Plant Care Hacks: Watering & Fertilizing Secrets to Try

Even for experienced gardeners, keeping multiple houseplants happy and thriving can be overwhelming. With all the watering, fertilizing, checking for pests and adequate sunlight, it might seem like you’re spending all of your time on the minute tasks. Luckily, there are lots of ways to make your plant care easier. Here are three simple hacks for taking better care of your indoor plants.

Water With Coffee Cups

It’s hard to go wrong with a classic watering can, but one issue many gardeners face is that the stream of water often comes out too fast for small and delicate plants. Watering cans with narrow openings produce a powerful dose of water that can even overflow the pot if you’re not extremely careful. While watering cans are useful for caring for larger plants, try a to-go drink cup to water the smaller specimens.

The small opening in the lid of these cups is small, but the shape of the lid prevents too much liquid from coming out at once. This is a design trait that hot beverage drinkers everywhere appreciate and now your plants will too. Use a clean coffee or tea cup to water your small plants gently and save the watering can for heavier drinkers. One important thing to note is that with most disposable cups are paper and will gradually break down with repeated use. To solve this, see if your favorite coffee shop has a reusable option in the same shape and size.

Mix Liquid Fertilizer in Bulk

There are multiple kinds of liquid fertilizer available for indoor and outdoor plants, but you’ll most commonly find it in a powdered or crystal form. This type of fertilizer you mix with the correct amount of water and then give it to your plants per the included instructions. This method and type of plant food is often less expensive than the liquid concentrates or other slow-release options, but it takes up a lot of time to portion out the correct amounts each time.

To save time and headache dealing with exact measurements, mix up a larger amount of fertilizer mix than you need and save it for next time. You can use empty plastic milk jugs, glass bottles or even a large bucket. When it’s time for another round of plant food, you’ll know you have the correct mixture already made—all you need to do is fill up your watering tool of choice and get to fertilizing.

Both of the above houseplant care hacks will save you time and energy on watering and fertilizing days. Try these methods and spend more time enjoying the gardening life.