A Beginners Guide to Houseplants from an Expert

We turned to Arranger and houseplant expert, Tyler Cross, to bring our house to life.

So you’ve been loving the houseplant vibe lately, and you want to give your home more of an earthy and open feel. We totally get it! Not only are houseplants quite the hype, but becoming a “plant parent” can be a super fun hobby. If you’re looking for a sign to start your houseplant journey, this is it.

At Arrange, we want to give you nothing but top-notch advice so that your new hobbies and interests can take off as smoothly as possible. That’s why we asked Tyler Cross AKA @Thatplantguy_ty, a plant consultant from Denver Colorado, how he would do things if he was a beginner! 

Tyler has a collection of over 250 houseplants and grows Spring and Summer Organic Gardens. He had some great ideas and advice on how to get things going to help you reach all of your planting goals.

Arrange's 🪴 Getting started with houseplants plan on our website takes you through a solid step-by-step on not only how to get started with houseplants, but how to make it the most simple and fun experience possible.

This nine step list from Tyler himself covers the must-do tasks for any new houseplant parent:

*Note that all referenced links are in the numbered step above it.

1)🪴 Plan your Plants

Start by identifying which plants will work for your space. I like to use the "29 Houseplants for Beginners Guide" from Smart Garden Guide. Make sure you consider how much light the spot you want to put your plants received.

2)🪴Purchase Critical Supplies

You are going to want gloves, a handheld shovel and rake, and a watering can. I also suggest a moisture meter and any other items off of this Houseplant Essentials

3)🪴 Gather Soil Supplies

You are going to want to gather the supplies to make your own soil mix. I suggest using container mix, perlite, charcoal, and bark in every batch. My favorites can be found on the amazon list linked above.

4)🪴 Purchase Plants

It's time to buy your plants. Make sure to inspect for signs of pests before bringing them home, you can reference this Homestead Brooklyn article for info on pests. Put them on a 2 week quarantine away from any plants in your home in case they have a pest that you missed.

5)🪴 Mix Your Soil

Create your soil mixture by combining the ingredients that you bought. You can refer to this easy-to-follow guide from Plant & Grow for ratios.

6)🪴 Transplant your Plants

Now that your plants are ready to come out of quarantine and your soil mix is ready, the next step is repotting. The Sill has this great article that breaks repotting down to a few simple steps.

7)🪴 Place your plants

Put your plants in their new cache pots and find a place for them in your home. Make sure you consider their lighting preferences and have fun with it. Better Home and Gardens has some great information on how to decorate with houseplants.

8)🪴 Create a Routine

Create a plant maintenance routine that matches your lifestyle and plant care requirements. Some plants will thrive with maintenance and watering 1x a month while others need it every few days. Refer back to the "29 Beginner Houseplants" guide you used to select your plants.

9)🪴 Watch Them Grow

Now it's time for the best part- watching them grow! Stick to your routine and watch as your new plants reward your hard work with new growth.

You can pick and choose which tasks you want to focus on. As for reminders, you can choose what reminders you want to add and when those reminders will go off. This fun experience can fit perfectly into your schedule!

Thanks to Tyler and Arrange, you can become the houseplant owner you’ve always dreamed of being, and liven up your home with some vibrant green energy! Here's the link again to his plan if you're ready to give your green thumb a spin!