In general, I like to think that I’ve got a green thumb. I’ve grown many things in my garden including corn, kale, carrots, and beets. But there’s one category of plants that gives me pause: houseplants.
The truth is, I’ve killed a fair number of houseplants in my day. I recall one colorful episode in college where I managed to kill a fern and decided to bring it back to the Queen Anne nursery I’d bought it from in hopes they could help me resuscitate it. I remember handing it to the young clerk who I swore was about to shed tears when she’d seen when I done. Yeah, it was a goner.
So for years, I’ve avoided houseplants (except the silk variety). No sense setting myself up for failure, right?
However, as the winter months have marched on (it’s snowing as I compose this post today) and I’m starting to get the itch for the garden, I’ve contemplated my houseplant issue again. Is it possible, I wondered – that my past failures are because I just wasn’t selecting the right plants for me? I decided to reach out to the folks at Watson’s Nursery in Puyallup for some help.
Full disclosure here: today’s post is in no way sponsored by Watson’s. I purely reached out to them as the experts here so I could pull together this post and I hope, help some of you that have felt in the same boat with this whole houseplant killing business! I met with Sherrie at Watson’s, who was both friendly and knowledgeable. Here are a few good tips she gave me about caring for houseplants.
Tip #1: Choose Plants that Match Your Watering Style
The first question Sherrie asked me is if I tended to over-water or under-water plants. This was a no-brainer: I under-water! I can get busy and forgetful and before I know it, the plant is dead, dead, dead.
But it just so turns out that plants that thrive on only being watered once every 3-4 weeks (when their pot is dry). Some of these plants include:
Philodendrons. These are nice, big leafy plants.
