Caring for Your Keepsake Garden Project
If you have created a Keepsake Garden, I hope you had fun playing in the dirt! I’ve loved plants since I was 18 years old and moved out on my own. I think one of the first things I bought was an indoor plant, and I’ve had plants ever since. My mom loved and took care of the indoor plants, and my dad loved outdoor gardening, I love them both.
If this was your first time working with plants, how did it feel holding the plant roots in your hands? Did you cluster a lot of plants together in your pot, or did you leave spaces between them to give them some room to grow?
Owning plants is a big responsibility. They must be cared for, and they will depend on you for that. For Outdoor gardens Mother Nature helps on rainy days, but she can also hurt them on freezing days, or really hot days. Taking care of indoor plants is so different from outdoor plants, I think it’s even harder.
Plants are living things that communicate to you. All you have to do is pay attention to them to hear what they are saying. If they are in distress they will let you know. Their leaves will start to turn brown at the edges (could be over or under watering) and may even start to drop off. The plant will droop a little, and will look sad. Your succulent plants may have a shriveled look (they’re thirsty), or start to stretch out into an unnatural appearance (it’s reaching for more light), or turn different colors (succulents turn colors when they are in distress). It’s your job to figure out what may be wrong with them and help them out.
If you take care of your Keepsake Garden pot you will enjoy it for years. Although some plants may die, you can easily replace them. Carefully dig around the edges of the plant (I use my hands), and plunge your fingers carefully down into the soil around the plant you want to remove. Next, pulling upwards, slowly separate the roots from the dirt and other plants around it. You will see which roots the plant wants to bring with it as you move the dirt around and are removing the plant from the pot. Then you can either replace the dead plant with a new one that will fit into this spot and cover with some fresh potting soil. Or you may want to leave this space open so the other plants in the pot have some extra room to grow.
Over time some plants may outgrown their space, so you will need to carefully remove them from the Keepsake Garden pot as described above and replant them into a bigger pot.
There is so much to know about caring for plants, and the best way to learn is to dig in and get started!
10 Tips on How to Care for your Plants:
- The first thing you will need to decide when you bring your potted plant home is where you are going to place it? The best spot is going to depend on a few things. Are the plants in your pot in-door or out-door plants? Some plants are both! Every plant is different so make sure you find out some basic care instructions for your specific plants, to give you an idea of where to place it.
- Light is critical to your plant’s health. Some plants can’t tolerate any light and can die in as little as 20 minutes if left under the hot sun. So you will have to know what type of light your plants like; a lot, a little, or none at all!
- Watering your plant is the next important thing you need to learn. And again, each plant is a little different. As a general rule of thumb (no pun intended), to see if your plant is ready for water, just stick your thumb into the dirt/soil (your index finger is probably easier, though 😊). If the soil is dry it’s ready for some water. If the soil is wet, even just a little, wait another day or two and check it again. Once the soil is completely dry it is ready to water. BUT, as I said, each plant is different. Some indoor plants need to always be in a damp soil. Do your research on your specific plant’s water needs.
- When watering outdoor plants, make sure to water where the roots are. Give the roots a gentle, but good soaking. Circle around the entire base of the plant.
- For indoor plants use the same technique and water around the entire base of the plant a little bit at a time, being careful not to let the water over-spill at the top of the pot. Let the water soak in, then repeat until you see water coming out of the bottom of the pot. (I never use pots that don’t have holes on the bottom. The holes allow proper drainage. More on this in item #7 below)
- Protect your furniture by placing your potted plant into a saucer if you have one that fits. An old plate works perfect under a potted plant if you don’t have a pot saucer. If I don’t have a saucer or plate under my plants, I bring the pot to a sink to water thoroughly until water is coming out of the drain holes, let the water drain out completely, then return it to it’s resting place. But, I place it on a towel overnight so it doesn’t ruin my furniture. Some plants don’t like to be moved around, so if you see signs of distress from moving the plants, get a pot saucer so you don’t have to move the plant to water.
- I DO NOT recommend using a pot that does not have drainage holes at the bottom. I like my plants to get all the drainage they need. But, if you do use a fully contained pot, water very lightly around the top of the pot. You want all of the roots lightly wet, but your don’t want the water to build up at the bottom of the pot, and have the roots of your plant saturated for days. This over-watering can lead to root-rot, and the death of your plant. It can also cause a fungus on your plant leaves. (Keepsake Crafter tip: If you see white fuzzy stuff coated on the back of your indoor plant leaves, they have a fungus. I throw these plants out because they will infect the plants around it. But if you have time, and patience, you can try to treat the fungus. There are many tutorials on-line that will describe how to fix this problem. Here is one: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/treat-fungus-houseplant-76388.html )
- Over-watering is one of the leading causes of plant death. Plants need the water, but did you know that they also need oxygen to survive? So it makes sense that if the roots are covered in water they will not be able to get the oxygen they need to survive and thrive.
- On the flip-side, under-watering is bad for your plants too. It will cause your plant to go limp and have a shriveled appearance. Did you know that having enough water is what helps your plants produce flowers? So, if you notice you are not getting a lot of flowers on your flowering plants, you may be under-watering them. Make sure you pay attention to your plants and water them when they are dry.
- Last, but not least, many plants will not survive extreme temperatures. Extreme hot and cold conditions can kill many plants. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
Now, it’s all about trial and error, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!
Keepsake Crafter