Houseplant Spa Day: An Annual Deep Soak Guide for the Best Indoor Plants
Elevate your indoor plant game with a rejuvenating Houseplant Spa Day. slip into our deep soak guide, a game-changer for houseplant lovers everywhere. Learn how to prepare your plants for the growing season, combat hydrophobic soil, boost microbial life, and make your plants shine!
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We’ve always been able to keep good houseplants—not a terribly modest thing to say, but it's true! Living in a cool climate like the Blue Mountains, houseplants can be challenging to keep happy and healthy. Between fluctuating temperatures, deep harsh winters, scorching summer heat, and year-round low humidity, we have our work cut out for us.
To our benefit, The Lodge has great natural light spilling into all rooms through large windows and skylights. At the time of writing this, we have 62 indoor plants. Not a huge amount compared to some collectors, but I prefer to keep them on the manageable side. Quality over quantity!
Last week, we hosted a group of friends for a summer party, and one of them asked how we keep our houseplants so healthy and looking as good as they do. My immediate response was to say “a lot of work,” which is true, but as I sat and thought more closely about what we do differently from your everyday indoor plant owners, one task does spring to mind: an annual deep soak.
Or as I call it: Houseplant Spa Day.
Our houseplant spa day takes place over one day— one very busy day. Once the weather has warmed up and our houseplants are starting to wake up after their winter dormancy, both my partner and I set aside a full day to give our plants a real treat! We pamper and preen them to get them ready for the growing season ahead.
We move all our plants one by one outside on a warm, overcast day. We fill tubs with water, seaweed solution, and an organic fertiliser. We use multiple tubs for efficiency. Each plant gets a deep soak for 15-20 minutes, or until the pots are completely submerged, and there are no longer air bubbles coming from the pot.
After their soak, each plant has its foliage gently washed down with a hose to clean off any dust that has accumulated on their leaves. This will help your plants photosynthesise and in turn feed themselves. After that, they are set aside in a shady location for their pot to completely drain and leaves to dry off. This is a great time to prune any dead, damaged, or diseased foliage, keeping them looking their best as well as help prevent plant pathogens from making their home in dying foliage!
Once the foliage is dry, we treat every plant with an organic neem-based pest spray to prevent and treat any pests and diseases. Neem oil also gives leaves a glossy, shiny appearance, which looks fantastic! If needed, it’s also the perfect time for up potting and refreshing of spent potting mix.
If you only have a few houseplants, this task is easy and shouldn’t take more than an hour, but of course, for those who have a lot of plants, it does take some time, but trust, it’s worth every bit of the effort.
Benefits
Aids & prevents hydrophobic soil.
Over time potting mix will become hydrophobic meaning that the soil won’t absorb water. This becomes evident when watering you plant and the water quickly drains right through the pot and leaves most of the soil dry.Feeds plants & boosts microbial life.
Adding a seaweed solution to your bucket you’ll feed the microbial life within your soil and intern the microbial life will feed your plants. You can also add 1/2 strength organic fertilisers to the mix for a hit of nutrient.Wake your plants up.
If undertaken in spring it will wake your plants up from their winter dormancy.Houseplant chores
Its a great time to get other houseplant chores complete such as pruning away dead deceased or damaged growth, check and treat for pests and diseases & re-potting.
When and Where?
While you can soak your plants throughout the year, spring is the best time to complete this task. As your plants move out of dormancy they will benefit greatly from the injection of hydration and organic nutrients in to the soil, equipping them well for the growing season head.
To safeguard against potential issues when soaking outdoors, it's advisable to steer clear of the harsh depths of winter and the scorching heat of summer, ensuring your plants thrive without any setbacks.
Materials
Large bucket/sink/bathtub
Water
Seaweed Solution
organic liquid fertiliser (optional)
Neem oil
weighted rock or brick
Spray bottle (For Neem oil treatment)
How To
Prepare Your Space: Ensure you have a shaded area protected from the elements, preferably outdoors or in a bathroom, as this process can be wet and messy.
Fill your tubs approximately 2/3 full with water.
Add Solutions: Introduce seaweed solution and organic fertilizer into the water. If dealing with a Fungus Gnat or Shore Fly infestation, include Neem oil in the mix (follow the instructions on the product packaging for the correct ratio).
Move Plants: Take plants out of their decorative pots, submerging only the nursery pot. Organic products may have a brown colour that can stain porous decorative pots.
Submerge and Secure: Place the plant into the tub, slowly submerging it. Use a rock or brick to weigh down the pot, ensuring the soil is below the water line.
Soak Until Bubbles Stop: Allow the plant to soak until no air bubbles rise from the pot, typically around 15-20 minutes.
Drain: Remove the pot from the water and place it in a sheltered area to drain.
Clean Leaves: Gently wash the leaves with a hose or shower head to remove dust and dirt.
Prune Damaged Foliage: Trim away dead, damaged, or diseased foliage and let the foliage dry in a shady spot.
Apply Neem Oil Treatment: Treat the entire plant with a Neem oil spray to prevent and address pests and diseases. Allow the plant to dry completely before returning it to its regular position in your home.
Warning
Before soaking be sure your houseplants don’t have visible signs of diseases or soil borne pests. Soaking them all in the same tub of water could spread this unwanted pathogens between your plants.
Houseplants on the back deck of the lodge having a deep soak.
