Helping Plants Thrive in Indoor Settings
STEPHANIE NG ZOE YEE shares how to be a successful plant parent in a HDB flat or apartment.
Mr Effendi says that one family species of plant can come in many different types in terms of appearance.
PHOTO CREDIT: MR MOHAMMED EFFENDI BIN MOHAMMED SANI
Mr Terence Lee, owner of a thriving business called Tree That Grew, says that “Plant keeping is not that difficult.” Before rushing off to get a plant, there are a few steps new plant parents need to keep in mind.
#1: Research
Mr Mohammed Effendi Bin Mohammed Sani, owner of another thriving business called Littlebotany, says that a compulsory step is research. People need to check the expected full size of the plant, understand the “long term care” and needs of the plant. He also reminds plant parents to “always be moderate with the number of plants” because it will be overwhelming when a plant parent gets busy or a pest attack happens.
Though there are not many local-based articles on Google, don’t be afraid to join a plant community group for advice. Mr Lee describes the plant community as “very helpful” while Mr Effendi says that there are “multiple Facebook groups to many Instagram plant people” that are “available for you to ask questions”.
#2: Understanding the light
Mr Effendi says, “Understanding the light coming into your home gives you the option of plants you can keep.” He recommends observing how the light comes in the house from sunrise to sunset for a day.
There are different categories of light: full sun, bright indirect and shade. Mr Effendi says that a common mistake is mistaking shade for bright indirect light because our eyes tend to adapt to the lighting of our surroundings. Mr Lee adds that the whole leaf starts to turn “yellow and crispy” when it does not receive enough sunlight. However, the opposite of getting too much light will cause plants to get yellowish brown patches that indicate that the plant has been sunburnt.
Photo on the left: A plant’s leaf turning yellow and crispy because it is not receiving enough sunlight. Photo on the right: A plant’s leaf getting yellowish brown patches and breaking off due to being exposed to too much sunlight.
PHOTO CREDIT: MR MOHAMMAD EFFENDI BIN MOHAMMED SANI
#3: Use Transparent Pots
Roots are an essential part of the plant, they usually determine the health of the plant. Using transparent pots will definitely be helpful because instead of going through the hassle of removing the plant from the soil mix, using a transparent pot will enable you to see the root rot.
Miss Chen YiFei, a plant hobbyist, says, “You can actually see that [the roots are] not so concrete in a sense, it [will] be translucent and mushy, and slowly it will rot off and all the white will disappear.”
Mr Effendi says that people can put the transparent pot inside an aesthetic pot if they do not enjoy looking at the soil and roots. Additionally, Mr Lee also says that people usually get root rot from overwatering.
#4: Make sure the soil is suitable for your environment
Miss Chen says she usually re-pots the plants that she gets from the nurseries because “their [soil] mixes are not really suitable for her [indoor] environment”, because “they don’t really get a lot of wind or ventilation” so “the [soil] mix needs to be bigger particles so that it will be more airy”.
Mr Effendi recommends using Perlite for the soil because most HDBs do not have sun, and Perlite “help[s] make your soil drain and prevent water from collecting in your soil”.
#5: Let your plant acclimatise to the new environment
Apart from letting plants from other countries acclimatise, Mr Lee says that a plant in a Singapore nursery can still get stressed when brought back home even though it is still in the same climate. He says, “[Plant parents] have to be prepared for the plant to not do well or start to yellow but it is okay, [because] when the plant stabilises, it will prop back up itself.”
#6: Use organic pesticide
The presence of pests is another problem, Mr Effendi says that most pesticides are quite toxic and when used indoors, our family and pets breathe it in, which is why he recommends going towards the organic pesticide route.
Mr Effendi recommends starting with the Sansevieria plant family because they are forgiving plants and will not die easily from your mistakes. Mr Effendi says, “They are one of the air purifiers in the world, [that] give you oxygen for 24 hours [a day].”
Mr Lee says, “The more you worry, the more problems you are going to get. You just need to be confident in your environment and make sure the basic plant needs are all met.”