly, the idea that water will burn the foliage when the sun hits it kind of falls apart when you think about rain. Waiting until the hottest part of the day though puts the plant through a lot of stress. In the end what matters most is that your plants are getting watered consistently because stressed out plants are more disease prone.
@@sissymarie2912 when it rains the sun wouldn’t shine so bright. And it’s also not necessary to water the garden. But as I stated before, I’m in The Netherlands, so I can imagine that this is different in other climates.
I bought a baby orchid a few weeks ago. It came potted in spaghnum moss and I kept it in there and took care to soak it when the moss dries up (about every 7-10 days). I like to keep my plants in the pot they came in but listening to your video I'm thinking about repotting it into orchid substrate. What would you do?
The orchid is doing fine, just needing a repotting soon anyway. The question is: again in spaghnum or into orchid substrate?
I’m not keen on moss so I’d go for orchid substrate
I'm a bad plant parent. I water them and drench the soil, leave the water there all day in the catch pot, and then drain it the next day. But then I leave them until they're dry.
And 😂😂😂😂 at that small glass for watering. That's funny.
That’s not bad if you let it dry 👍
Some people suggest adding some kitty litter (not the clumping variety of course) to the potting soil, if you don't have perlite. What is your opinion on this?
Yep I've mentioned this before.
Just coming back to orchids...I have some tree chips that are 'dyed' ( kinda reddish-brown) ... the question being is: Can I boil/wash etc the colouring off it and hopefully reuse this stuff to pot my orchids? I am from Australia.
If it comes off then yeah you should be able to use it 👍
@Sheffield Made Plants Thanx will give it a go and let you know. 👍
I have a fern called selaginella apoda, and I have been told to spray over them to keep the humidity, should I keep doing it or there's a chance it will grow mold?
I wouldn't bother
You are not right...We should water plants only from 5:30 a.m till 9:30 a.m maximum...
It seems reasonable cause plants like other organisms wake up in the morning and ready to observe water/ fertilizer better as soon as it awake..but in very hot dry days of July-August we can add a bit water also afternoon ( before it gets dark)
With bottom watering should the top toil be moist when it’s had enough to drink. I generally leave them in their base plate or in the sink for about 15 mins when watering them but the top never seems to get wet. Should I be watering from the top too or just leaving them longer?
Leave it a day. If water is still there discard it. The top will stay quite dry which is fine
? What can I apply to the foliage of my indoor plants to make them clean, healthy and shiny please.
Just good old water and a cloth for me. But adding some lemon juice to water acts as a good cleaning agent. Don't get soft foliage too wet though
💚
I’m confused,on one hand you say give your plants a good watering under the tap and drain well, then you say bottom watering is the best,which shows a plant sitting in a saucer full of water. Can you clarify this please. Thanks from Australia. Ps: I do enjoy your vlogs
I bottom water all my plants but I know most folks top water so I show both.
Away from the topic I am curious to know what accent does he speak . I love learning new languages and accents ( as English isn’t my mother tongue.) thanks in advance ❤
London/Sheffield hybrid. I've lived equally in both places!
@@SheffieldMadePlants
i appreciate your quick response thank you very much 🌹 . I just subscribed to your channel ✌🏻
I do soak my terracotta pots. But in a vinegar water mix. They keep prettier this way. I assume less calcium build up.
Hmm interesting thanks.
The acidity of the vinegar helps with the soil’s ability to hang on to the salts a little longer I suspect. tap water is usually very alkaline - around 8 on the scale- and I’ve recently learned that fresh soil will balance this out as plants usually like a little more acidity - around 5-6 on the scale. Once the soil gets little older with lots of water running through it, it loses the ability to hold on to salt and this is what lines the bottom of terra cotta pots. So maybe your soaking it in viniger helps prevent this. 😀
Are there specific pots that Calethea’s do better in? I think it’s time for mines to come out of its original plastic pot I purchased it in do to growth but I don’t know if it will do well in a terracotta pot.
They tend to like moist soil and terra cotta will dry it out too much. I'd stick to plastic
@@SheffieldMadePlants Ok, thank you!
I have some terracotta pots that I've soaked for 24h, and some I've done nothing with. When I water plants with unsoaked pots, the water leaves a large dark spot, but for soaked pots nothing happens, even months afterwards. I think this means the pot soaks up less water if it has been soaked, but 30 minutes is probably not enough.
Where is the dark spot? I'm not sure I've seen this with mine
@@SheffieldMadePlants it's just temporary, it's the water soaking into the pot before drying out again and then the pot looks as it did before. It's usually in the bottom half of the pot.
@@amyjones2119 For me the pot absorbs the water all through it' so the dark spot encompasses the whole pot eventually. And then of course dries with the potting mix
What is the best material for pots, in your opinion?
Plastic nursery pots is easiest
What’s that grow light you’re using? I need to get one
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The only plant that gets wet when I water it is my fern. I put her under the shower every week or so. I can hear her say “aaahhh…..” with delight.
Hehehe
Gloria A.....I know a plantuber that puts all of her plants in the tub every week for their drink and weekly shower so the plants don't get pests. Whatever works....just do it. That method would wear me out in no time :((
have been haphazardly caring for my house plants based on "vibes" and only killed one out of 6 n two years, not bad jajaja but im taking a silly undertaking of growing blackberrys indoors for my wine and have fell into a homebotanical rabbithole
Sounds good 👍
I tried the method with spraying some citrus peel from your other video and my plant got all sticky, so i had to wash it to avoid killing it
The orange peel one? Might have been too concentrated or something
@@SheffieldMadePlants that could be it, I'll try watering it down, or doing lemon instead as it has less sugars
@@griffinbastion 👍
my mom also grew up with a myth/tip that she still keeps telling me to this day, and i'm not sure where it came from but thought you'd find it entertaining! She always says to never repot or plant your plants at night because they'll die or just won't bloom well. no idea why, it's probably just one of those old wives' tales!
😂 I like it!
My mom was from the southern United States, and her superstition was, "never say 'thank you' for a cutting that someone gives you, if you thank them, it won't root." I have only heard it from other people from the South.
I set my grow lights to come on at sun up and go off at sunset. That's what they get in the wild.
Makes perfect sense 😁
I just had to throw a plant out because of leaf mold. I don’t remember getting the leaves wet but I must have.
Do you have high humidity in your house?
@@SheffieldMadePlants Not in the slightest. I live in the south west area in the US and it is dry as a bone here.
Fun paleobotanic fact: there used to be plants that could thrive in 24/7 light. Sadly they died out when global temperatures fall so low snow stay behind Arctic/Antarctic circle all year long some 30 millions years ago.
Is that so 🤔
@@SheffieldMadePlants there are fossils of plants and pollen from places that were in high enough latitude to experience polar days. From mesozoic and early cenozoic period.
I always water all of my indoor plants as if it is raining outside, so all of the leaves get wet before it comes to the soil… my plants are all doing great because the water completely cleanes the leaves from dust. And it also seems pretty natural to get the leaves wet right?
I avoid it personally. Getting the leaves regularly wet weakens them because they dry out slower than they would outside
It'd be natural if they also got the level of ventilation they get outside. Unless your house is just a roof I don't think they get nearly as much wind and general air circulation as they would outside.
cuba libra is new to me
It’s great!
Only water your plants in the morning! Of course we all know that only rains in the morning when the sun is bright.
I think it's bonkers that people wonder why their plant is dry and dusty when it hasn't been wet in 6 months. Especially when the plant came from a Rainforest!
😂
It never rains at night either 😭😂
I often drench plants into à bucket of like warm water so old air can escape and new fresh air can com in. What do you think of This method?
I like it 👍
What about used teabags in plants? 😅
I prefer to use the steeped water as a feed. The leaves will need to break down
@@SheffieldMadePlants Thanks sir! 💖🌿🌱🌞
Tip：You can wax the internal of the terracotta pot, I guess. 😊
Yes very true you can glaze them
My parents teached me to water in the evening (outside), so they don't get burned out by the sun
I'm not sure there's much to that
@@SheffieldMadePlants I thnk there is something to it when it's 30C+ outside that the top soil gets dry too quick. especialy if you don't have running water and get it out of the well.
But for indoor it's irrelevant. That i can agree to
Hey, I think your interpretation of the soaking terra cotta misses the mark. The soaking isn't to combat the how terra cotta dries out quicker. You pre soak so that when you use the pot, the dry pot doesn't quickly dry out the new, moist soil you put in it.
Good example is cooking with earthen ware like terra cotta baking dishes. You have to pre soak those too so that the dry pot does not dry out the food you cook in it before the food is done. You just soak the pot the first time before use so after you transplant a new plant to it, the pot doesn't steal all the moisture and so the pot and soil inside reaches an equilibrium.
I don’t really experience this problem with terra cotta
pots are soaked to remove any harmful substances
in terracotta
What are they?
@@SheffieldMadePlants Waw, I am not English speaking, can reply :-D Czech???