Commonly found in homes across the world, plants are one of the small pleasures people seek out for their homes or office. With an endless variety of types available on the market, there is a type for everyone. Plants can provide a living touch to a home without a hardly any expense. As water, fertilizer and sunlight are the only requirements for a plant’s survival, it comes as no surprise that many people have attempted to grow plants.

However, many people have convinced themselves they have black thumbs because they somehow manage to kill the plant they have attempted to tend. This common problem stems from a lack of understanding of what a plant needs in order to survive. With a few minor changes to how you tend to your plants should change that black thumb into a green one.

The first step in caring for plants is to know how much you need to water your plant. Over and under watering plants is the leading cause of death in plants. This is something that is extremely easy to correct. All you need to do is find a resource on your plant, and learn how they are watered. A few plants like to always remain moist. In this case, you should water your plant frequently, but in low amounts. Some plants like to be soaked in water and then have their soil dry out. There are some species of plants that only like to be watered very infrequently! By changing how you water your plant, you should be able to extend the plant’s lifespan by a wide margin.

The lack of sunlight is the second most common cause of death in a plant. Sunlight is required by plants to be able to photosynthesize. Photosynthesis, combined with the nutrients of water and soil, is how a plant survives. If you expose a plant with too much sun, the leaves will be damaged. Burnt leaves are unable to photosynthesize properly, which results in their death. Too little sun, and the plant effectively is starved to death.

Once you have addressed water and light, the next aspect that you should learn about look at is your plant’s soil. Without proper soil, your plant cannot survive. By fertilizing the soil, you can make sure the roots of your plant has access to everything required to keep your plant alive and well.

If you are still having problems keeping your plants alive, you should look for other reasons that your plant is dying. Check the type of water that you are using to feed your plants. While bottled water, for example, is good for people, it is not necessarily good for plants. Bottled water tends to lack the mineral content of tap or rain water. Another common cause of plant death is the exposure to pets or children. Pets and children can damage the leaves, which can result in plant death.

Even if you have always believed you have a black thumb, it is not impossible to learn how to keep plants alive!