Care guides
Short, practical notes on the things people ask me most: settling in a new plant, rooting a cutting, choosing a potting mix and helping climbers climb.
When your plant or cutting arrives
- Unpack the parcel straight away and give the plant a bright spot out of direct sun.
- Rooted plants can stay in their pot for now. Let them settle for a week or two before you repot.
- Cuttings travel wrapped in moist sphagnum moss. Keep them moist and warm until you pot or root them.
Rooting a cutting
- Put the cutting in moist sphagnum moss, with the node (where the leaf meets the stem) in the moss.
- Keep it warm and bright, out of direct sun. A clear box or bag over it keeps the humidity up. Open it every few days for fresh air.
- Keep the moss moist, not wet.
- Once it has a few healthy roots, pot it up in a light, airy mix.
Choosing a potting mix
- Fern Fairy: a chunky, hand-mixed aroid mix with tree fern. Perfect for anthuriums, and monsteras and philodendrons love it too.
- Coco Queen: a chunky, hand-mixed aroid mix with coco husk. Perfect for monsteras, philodendrons, syngoniums and alocasias.
- Rocky Balboa: our mix for cacti and succulents.
- Lechuza Pon: a mineral substrate with excellent drainage and a long-term fertilizer. Made for semi-hydro and self-watering planters.
Begonias like a little more water retention than aroids. Want a mix to hold more water? Add more tree fern. Want it airier? Add more perlite or pumice.
Helping climbers climb
Monsteras, philodendrons and other climbing aroids grow bigger leaves when they have something to climb. Moe the Moss Pole screws together in sections, so it grows with the plant: use the base for a plant that is already potted, or just a section when you repot. Fill it with sphagnum moss and keep it moist so the aerial roots grow into it.
Hoyas and other twining plants are happy on a trellis.
In winter
Most houseplants grow more slowly in winter. Water less often, keep them away from cold windows and hot radiators, and give them as much light as you can.
Not sure what your plant needs? Write to me with a photo and I'll help.