A complete guide to spring houseplant care at home, with all the key care points explained in one article

Winter has gone and spring has come, but because spring temperatures are so changeable, many people do not know how to treat their plants and flowers. Today we will introduce spring houseplant care knowledge at home. If you are interested, take a look!

Spring houseplant care knowledge at home

When spring arrives, the air is dry and cold, and the temperature difference is large. If care is not proper, flowers and trees are especially prone to dying. First of all, when it comes to temperature, you must prevent a late cold snap. If you move flowers and trees outdoors too early or suddenly open windows ahead of time for ventilation, the plants cannot adapt to the large temperature difference, which easily causes them to die. Therefore, ventilate late, or ventilate indirectly, to prevent cold air from blowing directly onto the plants.

There are also rules when it comes to watering. In winter, when growing plants indoors, people do not dare to water heavily, but in spring the air is dry, temperatures rise quickly, and the wind is strong, so the amount of water transpired by plants increases. If you cannot water scientifically, it will cause an imbalance between water supply and demand in the plants, ultimately leading to their death. Too little watering affects normal plant growth, while too much watering keeps the water in the potting soil saturated for a long time. The plant's root system then lacks oxygen supply and, because of poor respiration, suffers root rot and dies.

For ordinary flowers and trees, the principle of watering is: choose a sunny morning to water, do not water if the soil is not dry, and when you do water, water thoroughly.

Fertilizing should also be done with care. In early spring, flowers and trees have just woken from sleep and have not yet had time to drink enough water and send out new roots before they receive a lot of good fertilizer; they cannot bear such a favor. This is because excessive fertilizing or too high a fertilizer concentration easily damages the old roots (fertilizer burns the roots), making it difficult for new roots to develop and causing the plants to wither and die. This is especially true for newly repotted plants, whose root systems have weak absorption capacity and mainly consume their own internal nutrients and water; fertilizing at this time most easily burns the tender roots. Therefore, be sure to fertilize less, fertilize late, and fertilize frequently.

In addition to the above reasons, pests are the main cause of withered branches and leaves, and even plant death, in spring. The main pests include scale insects, aphids, red spider mites, woodlice, and pillbugs. Some of them suck nutrients from the leaves, and some damage the roots of the plants.

The most effective method for household control of scale insects is manual removal. Aphids and red spider mites can be controlled by spraying with a 300-fold dilution of neutral laundry detergent solution. Subterranean pests such as woodlice and pillbugs can be controlled by soaking cigarette butts in water. This is especially important when applying homemade composted organic fertilizer, where pest control should be given even more attention.

Key points for spring plant care

1. Do not rush to move spring flowers outdoors

In early spring, the temperature is extremely unstable. Generally, potted flowers should be moved outdoors around Qingming, and some potted flowers must wait until around Guyu, such as white orchids, jasmine, and Aglaia odorata. Some must wait from Guyu to before Lixia, such as cacti, cactus balls, cactus mountains, and Epiphyllum. Under normal circumstances, from Qingming to Guyu, the temperature will not change much, and the temperature difference will not be too low or too high; relatively speaking, it is fairly stable, and moving them outdoors at this time is more suitable. Before moving them outdoors, you must first "harden them off" indoors. You can choose a sunny day to open the doors and windows and let them get ventilation and air flow, starting with a short time and gradually lengthening it. If the weather is sunny and warm, you can also move them outdoors to get some sun, but bring them back indoors earlier in the afternoon, so they can initially adapt to the outdoor environment.

2. Do not rush to open windows for ventilation

In early spring, potted flowers have just revived and do not have much resistance, lacking the ability to withstand harsh outdoor weather. Some people think that once spring arrives and they feel warm themselves, they casually open doors and windows for ventilation, completely forgetting the damage that spring's dry, cold wind does to potted flowers. The newly sprouted buds, when hit by dry, cold wind, will have their tender leaves frozen and withered, and in severe cases even the whole plant will freeze to death. Therefore, in spring, to prevent cold wind from attacking potted flowers, do not rush to open windows for ventilation.

3. Do not rush to move potted flowers outdoors

In spring, the sunshine is bright, and some people rush to move potted flowers outdoors to bask in the sun. Because of the strong direct light at noon, the temperature around the potted flowers can reach about 20°C, but when they are moved back indoors in the afternoon, the low temperature creates too great a temperature difference, so the potted flowers cannot adapt for a time and may even catch a "bad cold."

4. Do not rush to leave potted flowers out overnight

In spring, although temperatures gradually rise and the weather is relatively warmer, from night to early morning the temperature is still quite cold, and frost (mostly visible frost) may even appear, along with invisible hidden frost. If cold-intolerant potted flowers are hit by hidden frost, their flowers and leaves will all be scorched and withered, and it will be difficult for them to recover. Therefore, in the early stage of moving flowers outdoors, they should still be brought back indoors to spend the night, which is safer. Try to take them out early and bring them back late, to avoid potted flowers dying from frost damage. Thus, only when there is no hidden frost can they be left outdoors overnight to receive night dew; otherwise, at night they must be covered to prevent frost, so as to ensure the potted flowers remain safe and sound, with leaves and branches undamaged.

5. Do not rush to fertilize too early

There are fivetaboos in fertilizing potted flowers: avoid raw fertilizer, concentrated fertilizer, heavy fertilizer, hot fertilizer, sitting fertilizer, and early fertilizer.

But some people do not understand this principle. They are eager to grow flowers, so as soon as spring comes and the plants are moved outdoors, they rush to fertilize, and the fertilizer they apply is raw fertilizer that has not rotted or fermented, or concentrated or heavy fertilizer. How can the newly sprouted tender branches and new leaves of potted flowers withstand this? They can only watch as these potted flowers are "burned to death" by raw, concentrated, and heavy fertilizer. Applying thin fertilizer frequently, gradually increasing it, so that the potted plants grow full branches and leaves and become strong, and only then fertilizing once they have a certain tolerance for fertilizer, is the correct and scientific way to fertilize spring flowers.

6. Do not rush to give potted flowers a heavy watering

In spring, when the weather has just turned warm, the root systems of potted flowers are sprouting new roots and growing new leaves, while the old roots have weak water absorption capacity. If you water too much, it is very easy to make the potting soil soggy and cause the plant to rot. Moreover, at this time the evaporation capacity of potted flowers is not strong, so watering flowers should follow the principle of "water when dry and stop when wet, water when it is time, and do not water when not dry." This is the dialectical and scientific method of watering.

But from night to early morning, the temperature is still quite cold, and frost (mostly visible frost) may even appear, along with invisible hidden frost. If cold-intolerant potted flowers are hit by hidden frost, their flowers and leaves will all be scorched and withered, and it will be difficult for them to recover. Therefore, in the early stage of moving flowers outdoors, they should still be brought back indoors to spend the night, which is safer. Try to take them out early and bring them back late, to avoid potted flowers dying from frost damage. Thus, only when there is no hidden frost can they be left outdoors overnight to receive night dew; otherwise, at night they must be covered to prevent frost, so as to ensure the potted flowers remain safe and sound, with leaves and branches undamaged.

5. Do not rush to fertilize too early

There are five taboos in fertilizing potted flowers: avoid raw fertilizer, concentrated fertilizer, heavy fertilizer, hot fertilizer, sitting fertilizer, and early fertilizer.

But some people do not understand this principle. They are eager to grow flowers, so as soon as spring comes and the plants are moved outdoors, they rush to fertilize, and the fertilizer they apply is raw fertilizer that has not rotted or fermented, or concentrated or heavy fertilizer. How can the newly sprouted tender branches and new leaves of potted flowers withstand this? They can only watch as these potted flowers are "burned to death" by raw, concentrated, and heavy fertilizer. Applying thin fertilizer frequently, gradually increasing it, so that the potted plants grow full branches and leaves and become strong, and only then fertilizing once they have a certain tolerance for fertilizer, is the correct and scientific way to fertilize spring flowers.

6. Do not rush to give potted flowers a heavy watering

In spring, when the weather has just turned warm, the root systems of potted flowers are sprouting new roots and growing new leaves, while the old roots have weak water absorption capacity. If you water too much, it is very easy to make the potting soil soggy and cause the plant to rot. Moreover, at this time the evaporation capacity of potted flowers is not strong, so watering flowers should follow the principle of "water when dry and stop when wet, water when it is time, and do not water when not dry." This is the dialectical and scientific method of watering.