DIY Network

Taking Care of Houseplants Learn how to keep your houseplants alive. From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-155

DIY's Gardening Made Easy expert, Fran Sorin, joins host Stephanie Lydecker and shares tips on how to keep your houseplants alive. She also demonstrates how to repot a plant correctly.

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Guest Fran Sorin (right, with host Stephanie Lydecker) shares tips on keeping your houseplants alive and how to repot a plant.

Taking Care of Houseplants

Materials:

plant to be repotted
depending on size of container of above plant — get next size container
saucer or dish to put under container
Felco pruners
potting soil enriched with fertilizer
newspaper
watering can
water

• How to Choose the Right Plants for Your Home. You need to keep a couple of things in mind. First, know your growing conditions in your home. You need to know what size and shape of plants you want before you go out and buy them. Do you want your plant to display all year long or just for a season? How much time do you have to devote to caring for your plant and what is your skill level? You can ask your nursery what plants are high maintenance and what plants are easy to care for. Plus, how much money do you have to spend?

• How to Repot a Plant. Repotting a plant is very important to help keep it growing. Look for signs that the plant drinks up a lot of water constantly. The roots are sticking out of the holes in the pot it is in. First, select a new container that is bigger. If your plant is 10" get one that is 12". Then take out your plant and place it on its side on the kitchen counter. Slowly ease it out of the container.

  Loosen up the roots. If they are too long or scraggly, give them a trim with your pruners. Position the plant in the new pot. If it is sitting too low, cushion it with a bit of potting soil and with your hand fill up the rest of the pot with soil. Make sure the plant stays in a center position. The bottom of the plant's stem should be no more than one-half inch from the top of the container.

  Tip: It is best to get potting soil that already has fertilizer in it so you don't have to worry about adding it in.

• Watering Tips. Put a saucer underneath the plant container and fill it with water. Let the plant drink it in for a while. If the soil level goes down too much, add a bit more soil to the pot. Leave one-fourth inch space between the soil and the top of the container. Place it in the correct location and don't worry if it looks a bit forlorn for the first few days, it is just adjusting to its new home.

• Reasons Why Houseplants Don't Survive and How We Can Keep Them Healthy. More indoor plants die from over watering than from under watering. So make sure you are giving the right amount of water. Choose the right location for your plant. Give plants a rest. Most indoor plants should be given less water, feeding and heat when they are not in active growth — so let them have that time off to rest. Accept that some plants are temporary. Many plants that are often given as gifts just don't make it over time — so throw them out. Treat problems right away like insects and fungus. Once things like that spread, it is difficult to save your plant. Keep plants together — they look better when they are grouped together and it is healthier for them when they are in the same area.

RESOURCES :

Gardening Tools
Fiskars
Website: www.fiskars.com

Flowers
Proven Winners
Website: www.provenwinners.com

Extra Gardening Supplies
Website: www.lowes.com

GUESTS :

Fran Sorin
Author, Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening
0446531669
April, 2004
Warner Books
Website: www.fransorin.com