Whether you’re bringing home your very first plant or looking to help your greenhouse favorites thrive, understanding the basics of plant care makes all the difference. From light, water, and soil to nutrients and seasonal needs, healthy plants rely on a few essential principles that anyone can learn. In this ultimate guide, we’ve gathered the most important plant care knowledge every houseplant owner should know - so you can grow with confidence and enjoy happier plants year-round!

Houseplants absorb light and emit joy into every space they enter. To ensure your plants receive the light they require, you must first understand how plants interpret and process light levels.

Light is one of the most important factors in plant growth as it provides the energy source for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy: utilizing water and carbon dioxide to produce chemical energy sources (namely glucose) which can later be broken down through the process of cellular respiration to fuel plant growth processes. Light is received through specialized plant structures (organelles) called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain a specialized light-absorbing pigment called chlorophyll, which also gives plants their signature green appearance. Chlorophyll absorbs energy from the blue, red, and far-red areas of the light spectrum and reflects green wavelengths, making plants appear green. This is also why many LED grow lights have red, blue, or purple light streams.

How much light is enough? General lighting recommendations can often be frustratingly vague or extensively complicated.

The simplest way to understand how your plant is receiving light is to envision what your plant is "seeing" when sitting on your windowsill or shelf. Does your plant see the open sky or a large oak tree or brick building? Does your plant ever see the sun directly, or just the sky? Light requirements in the home can broadly be thought of as your plant’s proximity to the light source or window, as well as what the plant sees.

Light levels drop off considerably with distance from your window or grow light. It is best to place plants as close to a window as possible, keeping in mind that cool winter drafts or blazing hot sun may negatively impact growth. Any distance outside of three to four feet from your window should be considered low light conditions.

If your plants are upset with their light situation, they have many ways to communicate their discomfort. Here’s what to look for when assessing if your plant’s needs are met.

Signs your plant is receiving too little sun:

• Pale green or yellow coloration
• Stretched, leggy growth that appears to be growing toward the light
• Soft growth that does not harden off
• New growth that blackens quickly
• Soil that stays too wet for too long
• Leaf drop
• Reversion of variegation back to solid green

Signs your plant is receiving too much sun:

• Bleached or white coloration
• Copper or sun burned splotches
• Brown, crispy leaves or spots
• Leaves curling inward

Water, along with light, is vital to plant health and survival, but knowing how and when to water can sometimes be daunting and one of the trickier aspects of plant parenting.

Before we dive into watering details, let’s talk about what water does for plants and why it’s so important. Plants, like people, have cells. For plants, water fills those cells, causing them to become rigid and allowing plants to maintain their structure. Water also helps nutrients and minerals move throughout plant parts, and keeps them from becoming too warm. Water transpires through the leaves of plants, allowing it to go where it's most needed. This is called translocation. Fancy!

There are two basic parts to good watering practices: how and when. Understanding each is important to maintaining healthy plants.

A common question about watering is how much to water each time. Really, no matter what plant you’re watering, the answer to this question remains the same. Plants should always be watered thoroughly, until water runs through the drain holes and the soil is hydrated all the way through. It’s best to water in the sink and let the plant drain, or let it drain into a saucer and dump any excess water that collects after a couple hours.

If the soil is extremely dry, it may pull away from the sides of the container. In this case, the water will run off the top, down the sides, straight out the bottom, and the soil won’t retain any of it. Aerating is a quick and easy solution. Just poke a few holes in the top of the soil, going about halfway down the container (a pencil will work just fine for this). Water will fill the holes, moisten the soil, and become available to the plant. If this doesn't seem to help, it may be time to give your plant a full repot and some fresh, new soil.

There are a few things to consider when determining when to water a plant:

• What does the plant want? Consider its natural environment. If it’s a fern or it came from a tropical region, it likely wants consistently moist soil (but not dripping and soggy). If it’s a high water plant check the soil often, a couple times per week minimum, for moisture content. If the soil is dry an inch down, water through, let drain. If it’s a cactus or succulent, let the soil dry completely between watering, a month may pass before these plants needs water again.
• How much light is the plant receiving? Sansevieria in a low light environment may only need to be watered once a month. However, Sansevieria in a bright light environment may need water more frequently.
• Is the plant actively growing or dormant? Check for watering needs more frequently in spring and summer, as this is when the plant is working hard to put on new growth. Ease up on watering in the fall and winter, as this is when the plant is essentially dormant and not taking up as much water.
• How big is the container? The amount of soil in the container in comparison to the size of the root ball is important. If the container is large, and the root ball only takes up about half the amount of the container, the soil will dry more slowly. If the container is small, or the root ball consumes most of the soil, it will dry more quickly.
• How humid is the environment the plant is in? Plants growing in the bathroom, kitchen, or near a humidifier will dry out much less quickly than plants that are not or are in close proximity to a heating vent. The exact same type of plant grown in two different locations may have drastically different watering needs.

Part of watering plants includes recognizing when something isn’t quite right with the plant’s hydration. The easiest way to recognize issues is to understand what the plant wants, what it should look like, and to check on it often. Keep in mind that plants can be overhydrated and exhibit some of the same symptoms as being too dry, such as wilting. Always gauge the moisture level of the soil with your finger before just watering.

The foundation of any healthy plant starts with one thing: the soil. A proper potting mix ensures that your plant has everything it needs including micro and macro nutrients, aeration (oxygen), and water retention.

When determining a proper potting mix, it is important to consider the needs of your plant. Does your plant like to dry out before watering, or does it prefer to stay evenly moist? Maybe it prefers a more acidic mix, or alternatively an alkaline soil. If you have a little extra time, it can be beneficial to research the plant’s natural habitat and growing conditions. You can use this information to mimic the conditions your plant is accustomed to and create the most suitable environment for it to enjoy.

Most potting mixes contain a carefully balanced proportion of soilless media such as peat moss, bark, sand, or perlite, organic nutrients such as humus (not hummus!) and worm castings, and beneficial fungi called mycorrhizae: special root-colonizing fungi that increase water and nutrient retention.

Plants will let you know when it is time to repot!

• If the the soil is depleted of nutrients, plants will look pale & sickly in color.
  • Plant growth has slowed or ceased, and it is not due to winter dormancy.
  • The soil has lost water holding capacity requiring more frequent watering; water runs right out the drainage hole each time you water.
• If the plant is rootbound, there are more roots than soil in the pot.
  • Roots are pushing out the bottom of the pot or encircling the stem.
• If the plant is in the wrong size pot, the plant may be top heavy or unstable
  • The height of the plant in greater than 3x the height of the pot its planted in. Exceptions would be floor plants and certain design aesthetics.

When repotting plants for the purpose of increasing the root zone, we recommend bumping your plant up one size. Grower pots are generally sized in even numbered inches: 4", 6", 8", 10 etc. So, a plant that is currently in a 4" pot would need be upgraded to a 6" pot.

Always choose a pot with drainage. Grower or nursery pots are great place to start. These can easily be dropped into decorative containers that do not contain drainage. Simply take your plant to the sink to water, let it drain, then return it to its decorative container.

If you like to plant directly into decorative container, that's just fine too. Terra cotta pots almost always have a drain hole and corresponding saucer. If you find a decorative container you like at Tonkadale that doesn't have a drainage hole, we are happy to drill one for you - just ask at check-out!

With proper fertilizing, your plants will have all the nutrients they need to put forth their biggest and most beautiful leaves. But what is fertilizer anyway? What should you look for in a fertilizer and what does it provide for the plant? The core of any good fertilizer regimen starts with understanding the three core components of any fertilizer: the N-P-K ratios, denoted by a three number ratio on the bottle.

The N-P-K ratio is the ratio of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) present in fertilizer, denoted by whole numbers representing the percentage the product contains by weight. For example, a 10-10-10 fertilizer contains 10% nitrogen by weight, 10% phosphorus by weight, and 10% potassium by weight. The remaining components of fertilizer are mostly inactive ingredients and fillers which aid in application and absorption. This number is important as it not only tells you the potency of a fertilizer, but also the ratio of nutrients it provides to the plants you fertilize. Variations in the ratio of N-P-K provide specialized nutrition for certain plant types or help to produce certain outcomes, such as flowering or root development.

A fertilizer that contains all three of these nutrients is considered a complete fertilizer, whereas fertilizers with one or more zeros in their N-P-K ratio are considered incomplete fertilizers. Although, incomplete fertilizers have their own value in specific applications, such as improving specific soil deficiencies in the garden.

So why are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium singled out on fertilizer containers? These primary or macro-nutrients are required in the greatest quantities in plants: alongside Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur. These nutrients are essential for plant growth and affect specific aspects of plant growth and development.

Nitrogen is a key nutrient in vegetative (non-flowering) plant growth, serving as a core component of amino acids involved in protein formation and plant growth. Nitrogen is also one of the main components of chlorophyll and is required for many vital plant enzyme reactions.

Phosphorus is one of the main components in plant DNA and RNA, and is crucial in root development, plant maturation, flowering, fruit production, and seed production.

Potassium, unlike Nitrogen and Phosphorus, is not a component of any specific plant part. Instead, potassium is required for activating over 80 enzymes throughout the plant, facilitating key functions like cold acclimation, drought tolerance, pest resistance, and facilitates increased water consumption efficiency in plants.

Other micronutrients (nutrients required in much smaller quantities), are often present in fertilizers as well, though usually on the label itself rather than prominently on the front of the product. Plant micronutrients include Chlorine, Iron, Boron, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum, and Nickel.

Plants consume the greatest amount of nutrients when actively growing and producing new tissue. Therefore, the best time to fertilize a plant is while it is actively growing, to supply plants with the nutrients they need and avoid stunted growth and nutrient deficiencies. The time and amount of fertilizer required will depend on the type of plant fertilized and the goal of the fertilization (vegetative growth, improved fruit production, etc).

Houseplants should be fertilized in Minnesota when we are entering our active growing season, which provides greater light and warmer temperatures for your plants to help promote healthy new growth. Generally, houseplants should be fertilized from April through August. With the exception of grow lights, fertilization in the fall and winter can lead to plant stretching due to inadequate light levels. Additionally, many plants will enter a natural dormancy period during this time, including many succulents and cacti, and do not need additional nutrition.

Like all good things in life, there is such a thing as too much. Overfertilization of plants can lead to a variety of issues including salt buildup in the soil, which will slowly deteriorate the health of your plants, as well as nutrient toxicity and even the growth of undesirable organisms such as algae.

When it comes to fertilizing, less is definitely more! It is a good idea to test out a new fertilizer routine on a plant by applying at half the recommended rate - to avoid toxicity and see how your plant responds to the product used. Fertilizing can also be used to help promote specific plant growth outcomes by the selection of certain N-P-K ratios. Fertilizers higher in Nitrogen will help bolster vegetative growth and green coloration, while fertilizers higher in Phosphorous and often Potassium will promote more prolific blooming and promote fruit, seed, and root production. Ensuring the correct N-P-K ratio, application rate, and timing will ensure your plants have everything they need to keep on growing strong.

We the Wild Grow Concentrate: A potent blend of 18+ organic elements is diverted from landfill, lovingly processed by Australian worms, and brewed for a plantpowering kick! Organic trace nutrients provides broad spectrum nutrition in a safe and harmless form. Mycorrhizal Fungi builds a beneficial relationship between the roots and the soil.

Schultz All-Purpose Fertilizer: This is our top recommendation for watering most indoor plants. Easy-to-use liquid plant food with micronutrients that encourages new growth for your indoor and outdoor plants, flowers, and vegetables.

Espoma Organic Indoor Houseplant Food, Four Formulations: Use the Orchid, African Violet, and Cactus specific fertilizers for these plants as they have more specific fertilization needs. Higher amounts of phosphorus promote blooming in violets and orchids. Hot tip, orchid fertilizer is also great for hoya!

The more you know the more you grow - and always know that at Tonkadale, we're here to help!