Shoutout to all the Plant Moms!

As you have likely seen from my post about sprucing up my apartment during quarantine, I have a lot of plants! And let me tell you, it’s not the easiest to keep each and every plant alive and thriving. I’ve had many plants over the last 5 years since graduating college, and it’s been such a fun journey to learn about each one and how to care for it. Honestly, all the plant moms out there don’t get enough credit for the hard work it takes to manage, learn, and care for the different types of plants you want to keep at home! I’m so lucky to have my dad helping me each step of the way, who is an experienced gardener. When he took me back to my apartment in NYC after the first couple months of quarantine, he helped me plant all new plants in my pots- as you can imagine, they all died while I was away for so long!

Since then, my good friend Abby introduced to Planta- an amazing app that helps you identify, track, and care for your plants as you add more to your collections. You’ll get notifications each time they need to be watered or fertilized, and it will also tell you if the location you have the plant in your apartment is suitable based on the amount of light. How cool is that?! I had so many plants in the wrong room that I’ve since moved around and are now THRIVING!

If you’re just getting started, also check out Bloomscape- it’s a plant delivery service bringing plants right to your home if you’re not sure what to get out at your local greenhouse. They can direct you on what plant will work well in your home based on light, give you instructions on care, and ship it directly to you. It’s more expensive, but a great place to start. I would also recommend following Hilton Carter on Instagram if you’re starting to get obsessed with plants. He’s a plant and interior stylist, making everything he posts on Instagram major goals. Plus he hosts live tutorials on caring for your plants!

So now let’s talk about my current 18 plants living in my tiny apartment.

SNAKE PLANT (a.k.a. Mother-in-Law’s Tongue)

So I have a few of these plants now in my bedroom, which is very sunny, as well as my kitchen, which is not sunny at all. These plants are SUPER low maintenance and great for starters. Planta recommends watering every 2-3 weeks, but you could definitely survive longer because these ones are tough!

GOLDEN PATHOS

I’m covering this one next because it is SO easy to care for and I have about 5 throughout my apartment in different sizes. They love some good water, but they can also survive a couple weeks without it and perk back up the moment they get watered. They’re easy, beautifully green, and their leaves will eventually grow and drape along any area as long as you give them the space to grow.

FIDDLE LEAF FIG

These plants are absolutely stunning. I’m showing you 2 photos here because the smaller one was my first purchase and it did NOT survive. It really got crunchy and brown and didn’t like the heat of my apartment - I think! I’m still figuring out the best spot for him. I bought a new one, the tall one pictured, and really hoping a little extra shade does well. It doesn’t need tons of water, only once a week, but when you have a big pot you have to make sure to really soak it well.

ZZ PLANT

This plant has become one of my favorites for a few reasons. It doesn’t need tons of light but it does very well in my sunny bedroom. I left this plant alone with no water for almost 2 months at the beginning of quarantine, I came back, and it was ALIVE! I’ve since moved it to a larger pot and it has thrived and become so majestic. Highly recommend as a starter plant!

UMBRELLA TREE & AMERICAN RUBBER PLANT

I’m looping these two together because they are both similar in amount of care. They like the sunlight, but they don’t need tons of water or attention. They thrive and grow without much help because their waxy leaves hold in lots of water. These are 2 of my favorites in the apartment!

CHINESE EVERGREEN

I just learned using Planta that this plants needs more shade than I was giving it! I moved it from my bedroom to my kitchen and I absolutely love it. The pink details on the leaves make it so interesting and while the leaves are delicate, they’re large and so beautiful and it’s gotten bigger and bigger.

CROTON

This plant is right near my brightest window, and while it gets dry very quickly, it thrives with the sunlight. These big beautiful leaves are worth the extra work to water, and will bounce back quickly when I don’t tend to it for a few days in a row.

AMAZONIAN ELEPHANT’S EAR

This is the plant I got from Bloomscape! I got it strictly because of it’s interesting look and because I knew it would do well in my bedroom. With it being so bright, sunny, and hot, I need plants that can bear the heat of summer, and I just need to pay a little extra attention to them!

BASIL, ALOE, HART’S TONUGUE & PHILODENDRON

These are the rest of the plants I have in my apartment, and they’re all tiny! It doesn’t make them any less important, and they’re all great ones to have around. Basil needs tons of light and water, but is awesome to have as a cooking ingredient. Aloe and hart’s tongue are more of a succulent variety and therefore need little water and attention, which I love. The philodendron is brand new as a gift from a friend (in a beautiful ceramic pot!) and so far has needed little attention and is thriving wonderfully.