While wandering around your indoor jungle gently misting your plants might be therapeutic for you, it really isn’t doing anything for your plants in the long run. We’re often told to mist our plants that enjoy higher humidity to aid them in their growth. Unfortunately, the water you spray them with evaporates incredibly quickly and does more to contribute to burned leaf edges than growth. Here we’ve put together some of our favorite tips and tricks to keep your humidity up that are less work and far more effective!
Pebble Tray
This is an old school hack that can add an extra textural element to your space! Simply take a somewhat shallow tray or container and fill it with a few inches of pebbles and enough water to almost reach the top, but not so much that it actually touches the bottom of the pot when placed on top. The pebbles are meant to hold the pot above the water line (thus preventing over saturation of the soil and root rot) while allowing the water enough room to evaporate around the plant. Almost like you’re creating its own little environment! Just remember to keep the tray filled ;)
Design Tip: try using the shells and sea glass you found on your last beach excursion or found stones from your local environment to add a custom touch to your tray!! We also sell Leca Balls that work the best.
Humidifier
Humidifiers are by far the most popular choice to increase humidity in a room. You can find them large enough that you only have to refill them once a day and they even have some health benefits for humans! Just be sure to keep it clean or choose one you can put a few drops of tea tree oil in or you risk spreading mold or plant diseases!
Pro Tip: Tea Tree oil is a completely natural and plant safe antimicrobial/antibacterial agent. When diluted it can be used for all kinds of household purposes, but we like it to keep or leaves clean and fight pests and harmful fungi
Water Features & Containers
There’s nothing wrong with leaving a few bowls of water among your plants and allowing them to evaporate. This can be especially beautiful if you’re able to find Marimo moss balls or have some antique dishes lying around!
Plant Cabinet
This one's for our ‘Plantfluencers’ and #ShelfieSunday enthusiasts! A glass cabinet outfitted with shelves and grow lights is a stunning way to house your plants while making sure that they have plenty of moisture in the air around them. You can find lots of options at stores like Ikea, and it’s worth taking a look on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist before you buy because a lot of people sell them for cheap or even give them away for free!
Pro Tip: if you go with this option, make sure you find grow lights that don’t get too hot or that there’s adequate distance between the lights and the leaves to avoid burning!
Plant Grouping
If you have a handful of plants, placing them all on one shelf will most likely increase humidity in that area and greatly benefit your plants. We recommend arranging plants in triangle formations (tallest in the middle/back) as this tends to be more pleasing to the eye. If you have considerably more than a handful of plants try putting them all in one room! It will look stunning and the humidity is all but guaranteed to not drop below 60% in that area.
Any of these will improve the life of your plants so give one (or all) of them a try and let us know your results! And let us know if there are other things you’ve found work to increase humidity. There are so many benefits to a more humid environment like larger leaves, faster growth, less watering and clearer skin for you that it’s worth finding a method that works for your lifestyle.
