Spring Houseplant Care

By Ophi Hodgman

For most of us plant parents, spring is the time of year when our houseplants are coming out of their winter slumber and getting ready to put out some new growth! There is a grace period between the end of winter and beginning of spring where there is a lot we can do to help give our plants a solid foundation and meet their full potential in the growing season to come.

Repotting

One of the primary activities plant people anticipate for spring is repotting! Take a look at your collection. Are you noticing plants with depleted or calcified soil? Do you have a plant being propped up by another because it is top-heavy? It might be time for a bigger, better growing vessel!

While our plants don't seem to do much come winter, the root system is always growing. While it's not always the most fascinating part of the plant, the roots are the most important. Feed those roots and watch your plants explode with beautiful, new growth!

Staking

Staking our plants isn't necessarily a spring-specific activity, but it is an important part of plant care, and if you are already repotting your plant, why not go the extra mile to give them the support they need?

Staking our plants on a wood plank or moss pole helps support the main stem and setting your plant up to grow in a more aesthetically pleasing way. If you are growing a Pothos, Syngonium or Philodendron, a wood plank, stake or moss pole could even help promote aerial root growth and leaf maturity!

Pruning & Propagation

The days are getting longer, which means growing speeds are picking up. Now is a great time to prune and take propagations! Did you know that pruning a plant activates their defense mechanism to produce new growth? Pruning is a great way to maintain your plant's health and produce new and healthy foliage.

This is a purely preferential practice to the grower when it comes to pruning a plant for aesthetic purposes, but sometimes it is necessary; especially if the plant is showing signs of disease, suffering from a bad case of overwatering or you just want to start again with a brand new, healthy root system. Propagating is also a good way to create a fuller pot or a wholesome way to share the joy of growing with your friends!

Fertilizing

Fertilizing is an essential part of maintaining a healthy, robust houseplant of any kind. When plants are living in their natural habitats, they can be self-reliant in their search for nutrients, because the Earth provides everything they need. When plants are domesticated and designated to a pot in an indoor setting, they rely on us for survival and the nutrients they need to stay happy and healthy. Many plant parents believe that fertilizing should stop altogether when winter comes around, but that doesn't have to be the case. If your plants are actively growing year-round, keep fertilizing!

If you have stopped fertilizing for the winter, start slowly working it back into your plant care routine by including fertilizer with every second or third watering.

Humidity

When your houseplants are starting to put more growth out come spring, it's important to create an environment that assists them in getting that growth out without damage from emerging or unfurling. A good way to help your plants is either investing in a good humidifier, setting out pebble trays with water, grouping plants together or misting.

Be cautious when it comes to misting the softer, velvety plants. Some genuses do not enjoy having water on their leaves and may cause fungal infections, spotting, leaf yellowing and loss.

Rearranging

Now that spring has sprung, the sun exposure our plants get will be increasing. This is the time of year when we can move our higher light plants to bright, warm windowsills and our more delicate, lower light plants to safer, more dappled, indirect territory.

Rearranging our plants is not something everyone has the space or luxury of doing, and some wish their plants the best of luck next to cold windows. Moving your plants is a good thing to do in extreme bouts of hot and cold weather, but this is your plant practice where there truly are no rules. Once you know a plant well, you will know when they can and cannot adapt.