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Beginner’s Guide

How to Get Started with Houseplants

Houseplants can make a room feel greener and more welcoming, but if you have never grown them before, it is easy to wonder where to start. How much should you water? Where should you put them? Do they need feeding? And what does it mean when a leaf turns yellow?

The good news is that successful houseplant care does not need to be complicated. Start with suitable plants, give them the right position and learn to check what they need rather than following a rigid routine.

This guide takes you through the basics so you can understand your plants, avoid some of the most common beginner mistakes and grow with more confidence.

Need to know

Beginner’s Guide to Houseplants: Need to Know Content

  • Start with easier plants. Some houseplants are much more forgiving than others, so choosing straightforward plants makes learning easier.
  • Light matters. Most commonly grown houseplants need useful natural light, although the amount varies between plants.
  • Bright does not necessarily mean direct sun. A room can be bright while the plant itself is protected from strong direct sunlight.
  • Do not water simply because it is watering day. Check the compost first and water according to what the plant actually needs.
  • Drainage matters. Avoid leaving the plant’s roots standing in water after watering.
  • Conditions change through the year. Light, temperature and plant growth change with the seasons, so watering and feeding needs can change too.
  • Keep plants away from extremes. Cold draughts, hot radiators and sudden temperature changes can cause problems.
  • Different plants have different needs. Always keep and read the plant label supplied with each plant.
  • A changed leaf is useful information. Yellowing, browning, drooping or damaged leaves are reasons to check the plant and its conditions rather than panic.
  • You do not need to know everything immediately. A large part of becoming a good houseplant grower is learning to observe your plants.

Step 1

Start with the Right Houseplants

One of the easiest ways to get off to a good start is to choose houseplants suited to beginners.

A plant that tolerates small variations in care gives you an opportunity to learn without every little mistake immediately becoming a problem.

When you bring a new plant home, keep its label. Different houseplants can have different preferences, and the label gives you somewhere to start rather than assuming every plant wants exactly the same treatment.

Begin with a manageable number of plants. It is much easier to notice how individual plants respond when you are getting to know a small collection.

Step 2

Find the Right Place

Before deciding where a plant looks best, think about the conditions in that part of the room.

Many houseplants enjoy plenty of natural light without spending long periods in strong direct sunlight. However, requirements vary, so check each plant’s label before choosing its permanent position.

Remember that light levels can change considerably within the same room. A plant several metres from a window may receive much less useful light than one close to it.

Also consider temperature. Avoid putting plants directly beside radiators, in persistent cold draughts or somewhere experiencing large and sudden temperature changes.

Start with the plant’s needs, then find a position where it also looks good.

Step 3

Learn How to Check Before You Water

Watering is one of the areas that worries new houseplant growers most, but the important thing is not memorising a watering day. It is learning to check.

Feel the compost before reaching for the watering can. For many straightforward houseplants, allowing the upper layer of compost to begin drying before watering again is a useful starting point, but individual requirements vary.

When a plant does need watering, water properly and allow excess water to drain. Do not routinely leave the growing pot standing in water inside a decorative pot or saucer.

Your plants will not necessarily need water at the same time. Plant size, pot size, room temperature, light levels, season and growth can all affect how quickly compost dries.


Check first, water second.

Step 4

Understand the Pot Your Plant Arrives In

Most houseplants arrive in a plastic growing pot with drainage holes. That pot may then sit inside a decorative cover pot.

The distinction is important.

The growing pot allows excess water to escape. A decorative pot may not. After watering, check that water has not collected around the bottom of the growing pot.

You also do not need to repot every new houseplant immediately. Give it time to settle into your home and only consider repotting when there is a genuine reason, such as the plant becoming too restricted in its current pot.

When you do repot, use a suitable houseplant compost and a container that allows excess water to drain.

Step 5

Feed for Growth, Not by Habit

Houseplants growing in containers have a limited supply of nutrients, so established plants can benefit from feeding while they are actively growing.

For many houseplants this means feeding during spring and summer with a suitable houseplant feed, following the product instructions.

As growth slows through autumn and winter, feeding can usually be reduced or stopped.

More feed does not mean faster or healthier growth. Feeding works alongside suitable light, watering and healthy roots; it cannot compensate for poor growing conditions.

Step 6

Learn to Read Your Plants

Your plants will change as they grow. New leaves appear, older leaves eventually decline and plants can respond visibly when conditions are not quite right.

Rather than reacting to a single damaged leaf, look at the whole plant.

Ask yourself:

  • Is the compost very wet or very dry?
  • Has the plant recently been moved?
  • Has the temperature changed?
  • Is it getting enough useful light?
  • Is it close to a radiator or draught?
  • Are several leaves changing at once?
  • Can you see any signs of pests?

Remove yellow or badly damaged leaves when needed, but also try to understand why the change happened. Observation is one of the most useful houseplant skills you can develop.

Step 7

Adjust Your Care with the Seasons

Your home is not the same growing environment throughout the year.

During spring and summer, longer days and active growth can mean plants use water more quickly and benefit from appropriate feeding.

During autumn and winter, lower light levels and slower growth often mean compost takes longer to dry. Continuing exactly the same watering routine can therefore cause problems.

Central heating can create another change, making some positions warmer and drier.

Do not try to solve this with a complicated calendar. Keep checking the plant, compost and position and adjust your care as conditions change.

Step 8

Build Confidence One Plant at a Time

You do not become good at growing houseplants by never making a mistake. You become better by noticing what works.

Take a moment each week to look over your plants. Check the compost, look at new growth and both sides of the leaves, remove damaged foliage and notice whether anything has changed.

If one plant thrives in a particular position, remember it. If another struggles, think about what might be different before making several changes at once.

Over time, you will begin to recognise when a plant looks healthy and when something needs attention. That confidence is far more useful than trying to remember dozens of houseplant rules.

From the grower

Alan's Top Tip

Beginner’s Guide to Houseplants: Alan’s Tip Content

One of the best habits you can develop is to stop treating houseplant care as a timetable.

Before watering, check the compost. Before moving a plant, think about its light. Before reaching for feed, ask whether it is actively growing.

Plants are very good at giving you clues. The more often you look at them, the easier those clues become to recognise.

You do not need to become a houseplant expert overnight. Learn to observe first and act second.

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