Inner Growth - Horty Girl's Plant Care Guide

A Sansevieria, also known as a “Snake Plant” or “Mother’s Tongue, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue” is a great household plant to have in your home as it’s tough, durable and will even grow in conditions of low light or under watering.  This plant is perfect if you are someone that has a busy busy schedule, or has never had a plant before in their home.

The Snake Plant has tall, narrow, sturdy leaves that are stiff and very pointy.  The leaves can vary from pale to dark green, green edged with yellow or light green and yellow.  As the Mother’s tongue matures, the plant can produce little delicate flower spikes in a pale green or yellowish color.  This flowering is very unpredictable though, and some may never flower.

A Sansevieria is a succulent type plant, and therefore can survive with little attention as it retains water well.  These plants can live on average for 5 to 10 years, and with the proper care of following these tips they can live much longer than that - 20 to 25 years!  Don’t worry though it grows very slowly, growing to the height of 3 to 4 feet.

Caring for a Sanseveria Plant

Snake plants love the heat!The plant should be placed in a bright area, in indirect light. If this isn’t possible, it can survive in low light surroundings if necessary.

Water a Snake plant sparingly. It is better to under water than to over water. Use only about maximum 1/4 cup of water every few weeks.  Let the soil become completely dry between watering.  Always water on the edge of the base of the plant - never pour water over the leaves.

The Sanseveria will also give off warning signs of your watering habits.  If you are not giving enough water, the leaves will lean or droop and will wrinkle up.  Over watering? Leaves will turn slimy.  If you notice your leaves beginning to appear soft, greasy or slimy - pull them out immediately! This will prevent it from affecting the rest of the leaves.

*Also, as the seasons change - your water amount should adjust as well.  In the hot summer months your plants will  need more water.  In the winter months, your plant will need less water, and less frequently - once every month or two months*

A FOOLPROOF WAY to WATER A SANSEVIERIA SNAKE PLANT - Use the Horty Girl Smart Stick found with every plant.  Similar to baking, stick the smart stick into the soil, wait a second and pull it out.  If it comes out clean and feels dry then its time to water it.

OUCH! - Be careful, the leave tips are sharp! Put in a place that you won’t bump into it.  Don’t trim off the tips of the plant either.  ALSO - Do not let your loved ones eat this plant, as it is extremely poisonous!

The Jade plant is also known as the Lucky Plant, Money Plant and more technical - Crassula argentea.  Jade is one of the most commonly grown houseplants. It’s popularity comes from it’s classic elegance and beauty and it’s low-maintenance requirement.  Its characterized by plump, full leaves with a glossy appearance coming off of thick stems.’

Care for your Jade plant is relatively easy, but you will need to know the plant’s specific requirements.

Jade plants like moderate light but will tolerate some direct sunlight. They will thrive in front of a south window, but will also do fine in front of an east window. If given some direct sunlight, they will flower.

Watering the money plant can be quite tricky.  You should only water when the soil feels completely dry and only water the plan 1/4 of a cup. An indication that the jade plant needs water - the pump leaves won’t have that supple feeling and will look a bit wrinkled.

Be careful watering jade plants! If you over water them, the plants can develop root rot where the stems will become soft and turn blackish.  If you under-water them the leaves can tend to droop.

A FOOLPROOF WAY to WATER A JADE PLANT - Use the Horty Girl Smart Stick found with every plant.  Similar to baking, stick the smart stick into the soil, wait a second and pull it out.  If it comes out clean, then its time to water it.

If your plant does develop stem or root rot, you should remove those stems as soon as possible to prevent it from speading to other healthy stems.

Another problem that this plant may experience is mealy bugs.  Mealybugs are common parasites on the stems and under leaves of Jade plants. If you notice these bugs on your jade plant, spray the plant with a soapy dishwasher mixture twice a day and it should get rid of them.  This “shower”method can also be done is the leaves become dusty.  Never use any leaf shine or cleaner products since it will destroy the protective oil on the leaves.

Putting the plant outside in the rain on a mild day occasionally can also help to wash off dust and freshen up the foliage as well.

To Propagate a Jade plant: Place a single healthy leaf against the side of the container with its basejust touching the top of the soil. Don’t water until you see that the leaf is producing roots and a new plant is forming.

Jade plants can also be produced from stem cutings, which can be quite short. Allow the cut end to dry off for a couple of weeks and then pot up in dry-ish soil. After two - three weeks a little water can be given.

Horty Girl plants are selected and designed to be low maintenance. Some plants, such as Tropical Palms, could use attention every 1 – 2 weeks. Others, such as Succulent varieties, can be left for 1 to 2 months without any attention in your home or office.

This guide uses the Horty Girl Smart Stick to indicate if it’s time to water.  This smart stick comes with every Horty Girl plant.

Plant Type	Watering Schedule	Signs to Water
Tropical Palms	Every 1 – 2 weeks 1/3 cup of water **Pour water at the base of the plant** *CAREFUL WHEN POURING TO NOT OVERWATER*	Smart Stick comes out slightly moist or damp. Some leaves may start to brown on the ends.
Ponytail Palms	Every 2 - 3 weeks 1/3 cup of water **Pour water at the base of the plant** *LESS IS BETTER THAN MORE*	Smart Stick comes out completely dry. Outer leaf margins will curl inwards and will turn brown.
Jade	Every 1 – 2 months Max ¼ cup of water **Pour water at the base of the plant** *DO NOT OVERWATER* Plants can go extended periods without water	Smart Stick comes out completely dry. Leaves will appear shrivelled as opposed to supple.
Zebra Hawarthia	Every 1 – 2 months Max ¼ cup of water **Pour water at the base of the plant** *DO NOT OVERWATER* Plants can go extended periods without water	Smart Stick comes out completely dry. Leaves will feel crispy and hollow as opposed to firm and supple.
Marginata Dracaena	Every 1 – 2 weeks 1/3 cup of water **Pour water at the base of the plant** *CAREFUL WHEN POURING TO NOT OVERWATER*	Smart Stick comes out slightly moist or damp. Some leaves may start to brown on the ends
Sansevieria	Every 2 – 3 weeks **Pour on the edge of the plant base, not over the stalks of the plant* *LESS IS BETTER THAN MORE* Plants can go extended periods without water	Smart Stick comes out completely dry. Leaves will begin to droop and/or wrinkle up.

Still have questions? Please send me your thoughts, questions below!

Ornithogalum dubium, also known as a Sun Star (or Orange star, snake flower) is a perennial bulb plant type that bursts into a gorgeous bloom of bright tangerine colored flowers.

It prefers full sun and moderately moist soil while growing or blooming. The Sun Star typically blooms in the spring or summer and likes full sunlight.

For Ornithogalum dubium/Sun Star plant care

• While blooming, keep soil moist and put in an area with bright indirect light.
• Remove any spent flowers by gently pulling the spike from the main body of the plant. This may seem harmful, but once the plant has bloomed, it will die back on its own. But with proper care, it will come back into bloom each winter.
• Prune off foliage only after it has turned yellow and is dead. Before this it is still gathering sunlight to use for the next year’s growth.
• Once the blooming period has finished and the leaves die back, this plant requires a bit of a rest - it will need a cool, dry dormant period and you should limit watering. Some people say to not water until the plant begins growth again, which is fine - just don’t let it dry out.
• Once it begins to start growing again, you can begin to water and fertilize the plant and wait for those beautiful vibrant blooms. Check the soil every few days to make sure it is moist - water as needed.

Foolproof method to watering your sunstar - insert the Horty Girl Smart Stick into the soil. Similar to baking muffins - Pull it out, if it comes out slightly dry or complete dry - it’s time to water your plant.

Warning: This plant is poisonous if ingested.

How’s your sunstar doing? I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment, question or your thoughts below!

Aloe Vera plants require very little water, especially throughout the winter months.

Use our Horty Girl Smart Stick method to manage your watering routine and your plants will last for years in the container you purchased them in.

To keep your plants looking fresh and clean, remember to trim old or damaged leaves.

Interesting Fact: Aloe Vera can be used to treat mild sunburns, using the gel from inside of the plant.  Cut off a section of the plant and apply the gel found inside of the plant.

How’s your plant doing? Have you ever used your Aloe plant for sunburns? I would love to hear from you! Please leave your thoughts or questions below.

The key to a long and healthy plant life is water management.  Indoor plant care is very manageable with the most basic of information.

The HortyGirl ‘SMART STICK’ method is brilliant yet very simple and applies to all plants in all containers:
If in doubt as to whether your plant requires a watering, use our care tag stake to test for moisture.  Just as you would use a toothpick to check to see if your muffins are done; insert our plant care tag stake into the base of the plant stems.  Pull the stake out and either notice if any soil is clinging to the stake.  If soil clings to the stake, this is an indication there is moisture in the root zone.  Alternatively, feel the stake for moisture levels (dry, moist or wet).  Depending on the care for your particular plant, you can make a watering decision from there.

Light levels are the most relative factor associated with watering routines.  Plants do require varying water management in association with their unique characteristics but light levels are the most important factor.

As light levels increase and decrease; so should our watering routines.  The changing seasons require a little extra attention as this is when we need to retrain ourselves with our watering routines.  In general; plan to increase your watering in Spring then maintain this more frequent ‘summer routine’ until Fall when watering should be tapered off to a less frequent ‘winter routine’.

As a simple example for an average indoor plant; if you are watering once per week in Summer, your Winter watering will be reduced to once every 2 weeks.

Our indoor plant products in clear glass vases provide us with a ‘window’ of opportunity towards water management.

General Plant Care guidelines for glass vases with pebbles, sand, bark or decorative granules:

• Resist any temptation to fill the vase with water
• Water sparingly according to the label directions
• Little to no water should remain in the bottom of the vase following watering.