Absolute Top 20 Plant Hacks That'll Blow Your Mind 

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It’s rare to find someone who wants to share the limelight with other people! Giving other people the spotlight is a wonderful quality of yours!!!! I appreciate you, your channel, your subscribers suggestions!! And thank you for the shout out for the new channels that I have subscribed too also!!

Suggestion....instead of using coffee filters (which deteriorate over time) to prevent the soil from dropping out of your plant cut a small square of window screen (when I heard this hack I had left over window screen on hand) and use that to cover the drainage hole. Soil stays in water drains out...

Being cursed with Northern facing windows, I use grow lights for everything -- but I don't use timers. Instead, I bought smart plugs so I can program them as needed. They let me set specific time schedules, or even synchronize the lights with local sunrise/sunset times and I like knowing I can check/adjust them even if I'm out of town. I definitely recommend the Kasa strip outlet, and wall plugs.

I absolutely love the Lego hack! My 8 year old grandson is in the autism spectrum & a Lego master. He decided one day last fall while he was staying with me that my plants needed colorful pots, so he built Lego structures around a lot of my pots. I thought he was brilliant (& he is:), but now I am seeing it on my favorite plant channel! 😊 Thanks so much for sharing! 🌱🍃🌿 Edit- sorry, I just realized this video is from 7 months ago. I don’t know why it just popped up today, but I’m glad it did 😊

Speaking of cat litter - great tip, by the way - I purchased a kitty litter box for drying out overly wet soil. Now, I use it for repotting, soil mixing, parking large plants for repotting. Comes in handy for many plant-related tasks.

Ive seen lots people aint using soil anymore, only water, air and some liquid nutrients I myself tried it too with perlite AND vermiculite and its a blast how well my plants are growing now This is because most people forget how fragile roots are Its also much lighter, lets oxygen come in and out and also stores water and nutrients! Planting new life makes me happy!

Cat litter need to be scent and chemical free and used only on moisture loving plants. Litter is a heavy clay, or Fullers Earth meant to retain moisture. Love your videos!❤

I accidentally discovered one of these hacks while trying another one of the hacks. I was using a cheap wooden take out chopstick to aerate some of my plants once and realized it came out of some dry and came out of others wet even though the top soil was dry enough I’d likely water them. I decided I’d get a bag of the cheap wood food skewers and stick them in my pots and let them sit a few minutes. If I pull them out and they’re soaked I know not to water 😎

I Used to have an aquarium and would water my plants with the used fish water after my weekly water changes. I use coffee mugs for small plants, drilling a drain hole with a 1/2" diamond tip hole saw. Often these mugs are souvenirs of places I have visited, so they make extra special planters.

Not sure if it's been mentioned - but you can also water your plants using the water that's leftover from rinsing your rice (before cooking)!

I have a fish tank and when I do my water changes, I use the fish tank water to water my plants. It has nutrients from fish waste and acts as a fertilizer and you reuse the water as well. So also saves on having to use fertilizer.

One more thing about the last hack, make sure the string is cotton or some other natural fiber. Natural fibers will always be better at wicking than synthetic ones, and you’ll know you aren’t leaching unknown chemicals into your plants root system.

Berry containers are excellent for germination. They drain easy since they already have holes in them. Also adding Ariel roots to a little medicine cup inside the pot is another good hack for watering without the fuss.

Another great hack is; if you have an aquarium. During my water changes I use that water as fertilizer. I never throw it away. I also have a turkey baster just in case I need a quick siphon of aquarium water. The turkey baster is great cuz I can get to the bottom of the fish tank with all the fish poo! It's fantastic!

Foil works better than a mirror to reflect light in my experience as the mirror can be a bit harsh by focusing the light and cause burns on the leaves of sensitive plants. Some good tips in video thanks and that first bath tub one was genius

Instead of coffee filters, I use needlepoint canvas. They are sold in sheets of two or three, inexpensive, easy to cut to your desired size, do not break down and therefore last a long time.

I use bottom watering for all my succulents and Hoyas. They’re thriving!

My mom would plant her avocado pits all the time when I was little! It was my first introduction to gardening!

My plant watering while traveling tip always works. After watering the plant, put it in a large clear plastic bag and place a mug of water next to it. Then use a hair dryer to inflate the bag and tie it closed. I've returned after a month and the plant's soil is still moist. It works just like a terrarium.

I saw a great hack for when you have overwatered your plant the other day. They put a tampon(fresh one of course) in the soil and it absorbs some of the water.

I liked that tip about using a wooden dowel to test to see if your plant is dry. 😁

Just like the cooking water, if you have fish keeping as a hobby, don't throw away the used water from your water changes. After all, the reason water changes are made is to remove (or decrease) from the water the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates resulting from the decomposing process of excess food and fish poop. Those might be poison to the fish, but our plants appreciate the bonus when we use that used water on them. Bear in mind, this doesn't substitute a full fertilizer, but it's a valuable help. Just found your channel a few days ago, and I'm loving it. Thanks!

I've used scraps of window screen over the drain holes too. Works great. The plastic screen is better than the metal, it doesnt rust. The only problem with watering plants from the bottom is that over time you can get a salt buildup in the soil. So once or twice a year flush the plants out with water from the top...

My main plants I grow are climbing aroids, and for anyone worried about space if they have a lot of plants, moss poles (the proper ones with sphagnum moss, not coco coir poles or other supports that sometimes get called moss poles in stores etc) really help to let your plant grow vertically while also providing the plant with extra potting medium for your plant to grow roots into and absorb water and nutrients. This allows you to keep the plant happily in a smaller pot, further reducing the footprint per plant. (for someone like me with a bit of a plant addiction, this is a godsend). I will note that if you do this, once the plant is rooted into the pole, you don't need to water the pot ever again, just watering the pole is enough, providing you use a very well draining mix in the pot. (I haven't got much experience with soil and perlite, but the little experience I do have is that it holds water a little too much for most of the plants I grow and the roots tend to rot more often than not, simply because all the water from the pole will drain through that soil at the bottom, so it will be wetter than a normal plant pot. I tend to use a mix from either grow tropicals, or soil ninja, and with while they're not that cheap, neither are the plants I'm growing so I see it as a fair investment.

Ooh, just thought of another tip that I don't really think about and just do. Clear nursery pots are the way to go if you have access to them. It easily shows you how much moisture is in the pot, and also lets you see the state of your roots without disrupting the soil/potting mix. I especially find this helpful for my hoyas; they don't tend to do much of anything after repotting them, however with a clear pot, I can see root growth and know that they're fine. Once they build a big root system I know they will then shoot again because I know they like to be root bound. It's also super helpful for plants that are a bit more fussy when it comes to watering needs, I can't recommend them enough. I tend to use orchid pots from my local garden centre, but I know some stores stock normal nursery pots that are clear

Be careful when adding materials like coffee filters to the bottom of your pots. They can quickly start to break down with the consistent moisture and become mouldy.

If you have hard tap water, put your plants outside in rain weather ;-)

Great video. I keep a few small willow branches in a vase of water and use the water for starting new cuttings. Willow contains hormones that are antibacterial and antifungal and also promote root growth.

I love decorating my pots. Just use coloured permanent markers and get creative. Sharpie has a cool pastel colour line that's perfect for this.

I had a goat that I used to take to schools for the kids to see. They fed her bits of grass etc, and one kid gave her his sandwich which had tomato in it. The following year a massive tomato bush grew in the concrete wall of her stable yard.

Love this video!! Thank you!! A recent hack I learnt about was pineapples and taking the top off, putting in water and reporting to make a pineapple plant ....how did I not know that before!!! It's been 8 months now and it's growing nicely and still alive 😊

great video and great ideas! I'm not a coffee drinker, so what I use to keep soil from leaving the pot is to put a curved piece of broken pot over the bottom hole in the pot. Curved, because you want the water to still be able to drain.

Thank you for using my hack for decorative candle containers as cover pots 😁

I just used the papertowel plant hack that I learned from this video. Yesterday, it came a gullywasher & as a new plant parent, it just slipped my mind that my precious sansevieria collection was on the patio (gasp!). I brought all plants inside (in the rain!), wiped them off & placed papertowels folded under them, changing every couple of hours. This method really soaks up the water. Thanks so much!

My friend gave me a start from her spider plant for my birthday in a pretty pot and it was one of my favorite gifts!

Great hacks! I also use water from my aquariums to water my plants when I do water changes, helps remind me to regularly water and it's packed with nutrients for the plants😀

YOURE MY FAVOURITE PLANT CHANNEL

Bottom watering is a must!!!!1

Great video. One problem. Tomato seeds. Most tomatoes you buy are "Hybrid". The "parents" of the seeds may not look anything like the plants that are produced by the seeds. You will end up plants that resemble one of the parents or the other and everything in between. Keep in mind, I am not saying it will not work. Just might not get the results you're looking for.

I've been considering buying some bottom watering planters (with clear basins on the bottom because I want to add shells and marimo moss balls,of course)and this video convinced me to get those for sure!!

For my grow lights I use a surge protector with a timer included. It has 8 outlets and 4 are on the timer. Very helpful because I can use the non-timer side for other things.

Awesome hacks. Some of them I use like the lemon water to clean leaves and the paper towel to dry out plants...I'm glad I'm on the right track

I love to be surrounded by plants and fish they remind me of my island home in Hawaii. When it comes time to water my plants I first do a fish tank cleaning. I collect all the water from the tanks and drain them into a bucket or two then I use it to water my plants and my plants flourish like you wouldn’t believe.

I love the idea of using coffee filters to stop soil loss from planters. They can also be used to wrap around seeds that are still on the mother plant. Just wrap filter over seeds and tye in place. Filters are cheap and can be used for many thinga.

I love it so much that he quotes other channels instead of repeating it. Great for the community.

Your channel is just what I needed.Thank you so much for all the info!

Great video with plenty of hacks. I also put paper towels under my pots to soak up excess water

Great tips! For avocado pits, remove the brown outer part of seed to speed it up.

So many great hacks ❤ thank you for sharing all of them with us and for the new channel suggestions 🙏

So many great and accessible ideas plus very useful tips. Cinnamon also helps promoting rooting. Just add a small pinch of powder per quart of water or a small chunk from a stick to provide a rooting boost to any cutting. However cat litter will not take the place of perlite. Rather than being porous and retaining oxygen it is an moisture absorbent and will eventually create root zone issues. Great video!

I ❤ you. You make me feel better whenever my plant babies start doing their own thing. My Ficus Green Microcarpa just up and died overnight 😢😢.

I've used the straw hack and it worked wonders. saved a hibiscus sorrel and it became a beautiful specimen. I like to use clear orchid pots. I place them into cache pots. I can see the soil, I can see the moisture, I can see the roots. two other watering hacks, I collect rain water for my houseplants, they love it. when I use tap water or ground water I oxygenate it with air pumps that are intended for fish tanks. I also use these when I am making compost tea. Happy hacking!.

I have seen a plant hack where you use toilet paper tubes cut down to create tiny pots You can then place these tubes into a tray Plant up your seeds or plant cuttings Place a lid over to create a miny greenhouse Once the seeds or cuttings have taken root Pot them up in their separate pot The toilet paper tubes are biodegradable Saves on space

Omg that takeaway container hack is GENIUS!!!

Sir Richard! Thanks for another informative and entertaining video! Great hacks and I love how you did so much research and also gave a shout-out to other houseplant care RU-vidrs!❤️And I do hope your kids will get involved with your RU-vid channel.🙂❤️....There was no such thing as social media when mine were young, but I did have an affect on them because for several years now, they have kept houseplants in their own apartments! 🙂🌴🧡

I love the lemon juice one, especially after seeing the giving your plants a shower one and thinking how much hard water staining would end up on my plants if I did that. 🤣

Great Tips thank you. I think with that last one about wicking you need to ensure you soak the entire wicked before setting it up from your water supply to your plant. I would also recommend using 2 wicks as this provides redundancy as well as a little more water for your plant without being over kill

Love the hacks! The only one i would actually discourage is the avocado pit. Avocado trees have a unique flowing and pollination process. First, you actually need two avocado trees to get fruit as they cross-pollinate. You also need to know which type as you have to pair two different types (I'm not going into detail here but you can look it up). I've seen people grow those pits for years and never get fruit because they didn't understand this concept which is so discouraging.

I use weed barrier in the bottom of the pot to prevent soil from leaking out the drain holes. It doesn't break down nearly as fast as coffee filter.

Thankyou dear for tips and hacks. I chanced upon yr clips by yesterday only. U are so concise and waste no time. As my kids are grown up, i was planning to use forgotten Leo toys for decoration. Now i will also decorate a plant there.

Instead of a coffee filter, I use mesh plastic canvas sheeting in the bottom of my pots. You buy it in the craft section, and cut them to the desired size. For less than a dollar I get about 20, depending on the size of my pots!

I'm encouraged to hear that even the great Sheffield used the same method as me to heal a stem. I did this with my Phalaenopsis only it wasn't the stem, it was the root. It broke but not all the way thru. I took 2 toothpicks and wrapped a bread tie around it. It healed! The root lives on!

Thank you for sharing all those amazing plans have a blessed day and a Happy New Year

Oh my gosh, u used my hack suggestion of the timers🤯😵‍💫! That was such an unexpected, warm fuzzy for me, so thank you!! Also love that you used clips from other planty YTubers 😇🥰.

So many useful hacks!!!!! Some I hadn’t even heard of!!! Great video! I’m glad I got to be part of it!😊🌿

I like to take $1.00 store sponge and cut them into small squares to plug the holes in pots. Plus it helps to keep plant moist while taking in water from bottom.

Overwatered? Stick a tampon in the soil. WORKS!

Just be very careful with the mirror trick in the summer, the stable shine on the mirror focusing the light can get quite hot, especially since it's going through window already. Of course this trick is probably more often used on windows that aren't in the direct sun. The nice thing is that here you get timed plant lights straight from the box. It shines from 6 am to 10 pm with no extra effort from you, just need to plug it in the socket and switch it on at the time you want it to start. I once saw the cinnamon + plastic straw (illegal in Finland now btw!) trick on bonsai channel where they used something like honey and wrapped the branch in plastic wrap and taping it close. Fascinating what all can work to just slightly aid the plants to continue their life at their own effort.

Amazing tips thank you. I loved many of them, but that last one blew my mind. I had no idea I could do that with a piece of string. 🌟💋🦋

Great ideas, great video! Thank you! I'm going to try adding pothos to my other cuttings. I knew that cut daffodils will hasten the death of other plants in a vase because of toxic chemicals. But I'd never heard that pothos cuttings generously share root stimulation with other cuttings!

You are a good man to give credit to other RU-vidrs.

My parents put geraniums etc into tubs with several inches of water in them while they went away for the winter. When they came home, the sunroom ceiling had collapsed & smashed a lot of the plants. The drywall ceiling of their new million dollar house had absorbed the moisture as the sun shone & caused evaporation...as the damp hot air rose...well, there was no where for it to go but into the drywall.

Great ideas. The self watering one

May be my favorite of all your videos. Thanks much.

Great information. I'll definitely use the bath and towel trick when I go away again. Thank you.

Im a Calthea lover and I shower my plants regularly. Im convinced they look happier and more radiant afterwards

the lemon for removing water stain is priceless !!!!!!!😘

Love all of these tips!! Thanks so much for sharing!! 🌱🌿💚

Such an intelligent and amazing list of hacks! Thank you so very much!

Awesome plant hacks....I am a fairly new plant mom n enjoy watching your videos. Great. Keep them coming

You are Not click bait. Thank you

Speaking of grow light timers: I have a unit that I can use with my phone and either turn on or off the grow light or set it to come on and go off at a certain time. My grandson did it for me. I think it's called Genie or Green or something. You can get them at Walmart or Lowe's. But, you can plug it into your wall then plug your grow light into it. They also make the bulbs that sync up to your phone which will do the same thing. I now have everything in my house synced to my phone, lights, fans, nebulizer, oxygen unit for my breathing. This keeps me from having to try and do it myself since I can't move around much.

Excellent tips! I love your site, and am learning alot of very useful information.

Thank you. Ill try them all.

Love the avocado tip!

I like the idea of you sharing other content creators pages 👍

I just came across your channel i think its great, im learning so much

I cut a piece of moscito net to the bottom of the pot to prevent soil coming out from the bottom hole It is durable and reusable. The idea of the mirror behind the plant is excellent! You can create a ji gle woth just a few plants in your home when you dublicate ypur plans. And yes, they get more light in their backside! I‘ll do that trick imnediately! 😊

Good new ideas for me. I esp liked the suggestion re cinnamon to help a wounded stem. I don't usually have straws around but I think a short pc of vinyl tubing would do it. Many thx.

Your best hacks video so far! Cheers!

Willow branches also help the rooting process.

I use the skewer/wooden chopstick method to check for wet soil. If you stick the skewer all the way to the bottom of the plant and if the dirt sticks to the wood, it’s still wet and doesn’t need water.

That string irrigation is suuuch a good idea!

It’s worth to mentioning that, although it is great to grow your own vegetables in your home, indoor vegetable or edible plants attract A LOT of pests which aren’t good for your regular house plants. It’s good to have one kind or the other indoors, but not both. If you have a home big enough to separate them far from each other, that could work, but otherwise not a good idea they share the same roof or space. Also, vegetable and edible plants need a ton of bright light (sometimes even direct sunlight depending on the type of plant) and warmer conditions, so they do better outdoors due to pests, light, and temperature. But if you don’t live in a warmer climate, then that’s it’s not doable either. This type of plants are tricky which is why majority of people don’t grow their own indoor vegetables.

Thank you once again, put down an old mirror right away. Keep up the good work! 👍💪

Another helpful resource ! Such easy to follow tips and tricks. U just got a new subscriber 😊

Cat litter comes in a range of types. I wouldn't use the clumping kind for plants.

thanks for all those tips ! here's one from me, you can pin the vines on the top of the pots (or on moss poles) for rooting with U hairpins, it is cheap, if you don't have them you can do also some pins with office paper clips (opening or cutting them). I hope my explanations are clear because I am not English speaking (I am from France). Also I have a warning : if you buy a timer, be sure to buy one with European or "your country" certifications because if you buy a cheap one on the internet (from you know where) you can have an electric fire in you home !!!!

I use clay and concrete outdoor candle containers from B&M. They have super low prices for it and they look amazing. Lately I've got budda head huge candle and few modern face candles which i used as a planters. I go to CHARITY SHOPS very often, i have most of my Planters from there. Its a recycling and unique most of the time. And they are cheap from £0.5 each.