Spring Cleaning: Plant Edition

I'm sure I speak for most people when I say, HOORAY! Winter is almost over! 😄 Spring is just around the corner and here in NC we're starting to get those beautiful, warm, sunny days sprinkled in with the cold and dreary ones. As the cold weather starts to ease up, your plants will begin to wake up too. Here are 3 things you can do right now to give your plants a boost towards the growing seasons in order to help them live their best life and thrive. 👌

1. GET RID OF THE DEAD STUFF.

Just like we exfoliate and slough off our winter skin, plants need our help in sloughing off THEIR winter skin. Take a good look at each of your plants and remove any dead or unhealthy looking leaves, stems, branches, dried up stem sheathing, etc. Even if you keep up with this fairly regularly, you'll probably be surprised by how much of this stuff is hanging out on your plant after months of dryer inside air and less sunlight. It's an immediate refresh for our little green friends after being dormant through winter and allows more water and nutrients to flow to the healthy parts of your plants and the new growth they will start to produce.

2. CLIP LEGGY BRANCHES AND STEMS.

While our plants do get sleepy through winter, they do still grow. The winter growth, however, is typically less full and branchest/Stems that may have been lush and full last year, may now have lost some leaves and look a bit "leggy" (long branch/stem with only a couple leaves, usually at the tip). The clippings can then either be thrown away OR you can use those clippings to attempt Propagation and create a whole new plant. So many plants can easily be rooted in water and there is a never ending supply of how-to videos that offer a step by step on best practices for virtually any plant type. Whatever you decide to do with your clippings, your original plant will be able to grow fuller and faster once spring arrives.

3. CHECK FOR OVERCROWDING.

If a plant looks like it's bursting at the seams, chances are, it is and it's time to give it a new upsized container. It's easy to settle in to a minimal effort routine of watering, knowing your plant is still alive, and leaving it at that. But for those who are hoping their plants will grow bigger, taller, and fuller, or even multiply, it's important to give them the extra space they need when they've outgrown their current container. Generally, moving your plant to a pot that's 2" larger than the original will suffice.

Signs that your plant needs a larger home:

1. There are roots showing or growing out of the bottom of the pot. Those roots are looking for somewhere to go.

2. There are aerial roots growing on top of the soil. These might look a little more like sticks than what you would typically picture as a plant Root, but if you have "vines" growing along the top of the soil, it's time to upsize.

3. Your plant tips over easily or is more than 2-3x the height of its container.

4. There is little to no surface area on the top soil of your plant that doesn't have shoots growing from it (crowded).

Cheers to spring time! Happy planting!