With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
updatedNov 4, 2022
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Apartment Therapy Weekend Projects is a guided program designed to help you get the happy, healthy home you’ve always wanted, one weekend at a time. Sign up now for email updates so you never miss a lesson.
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I remember many mortified moments growing up, in doctor’s offices or at the bank teller window, for example, where my mother would pick the brown leaves off the plants as she waited or made small talk. Embarrassed as I was, no one else ever seemed to mind—probably becausea pruned plant is a happy plant!
Every time my mother would finish “editing” a plant like this, she’d say with her signature sparkle smile, “See? Look at how happy it looks now!” People would laugh and thank her, which is no surprise because my mom is one of the most disarming and vivacious people you’ll meet.
Guess what? When it comes to plant-plucking, I’ve turned into my mother. I don’t have the boldness to tear dead leaves from plants in public, but I do it at home, and I derive a very familiar joy.
This Weekend: Prune the dead parts from your plants.
Because your plants are unobtrusively present in your surroundings, you may not notice some of the leaves that are far past their prime. By taking the time to visit each of your plants with an eye to how you can make them look their best, you can remove every part that detracts from their appearance.
Walk around your whole home, stopping to review each of your houseplants—both indoor and outdoor ones. When you see dead leaves, dormant stems, or brown parts of leaves, cut them away.
It’s fine to pluck dead leaves or stems with your hands when possible, just don’t pull too hard, or you may damage the healthy part of your plant. For tougher stems or to remove brown leaf tips and edges, use scissors or pruning shears. Don’t forget to disinfect your shears between plants to prevent transferring any diseases or pests.
If you have any flowering plants with spent blooms, pluck those off as well.
You can also use this one-on-one time to generally take stock of how your plant seems to be doing. Look out for discoloration, strange smells, leggy stems, or any other warning signs that your plant needs a little extra TLC. Check out Apartment Therapy’s complete guide for how to take care of plants.
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You can catch up with weekend projectsright here. Share your progress with us and others by posting updates and photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #atweekendproject.
Remember: This is about improvement, not perfection. Each week, you can either choose to work on the assignment we’ve sent you, or tackle another project you’ve been meaning to get to. It’s also completely okay to skip a weekend if you’re busy or not feeling the assignment.
By maintaining an environment that is moist, kept at a temperature of 75º-85ºF, and receives 18 hours of light from a growing bulb you can keep your mother plant happy and healthy. While mother plants can produce a virtually unlimited number of clones, it is important to allow your mother plant to rest.
Thankfully, plants communicate with us all the time. If your plants' leaves are wilting, they're saying “Please water me.” Yellow leaves are saying “Hold off on the water.You're killing me with kindness.” Let's look at a few things your plants are trying to tell you. No one likes stress, not even plants.
Pothos. A quintessential beginner plant, the pothos is nicknamed the devil's ivy because it's that hard to kill. This low-care plant can tolerate lots of bright, indirect sun or even low light conditions (just steer clear of bright, direct sun). It's also very forgiving of infrequent watering, says Steinkopf.
The best time to water plants is in the morning or evening.
Morning watering is actually preferable to evening watering as the plant has time to dry before the sun goes down. At night, water tends to rest in the soil, around the roots, and on the foliage, which encourages rot, fungal growth, and insects.
If water alone is not enough, try a mixture of all-natural liquid soap and water. You can dip a soft cloth in the soap and water solution and wipe the leaves carefully, or you can lather your hands with the solution and gently apply it to the plant.
“Similarly, white vinegar, coconut milk and banana peels are all bursting with important nutrients that can help your plants grow and thrive. “Surprisingly, even human and pet hair can be used thanks to its high levels of magnesium – so think twice before vacuuming up your pooch's fur!”
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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