Have you ever seen a cute plant in the nursery and bought it instantly? However, like many beginners, you made mistakes that killed your indoor plants. Don’t worry! You are not alone in this. All of us aspiring plant people have been there. Apart from little love, the right amount of water, a required fertilizer, and an attractive pot, there are some tools for indoor plants that every beginner Must Have Tools for Indoor Plants.
Indoor plants are fun and less messy as compared to outdoor gardening. Therefore, there has been an increased inclination towards indoor plantations in the last few years. With proper care, the right soil mix, and a few tools, you can have happier and healthier plants. Moreover, indoor planting adds to the aesthetic aspect of the house, making it look beautiful, green, and fresh.
Indoor Plants’ Tools: Basics for Beginners
If you have just started your plants’ journey, you must be wondering what tools would be required to take care of your plants? Without proper tools, your plants will suffer, especially in the long run. Therefore it is important to get the must have tools from the start. However, you must not invest your hard-earned money in unnecessary things. Hence we have saved you the drill by making a list of the tools you would need to keep your plants healthy and let them flourish well.
1. Hand Trowel:
A small hand trowel always comes in handy in your plant journey. Because you will be digging, mixing, and shifting soil now and then, even for the smallest plants. Hence, it would not be feasible for you to use your hands or any kitchen tool for this purpose. Without a trowel, you would not be able to reach deep into the pots while seeding, shifting, or repotting your plants.
Tips for buying:
Make sure to use a handy and durable trowel if you will be using it on hard soil. Some break the handle due to excessive force, especially in tough and challenging conditions. So while buying the hand trowel, check the handle’s durability while purchasing it.
2. Watering Can:
Hydration and protecting your plants are super-important to keep them alive. Hence you must have something that can distribute water to the plants uniformly and adequately. As you progress from having one houseplant to many, you will realize how helpful it is to have a watering can for your plants. A small or medium-sized watering can is essential if you don’t want to run to the tap every 2 to 3 minutes.
A good watering can saves time and makes watering more efficient. For indoor watering, watering cans with a narrow spout are preferred over watering cans with sprinkler spouts. Because sprinklers create mess indoors and are not practical for indoor plants.
Tips for buying:
Indoor plants usually do not need a huge can with a sprinkler. Try looking for one with a long spout and ergonomic handle so you can easily water the hard-to-reach areas in the pot.
Secondly, look for narrow watering cans to fit in your less spaced areas. It will let you water the plants without spoiling the looks of the place. Nevertheless, such small watering cans may be easy to pick and use, but you must frequently fill them up.
Thirdly, the thin handles may appear chic aesthetic but are dangerous when you need to pick the filled watering cans.
3. Hand Fork:
Hand fork is one of the must have tools for indoor plants. These are similar to the soil knives and let you dig up the weeds and pull out the roots. It remains a wonderful choice to help loosen the soil and make it ready for transportation. It comes in a pack in the gardening kits for beginners who want indoor gardening.
Moreover, you can aerate your plants for maximum and deeper penetration of water and nutrients in the plants’ roots. You can also fertilize your plants with the hand forks. You can use the hand fork to break the soil to make it more fertilized.
Tips for buying:
Invest in a good hand fork. Look for a hand fork with a sturdy handle and solid shaft. Don’t buy a cheap one that can easily snap within a short time.
4. Scissors or Shears
Garden scissors are a perfect choice to help you out with their incredible sharp blade. Being highly portable, you can carry it anywhere and at any time. As these garden scissors are not big enough, you can store them anywhere.
Scissors and Shears are a must have tools for indoor plants. With good stainless steel scissors, spindle plant stems, vines, and thick branches are no longer a big deal. Over time plants shed bottom leaves to make space for newer leaves at the top. So regular trimmings are essential for a plant’s healthy growth.
Irrespective of being a cheap tool, you need to sharpen it frequently. You can clean your garden shears in many ways and maintain their handles and blades.
Tips for buying:
It would be best if you looked for scissors or shears with sharp blades to have clean cuts. Stainless steel is an ideal choice for garden scissors as it is lightweight and small. Moreover, these stainless steel scissors are resistant to corrosion and rust, so you can easily use them in damp environments. However, don’t plan for larger cuts with the stainless steel scissors as it has less power for hard tasks.
When you plan to choose between shears and scissors, remember that shears remain a preferable choice for cutting leaves and big branches. However, a novice gardener chooses the sharp blade scissors over shears. Ensure to have scissors and shears both to be ever ready for any gardening task on your way.
5. Soil Probe:
In the list of must-have tools for indoor plants, next is the soil probe or the pH meter. You have to insert this small stick into the soil of every pot to check the moisture levels and assess the soil composition. It ensures the gardener that the houseplant has all the optimal growing environments to meet its needs.
Furthermore, if there is a change in the pH of the soil, you can easily make quick changes to resolve the issues highlighted by the soil probe’s results. So, you should worry no more about getting a suitable soil probe. There is no need to assume the required nutrients or water for your plants if you invest in the soil probe.
A soil probe is a smart tool that helps you to prevent overwatering and killing your plants. Maintenance of indoor plants is no longer tedious when you have many plants to take care of or forget every plant’s requirements. Undoubtedly, your moon cactus needs less water than your maidenhair fern.
Tips for buying:
Buy a soil probe of any good company, so it accurately reads about soil conditions.
6. Spray Bottle or Plant Mister:
When the air becomes too dry in hot weather or tropical regions, plant mister is an excellent option to increase the humidity around them. Most plants like humidity, so a fine spray is an economical option instead of a humidifier.
Moreover, mist also removes the dust from the leaves. It is important because dust can otherwise clog the pores on leaves that block sunlight which is important for photosynthesis.
Although, you don’t necessarily need to buy one. You can use an old spray bottle with a nozzle like that in hair saloons. But, the misters look cute on your shelf, motivating you to water your plants. However, if you don’t want to invest in a mister, make sure not to keep a spray bottle separate for plants. And if you spray the plants with any pesticide, do not use it again for any other household purpose.
Tips for buying:
If you want to have something that looks cute with your plants, you can buy a glass plant mister with an old bulb style. However, glass is always at a risk of breaking.
If you want a durable option, go with the mister made of metal rather than plastic as it can also break if fell.
7. Compact Tray
While potting the plants or changing the soil, a mess can be created on your surface. So, in this case, a tidy tray is a tool that makes your life easy. You can do your task in the tidy tray, and after finishing with your plant, you will not have to collect debris and soil from your tabletop or floor.
Tips for buying:
Look for a tray that is made of polypropylene tray to collect all the indoor gardening mess and debris. Because polypropylene is dirt-resistant, recyclable, and waterproof material. The front should be a bit low as it eases the accessibility to the working spot for maintenance and cleanliness during indoor gardening. Soil leaking from the plants is never an issue for the gardeners with this tray.
8. Gloves:
Although most people in everyday use do not use gloves. However, they can protect your hands against any allergies. Moreover, lightweight gloves are a good idea while repotting and trimming.
Tips for buying:
Lightweight gloves are suitable for indoor plants as they do not require extensive work. And the knit types with a dotted nitrile palm grip work great as they do not allow pots or other accessories to slip.
Other Must-Have Accessories:
There are some other accessories that are not tools, but beginners must have them for the optimal growth of plants.
1. Plant Pots:
You can choose the number of houseplant pots according to your indoor space. However, opt for pots that have a material perfect for the optimal growth of your plant. Every material has its pros and cons. Terracotta pots can be heavier ones with less durability. However, they are highly porous and drain water faster than other pots.
Plastic pots have thin material, so they are light and highly portable. However, being non-porous, if you overwater the indoor plants, your plants will be in great danger of root rot. Yet, no one can ignore its convenience and easy cleaning for the users. Similarly, ceramics plants are preferred for potting succulents and cactus as they come in a huge variety of cute designs and styles. However, they usually do not have a drainage pot, and you may need to drill a hole. Still, people prefer it for indoor plants because of its more decorative looks and sturdy.
Tips for buying:
Always consider the pot’s material according to the plant’s water needs. If the plant likes moist soil, plastic and ceramics are good options. However, if the plant is happy in dry soil, you must go with terracotta pots.
Moreover, drainage is the most critical factor in a plant’s survival. So, always look for pots with drainage holes to avoid root rot. IF the pot does not have a drainage hole, you can make holes using a drill machine.
2. Pest Control:
Apart from must have tools for indoor plants, chemicals for controlling pests and insects remain essential for indoor gardening. It ensures the healthy well-being of the plants. These pest controls come up with two primary purposes. The foremost important objective is to eradicate the fungi that may grow in the plants. Secondly, they help kill pests and prevent them from living in your plants.
Be a wise indoor gardener and apply neem oil according to the specifications mentioned on the bottle. You can enjoy the healthy plants that remain pests and diseases-free.
Tips for buying:
Chemicals for pest control, especially indoors, is not a comfortable option. As a beginner, you must try to use organic things to control pests and insects. Like neem oil spray kills the common insects in plants like gnats, mealybugs, etc. Moreover, it also kills fungus in plants.
3. Potting Mix:
If you like to repot your nursery plants or propagation, then extra potting mix comes in handy. SO always keep some potting mix at home for such circumstances. Moreover, it is also important to know the potting mix that will be suitable for your plant. Every plant has different water and light needs. If the potting mix is not appropriate, it can affect the plant. This Miracle-Gro Potting Mix is best for indoor plants.
Tips for buying:
An all-purpose potting mix is suitable for many plants. However, some plants have different living conditions. Like succulents and cacti do not like moist soil and thrive well in fast-draining soil. So for such plants, potting mix with soil amendments like vermiculite, perlite, and pumice is more appropriate.
Conclusion
Whether a novice or an advanced indoor gardener, you must have tools for indoor plants. It will be a smart move to make your gardening experiences wonderful and easy. Please visit our website for more articles if you found this article helpful.
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