How to Care for Houseplants

Caring for houseplants comes down to a handful of basics: the right light for the plant, water only when the soil is dry, a pot that drains, a quality indoor potting mix, feeding while they're growing, and clean, pest-free leaves. Match those to where your plant comes from in nature, and most houseplants are easier to keep happy than you'd think.

There's something quietly satisfying about spotting a brand-new leaf unfurling on an ordinary weekday morning. That little moment is what we're growing toward. Here's how to get there.

Key Takeaways

• Water when the top inch of soil feels dry, not on a set schedule. Overwatering is the most common reason houseplants struggle.
• Most houseplants grow best in bright, indirect light. Cacti and succulents need direct sun, and only a few, like ZZ plants and snake plants, tolerate low light.
• Use a pot with a drainage hole, just 1 to 2 inches wider than the root ball, filled with indoor potting mix, never garden soil.
• Feed every two weeks only while plants are actively growing: usually spring and summer, or year-round for tropical plants under grow lights in a warm room.

Every houseplant needs the same few things: light, water, a pot with drainage holes filled with high-quality indoor potting mix, nutrients, clean leaves, and a comfortable location to grow. What changes from plant to plant is how much of each. A cactus and a fern both need water, just on very different schedules. Use this table as your quick check, then jump to the section you need.

Calatheas and prayer plants are happiest with gentler light, and many bright-indirect plants can get by with this amount of light too, just growing a little more slowly.

• Where: several feet away from a bright window, or near an east-facing window shaded by a tree or sheer curtain.
• Watch for: faded leaves (too much) or stretched, sparse growth (too little).

No houseplant truly needs low light, but a few tolerate it well: ZZ plants, snake plants, pothos, and Chinese evergreen.

• Where: near north-facing windows, in bathrooms with a small window, or in bright rooms away from the glass.
• Keep in mind: plants in low light grow more slowly and use less water, so they need watering less often. Dust their leaves regularly, too, since a dusty leaf soaks up even less of the light that's available.

1. Start with a pot that drains. A drainage hole is the single best protection against overwatering.
2. Use room-temperature water. Cold water can shock tropical roots.
3. Water the soil, not the leaves. Aim at the base of the plant so the water goes straight to the roots.
4. Water until it drains. Keep going until some water runs out the bottom, so the whole root ball gets a drink.
5. Empty the saucer. Once the pot has finished draining, pour out any water left in the saucer so the roots aren't sitting in a puddle.

If water runs straight through and the soil has shrunk away from the sides of the pot, it's gotten too dry to absorb water from the top. Set the pot in a few inches of water for 20 to 30 minutes so it can soak it up from below, then let it drain.

An overwatered plant often looks thirsty, which is why it's so easy to make things worse. Check the soil before you reach for the watering can. Common signs include:

• Yellowing lower leaves
• Wilting or drooping even though the soil is wet
• Soft, mushy stems near the soil line
• Soil that stays soggy for days, or a sour smell from the pot
• Tiny flies hovering around the soil

If you see these signs, let the soil dry out before watering again. If the roots are already mushy, trim away the damaged ones and repot in fresh, dry potting mix.

Yes, most do. Shorter days and low light levels slow growth in fall and winter, so plants use less water and the soil stays damp longer. Keep checking the soil rather than switching to a fixed winter schedule: in homes with forced-air heat, small pots near vents can still dry out quickly, and tropical plants growing under grow lights in a warm room may keep drinking at close to their summer pace.

Choose a pot about 1 to 2 inches wider than the root ball for most tabletop plants. Large floor plants can go up 2 to 4 inches. It's tempting to size way up so you don't have to repot again soon, but an oversized pot holds far more soil than the roots can reach, so it stays wet longer and raises the risk of root rot. A pot that's too small dries out quickly and leaves the plant rootbound. For tall or top-heavy plants like fiddle leaf figs, look for a pot with a wide, heavy base so it won't tip over.

It depends on how quickly you want the soil to dry out. Porous materials like terracotta let moisture escape through the pot's walls, so soil dries faster. Plastic, resin, and glazed ceramic hold moisture in, so soil stays damp longer. Match the material to your plant, and to your watering habits. For more on styles and which plants pair best with each, see our guide to types of planters for your houseplants.

• Best for: cacti, succulents, snake plants, and anyone with a heavy hand on the watering can.
• Good to know: these pots are heavy and stable but can chip. In dry winter air, small terracotta pots may need water more often. A white crust on the outside is mineral buildup from water and fertilizer, and it scrubs off.

• Best for: moisture lovers like ferns, calatheas, and peace lilies, plus hanging baskets where weight matters.
• Good to know: they're lightweight and inexpensive, and most nursery pots are plastic, which makes them easy to slip inside a decorative cachepot.

• Best for: larger plants that need a stable, heavy base, and plants that like evenly moist soil.
• Good to know: the glaze holds moisture in much like plastic does. Many glazed pots are sold without a drainage hole, so check before you buy.

• Best for: thirsty tropical plants, busy schedules, and vacations.
• Good to know: a built-in reservoir wicks water up into the soil as it dries. Skip them for cacti, succulents, and any plant that likes to dry out between waterings, and let the reservoir run dry now and then so the soil doesn't stay constantly wet.

You don't need to. A layer of gravel or broken pot shards won't make up for a missing drainage hole, and it takes up space roots could use. The most reliable recipe for good drainage is simple: a pot with a hole, filled top to bottom with a quality potting mix. If soil washes out of a large drainage hole, cover it with a small square of mesh or a coffee filter.

The best soil for most houseplants is a light, fluffy indoor potting mix, never garden soil, which packs down in a pot and crowds out the air roots need. Look for a mix that drains well but still holds some moisture and includes nutrients to get plants started. Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix for All Plants is a blend of sphagnum peat moss, coir, and perlite that feeds for up to 6 months, and it's made without compost or bark, which can shelter fungus gnats.

Yes, whenever they're actively growing. Even a great potting mix runs low on nutrients over time, and every watering rinses a little more away. Regular feeding replaces them so your plant can keep putting out healthy new leaves. If you've potted in an enriched mix, give it about 30 days, then start a feeding routine with Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food for All Plants. It's a gentle, instant feed, liquid plant food you pump right onto the soil or into your watering can.

Feed your houseplants only while they're actively growing. For most plants, that's spring and summer, when days are long, the light is bright, and rooms are warm. In fall and winter, lower natural light and cooler temperatures slow growth way down or stop it altogether, so stop feeding until you see new growth again in spring. Food that a resting plant can't use just builds up in the soil.

There's one important exception. Many tropical houseplants kept under grow lights in a warm room will keep growing right through winter. If your plant is still putting out new leaves, it still needs food, so keep feeding on your regular schedule.

Most houseplants are comfortable in the same range you are: about 65–75°F during the day and a little cooler at night. Keep them away from cold drafts, radiators, and heating or air conditioning vents. Many tropical houseplants prefer 40 to 50% humidity, but heated homes often drop well below that in winter. To raise it, group plants together, set pots on a tray of pebbles and water (with the pot sitting above the waterline), or run a humidifier.

Desert plants like cacti and succulents are the exception. They're happy in dry air and just need good airflow and soil that dries out between waterings.

Not in any lasting way. Misting raises the humidity around a plant for only a few minutes before it evaporates, so you'd have to mist many times a day to make a difference, and constantly wet leaves can invite disease on some plants. A humidifier, a pebble tray, or grouping plants together will do far more.