Having love and passion for plants is nothing unusual even if it’s plant addiction, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it. Addiction to plants should be normalized and looked upon as normal behavior because every one of us has a passion for something particular. It’s food, for some, it’s the dresses or shoes, and for some, it’s ‘plants.
What is plant addiction?
The trend of keeping plants in the house is increasing. People are becoming obsessed with their plants and developing plant addiction. However, we should know that why house plants are so addictive? The reason is that the house plants are responsible for bringing good ambiance, hope, health, and productivity. Also, they are available easily and are affordable. The plants in the house give a feeling that everything is calm and composed and in its place. The plants also help in maintaining positivity and harmony amongst the housemates. Those who believe in the positive effects of plants in their homes need more of the houseplants. In many cases, obsession with plants is seen.
How to control plant addiction?
Those having an addiction to plants feel difficulty to stop acquiring more and more plants. They can have as many as more than 200 plants or they keep on buying new plants every week. It also happens that when the number of plants becomes too many, taking care of them becomes difficult. This is the time when the plant addiction must be controlled along with proper management of the existing plants. Plant addiction is alright only when the owner slowly and steadily manages their plant habits. Filling your life with green life is good only when there is a deep understanding of taking care of the plants.
Some tips are mentioned below on how to keep your plant management up-to-date
Limit buying plant addiction
The first step needed for controlling your plant addiction is to stop purchasing plants. It’s not that you don’t buy any plants, but the habit of buying unnecessary plants needs to be controlled. Don’t buy plants that don’t fit with your lifestyle. Plants don’t move or socialize but still, they need time and attention. So, if you think that you won’t be providing the required attention to a variety, don’t buy it, or else they will die slowly. If you have bought many plants already, you will learn management slowly, but you might also face some losses.
Spend time with your plants
Managing your plant addiction means smartly managing your time and attention for each plant you have. The plants too are living form and they need your time and care. Watering plants is the most important step in taking care of your plants and managing your plant addiction. You need to check the moisture contents of the soil in the first place for checking whether your plants need water or not. Place your finger inside the soil, and check its moisture content and then water your plants accordingly. Also, check if there are any pests around them. If there are any, take the necessary steps to remove them. Check out and remove dust above the leaves. It’s a very important step to keep your plants looking shiny and plump, but unfortunately, many people tend to ignore it.
Check light, temperature, and humidity
The plants don’t feel heat and humidity like humans do. They cannot express whether they feel comfortable or not in that particular space where they are placed, so we must keep them at optimum temperature, humidity, and the right amount of light. A thermometer that displays temperature and humidity must be placed in the space or room where the plants are grown. This ensures that they remain comfortable, do not dry out or rot. It’s important to record the highest and the lowest temperature of the space where plants are kept because one might not be present at home all the time and would be unable to take care of it completely.
Know the need for plants
It’s important to know the plant type, and their needs before buying them. If you like any particular species, just don’t go nuts and buy them. Instead, you must enquire about their temperature need, humidity needs, and how much water they require regularly. All these factors are important to know before buying because if they don’t get the required environment, they might not survive as they might do in their natural habitat. However, some plants thrive at your home even with little effort while some die or rot even after providing them with the environment they require. Such plants should be kept and enjoyed from a distance only at botanical gardens and shops.
Be Supportive
Your plants might flourish even when you are doing nothing for them still, you need to be supportive and take care of them. It is because they are not in their natural environment and they might die. The root rot and pests can kill your plants if you ignore them for a very long time. So even if your plants are thriving on their own, you need to keep a timely check on them.
In the end, people with plant addiction need to accept the fact, that the houseplants are not in their natural environment because they are indoors hence some of them will survive and some will not. Even if all the love, care, and attention are provided to them along with water, light, and humidity, some of them will just give up their life. Pests and rotting roots will also kill your plants no matter how much you take care of them. However, you should never give up if some of them did not work according to your expectations. Don’t let failure discourage you. You should always start up with new plants with past experience and pre-requisite knowledge of growing that particular species. If you are a starter, start your journey of growing plants with smaller plants.
Once you are addicted to growing and managing plants and know the dos and don’ts it means you have controlled your plant addiction smartly.
