Caring for Your New Plant(s)
Your Plant Mail has arrived! Now what?
We hope your plants arrived safely! They were packed carefully for transport and rehoming, and should manage for a while in the potting mediums they arrived in. Avoid repotting within the first few weeks to minimize stress on the plant(s) after travel.
Please unpack gently! Remove tape carefully with scissors and avoid tugging of any kind. Kindly try and reuse as much of the packaging material as possible! Here are some additional care suggestions for your new plants:
“Chonks” a.k.a. Wet Sticks
Your nodes might be leafless, but they can grow in moss! The growth point on the node should be facing up, with as many roots buried as possible. The sides of the cutting can remain exposed, to callous.
The moss should be kept “semi-moist” -- if squeezed, no water drops should fall. The container should stay humid, but watch for moisture collecting underneath the node, which can lead to rot. The goal is for the moist air around the node to promote rooting, without letting that moisture soak into the cutting from the moss below it…
Check the moss daily for changes — dryness (crunchy moss or shriveling tips on the cutting) or too-moist conditions (soggy moss or dark/mushy tips on the cutting). Trim any brown tips and dip dry cut edges in cinnamon to reduces chances of rot.
Unrooted or Partially-Rooted Cuttings
Your plants or cuttings arrived in moss, and some folks like continuing as is! (See notes under “Chonks” section.) We prefer starting unrooted cuttings in water. Submerge the node and roots while leaving as much of the stem above the water line as possible. Note: The old leaf may yellow, wilt, or drop as the new one grows in and this is not unusual.
Change the water a couple times a week, and add a drop of dish soap or hydrogen peroxide to keep it clean. Rooting hormone is optional. Bonus tip: Use a dark container instead of a clear jar to encourage faster rooting.
Once cuttings develop roots 2+ inches long, potting in soil is recommended…
Fully-Rooted Cuttings & Potted Plants
Your plant or cutting is fully-rooted and ready for a #PlantShelfie debut! Potted plants are ready-to-grow in custom soil mix already.
Fully-rooted cuttings can be potted — after giving them about two weeks to acclimate. We recommend a high-draining soil mix with up to 50% perlite.
General* Best Practices for Plants
Light: Most plants do well in medium/indirect light — in a room with a window that has natural light. Avoid leaving them in direct sun or in dark corners with no natural light. (Ignore the latter if they are low-light plants, which do just fine with those conditions.)
Water: Most indoor house plants need their soil to dry out in between waterings. Rather than “watering on a schedule”, watch your plant for droopiness or dry leaf tips — signs of dehydration — and stick your finger in the soil. Your plant is ready to be watered when soil is chalky, maybe sooner if it prefers moister conditions.
Planters & Sizes: Planters holding soil should have good drainage. Use a drip tray to underneath to protect your surfaces — or, better yet, make it a pebble tray for humidity! When replanting, don’t repot into a planter much larger than the one previous, or one much larger than the root ball. An extra in or two on each side is plenty, since most plants like being in a tighter pot.
*Please note that these are very general house plant care tips. For more personalized care recommendations, please contact us.
Have any other lingering plant care questions? Email dirtyplantladies@gmail.com. Send us some feedback about how to make this page more useful, and we’ll send you a $5 promo code for Etsy or our web shop. Thanks for reading!
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