Plant Mom
What You Don’t Water Won’t Grow ….
One of the things I became interested in during quarantine were plants. Plants were always something I swore I’d get into because growing up my mom kept a bunch of plants in our house. Plus, I always felt like having plants was such a 30+ year old thing to do (HA!). I am not going to lie; I feel like the vibe of my apartment has changed a bit, giving it a more grown-up and sophisticated feel. This could very well be in my head too, lol. My plants are beautiful to look at and for me personally, I love the idea of me being to nurture and care for something and watch it grow. Plants are really fascinating.
Plants have a slew of benefits for humans such reducing carbon dioxide levels, reducing levels of certain air pollutants, reducing air dust levels, help improve sleep, reduce stress, boost your mood, improve mental health, and the list goes on. The benefits of plants are clearly there, and it would not hurt to add a plant or two to your home.
My plant journey started by reaching out to a friend of mine, Ope, (owner of Mobile-Roots; more information at the end of this post) who is a plant dad and plant enthusiast himself. I wanted to know what the best plants were to start off with and care for. He gave a few suggestions of easy indoor plants that require low maintenance. For me, I also wanted something that looked good and worked well in my apartment aesthetic, but realistically most plants are beautiful and function well in most spaces. My apartment has decent sunlight, so I also wanted plants that required only partial sunlight.
These are the plants I eventually purchased. Starting from the first one to the most recent. These are all relatively easy plants to care for which all require partial sunlight and watering on average about once a week.
1. Spathiphyllum aka Peace Lily
2. Fiscus Lyrata aka Fiddle Fig Tree
3. Dracaena Trifasciata aka Snake Plant
4. Coryline Glauca
5. Pothos Plant aka Devil’s Ivy
6. Zanzibar Gem aka ZZ Plant
7. Two small succulents
To my surprise, after purchasing a few of my plants and posting on Instagram of my babies, I learned so many of my friends were plant lovers too. There were many of my friends that had tips and tricks about caring for your plant, where to get planters, and how to give genuine love to your plants. We are a little community which is dope. Even in quarantine I have seen so many black men and women becoming plant parents. Growth and evaluation looks so good on us!
A few takeaways as you may or may not venture into the plant life. It is important not to over water your plants. This can cause a lot of damage to the roots and cause your plants to begin to turn yellow or brown on the leaves or worse begin to die. It is important that your plant gets sufficient amount of sunlight. At some point you want to replant your plants from the planter you purchased them in. You want your plant to grow into the planter so that you do not have to change the planter until roughly 6-9 months depending on how well the plant is growing. Be nice to your plants! Name them, love on them and talk to them. It is a growing living object that needs a source of not only food but L-O-V-E too.
Mobile-Roots
If you are in the NYC, NJ, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Maryland area and interested in plants please reach out to Mobile-Roots (https://mobile-roots.com/) for all your plant’s needs. Mobile-Roots is a mobile plant delivery service. Mobile-Roots delivers directly to the recipient and also helps curate a vibe in your home with your plants. This is a black owned business that was created out of genuine love during quarantine. Visit the website and please support!
Here are my plants …
