6 Tips for Purchasing Plants (And How to Keep Indoor Plants Alive!)

Hello everyone! Today I am writing a MUCH ANTICIPATED post for many of you! Ever since I started sharing my plants, I have gotten so many plant related questions. Today those questions will all be answered (and more). I have always loved plants and the environment .That’s why I’m excited to share 6 Tips on Purchasing Plants (And How to Keep Indoor Plants Alive!)!

I have always been a “tree hugger” if you will. I donated my measly allowance growing up to WWF and my sixth grade yearbook picture is of me in a Kermit the Frog “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” t-shirt. I also have NO SHAME ABOUT THIS!! I love caring about the environment and feel like more people should. In a completely normal fashion, I have brought the outdoors inside with all my lovely plants! Keep reading to hear more.

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1. Find the Best Houseplants for Beginners

I wanted to start this post by sharing some of the best house plants for beginners! When I first started getting plants for my apartment, I wanted to start slowly and not get plants that are super hard to keep alive. I also keep my apartment pretty cool on a day to day basis so I didn’t want any of my plants to go into shock either!

The Sill actually has a section with the best house plants you can buy as a beginner, but I wanted to list some of my favorites that I’ve found too! I have a few of these plants, but some I have not purchased yet. Either way, I hope you like them!

Easy Houseplants for Beginners:

• Snake Plants (these are virtually impossible to kill)
• Golden Pothos (these are great hanging plants!)
• Spider Plant
• Cacti (not necessarily succulents)
• Bamboo
• ZZ Plants (great for if you have low light in your home!)
• Fittonias

Below is a “good luck cactus” that I bought a few weeks ago! I feel like everyone needs a good luck plant (especially with everything going on now), so this was a no brainer for me. I actually ended up buying an even bigger version a few weeks later (that I didn’t shoot)! They’re the perfect additions to any space.

2. Make Sure to Buy Soil & Plant Food

There’s nothing worse than bringing a plant home to re-pot them, and then realizing you don’t have enough soil to do so! I have a pretty small patio so my best tip is to just keep a bag (tied up/sealed) on yours to make sure no bugs get into it! There are also a few kinds of soil you can use for house plants. I’m going to share which works best for which plants below!

For most indoor plants, you can just use a generic potting soil! I like using this $5 potting mix from Target (here) and have used this is most of the plants that I have in my apartment. It’s SO CHEAP and lasts forever! Also make sure to buy a pair of potting gloves like (these) so your hands don’t get cut if you’re repotting something like a cactus.

For my succulents and cacti, I use this potting mix (here)! It’s made specifically for plants that don’t need a lot of water so it’s quick drying. I usually keep both types of soil on hand just in case I buy either type of plant at the store! They also make plant specific food, so I’m going to share some of the ones I have.

The plant that I have pictured below is an alocasia polly plant! They are STUNNING and also nicknamed “African Masks” but I feel that’s a little racist. To me it looks like dragon wings (I named her Maleficent)! She is a little bit harder to take care of, but being careful about how much you water it should allow you success with this plant!

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Shop Potting Mix + Plant Food

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3. Find a Chic and Affordable Planter

Whenever I post my plants, people ask me where I get my planters! It’s honestly my favorite thing to buy, but sometimes they are sooo expensive. Being able to find affordable planters that are also cute has become a game for me at this point.

In this section of my post, I want to share where to get cheap planters! Unsurprisingly, Home Depot and Lowe’s always end up having the best pots for indoor plants! They always have drainage holes (which is very good for plants that need a lot of water).

This all said, there are some unique places that I have found some of my favorite pots (like the one below)! I wanted to list out some places that have affordable, yet chic planters and then also give you some I love for you to shop from. They’ll all be under $50 because I have never spent more than $25 on a planter in my life!

Where to Buy Planters:

• Home Depot
• Lowe’s
• Target (Dollar Spot too!)
• Michael’s
• Home Goods
• West Elm
• TJMaxx
• The Sill
• Marshall’s
• Amazon
• Ikea
• Anthropologie
• Nordstrom Rack
• World Market
• Walmart

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Shop My Fav Planters

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4. Learn How to Care for Each Plant

Learning how to keep indoor plants alive is the one thing that I feel most people struggle with. I’m not going to lie, I have also struggled with this before too! I always feel like people think succulents are easy to care for, but for me they are the first to die ALWAYS!

That’s really the reason I didn’t’t suggest them for beginners at the top of this post. For easy, beginner plants, I would suggest RARELY watering. They are literally plants that thrive on neglect and do not need much attention to survive! I usually water my cacti and snake plants once a month.

Some of the more difficult plants (like the Moonlight Caladiums below) love to be spritzed and watered more often! My best tip is to keep the little detail card/tag they come with. That way you’ll always remember what your plants need! I only keep low light plants in my apartment because I don’t get much direct sunlight.

5. Where to Place Plants in Your Home

This tip also sort of relates to utilizing your plant’s card/tag! Generally the tag will say what type of light your plant likes! Most, if not all, of the ones I have need low light (no direct sunlight) or partial shade! Since I get bright light in my apartment, but not direct light, I keep most of them by my patio door/the windows.

If you get a lot of direct sunlight in your home, then I would look for more plants in that category! I found a ton of plants that love bright sunlight on Amazon and you can shop them (here). These are all really fun plants to have and will legitimately brighten up any space!

The plant below is an agalonema pink plant and I love it! The only thing I love more than plants is PINK. When I found it at Lowe’s I immediately added it to my cart! It has been one of my favorite plant purchases so far and the pot was literally only $5 from the Target dollar spot. They really have some gems!

6. Grab Non-toxic Houseplants That Clean the Air

I wanted to add an entire section on non-toxic houseplants that clean the air! I live in the middle of a city (smog) and also have really bad asthma. It was important for me to find plants that would not only look pretty, but that would also help cleanse the air in my home!

I know a lot of people who are reading this are probably pet moms, so I wanted to make sure that these plants are also non-toxic to pets. Certain types of very popular plants (some succulents) are toxic! It’s very important to research before you buy.

Non-Toxic Houseplants:

• Money Tree (my mom has one of these!)
• Palms
• Boston Fern
• Wax Plant
• Bamboo
• Spider Plant

My plant below is a Birds Nest Fern and it is one of the plants that is non-toxic for animals, and is also good for the air! I personally chose this plant specifically for my planter because it reminded me of curly hair. I absolutely adore this pot and am so happy to have it in my home!

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I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I had a great time rounding up 6 Tips for Purchasing Plants (And How to Keep Indoor Plants Alive!) and I hope these help you on your plant journey. If you have any houseplants that you love, feel free to leave a comment below to help someone else out! I plan to update this post periodically with new plants as I get/discover them.

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Photos by Hannah Lozano

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