Why do my plants keep dying?

They give interiors an instant update, but keeping potted plants happy and healthy takes know-how. Maddy Fletcher finds out where she is going wrong

It began with an avocado plant. I remember when I bought it, about two years ago, the two women behind the shop counter giggled slightly. I looked at them. ‘It’s very big, it’ll need space,’ said one. ‘And light!’ said the other. It was February, unsunny, and my bedroom had just about the square footage for a bed and nothing else. Still, I didn’t listen. I paid my €35 and carried my avocado plant down the hill to my apartment. (It wasn’t a particularly long way, but, carrying a giant avocado plant, it felt endless.)

At home, I wedged the plant beside my bed, next to the window. My roommate looked at it and said, ‘I give it a week’. After two days, I noticed a concerning brown avocado leaf lying, with curled edges, on my bedroom floor. Then another. Then another. A week after that, I put the – now almost leafless – plant in the garden and decided I’d let nature do its thing.

Within a few hours a gust of wind had knocked my avocado plant over, spilling dark dry soil across the patio.

I binned it and bought something smaller: a spindly purple orchid. The man in the shop said not to water it too much. I nodded, and then left the flower on the windowsill above the radiator. It was dead within a week, too.

Now I am living in a different apartment. For a long time, this home had no plants, just fake flowers. (The €10 counterfeit tulips from TK Maxx are excellent.) But I seem to be the only one; house plants are everywhere. Last month, Tesco revealed its indoor plant sales had increased by 130 per cent since 2019. In response, B&Q’s head of buying, Mairi Devlin, said that house plants ‘have a real appeal to young people because it’s a super, super easy first foray into keeping something alive’, which, as a young person with a history of killing indoor plants, I find ‘super, super’ grating.

So I bought a €10 peace lily from Ikea and resolved to keep it alive. For help, I speak to two experts: James Field, an aptly named gardener, and Sarah GerrardJones, author of The Plant Rescuer, who has more than 400,000 Instagram followers.

Here are their tips.

Stop overwatering

Many people think plants need to be watered every day. They don’t. When I speak to Gerrard-Jones in mid-March, she says, ‘This is my yucca,’ gesturing to an enormous, healthy-looking tree behind her. ‘I’ve only watered it four times since November.’ The best way to check if a plant needs watering is to put your finger inside the soil. If it’s dry on the surface but damp underneath, leave it alone; if it’s still dry a few centimetres down, add water.

‘A lot of people swear by using rainwater,’ says Field. Because tap water has an – admittedly very low – amount of chlorine in it. The most important thing is to make sure the water is ‘not hot and not cold – nothing that’s too shocking for the plant’. Also, make sure it’s in a pot that’s free-draining (so one with holes in the bottom, which you then place on top of a saucer). ‘You don’t want your plant to be sitting in a pool of water.’

Step away from the mister

Plant sprayers might look professional but they have ‘no proven benefit’, says GerrardJones. ‘People think that misting plants makes the environment humid [which promotes growth]. However, you can’t just make a room humid by spritzing water in it.’ What’s more, misting can be dangerous. ‘Unless windows are open, we don’t have much air circulation in our homes. Especially in winter. So, if you’re misting your plants, the water will just sit on the leaves, which can cause bacterial growth.’ Field agrees. ‘You don’t want to get water on the leaves or the stem of your plant. It’s a recipe for disease.’ Instead, he suggests using a slightly damp cloth to brush off any dust from your plant’s leaves (this allows them to absorb more light). GerrardJones goes further; she brushes her plants with a toothbrush or a hand-held vacuum cleaner switched to a gentle setting.

Let there be light

‘People always say to me: “Oh, but my plants are in a really bright room.” That means nothing to a plant! Most need to be within a few feet of a window, really, to thrive,’ says Gerrard-Jones. ‘So, wherever you have placed your plant, pick it up ‘and move it closer to the window’. Field also suggests rotating the position of your house plants around the home fairly regularly. (‘It gives them variety.’)

If you don’t have natural light, buy a plant lamp that replicates it (bloomandgrown shop.ie sells one for €24). And, if artificial sunshine offends your green-fingered principles, try a ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), which tolerates a wide range of light conditions. ‘It’s a slow grower if it’s in a low light, but it will be fine as long as you don’t water it too much,’ says Gerrard-Jones.

Say no to calatheas

‘My heart sinks when I see somebody picking up a calathea,’ says Gerrard-Jones. ‘I just want to scream at them: “Nooooooo!”. They have beautiful leaves – stripy and purple with fancy patterns – but I don’t think they should be sold as house plants. Our homes are simply not right for them. You’ll never see an old calathea. They are a nightmare! Avoid, avoid, avoid.’ As an alternative, she suggests the similar-looking but hardier maranta.

‘HOUSE PLANTS NEED TO BE A FEW FEET FROM A WINDOW

Avoid radiators

You might think – as I did with my ill-fated orchid – that plants like warmth. But leaving them on top of a radiator is a terrible idea, says Gerrard-Jones. Sporadic, intense bursts of heat can cause plants to ‘stretch and look a bit odd’. Worse, radiators cause evaporation. It means that, when you water your plant, the radiator might dry it out before your plant has had the time to drink it. Eek.

Forget flowers

Flowering plants are lovely, but they might be too high maintenance for a beginner. ‘I’d go leafy over flower,’ says Field. ‘Succulents are a nice starter. Small and spiky. They might not be particularly beautiful, but if you’re setting out on your plant journey they’re a good place to start.’ As for where to buy plants, Field recommends your local garden centre, but also rates Marks & Spencer. Gerrard-Jones likes online shop Mintplants, which has a ‘rescued’ cacti section selling secondhand or, as she puts it, ‘mature’ plant specimens.

Failing that, the €10 counterfeit tulips from TK Maxx really are excellent.