These are 13 plant hacks you don’t want to miss out on. They’re not Daft either. No, no, no, no, no, none of those hacks here involving things like mayonnaise, humidity trays, milk, or soy. Nope, just good old honest hacks to make your plant parenting life much easier. Buckle in and enjoy the article.
**Spider Mites:**
I see you’re spraying your plant there. Is that because you’ve got spider mites by any chance? Yes, I thought so. Look, mate, don’t waste your time. There’s a much simpler solution. Fill a large bucket or sink with water and add a couple of drops of fairy liquid, otherwise known as Dawn dish soap in other parts of the world. Yes, you’ll remember I said not to use it as a long-term preventative and you can still use it to stop an outbreak as a one-off. Can I get back to the article now? Anyway, the next step is to cover the pot somehow to stop the soil coming out when you flip the plant upside down and dunk the leaves in the solution. Looks dramatic, I know, but it’s the best way to get in all the nooks and crannies where the little gits will be hiding. Repeat every other day for a week and spider mites be gone. Spider mites aren’t the only Pest, of course.
**Planting outside:**
Everyone deserves a little holiday, and that includes our green little friends. Confused? I don’t blame you. When summer rolls around, it can be a great little hack to put some of our plants outside to lap up the extra light and soak up the lovely rainwater. It really does make a difference. Don’t believe me? Look at my J plant with his Golem fingers, for example. I bought two at the same time in Spring and kept one all nice and cozy in the house and left the other outside to fend for itself in the Great British weather. Well, don’t feel too sorry for him because look at him, looking super fit and healthy compared to his brother. Looks like he’s been on Creatine. It’ll be time to bring him in in a few weeks when nighttime temps drop below 12 degrees Celsius. And I really, really must remember to fully check him over for pests. Otherwise, there’ll be Carnage in the house, and his friends won’t be best.
**Pin and string:**
It’s my mission in life to cover every inch of my home with plants, even if it would drive Mrs. Sheffield mad. Who am I kidding? There’s no way I’ll be able to do that. But she has at least allowed me to crawl a devil’s Ivy along the picture rail in the dining room. So I’ve got this beautiful specimen growing happily along. But the problem is, I was using those plastic hooks with sticky backs to support the stems, but the damn things kept falling off. So I switched to the pin and string method. Everything is now securely in place. Whilst the stringing pin method, I hear you cry. Simply tie a piece of string around the stem, but not too tight. Hold it in place and stick a pin through the string and into the wall. Do this a few times to fix the whole stem in place. Yes, yes, I know pins create holes in the wall, but filling in holes is one of the easiest DIY jobs you can do. Even I don’t have to pay someone to do that for me.
**Big watering can:**
This is a simple hack it you’ll ever come across. There’s one that saves me a ton of time. It’s a real pain in the backside filling up your little one-liter watering can and going back and forth from plant to tap to plant to tap hundreds of times. This is especially true if you’re adding all types of different Witchcraft and Wizardry to the water. The hack then is to get yourself a nice big six-liter watering can like me. Fill that up, and then take that to your plants. I know what you’re thinking. But Mr. Sheffield, how on Earth can I water with such a big can? The water will go everywhere. And the trick is to fill your one-liter can from the six-liter can rather than from the tap. This is sounding a little confused, admittedly, but look, it’s saving you six trips to the tap and messing around with all your bottles time and again. Make a mix for six liters and fill up your little watering can to avoid getting water everywhere trying to water with such a big vessel. Clear as mud? Let’s move on.
**Water propagation hack:**
The problem with water propagation is choosing the right glass or jar that is just the right size. It’s tricky finding that Goldilocks jar that doesn’t end up with cuttings drowning in the water at the bottom. Don’t relate? Or you might allow this hack anyway. Grab your jar filled with water and wrap the top with cling film. Puncture a few holes that will fit the stems of your cuttings of choice. The cuttings will be supported by the cling film and not swimming and rotting in the bottom. The extra humidity will be a cheeky added bonus too to help your cuttings root faster.
**Fertilizer hack:**
Now, I’m not the crispiest leaf on the calafaya. Maybe that’s a good thing anyway. I’m just always forgetting when I last fed my plants. Was it last month? No, last week. Probably not yesterday. I’ve no idea. Alright, I’ve got a lot on my plate. The solution I have turned to is fertilizing my plants every time I water. No wait, come back, come back, let me explain. It’s not a full-strength dose, you see. I know that will kill a plant. I’m not that stupid. Let’s do some quick maths. Let’s say your fertilizer of choice says to feed every two weeks in the summer using a teaspoon of feed. Let’s also assume your plants need water weekly. To make it easier on yourself, just add half a teaspoon to every can of water, and you’ll never have to remember when you last fed them. Try it, but just try not to mess up the maths. Thankfully, mine was pretty simple. Did I?
**Climbing plant hack:**
Plants are annoying in that they don’t grow in the exact way you want them to. The cheeky young ones have a tendency to flop over, trying to do yoga. What are you doing? You’re a plant, lad. To help make his back as straight as Forrest Gump’s, grab the chopstick that came with your Chinese Takeaway and stick it into the soil next to the stem. Yes, I’m using fancy ones because I haven’t got any disposable ones right now. Tie a piece of string around both. You’ve given your little green friend a Zimmer frame to stand up straight. To take it to the next level and to get climbing plants to die for, grab a tall plank of wood from your DIY store and use that as a support system. It’s a good idea to start this early in the plant’s life so that the plant knows it’s there and grows onto it, rather than you battling to tie the loose stems onto it. Look at my head and Sonia. I’ve got it climbing. I’ve this tree lift trellis Link in the description, by the way, and the airway roots are fully latched onto the wood.
**Watering hack:**
You trundle over to your plant with your watering can and give him a good drink. It looks pretty thirsty, so you give him a decent amount. You watch as the water slowly comes out of the drainage hole and fills the saucer it’s sitting on. But what’s this? It’s not stopping, and it’s near the top. Stop, stop, please stop! What do you do? There’s not much you can do, but watch it drip all over your brand new carpet. That is unless you have a turkey baster. Yes, a turkey baster. Stick it into the water and suck out all the excess. Simply, but it saved my bacon plenty of times.
**Plant tag hack:**
Most of us aren’t skilled botanists, present company most definitely not excluded. We’re just enthusiasts who love the hobby most of the time, unless we’re dealing with pests. That’s when I turn into the Hulk. I’ve got a track record of buying plants, chucking out the tag, sticking it somewhere in my home, and then the next day forgetting what the hell it is I’ve bought. Too late, Mrs. Sheffield has taken out the rubbish, so the tag is long gone. But here’s the hack. Keep a bunch of wooden sticks or anything else for that matter that you can scribble on the name of the plant. Stops you having to search on Google every time you want to know something about it. I’ve got good at indoor plant names by now, but it is something I do for the garden plants, which I must say I’m very Nubia.
**Mosquito repelling plants:**
If there’s at least one good thing that comes out of living in such a cool, damp, and miserable climate, apart from the complete lack of concern over watering the garden, is the general absence of mosquitoes. Us Brits one off to the med for our summer holidays every year and complain about the fact we get eaten alive. I guess the mosquitoes love the smell of fresh blood in the morning. Anyway, if you’re unlucky enough to live somewhere with beautiful bright sunshine and lovely warm weather with lots of mozzies, then consider keeping a few mosquito repelling plants in the home. I know it’s not going to stop them coming into your home entirely, of course, but every little bit helps, and it’s worth experimenting with. The best ones are herbs that give off a strong scent like basil, lemon thyme, lavender, peppermint, and rosemary. Try it. What have you got to?
**Leafless monstera:**
Are you a propagating hero with jars of water filled with leaves all over your house? And does your other half hate you for it? Oh, just me? Anyway, if you’re a plant propagation Whisperer, this next cheeky little hack might be new to you. When I propagate a vining plant like a philodendron, I’m often left with a leafless node. Now I always used to throw these out until one day I experimented and chucked a leafless monstera node into my perlite prop box, and boom, the plant you see before you right now grew from it. You’re probably thinking that Mr. Sheffield surely needs a leaf to photosynthesize. Apparently not. I guess it speaks to an innate will to survive or something, and look, I’m doing it again with a philadelphis, and you can just see the beginnings of a new bud forming. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
**Mushrooms:**
Look, I’ve got mushrooms in the soil of one of my plants. Ah, what do I do? What do I do? Where’s the bin? Where’s the bin? Quick, get that thing in the bin! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses, kid. Not so fast. I know you think mushrooms shouldn’t belong in the soil of your indoor plants, and if you’ve got them, then your soil must be teeming with mold and all sorts of other baddies. But honestly, it’s a good sign. Yes, a good sign. Mushrooms are harmless, trust me. All it means is that your soil is full of good stuff. The same good stuff that your plant’s roots will love. Broken down bits of plant matter that are decaying and adding value to the soil. So don’t panic, and certainly no need to change the soil. Leave it be.
**Meters:**
Forget dogs, meters are a plant man’s best friend. If you haven’t got them yet, then I highly recommend a light, humidity, and moisture meter. And I’ve got all of them listed in my Amazon store, linked below. How about that for a plug, eh? My moisture meter is my favorite thing in the world, and I’ve got two kids as well. It stops the guessing work when it comes to soil moisture. The humidity and light meter are relatively new additions for me, but I love them both. Again, no more guessing about whether a spot gets bright or low light or high humidity or dry air. Try them if you can spare the funds. The results might just surprise you, like they did me. Turns out my house is nowhere near as bright as I thought it was. And then we have self-watering stakes made from terracotta, which are a real game-changer.
