Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Houseplant Care Starter Kit: 16 Things That Keep Indoor Plants Thriving
16
items Most houseplants struggle for the same few reasons: too little light, the wrong amount of water, tired soil, or pests nobody noticed. This list covers each of those with simple, inexpensive tools, from a grow light for darker winter months to a moist...
Sections
3
Light, Humidity & Display
Water & Soil
Feed, Prune & Protect
Light, Humidity & Display
Low light is the number one reason houseplants get leggy and sad, especially in winter. This clip-on light has two flexible heads and a built-in timer with a gentle sunrise and sunset mode. Clip it to a shelf or desk and aim it at the plants that nee...
Spider Farmer Dual-Head Clip-On Full Spectrum Grow Light
Tropical favorites like calatheas, ferns and monsteras love humidity, and winter heating dries indoor air out fast. This small cool-mist humidifier has a built-in sensor that holds a target humidity level, and it's quiet enough for a bedroom. Crispy ...
LEVOIT Baby Bedroom Cool Mist Humidifier 1.8L
A tall tiered stand turns a scattered collection into a plant corner, and it lifts plants closer to the window light. It takes up very little floor space. Put light-lovers on top and shade-tolerant plants lower down.
GEEBOBO 5 Tiered Tall Plant Stand for Indoor
Pots without drainage holes are the classic cause of root rot. These ceramic pots have drainage holes plus matching saucers, in three graduated sizes, so you can size up as plants grow. Their simple white finish goes with any decor.
LE TAUCI Ceramic Plant Pots Set of 3 White
Bigger fluted pots (6, 8 and 10 inch) for when your plants outgrow their nursery containers. The ribbed texture looks more expensive than the price, and each pot has a drainage hole. Good for floor plants like snake plants and pothos.
Amazon Basics Fluted Ceramic Planters Set of 3
When shelf and floor space runs out, go up. Hanging trailing plants like pothos and string-of-pearls near a window frees up surfaces and looks great. The set includes four lengths and hooks. Check your ceiling hook can hold a watered pot.
Mkono Macrame Plant Hangers Set of 4 Ivory
Water & Soil
A well-loved potting mix with a light, airy texture and added nutrients. It's a big step up from cheap, dense bagged soil that stays soggy. Use it when repotting into the pots above, and mix in some perlite for plants that like extra drainage.
FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil 2x12qt
A pretty glass mister for air plants, ferns and propagation cuttings, and for wiping dust off leaves. It won't replace a humidifier, but it's handy and looks nice on a plant shelf.
Plant Mister Glass Spray Bottle Bronze Top
A long, narrow spout lets you water the soil directly, under the leaves, without splashing the floor or soaking the foliage. It holds enough for a handful of plants per fill, and it's nice enough to leave out on a shelf.
Metal Indoor Watering Can 35oz, Wood Handle
Overwatering kills more houseplants than anything else. Push this probe into the soil and the dial tells you whether it's dry, moist or wet at root level, not just on the surface. It needs no batteries. One of the cheapest and most useful plant tools...
Dr.meter Soil Moisture Meter Plant Water Gauge
The white specks you see in good potting mix. Adding a handful or two of perlite to regular soil keeps it loose and fast-draining, which is what succulents, snake plants, monsteras and orchids want. One bag goes a long way.
Perfect Plants Organic Perlite, 8 qt
Feed, Prune & Protect
Fungus gnats, those tiny flies hovering around your pots, are attracted to the yellow color and get stuck. These sunflower-shaped traps poke into the soil and look much nicer than plain yellow cards. Letting the topsoil dry out between waterings help...
OwnGrown Yellow Sticky Fly Traps - 60 pcs
A ready-to-spray neem oil product for common houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs and aphids. Spray the undersides of leaves too, where pests hide. Follow the label directions, test on one leaf first, and spray out of direct sun.
Bonide Captain Jack's Neem Oil 32oz Spray
Sharp, narrow snips for trimming yellow leaves, shaping leggy stems and taking cuttings to propagate. Clean cuts heal faster than torn stems from kitchen scissors. Wipe the blades between plants.
Fiskars 6" Steel Micro-Tip Pruning Scissors
A gentle, organic liquid plant food you mix into your watering can. Potted plants slowly use up the nutrients in their soil, so feeding during spring and summer keeps new growth coming. Ease off in winter, when most houseplants slow down.
Espoma Organic 8oz Concentrated Indoor Plant Food
Thin, breathable gloves for repotting day. They keep soil out from under your nails and protect against prickly cacti and irritating sap, while still letting you feel delicate roots. They also work with touchscreens, so you can check a care guide mid...
Bamboo Gardening Gloves - Rubber Coated, Touchscreen Friendly