First aid for green

‘Look, I have to tell you something! Hans has passed away…’ ‘Hans Zimmer? I never met him personally, but it really gives me a lump in my throat, Lil, I could cry. Lil! Are you laughing now?’ said Kiek. ‘No Kiek, it’s Hans. Our Hans on Pilotenstraat: the Alcocasia Zebrina a.k.a. our office plant.’

The fact that our editorial plants get names says enough about the love we give them. We talk to them, they shine in the picture, and we even have a plant manager with a watering can + nutrients walking around. So you would think: these are plants that are wonderfully well cared for, that are never sick and that bloom magnificently 365 days a year. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Because even though we do our utmost, it never seems to be enough and in the end, I’m left with a shriveled collection of branches and an inferiority complex. I went on a quest and what turns out? There was a bit too much water here and there and grounding needs to be improved. Curious about what you’re doing wrong? I’ve gathered the best tips for you. Here they come:

1. Check your spot

Start with the spot where you want to place a plant. It’s especially important to look at how much light is in that particular spot. Find a matching plant for that. This way, you ensure that your plant (without having to do anything) is at its happiest.

2. Best friends

Build a personal bond with your plant. Might sound a bit weird, and no, you don’t have to call it Hans like we do, but only you can know exactly what your plant needs. Get to know your friend well to give it everything its little heart desires.

3. Soil with the soil

Check your soil well for moisture before watering. Not just the top layer, but really dig your finger deep into the ground to feel if it’s still nicely moist.

4. Plantsome

With the Plantsome app, you can easily search in a database for your specific houseplant. You can fill in how big your plant is and how much sun the plant gets per day (it even takes the weather report into account!), with which the app calculates when and how much water and nutrients your little green friend needs.

5. Plantnet

With the Plantnet app, you can recognize and name about 6,000 different West European plants. So let’s say you received a super cute plant as a gift, Plantnet will tell you the do’s and don’ts. The app works pretty much the same as Shazam, only for plants. How cool?