What failing as a plant mom recently taught me
At the very beginning of quarantine, I started my journey of being a plant mom. I’ve always said I didn’t have a green thumb. It’s just something I innately knew about myself. However, I wanted to challenge myself and allow some life to be added to my home, especially since I was going to be spending more time there over the next few weeks, which have turned to months. I purchased these beautiful plants at a sale a local florist was having. I was so excited for them. I told them “I want plants that don’t die” and I knew a snake plant and ivy would be amongst them. So I started on my journey.
It took me about two weeks to repot the plants because I honestly bought them on a whim. I wanted them and planned for them but didn’t prepare for them. I didn’t have materials needed, soil or pots. Before I repotted them, I noticed there were gnats in my apartment. Not a lot but I noticed them. I mentioned it to a friend and he suggested I repot them soon and to invest in some Neem oil. I did but kept forgetting to buy them Neem oil. About a week or two later, the amount of gnats I noticed had increased. It was quite annoying and I literally despise bugs!
I confided to some ladies in a group who were discussing plants as black women on the same journey as me. They shared some tips including adding cinnamon on top of the soil, which helps dry the top layer and kill the larva of the gnats. They also suggested capturing the gnats in a dish of apple cider vinegar and soap. I tried it all! I even tried the drying out method, where you don’t water your plants for an extensive amount of time to kill the insects. When I tell you I didn’t water these plants for weeks! Like literally a month and there were still gnats exploring. There weren’t nearly as many as before but they were still there.
I was so frustrated but kept talking to my plants about what was happening and why. I wanted it to work out so much but I knew I needed to make a decision. My friend suggested I repot them again and ensure I discard all of the soil and even the soil on the roots to ensure they’re gone. However, I didn’t feel confident to do this with the larger green plant and the larger snake plant.
Ultimately, here’s what drove my next steps. I went out of town for the holiday and when I returned, I discovered a lot of dead gnats all around the pots of the larger plants. Good they were dead, but gross! Where did all of these even come from. I told them thank you for their time but that they needed to go. I decided to keep the smaller plants and repot them and hope for the best. I’m going to try to save them.
However, I’ve learned where I failed my first plant babies.
Check the plants at the store and ensure they don’t have insects.
When you notice an infestation, act quickly.
Repot the plants and discard the old soil. When I repotted them the first time, I mixed the soil and I should have used entirely new soil after noticing the gnats.
Educate yourself before investing. I should have watched a few more videos and read a few more articles before bringing my plant babies home. If I’d done this, then I would have maybe started with one or two plants, not four plants.
Know when you’re over your head. I definitely gave it my best shot with the larger plants but I should have let them go a month ago to control what was happening.