After the last eighteen months the nation’s love for houseplants is now greater than ever. Whether you’ve popped a plant on your desk while working from home, grown herbs as a family on your kitchen windowsill, or created your own tropical escape in the bathroom, our top five tips will help keep your plants happy and healthy.

1. Watering your houseplants

Overwatering is one of the most common causes of houseplant death, so to tell if a plant needs watering pick it up. If it feels “light as a feather” it needs watering. If it is heavy, it doesn’t.

If you're not sure how much to water, it's better to put a couple of inches of water in your sink and sit the plant in it for about 10 minutes. The plant will take up as much water as it needs, then all you need to do is drain the plant and put it back where it lives.

2. Feeding your houseplants

Most houseplants put on a growth spurt in spring and summer, so this is the best time to fertilize them. Like overwatering, it's important to avoid overfertilizing your houseplants, so every couple of weeks, add 5 to 10 drops of Baby Bio to 1 pint / ½ litre of water when watering them.

Houseplants such as Orchids, Succulents, Cacti and Citrus all have their own feed so make sure you get the right fertilizer for you.

3. Repotting your houseplants

If your houseplant still looks sad even after watering or feeding; it needs repotting. Start by checking the root systems, if they are circling the inside of the container or growing out of the bottom of the pot, then they need transplanting into a larger container.

You need to choose something that is only a couple of inches bigger than the pot it is currently in and repot with the appropriate compost. The best time to do this is in the Spring.

4. Find the right spot for your houseplants

Most houseplants don’t like being in direct sunlight, but they do like a light and airy room. Some plants like “Mermaid Vines” and “Aspidistras” actually love a dark room.

Also don’t forget to always keep your plants away from radiators especially in the colder months. The constant heat will dry them out even if you try hard to keep them watered, and many plants will really struggle to deal with the constant change in environment, even if they get plenty of light from a window to help them grow.

5. Settling in your houseplants

When you bring a new houseplant home it’s always a good idea to put them in the bathroom at first so that they can adapt to their new surroundings.

A bathroom is perfect as the lower light levels from the frosted glass window helps cut down their exposure to direct sun and the smaller room size also helps trap the most warmth and humidity which will help them to thrive.

With a wide variety of houseplants, pots and feeds and fertilisers available at Aigburth Hall Nurseries be sure to pop in and pick up what you need.

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Five top tips for keeping your houseplants healthy