7 Common Mistakes When Growing Indoor Plants

Bringing plants into your home can completely change the feel of a room. But keeping those plants healthy is often a little more complicated than bringing one home, setting it near a window, and watering it once in a while.

Most of us have had a plant that looked perfectly healthy when we bought it, only to watch the leaves begin to yellow, droop, curl, or fall off a few weeks later. When that happens, it is easy to assume you simply aren’t good at growing houseplants.

But plants usually don’t decline for no reason. They respond to what is happening around their roots, in their soil, and in the environment where we place them.

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Too much water, the wrong potting mix, poor drainage, inadequate light, or even moving a plant into a pot that is too large can create problems surprisingly quickly.

The good news is that plants usually give us clues before things get too far out of hand. Learning how to recognize those clues is a big part of becoming a better indoor gardener.

In this Houseplant Detective guide, we’ll look at seven common mistakes people make when growing indoor plants, why they cause problems, and what you can do differently to help your plants stay healthy.

1. Using Potting Soil Straight From the Bag

The Problem

Not every bagged potting mix is right for every houseplant. Some mixes hold more moisture than a plant’s roots need, especially when they’re used for plants that prefer a loose, fast-draining root environment.

When potting mix stays wet for too long, there is less air around the roots, increasing the risk of root problems.

The Fix

Look at what’s actually in the bag and adjust the mix for the plant you’re growing.

If you’re not sure what ingredients to look for, my guide Best Houseplant Potting Soil Ingredients: How to Build a Healthy Indoor Plant Mix explains what common ingredients do and how to combine them for different types of houseplants.

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Perlite, pumice, orchid bark and other coarse materials can improve drainage and create more air space around the roots.

This is exactly why I stopped assuming that one bag of potting soil could work for every houseplant.

2. Watering on a Fixed Schedule

The Problem

Watering every Tuesday simply because it’s Tuesday doesn’t take into account what is actually happening inside the pot.

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Soil dries at different rates depending on the season, temperature, humidity, light, pot size and even the type of potting mix you’re using.

The Fix

Check the soil instead of relying only on the calendar. For many common houseplants, feeling the top inch or two of potting mix can help you determine whether it’s beginning to dry.

Other plants may need to dry considerably more—or considerably less—between waterings, so learn what your particular plant prefers.

When it is time to water, water thoroughly and allow the excess water to drain from the bottom of the pot.

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And if you’ve ever wondered whether tap, filtered, distilled or rainwater is best, my guide What Water Should You Use for Houseplants? breaks down the differences and when they matter.

3. Using the Wrong-Size Pot

The Problem

Pot size matters more than you might think.

A pot that has become too small can leave a plant severely root-bound, with roots circling the container and less potting mix available to hold moisture.

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I ran into exactly that with The Case of the 75% Off Monstera Adansonii, when I discovered roots growing through the drainage holes and realized the plant had outgrown its pot.

But moving a small plant into a much larger pot can create the opposite problem. The extra volume of potting mix may stay wet much longer than the plant’s root system can use the moisture, increasing the risk of root rot.

The Fix

When a plant truly needs a larger container, move up gradually. For most houseplants, choose a new pot approximately 1 to 2 inches wider in diameter than the existing one rather than jumping immediately to a much larger container.

4. Using a Pot Without Drainage

The Problem

Drainage holes give excess water somewhere to go. Without them, water can collect at the bottom of the container and leave the root zone waterlogged, creating conditions that favor root rot.

And adding rocks or gravel underneath the potting mix isn’t a substitute for a drainage hole. A layer of gravel doesn’t make water drain out of a closed container.

The Fix

Whenever possible, grow houseplants in containers with drainage holes.

If you fall in love with a decorative pot that doesn’t have one, keep the plant in a plastic nursery pot with drainage holes and place that pot inside the decorative container. After watering, check the outer pot and empty any water that has collected inside.

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I’ve even experimented with growing a snake plant in a container with no drainage at all. You can read what happened in I Grew a Snake Plant in a Glass Container: Here’s What Happened.

5. Giving a Plant the Wrong Amount of Light

The Problem

It’s tempting to choose a plant’s location based entirely on where it looks best in the room. Unfortunately, the plant may have other ideas.

Too little light can cause weak or stretched growth, smaller leaves or a plant that gradually loses vigor. Too much intense direct sunlight can scorch the leaves of plants that aren’t adapted to it.

The Fix

Find out how much light your particular plant actually needs.

Many popular houseplants grow well in bright, indirect light, but that’s not a rule for every indoor plant. Some tolerate lower light, while others—including many succulents—need considerably more direct sunlight.

Choose the location for the plant first. Then worry about how good it looks on the shelf.

Light plays a bigger role in watering than many people realize. A plant growing in brighter light will usually use water faster than one sitting in a dim corner.

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If your houseplants need a little help getting enough light indoors, my guide Illuminating Indoors: The Ultimate Guide to Grow Lights for Houseplants explains how to choose and use grow lights.

6. Ignoring Early Signs of Root Trouble

The Problem

Yellowing leaves, repeated wilting, leaf drop and a plant that stays wet for an unusually long time can all be clues that something is going wrong around the roots.

Root color alone doesn’t always tell the whole story because healthy roots can naturally vary in color depending on the plant.

What matters more is their condition. Healthy roots are generally firm. Rotting roots may become soft, mushy, darkened or deteriorated, and the outer tissue may pull away easily.

The Fix

If a plant continues declining even though its light and watering seem appropriate, take a look below the soil.

Gently remove the plant from its container and inspect the root system.

If you find rotting roots, remove the badly damaged portions with clean, sterilized tools and repot the plant in fresh, appropriately draining potting mix.

Don’t wait for the leaves to tell you the whole story. Sometimes the real investigation needs to happen underground.

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Sometimes the soil itself gives you clues that conditions in the pot may be staying too damp. If you notice something unexpected growing on the surface, my Houseplant Detective: What’s That Growing in That Planter? article shows what I found in one of my own pots and what it told me about the growing conditions.

7. Repotting or Fertilizing at the Wrong Time

The Problem

Repotting and fertilizing are supposed to help a plant, but doing either when the plant doesn’t need it can create another problem instead of solving the original one.

Routine repotting is easiest on most houseplants when they’re actively growing, generally in spring or early summer.

Fertilizer is also most useful when a plant is actively producing new growth. Feeding a plant that isn’t growing won’t correct problems caused by poor light, damaged roots, overwatering or pests.

But there is an important exception: don’t postpone an urgent repotting just because it isn’t spring. If a plant has root rot, badly deteriorated potting mix or another serious root problem, waiting several months could cause more damage.

The Fix

Repot because the plant needs it—not because the calendar says it’s repotting season.

For routine repotting, spring is usually the ideal time. If you’re dealing with a root emergency, address it when you discover it.

Look And before reaching for fertilizer to revive an unhappy plant, figure out why the plant is struggling.

Correct the watering, light, pest or root problem first. Fertilizer cannot repair damaged roots or make up for poor growing conditions.

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