Collection: Pachira

Plants are an easy way to add color, energy and transform your space, but which plant is for you? Choosing the right plant will depend on your style preference, the size of your space and your home or office environment. What kind of plants do you like? From these, decide how much space you can accommodate, then do a little digging to see if these plants are suited to thrive in their new home based on their care requirements.

Light is food for plants, so the most important part of plant parenthood is feeding your plant babies! Generally, the more light the better. Plants want to be in your window. Some plants can tolerate lower light away from windows, but as a rule, try to keep your plants no more than 6 feet from a window.

If you brought your new plant home in a grow pot, you might be tempted to pot it into a planter right away. However, you'll be more successful if you let your new plant acclimate to its new environment for about 2 weeks first. (If it’s the start or peak of the growing season, you can shave off a few of those days to get it in a new planter sooner.) After its adjustment period, you can decide to leave as is or fully pot it into a decorative planter.

To help make your plant happy, try your best to recreate its natural environment. For example, succulents and cacti are desert dwelling plants. They enjoy being in direct sunlight for as much of the day as possible. Ferns are from misty forests, so they thrive in the high humidity that, say, a bathroom (with a window) brings. It may seem kind of obvious, but not dying is a good thing. If the plant is getting enough light —light is food for plants — then it will grow.

If you see one or a combination of these signs, you’ll know it’s time to repot your plant:

1. It’s grown up: You know your plant has outgrown the nursery grow pot if...

— Roots are growing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the grow pot

— Roots are pushing the plant up, out of the grow pot

— It’s top heavy, and falls over easily

— It’s growing slower than normal (outside of fall/winter dormancy)

— The size of the plant is three times or more the size of the grow pot

2. Dry potting mix: Your plant’s potting mix dries out more quickly than usual, requiring more frequent waterings

Or you might want to get your hands dirty, and that’s an equally valid reason. Studies have shown that when we get in touch with nature, literally, we reduce mental fatigue and stress, while increasing relaxation and self-esteem. Even brief exposure to nature can make us more altruistic, and touching real foliage can elicit an unconscious calming effect.

Learn from our video on how to repot a plant.

Yellow leaves can mean a lot of things, not just overwatering! Yellow leaves could mean that the plant is too hot, too cold, not receiving enough water, receiving too much water, nutrient deficient, or it could be totally natural? Take into account where this is happening on the plant — and how many leaves are yellow. Are the lower leaves turning yellow, with only one or two falling off here and there, but the rest of the plant looks fine? Then it’s just mature leaves, shedding.

To figure out whether your plant is dehydrating or overwatering, check out plant prep & care section.

Remember, yellow leaves never occur without other symptoms unless they are old leaves. It’s identifying those other symptoms that will help you get to the root of the problem.

Did you know that plants clean the air both chemically and physically? Physically, they act as a dust cling. Indoors there is no wind or rain that normally would clean the plant. That’s why it’s up to you to wipe down the leaves once every month or two! Dry wipe, then wet wipe. Just make sure that there aren’t also pests contributing to the dust.

Brown or black leaves can be from multiple reasons, but are usually related to watering issues or salt buildup.

Occasionally brown leaves can be from a fungal infection, so pay attention to what else is going on with your plant and its potting mix. If the plant is wet, or the leaves get wet often, a fungus is likely the culprit.

If the soil is dry, and the leaves are curly or droopy, then most likely the plant is not getting enough water. If the leaves turn straight to black, there are too many salts (fertilizer or hard water) and it’s harming the plant. Most of the time, brown or black crispy leaves are a sign of fungus (if potting mix is wet) or under-watering (if mix is dry).

Leaves usually drop for one of two reasons: (1) either the roots cannot support them, or (2) there is not enough light. In the first case, the plant is pot-bound. Plants can be just as big below ground as they are above ground, so they will drop leaves if the roots cannot grow. In this case, you’ll want to repot your plant into a bigger planter with more room for the roots.

In the second case, light is food for plants, so the plant literally isn’t getting enough food to support the leaves, so it drops them. Help your plant by providing more sunlight or doing a little pruning.

Some plants will droop, but others will not. Most plants, however, to some extent will curl their leaves ? some more dramatically than others when they are thirsty. Plant cells are mostly water, and are basically water balloons. When they lack water, they deflate, and the plant can’t hold itself up. That’s what’s going on when a plant droops or curls its leaves. Feel the soil: it will be your guide. If it’s dry, then water it. If the soil is moist and the plant is still drooping, then it most likely needs more sunlight, or to be repotted.

Plant leaves do not have the capacity to regenerate. When a leaf is diseased or damaged, the plant will eventually drop the leaf and replace it with a new one. You can help expedite this process by pruning the leaf off. This will allow the plant to focus its energy on new, healthy growth.

No — flowers are just reproductive structures — they come and they go! They fall off when your plant is no longer feeling frisky. The rest of the plant is unaffected.