MUST HAVE Plant Supplies for Every Plant Parent

Here we are. We bought a few (okay, A LOT) of plants during the pandemic, and now we need to take care of them! In order to keep our plants looking beautiful, we need the proper plant supplies on hand.

In this post, I will share my FAVORITE plant supplies that I use continuously and recommend to any plant parent. 

There are three categories of items I will cover in this post.

1. Feeding and watering items
2. Planting and potting necessities
3. Nice to have extras

Feeding & Watering Items

Our plant babies need proper food and water to thrive in our homes. There are a variety of ways to water your plants. Depending on the time of year, type of plant, the humidity level in your home, and the amount of sunlight the plant receives, the watering needs vary. While this can become confusing, I have found one tried and true method that will always work and keep your plants happy!

Water when the top 1/4 of the soil is dried out.

This is a better gauge than one inch into the soil, or watering once a week. If you have a 6-inch tall pot with a philodendron and a 2-foot tall pot with a monstera, measuring one inch down into the soil is much different in these two pots. By using the 1/4 of the pot height as an approximate guide, this will ensure the plant is not receiving too much or too little water. Using a plant soil moisture tester is helpful to become familiar with how long it takes for a plant to dry out. A pretty watering can helps to make this chore a little more fun. If taking care of your plants wasn’t fun enough on it’s own!

Some plants like a little extra moisture, especially in the winter when our homes tend to be dry. I like to keep a cute plant mister out on my counter. This helps me remember to give my plants a mist whenever I walk by! Ferns tend to be the plants who require misting the most.

The same way we need vitamins to keep our bodies healthy, plants need fed too! By giving plants the proper nutrition, they will reward you with beautiful new growth! I recently started using the Plant Food from Happy Happy Houseplant. It is a concentrated plant food that I put in my watering can at every watering. If I have the same results as the reviews, my plants should be happy, healthy, growing plants as a result of this food! I will keep you posted on how it is going.

Planting & Potting Necessities

When you purchase or are given a new houseplant, your main focus should be on giving your plant the proper lighting, water, and food. This will keep keep your new plant baby happy for awhile. There will come a time when your plant will need to be repotted. Therefore, it is nice to have the basic plant supplies on hand for repotting, so you are ready when the time comes.

When choosing a new pot for your plant, the best choice is pot 2″ larger than the current size. This will give the roots room to grow, but not have too much extra space (plants do not like this). As a plant parent with a lot of different plants in a variety of sizes, I like to have plenty of options of pots on hand. Personally, I like to stick with black and white plant pots, and neutral baskets to show off my plant beauties.

This set of black pots is nice because they come in 5 different sizes, and each one has a tray included. Drainage is key to keeping houseplants happy, so when a pot comes with drainage holes and a tray, it makes things easy! Another pretty set I have enjoyed is the white hobnail pots. I love the detail on the pots, but they are still neutral and can be used in any room.

I believe every plant deserves a pretty pot to live in. This helps plants double as decor. If you need ideas for other plant pots, check out a few of my favorites.

When moving a plant to a new pot, I typically shake off some of the old soil and loosen up the roots. Then I add new fresh soil to the bottom of the larger pot, place the plant in the pot, and top it off with more fresh soil. I recommend leaving at least 1/2 inch of space at the top, as this will help with watering. When working with cactus, I wear my gloves for protection!

One of my favorite ways to display plants is in a decorative basket. I ALWAYS use a plant saucer in the bottom of the basket to prevent a huge mess when watering! Even if you water in the sink, it is nice to have a saucer for the plant to sit in to catch the dirt and drips. I have a variety of different sized saucers on hand. They are a MUST as part of your plant supplies!

Nice to Have Extras

There are a few other items that I do not consider “necessities” to keep your plants happy and healthy. They are “extras” to level up the look and/or health of your plants. Or accessories to handle pests if/when they arrive!

One fun way to display plants is to hang them! I love everything about hanging a plant. Seeing the beautiful trailing stems (pothos and philodendron are great), and it adds a different element to a room that cannot be achieved by setting plants or decor on shelves. While hanging a plant is not a new concept, macrame plant holders have become very popular over the past few years. I see them everywhere, or you can DIY one for yourself!

There is a wide variety of hanging plant holders. I have this set of 3 macrame holders with tassles, and also one without tassles. These are the hooks I have used to hang my plant holders from the ceiling. Even as an inexperienced power tool user, I was able to use the cordless drill and hang the hooks and plants all by myself 🙂

Other plant supplies that are “nice to have” include pebbles or rocks. There are many times I have been thankful to have some pebbles on hand, or I go out to my driveway and pick up a handful of rocks!

Adding rocks to the top of the soil on a plant looks nice aesthetically, and also helps with water retention. Additionally, the pebbles can even keep pests and gnats away. Most commonly, we see rocks on the soil of cactus and succulents. Therefore, it is up to you if you want to add rocks to the top of your plants.

IF putting pebbles around your plants was not enough to deter gnats, these little yellow sticky traps work pretty well. You can stick them down into the soil of your plant, and the bright color attracts bugs. They come in different shapes like flowers and birds, so they look fairly cute, rather than just a sticky mess of bugs! If you have had bugs on your plants, you know that you will do about anything to remove and prevent them from ruining your pretty plant babies.

Finally, another item that is “nice to have” and you will be thankful to have if you end up with bugs, is neem oil. Neem oil is a natural, non-toxic pesticide that is safe to use on houseplants. You can dilute it and spray it on the leaves and soil of your plants. Happy Happy Houseplant recently started selling Neem Oil, and I ordered their starter kit. (you can see it in my picture above with the plant food) Neem oil can additionally be used to give your plant leaves a beautiful shine.

Whether you are a new plant parent or an experienced houseplant owner, I hope you found my roundup of plant supplies helpful. The most important thing about plants is to have fun and enjoy them!