5 Beginner Houseplant Tips I Wish I Knew Earlier

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

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[@joanneyeomans6294]

I guess my experience today would prove that you should quarantine your plants. I wanted to buy an Areca palm today. I chose the best one but when I checked it over thoroughly, found it to be infected with mealy bugs - as were others on the same shelf. Needless to say, I didn't buy it but informed the staff member instead. He looked at it and said he would inform the supplier. He duly walked away and left the plants there. If you don't know what you're looking for, you assume it's healthy /pest free but they often aren't. Always better to be safe than sorry.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Oh dear. What shop was it out of interest?

[@joanneyeomans6294]

@@SheffieldMadePlants It was Otter Garden Centre in Plymouth. I haven't been there for years so it was a nice trip. They had a great selection of plants. I found a white fusion calathea but it was drooping as it was bone dry. I told them but they just walked off. 🤬 I did get a haul of great plants though including some aglaonemas and a stromanthe Triostar for my collection. (All in quarantine now obviously 🤣)

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@joanneyeomans6294 they need more caring staff! Good job in the quarantine 😁

[@joanneyeomans6294]

@@SheffieldMadePlants thankyou. Fingers crossed 🤞

[@ForeverMods]

That's a bummer. Hope you managed to find one. I got an Areca palm from LIDL at a very cheap price. I love this Palm. Never trim the brown tips when plant is young as there is a great chance it will remain a 2 leafer.

[@patriciamoffat1542]

When the weather is mild and rain is due (Scottish weather). I put all my plants outside, leave them all night, they get a good wee water and shower. I use water from a rain barrel too, there's no shortage of water here.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Good system!

[@letshaveago2201]

I would like to say, im not a stupid man and i have had some success in difficult times with my plants as you know i have brought cheaply to increase my collection, ( "not always a good idea"), but i have learned much and i know this, you tube channels are like good friends you pick wisely to obtain the best!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I admire your skill and patience to rehab so many plants. Glad you’re watching mine 👍

[@painetdldy]

i experimented with one of your other tips: sawing off 1/3 of the plant root ball. i have two outdoor (inherited) areca palms in large (45cm high/50cm wide) plastic pots that haven't been touched in 10 years and were looking pretty pale. I was going to just toss them when i thought of your root pruning tip. i rolled (whoa heavy) them out of their pots, added potting soil/perlite to the pot and (whoa!) put them back in the pots. that was a couple of weeks ago and one is pushing out a new leaf! sorry for yapping but i am pleased. thanks to you!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

That’s great to hear!

[@canadianhappyinitalytruest6556]

I had the same experience with the root cutting technique and have since referred all my interested friends to this channel!! Your videos are legit helpful and have made my black thumb gardening into actually having fabulous houseplants!! Thank you

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@canadianhappyinitalytruest6556 love it!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Double you plant collection in 1 month for free 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioDTo2Zro6aZqbM

[@firozapatel9811]

Yes definitely another greatest advice Thank bro make videos

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks as always!

[@2075vj]

I accidentally was bottom watering two plants that I purchased and didn’t realize it. They are my two healthiest plants. I placed. them in a pot where it sat above the second pot so when I watered it, it will go straight to the bottom and continue to feed the plant For a long time. Thanks for sharing.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Cool. Thanks for watching 😁

[@2075vj]

@@SheffieldMadePlants It was my pleasure. I love growing herbs and vegetables and fruits. Now that I’m living in Fort Meyers I can grow all year round so I’m super excited. And my house plants are doing wonderful

[@karena799]

I love your videos! You're helping me be a better plant parent!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

That is awesome!

[@sushiegirl]

I was at Home Depot 2 weeks ago and desperately wanted to buy a plant and started to look at them closely to see that they all had pests

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Good job 👏

[@starwarsheros9245]

Learned allot just watching a few of your videos. Thank you

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Awesome, thank you!

[@writegirl2937]

Mr. Sheffield, it might be time for you to get your own plant tv show!😊🪴💃🏻

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

😂 like it!

[@VaryaEQ]

I've been bottom watering my peace lily since I bought it. Didn't realise it was a good thing, aside from not getting the leaves wet. I was honestly just being lazy. 😅😂

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Much easier isn’t it

[@maryperrysmith5815]

I just love your videos I learn so much thank you so very much ❤

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thank you 😊

[@milesnikont8923]

When and how should I use leca? I used to used pebbles in the bottom of a freshly repotted plant, now I use leca. Thank you, and I love your videos!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I’ve never used leca myself but are you supposed to just use leca and not mix with soil?

[@ForeverMods]

Leca, unlike normal gravel is ok to use at the bottom of pot. However I found out that it is difficult to bottom watering. I found a great use for Leca to top dress a plant prone to fungus gnats. In fact I got rid of these pests thanks to leca. However if you use a moisture meter or even your figure it's quite a hassle.

[@worldgonemad1977]

Hi Miles, check out the Leca Queen channel on y/t. She explains all

[@rebeccayoung4019]

Thanks for the tips :) I don't know if I'm a beginner. Advance at some plants and not at others. Anyway I always learn something

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Non beginners are allowed to watch 😁

[@rudra7615]

On the bottom watering tip...does this mean you don't need to put any gravel/stones on the bottom of the pot?

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

No need for gravel or stones in pots. Never done it and my plants are good

[@1lovewaters419]

Wow great tip Thanks for sharing another awesome video .

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks for watching 😁

[@aidaconstanzagomezvalderra2112]

Could you make a video showing how you change the soil of your plants? I feel I will ruin mine by messing up with the roots.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I’ve got a few shorts on potting up some plants. Give the roots a light untangle but if you don’t it’s not the end of the world. The roots tend to sort themselves out.

[@meggygurova7273]

Thank you for making very helpful videos!

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Glad you like them!

[@allonewordcaps]

😊

[@Janice4304]

Excellent tips thanks 🙏

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks

[@RNMom424]

I am confused! I have a question about changing the soil. A couple of questions?Do I need to remove all the old, compacted soil? How do I do that w/o damaging the roots? How do I ensure I don't leave empty, air pockets in the soil? If I DON'T remove the old soil & just put new soil around it in a larger pot, wouldn't the plant be basically in the same situation it already is in?

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

It's not too necessary. Old soil is still of use as long as you are fertilising your plants. So you can loosen some of it but no need to mad breaking everything apart to get all the old soil out

[@RNMom424]

@@SheffieldMadePlants oh! Thank you!

[@lcooper6372]

Thank you so much for your videos, they’ve been a massive help. Not sure my husband will agree 😂😂 as it means I want to go buy more lol. X

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching 😁

[@brassteeth3355]

Your Brazil looks great. I've been struggling with mine for some reason. I'm pretty decent with philodendrons generally. This one is getting me down

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Oh really? What's up with it? I've had no bother at all with mine

[@brassteeth3355]

@@SheffieldMadePlants it just wouldn't grow. I ended up pulling it from the soil to discover barely any roots even for a philodendron. I split it leaving the roots in soil and took the nicest looking part as a cutting. It's in some perlite right now. I'm hoping it will grow roots. This might work.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@brassteeth3355 should do. I've taken lots of cuttings from the plant. It is a bit of a slow grower to be fair

[@joannabrister3384]

Great video! Thank you

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks Joanna

[@jerridorr107]

I bought a golden green pathos for my sister’s new home and had the super full plant repotted from the nursery and had to keep alive for 2 weeks and didn’t over water or under water but got yellow leaves and have lost a lot of leaves but still alive. Not sure what’s wrong

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I answered this on your other comment 😁

[@mlob535]

Thank you for all these tips! I wish I came across your videos when I was looking for tips to transplant my Peace Lilly, after not ever doing it for 8 years. It’s not doing well right now after transplanting it and separating it to different pots. It’s been 2 weeks and the plants are struggling 😞

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks Miriam. Give it a bit more time. There will be some transplant shock it needs to get over.

[@mlob535]

@@SheffieldMadePlants thank you so much for responding. I really appreciate it! I feel more at ease to know that I didn’t kill them, especially because I don’t really have the so-called green thumb.

[@turogers13]

Hi 👋 I really need your advise on plants being shipped through the mail. It has been a disaster 😪 All the plants arrived dead or close to it. They are the maranta red-veined and lime green and I was really excited to getting my rattlesnake plant which almost every leaf was frozen. I cut most of them only leaving a few over 3 days. The question is, 🤔 where does the aluminum packing material to help keep them warm belong? I received it with the aluminum foil on the outside of the box. My heart just sunk when I saw that. Every other supplier had that material on the inside and this terrible company used newspaper to insulate the plants. Thank you 😊 💓

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Get a refund! Insulation should be inside with a heat pack really

[@turogers13]

@Sheffield Made Plants omg!!! Thank you so much!!! 💓 I love you ❤

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@turogers13 ☺️

[@lauraleuthauser1819]

I use a chop sticks to break up the dirt

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Snap!

[@joanlyn698]

Thank you for the info ❤

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Glad you liked it!

[@sahandmahdavi6134]

Croton are really dirty plants I have one and it looks very dirty however its beautiful. how spider mites actually find a way to plants? Are they monsters living in soil or they come by dust in air or ?

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I think they just transfer from other plants

[@adorky.]

Crotons seem to have been my poison, brought 10 plants home and of all of them 2/3 Crotons were infested with Mealybugs. None of the others had anything! Still fighting them off, might just have to rid of the Crotons soon, they’re on a pretty rough decline unfortunately :’)

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

They do seem to attract bugs 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@reubenreuben6996]

Is it true that for indoor houseplants (which are obviously inside a container, rather than straight into the ground) you shouldn't use soil and should only use a mix of compost and perlite/pine bark to aerate the potting mix?

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

A mix is needed to allow good drainage. Just having soil will be too dense for the roots and the soil will hold onto too much moisture

[@reubenreuben6996]

@@SheffieldMadePlants Oh okay, so you should use a mix of soil, compost, and perlite/pine bark? Rather than just compost and perlite/pine bark? Thank you for your reply by the way

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@reubenreuben6996 either is fine as long as it doesn’t retain too much water

[@falconmoon2880]

awesome

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Thanks 😊

[@maggiedk]

1:08 what's the plant to the right of the diffenbachia you placed on the shelf? I love the contrast of the orange petioles with the green leaves.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

That’s a chlorophytum orchidastrum. Beautiful plant

[@LorisAyoub]

I have small fruit flies and not sure what else to do

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Keep all food and decaying plant matter out of sight. Seems to help. And regularly changing the bins

[@sue3519]

I love plants but i hate bugs so I decided to never buy plants they always have bugs

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

That’s a shame 😬

[@sue3519]

@@SheffieldMadePlants 🙈

[@billybailey4593]

Why quarantine the plant for so long and just assume the plant has spider mites, treat the plant for spider mites and put the plant where you want it.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

I guess the treatment might not work and you have a problem on your hands. Best to be sure there’s nothing there in my opinion

[@writegirl2937]

There are many different bugs a plant can have on it from the garden center or big box store, and in our excitement to buy a new plant, we may not inspect it throughly before we purchase it. Most of us don’t take a magnifying glass to the garden center or we are in a rush. We usually buy plants because they are beautiful and go with that:-). Perhaps, Mr. Sheffield used spider mites as ONE example of pests that could infect plants because he experienced them. To answer your question, we may not always know up front which treatment to use because it may be anything. To me, he is right about keeping new plants away from the plants in our current collection in the beginning. I also get anxious about putting the plant in a space that I want to be it’s regular spot. But it is worth the wait! Two weeks won’t kill us.😊

[@letshaveago2201]

I would say our man is right as your new plant has been shipped around in and out of light poorly watered and stuck on a shelf with poor light and temp changes so most plants will be feeling unhappy. So to treat and strip soil when just setting it aside will give it a better chance in my opinion.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@writegirl2937 nicely summed up 👌

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

@@letshaveago2201 best to leave them be for sure.

[@painetdldy]

"custard plant"????

[@verdeazul333]

The accent and intonation irritate me a little bit. It's a struggle to finish your video.

[@SheffieldMadePlants]

Ah you can’t win them all I guess. Thanks for watching what you did!

[@letshaveago2201]

Its easy to poke fingers when you dont put yourself out there. maybe feed your plants some positivity?

[@verdeazul333]

@@letshaveago2201 Maybe what you think is negative is actually positive? There is what you call point of view and maturity.

[@letshaveago2201]

@@verdeazul333 Maturity? This is a platform for beginners as much as professionals I would think the fact that our man puts out great content time and time again is what is important. To nit pick accent and intonation without one single word of positivity in your comment frankly couldn`t possibly be thought of as positive! Instead of tasting the icing try the cake underneath it.

[@verdeazul333]

@@letshaveago2201 You talk too much. I am sure the creator of this video will use my criticism to his advantage. If not, then he's a nincompoop. Now move along. You don't have the right to not be offended.