How To Clean Plant Leaves And Make Them Shine
How To Clean Plant Leaves And Make Them Shine
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When we think of plant care and maintenance, often we think of watering, light levels, fertilizing, maybe even pruning and repotting, too. One aspect of plant care that we sometimes forget about is cleaning your plants' leaves. Actually, for the longest time I wasn't cleaning my plants' leaves at all! However, it's an important part of plant care especially for plants with large leaves that tend to collect more dust. In this post we'll review how to clean houseplant leaves and why you should.
Why should you clean houseplant leaves?
Similar to any other surface in your home, houseplant leaves can accumulate dust, soil particles, water marks, mineral buildup (caused by hard water), and other grime. A layer of grime acts as a shield and prevents adequate sunlight from getting to the leaves, therefore reducing your plant's ability to photosynthesize. In order to maintain the overall health of your plant, the leaves need to be cleaned every so often.
When should you clean houseplant leaves?
Personally I like to check my plants every two weeks to see if they need to be cleaned. I don't usually ever have to clean them that often, but I find it to be a good rule of thumb to think about how often you'd dust a surface in your home and check your plants accordingly. (Is dusting every two weeks too much or too little? I don't know, don't judge me!)
This also depends on the surrounding environment. If you live in a particularly dusty area you'll likely have to do this more often.
Whenever you notice any sort of buildup on your leaves, regardless of timing, you should clean off your plant.
What to use to clean leaves on houseplants?
There are a number of methods you can use to clean your houseplant leaves. If you're only cleaning dust and soil particles—things that are likely only resting on the surface and don't require more vigorous treatment—you can use a damp cloth, a feather duster or other form of gentle duster, or give your plant a shower.
A Damp Cloth – When using the damp cloth, brace the back of the leaf with your other hand so you're not pulling at the stem. Don't be afraid to apply some pressure as you wipe each leaf.
A Gentle Duster – The gentle duster can help to gently brush away any particles (key word: gentle!).
A Shower – A shower can work well for plants with more delicate leaves or plants that have a lot of leaves that would be difficult to clean individually (think spider plants or ferns). Use warm water and make sure you're not totally blasting your plant with the water. A strong blast of water works well for removing certain pests, but you don't want to do this to your plant all the time. Rotate the plant as you shower it to make sure you get it from all angles.
If you need to clean off dirt, water marks, mineral build up, or other caked-on residue, two easy methods are using white vinegar or using lemon or lime juice—things you probably have at home already! The acid in these two methods will help dissolve the grime on your plants.
These two methods are harsher to your plant and are not meant to be used often, only when you notice significant residue build-up.
Vinegar Method
- Two cups of water – If you have soft water, use it. If not, don't worry. I use hard water for this.
- One tablespoon of white vinegar
- A cloth – I like to use microfiber because it can help to pull out more junk from leaf crevices and wrinkles, but any gentle cloth will do.
Mix together the water and vinegar. Dip an area of the cloth into the solution. Brace the back of a leaf with one hand and wipe away the grime with the cloth in the other. Don't pull at the stems, but don't be afraid to use some pressure on the leaves. Try not to use the same area of the cloth on each leaf in order to avoid transferring dirt.
I like this method because I'm a fan of using vinegar for cleaning in general. I use it all the time to clean out water bottles and wash off produce.
I recently rescued a scraggly looking peperomia from a local garden center. It was all alone in the corner and almost looked like someone didn't want it anymore and had dropped it off there, so weird! Just looking at the leaves the plant was clearly in need of some help—they were covered in hard-water mineral build up and dirt. I used the vinegar method on the leaves, which were incredibly dirty, and the plant looks so much healthier now.
Lemon or Lime Juice Method
- Two cups of water – If you have soft water, use it. If not, don't worry. I use hard water for this.
- One tablespoon of lemon or lime juice
- A cloth – Again, I like to use microfiber because it can help to pull out more junk from leaf crevices and wrinkles, but any gentle cloth will do.
Mix together the water and lemon or lime juice. Dip an area of the cloth into the solution. Brace the back of a leaf with one hand and wipe away the grime with the cloth in the other. Don't pull at the stems, but don't be afraid to use some pressure on the leaves. Try not to use the same area of the cloth on each leaf in order to avoid transferring dirt.
What about not just clean, but SHINY leaves?
If you're wondering how to not only clean your plants' leaves but make them shine too, I want to suggest that you don't worry too much about this. Many plants do not have naturally shiny leaves anyway. If they do, then I feel that it's best to clean them using one of the methods above and let them shine on their own as much as they naturally would.
Leaf-shine products can be dangerous to your plants. They can contain oils and waxes that can clog the pores of leaves, causing your plant to suffocate. The ingredients on these products aren't always clear and I caution you against using them. Shiny leaves are not worth the health of your plant and are not as important as simply having clean leaves.
Notice any of your plants that are in need of a scrub down? Now that you've learned about these easy ways to clean your houseplant leaves, give them a try for yourself!
Source: https://www.sproutsandstems.com/how-to-clean-houseplant-leaves-and-why-you-should/
Posted by: chaffeyabothe.blogspot.com
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