Plant Care Starter Guide

First things first: helping your plant settle in

Your plant has just been on a journey. It left our nursery, spent a day or two in a box, and arrived somewhere with completely different light, temperature, and humidity. A little adjustment period is completely normal.

For the first two weeks, find it a spot with bright, indirect light (more on what that means below) and resist the urge to fuss. Don’t repot it, don’t feed it, and don’t panic if it drops a leaf or two — that’s just the plant acclimatising to its new home. Check the soil when it arrives: if the top inch feels dry, give it a drink; if it’s still moist, leave it be. After a fortnight, your plant will have settled in and you can move it to its forever spot.

The number one rule: when in doubt, don’t water

Here’s the secret most plant shops won’t tell you: far more houseplants are killed by kindness than by neglect. Overwatering is the single biggest cause of plant death, because soggy soil suffocates roots and invites rot.

A few extras that help: always use pots with drainage holes (our decorative pots are designed to work with the nursery pot inside, so excess water can escape), water less in winter when plants are resting, and if you can, use rainwater or water that’s been left to stand overnight. At our nursery, every plant is raised on rainwater collected on-site, so they’re used to the good stuff.

Understanding light (it’s simpler than it sounds)

Every Leafwise plant comes labelled with its light preference, and these three terms cover nearly everything:

If your plant could talk, it would tell you when the light is wrong: stretching and leaning towards the window means it wants more light, while bleached or crispy patches mean it’s getting too much direct sun.

Humidity, warmth, and finding the right spot

Most houseplants come from warm, humid places, so the average UK home suits them surprisingly well — with a few exceptions to watch. Keep plants away from radiators, which bake the air dry, and away from cold draughts by frequently-opened doors or single-glazed windowsills in winter. Bathrooms and kitchens are naturally more humid, which is why so many of our bathroom-friendly plants love it in there.

If a plant’s care guide says it loves humidity and you notice brown, crispy leaf tips, try grouping plants together (they create their own little microclimate) or sitting the pot on a tray of pebbles with water just below the pot’s base.

Feeding and repotting: the relaxed version

For your first few months, you don’t need to think about either of these. Plants from our nursery come in quality peat-free compost with enough nutrition to keep them going.

When spring arrives, you can start feeding with a standard houseplant fertiliser at half the strength the bottle suggests, once a month from March to September. Skip feeding entirely in autumn and winter — plants rest, just like gardens do.

Repotting only becomes necessary when roots start circling the bottom of the nursery pot or poking out of the drainage holes, typically every one to two years. When you do, choose a pot just one size up — a plant in a too-big pot sits in too-wet soil, and we’re back to rule number one.

A note on pets and little ones

Some popular houseplants are toxic if nibbled, so always check the toxicity icons on your plant’s care label — every Leafwise plant carries clear guidance on whether it’s safe for cats, dogs, and children. If you share your home with a determined leaf-chewer, stick to our non-toxic plants, or keep toxic ones on high shelves where curious mouths can’t reach.

Quick troubleshooting

You’ve got this

That’s genuinely everything you need to start: settle it in gently, do the finger test before watering, match the plant to the right light, and check on it once a week. Every plant on our site includes an at-a-glance care guide, so you’re never guessing.

And if something’s looking sad and you can’t work out why, just reply to any of our emails with a photo. We’re a small team who genuinely love this stuff, and we’re always happy to help.