Living in New York City can be depressing, especially in the winter. However, there are certainly ways to brighten up a small space and add some unique decorations: plants! Let’s be clear, never have I ever considered myself to be a ‘plant person’ or have a ‘green thumb’ but, with the right plants (and by right, I mean extremely low maintenance and borderline invincible), I have managed to keep a good majority of them alive and well. That being said, there are many issues that may arise with being a plant owner that I would like to address through my own failures and successes
If you’re like me – living in an apartment with no sunlight, not even a single ray of sunshine – having a few (or maybe more than a few) plants can be a great way to bring in some life, but plants need light to thrive. The solution is grow lights. For those wondering what that is, it is a small strip of lights that can be nailed, ziptied, or stuck to a surface above or beside a plant to mimic natural sunlight and help your babies grow tall and strong. Or, if only one grow light is needed for a specific plant, such as monsteras that require a lot of direct light, there are halo grow lights that have an extendable pole to stick in the plant’s soil and hover over to provide maximum light. Many brands of grow lights have a remote control that allows you to control when they turn on and for how long. Once the button on the remote is pressed and a timer is set, they will automatically turn on at the same time the next day for the same amount of time set. This may sound too good to be true, seeing as they are relatively inexpensive (around $20 each), but I can testify that they truly are a good investment. The only downside is that if there are a lot of them plugged in for long periods of time, they can hike up an electric bill.
Another obstacle in caring for plants in the city are spider mites, and they are the worst. Spider mites are tiny little spiders that infest plants and hatch babies all over the leaves, eventually killing the plant. They thrive in dry, cool areas, like window AC units, which isn’t great for city folks. On the bright side, they don’t really bite humans and if they do, it’s hardly noticeable and can’t be felt. On the downside, there are spiders infesting your plant and they travel to all the other surrounding plants. I have lost a few of my beautiful plants to these invasive arachnids, and have tried three different ways of exterminating them. First, I tried wiping each individual leaf with a rag soaked in water-diluted rubbing alcohol. Shockingly enough, that was disgusting, time consuming, and didn’t work. Second, I tried neem oil – a water-based poison made for plant bugs – which, again, didn’t work. Lastly, after losing three plants, I tried a 1:2 ratio of dish soap to water. Luckily, this worked. Did the plant like it? No, absolutely not, but that’s okay, because it no longer had thousands of tiny spiders on it. Hooray!
Plants can be needy, and if you are up for that challenge, great, but for those of us that aren’t, there are still many cute plants that can fend for themselves for the most part, some of which include: snake and spider plants, peace lilies, pothos plants, lucky bamboo, zz plants, aloe plants, chinese money plants, as well as many types of air plants and cactus plants. Some, like air plants, bamboo, and cacti, don’t grow very quickly, so they are perfect for small spaces or as dainty decorations. Each of these plants require very little light and only need to be watered around once a week, making them very easy city plants for busy people. It’s important to make sure if a plant is growing quickly to repot it so it can continue growing, and if the pot doesn’t have drainage holes put small rocks or pebbles at the bottom to prevent the water from sitting at the bottom and rotting the roots.
Now, of course, fake plants can be much easier, cheaper, and longer-lasting, but they’ll never be as rewarding as real plants. Watching plants grow and progress because of your hard work is such a good feeling, and after finishing a long week, going to a flea market and picking up a new plant is a super fun way to treat yourself and give your space a little extra life!