5 Controversial Plant Mistakes You Might Be Making! Avoid These Things!

#plantcaretips #houseplantcare #indoorplants

In this video I talk about 5 Controversial Plant Mistakes you might be making with your own plants. These are all things that I have done in my own plant journey in the beginning so I want to share to help you avoid making these same mistakes I did.

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* Disclaimer I am not an expert - I'm sharing my process and what has worked for me through my own trial and error throughout several years of growing houseplants

* The description of this video may contain affiliate links, which means that if you buy one of the products that I recommend, I'll receive a small commission without any additional cost for you. This helps support the channel and allows me to continue making videos like this. Thank you for the continued support!

[asmrtpop]

I think we need to keep in mind a moisture meter could be a valuable and even necessary tool for someone with a disability. Our sense of touch itself and our accurate perception of touch are privileges we often don’t think about having :)

[ItsRensMC]

I agree with you! There are lots of things that work for some, but not for others. I personally love my moisture meter, I used to be a cronic overwater-er haha! But using a moisture meter has helped me SO much, but I've heard from so many others that its best not to use them. It does help to know your plants, like you mentioned, because for some plants that I water once every two weeks, I know that even if the moisture meter says they're dry, I will not water them cause they're fine without the water. So understanding your plants helps a ton too! 🤗

[ConnieP]

I agree with all your tips Melissa. I would just add that if you are prepping for semi-hydro, like I do, then you can take them out of the soil immediately and clean the roots off before placing them in water. I place all new plants in a special rooting mixture with water until they grow water roots. Once they have a good amount of primary and secondary roots and the soil roots have rotted (7 removed), then I place them either in LECA or Pon 😃 So far so good...I haven't lost a plant doing 🤭🥰

[kathleenhall]

Loved the tone of this video: even, direct, concise, acknowledging only your opinions. Looking around your studio, we can see your methods work well for you.

[Stef_T-G]

I agree and not on the meter 😅

I totally think it is hard to know with a chunky mixt.

However, it save 2 of my bigger plants from root rot. I checked the moisture for 3 weeks it won't budge from the moist level and like the 6 or 7...
Zo I think ot depends on the mix

[savedbygrace]

I have a moisture meter but never use it. I never trusted it. I use a wooden skewer to check my big plants but for most of my collection, I just go by the weight of my pot. Great video as always!

[you_gullible_fucc]

When I was newer to the hobby, I many people swear by moisture meters, so I ordered one online. It came to me with dents on the rod and I found inconsistencies when I tested it on some soil for moisture and acidity levels. At that moment I came to realize that maybe it wasn't a necessity after all and that I could just feel the soil or observe the plants for signs that they need water. I've since had it refunded and never had a moment since where I over/underwatered and thought "this wouldn't have happened to me if I had a moisture meter". It definitely comes with experience but at some point in your plant journey you'll just know when to water them. Instead of moisture meter, I recommend an app of some sort to remind you when to water. I do this but I don't water immediately when it says that it needs water after X amount of days, instead I use that as a reminder to check on the soil and the plants to assess if they do need water.

As for the need for drainage holes, HARD DISAGREE (respectfully ofc lol I just wanted to act like a plant karen for a moment). In all seriousness though, as you said, it's really up to the person or not if they can make it work or not, but I wish putting plants in vessels with no drainage wasn't regarded as such a plant "sin", because it is possible (and even beneficial depending on your way of caring for a plant). I personally just thought it didn't make sense how people said it wouldn't work when we see it being done to a lesser extent with semi-hydroponics. I find that when done right, no drainage potting helps reduce your water and fertilizer usage, and it's also more ideal because it doesn't cause dirt to fall out because there is no drainage. I also disagree that no drainage results in a lack of aeration, I think that even drainage holes on normal pots don't really contribute to aeration unless it's an orchid pot type of situation. And for the salt buildup, I'm not negating that at all, but I've personally never seen anybody use no drainage for so long that it ends up with salt buildups that cause harm to the plant. But even if it did, I learned from unplantparenthood that the salts could be rinsed off using a hydrogen peroxide solution. Hell, I'm even growing my anthurium in no drainage and I think it benefits more from it than if I opted for a pot with drainage holes (because people emphasize that anthuriums really need aeration, but again, you can avoid root rot when done right with the right soil mix). Again, this is also just personal experience, and I'm not trying to say my way is THE way, but just saying, don't knock it till you try it (correctly).

[oliviajohnson]

I agree with most of these points! I will say that I only grow with drainage however I’ve seen a lot of success with people who know how to use no-drainage well. It’s definitely possible to have great results with that method although I haven’t gone into that territory myself!

[lisaanglim]

I like to use my moisture meter because I have long finger nails and even when they are shorter I don’t like dirt under my fingernails. I just end up washing my hands a lot. So I’m going to keep using my moisture meter.

[Hibiskusblume]

An additional tip: Instead of buying a light meter, you could also install an App on your phone :) there are many free ones. Mine is called "lux light meter".
I read about 1400 lux are needed minimum.
So I'm currently standing on my South facing window metering no more than 600 lux and pitying my plants and myself because it's been very cloudy for weeks! While in the summer I had over 20.000 lux at the same spot 😅
I can't wait for spring and better light 🌱☀️

[lisacole]

Thank you. Very informative and helpful. Great video. I really appreciate it

[davidreid]

I have the same history with my moisture meter as you do with yours. I stopped relying on mine soon after purchasing the darn thing. Personal judgement based on experience and common sense is the way to go. I think my meter is now on the Island of Misfit Plant Tools. Excellent video and thanks for that.

[SparkleInMoonlight]

I like my Airontek meter very much - I still use it. It helped me a lot in the beginning (also cold soil can feel like moist soil, so this taught me the difference). However, apart from the meter I use other signs of plants (not)needing watering - but I find Airontek a helpful additional tool, and for some overwatering beginners it can be a plant-life saver.

[ericadcali]

Melissa you’re great. Thank you for all the tips. Can you possibly make a video specifically about lighting and feeding vs fertilizing and how often? I know that there are many factors but any advice is greatly appreciated on my part. Thank you 🙏🏼 keep up the great work!

[emmawood]

I just water all my plants when they're dry, (except like ferns), but I check my soil with a skewer like baking. It's worked really well so far!

[ritanopper]

Thank you Melissa. Amazing that I had all those questions and you answered them.

[joannanovara]

There is only rare cases where I don't at least check the roots(not necessarily repot entirely)on new plants. I've lost too many by not doing so. Also sellers need to know condition immediately after you've received if you've purchased and had them shipped, if there's a problem. Big box store plant I almost always repot because the soil is often terrible, pest ridden and/or there's a peat plug suffocating roots.

[RoseGolden]

Lol.. I alwaysss repot as soon as I get a new plant and I never have any problems. I just hate the soil they come in. I’ll spray them down with insecticidal soap, repot and quarantine for two weeks! They always do well! I also try to buy healthy plants as well!

[jennyannfraser]

Thank you Melissa, I really love your videos. I'm a new plant parent and you both teach and inspire! I hope you do really well on YouTube as you have a lot to offer!

[candyd.]

Hi Melissa, came across your channel recently and have found it to be really helpful as a fairly new plant owner! Did you purchase the light meter from Amazon? If so, could you paste the link, please?