Indoor gardening is not just about choosing a plant and watering it. To become an effective gardener of houseplants, you should be patient in caring for your little babies. Indeed, caring for a plant is much like caring for an infant until it grows to full maturity.

Giving Baths
While giving plants a bath, examine them for insects. Look carefully, because some insects are very small. They may be on the undersides of the leaves or clustered around the new growth. They may be covered with cottony wads of protective material or scales. If you find any, pick off as many as you can by hand, and then use a houseplant spray. Plant sprays are sold at stores that sell plants. They all come with directions, which should be followed carefully.

Cleaning Plants
Plants should be kept clean. Dead blossoms, twigs, and leaves should be removed. If a plant gets too tall, it should be cut down. New leaves and branches will form lower down the stem, and the plant will again become full and compact. Plants bend toward the light and will lean over if kept in the same position. Turning them one fourth of the way around each week will keep them growing straight.

Reviving Health
Do not be too quick to discard a plant that has lost its healthy look. Unless it is infected with fungus or insects, give it a last chance to revive, by placing it in an empty fish tank or other large glass container that can be covered. The container becomes a plant hospital in which the humidity increases as the plant gives off moisture, which cannot escape from the closed container. This increased humidity is usually what restores the plant to its healthy state. If you have no container, you can get the same effect by covering the plant and the pot with a plastic bag.

Leaving On Vacation
If you are traveling for a vacation, and there is nobody to water your plants, water them normally and place them in a large, covered glass containers or plastic bags. Do not put them in direct sunlight. Do not be anxious, even though you may be away for one or more months. When you return, you will find your plants thriving in their containers, where they have created their own satisfactory climate.

Fresh Air
All plants need fresh air, but they do not like rapid changes in temperature. (Do not put your plant outdoors on a sunny winter day.) Fresh air is available naturally in most homes. It is a problem only if the plant is in a small, closed room. If it is, open the door to the room twice a day for atleast half hour each time.