I care for hundreds of plants in the homes and offices of other people - environments over which I have little control. Consequently, I am often challenged to keep plants alive and healthy where the conventional plant care wisdom simply does not apply or can not be used.
For example, most homes and offices have very low humidity here during NYC winters. Installing humidifiers and pebble trays are not options. As it turns out, if I compensate for the low humidity by increasing the soil moisture, the so-called high humidity plants seem to do quite well in low humidity.
Likewise, repotting plants in other people's spaces is difficult if not impossible. It is messy, time-consuming and expensive. (I charge for my professional services based on time spent.) That means I look for other solutions to plant problems that others might solve by repotting. Surprisingly often, plants seem to do quite well when left in their pots even though they are quite potbound. Crowded roots may deter growth a bit, but it does not seem to have an adverse effect on a plant's health. In some instances where a plant will not last a full week between my weekly service visits, I may install a sub-irrigation system or just leave the plant sitting in a couple of days worth of water, something that is ordinarily a no-no!
Replacing soil is another problem in other people's homes and offices, so I rarely do it. I care for plants that have been in the same pot and soil for over 25 years and they are doing just fine. So, maybe that conventional wisdom about repotting or replacing soil periodically is not so essential after all.
Available light in homes and offices is often challenging. I cannot relocate a plant in someone's home just to improve its light. That means I have to be able to properly assess the light and make recommendations for specific low light plants. I have learned from experience what plant species will manage to survive in the very low light. Along with that, I have learned that the usual watering regimen is not appropriate because plants in very low light use very little water or nutrients and also grow very slowly.
Treating plant pests in the spaces of other people is another challenge. Personally, I don't like using chemical pesticides and I would never use them in someone else's space. So I have been forced to rely on safe products that are also effective. Those include dish soap, alcohol and water. More importantly, I know how to spot pest infestations very early so that spot treatment is often all that is necessary. I also understand that plants that are under stress due to improper light or water are more prone to pest infestations. As I have improved my own skills in assessing light and understanding watering, I have discovered that I have far fewer plant pest issues that I did before.
I am often called upon to repot a plant that looks too big and/or is leaning. When I see the plant, all I may need to do is physically reposition the plant in its pot and then prune back the overgrown branches that have created an unwieldy appearance. Many times a little pruning, a little dusting and the removal of some discolored leaves improves a plant's appearance so much that the client is thrilled and amazed that major replanting wasn't necessary, as they had assumed.
There are many other examples, but my profession dictates that I seek the simplest, neatest and cleanest solutions to various plant problems. That means I have to discard the conventional methods of plant care and find creative, less intrusive ways to treat plants. Not all my experiments with simplicity have succeeded, but most have and that has opened my eyes to the way most people go about caring for their plants and how those ways could easily be improved.
My book, "Don't Repot That Plant and Other Indoor Plant Care Mistakes," is a result of my many years of experimentation with the most effective plant care techniques in the less than ideal home and office environments in which most of us live and work.
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