Indoor plants must be watered if you want them to thrive, this is pretty obvious as it doesn’t rain indoors.
However, it’s not so clear as to whether or not you should mist your plants too, whether misting houseplants is beneficial for them, and if so when you should do this. So, let’s find out.
Is Misting Plants Good For Indoor Plants?
Yes, it seems that misting plants is very good for them. This is partly because many indoor plants are tropical plants and that means they live, naturally, in an environment with a high relative humidity level.
The air in your home is the opposite of a humid environment and misting helps to mimic this and it prevents you from overwatering tropical plants.
How do you tell whether or not you should mist a plant? Most tropical plants and indoor plants will start to develop brown or dry leaf tips if they need a little more moisture.
When Do I Mist My Houseplants?
Firstly, you want to check the soil moisture and this is easy (well, for a few plants anyway, if you’ve got hundreds of plants – it might take a little longer), just push your finger into the soil to a depth of around an inch and in a position that’s about halfway between the pot rim and plant base.
If that feels dry, it’s time to mist your plants.
What Sort Of Plants Like To Be Misted?
Almost indoor plants and particularly those from tropical regions such as the zebra plant, orchids, begonias, Chinese evergreens, etc.
These plants thrive with regular misting to increase humidity.
Are There Plants You Shouldn’t Mist?
Yes, there are some plants where it’s a bad idea to boost humidity because their natural environments aren’t very moist. High humidity is a killer when it comes to succulents and some household favorites like the spider plant.
The extra moisture levels can cause these plants to to develop mold, and plants like the African Violets and Fiddle leaf fig can quickly be killed by mold-based disease.
How Do You Go About Misting?
Well, often it’s enough just to grab a spray bottle and fill it with water, many plant parents swear by this and say it keeps brown edges at bay.
However, if you really want to get into this then you ought to own a moisture, light and pH meter.
These things are super easy to use and they make it very easy to tell what moisture levels are present before you start misting. A good meter will also come with a nice chart or book explaining the ideal levels for many common plants together with the light and pH readings too.
You should know that air conditioners and air conditioning tend to result in drier conditions than you would normally get at home and if you use the air con a lot, it’s a good idea to take readings on a regular basis.
If you want your plants to get a little boost from the misting, then you can add some Miracle-Gro Leaf Shine or equivalent to the water before you spray it on.
This tends to result in shiny, healthy leaves and you won’t see any fuzzy leaves or other signs of low humidity when using it.
Is It Bad To Mist Plants During The Day?
No, though there is some evidence to say that plants make better use of moisture if you mist them in the early hours of the evening that it may be more effective but you certainly won’t do any harm to your plants by misting them early on in the day.
Just make sure to test the humidity before you apply any mist to the plant at all – if the soil feels dry then mist, if it doesn’t then don’t.
Overwatering leads to rot and most plants won’t enjoy that at all in exchange for a little mist.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it, each plant is different but most appreciate you giving them a little humidity to work with and a mist spray is perfect for doing just that.
If you want to have the greatest impact on your plant then add fertilizer and spray it at the same time in the early hours of the evening but it’s better done at any time of day than forgetting to do it at all.
If you want to grow some indoor plants then you might find the following articles valuable to you: the best herbs to grow indoors, how to grow microgreens, and the best plant delivery services (the kind of shortcut that we love!)
