Plant Parenting - What is it?

Have you ever considered having plants? “It’s a great hobby to have,” says Kacy Kracke, who is currently a history education junior at CWU, and also a plant-mom of eight succulents.

Kracke is just one of the many college students who are falling in love with these little plants. According to The Star’s article, a lot of millennials are becoming “proud plant-parents”.

In order to understand why plant parenting has gotten so popular in recent times, PULSE has gathered details from CWU’s plant-parent students, as well as a professor from the biology department. We will also be learning tips and tricks on how to become a plant parent ourselves.

Plant Parenting: Why is it popular?

How a person becomes a plant-parent is unique to that individual. For Kracke, it all started when her best friend bought her a cactus as a graduation gift. She was very happy to be able to have a part of home with her while transitioning to college life at CWU. After the cactus died, she decided to start her own plant family. Now she owns eight different succulents which she is very proud of. To her, taking care of these plants helps her become more independent, “having plants gives me a purpose to take care of myself,” says Kracke, “because if I’m not stable then who can take care of my plants.”

Another proud plant-mom at CWU, Mia Hillstrom - a sophomore at CWU who is double majoring in communication studies and psychology, has a similar reason as to why she loves plants. Hillstrom has always had plants at home when she was younger. She started teaching her cousins how to plant when she was sixteen. Together, they made a small garden in the backyard of their house. Hillstrom loves taking care of plants because it not only provides oxygen to the air, but is also a “calming and stress relief hobby” to plant-parents. She also states that “plants are extremely rewarding, because they are something to care for, and seeing growth gives joy to a plant owner as if that growth is your own growth”.

It’s obvious that the peacefulness and fulfilment from taking care of plants is the main reason as to why so many people are becoming plant-parents. Besides being beneficial to the environment, plant-parenting also helps to add values and enhance the quality of life and purpose for its owners. Maddie Scott, a soon-to-graduate food science and nutrition student, became a plant-parent in the senior year of high school after a friend committed suicide. She was at a nursery two days after the friend died and found a cactus that was purple. She felt the need to get it because it was so different. Shortly after that, Scott took an environmental science class where she got to volunteer at the greenhouse and fell in love with getting her hands in the dirt. To her, planting is therapeutic and meditative. Scott currently has two plants and three cacti that she and her roommate are taking care of. Her favorite part about this is being able to walk around the room and water her plants in silence. She finds the “crackling and popping” sound of dry soil becoming moist very lovable. And according to Scott, plant-parenting is very important to college students because “it teaches a person to be more aware of their surroundings.”

How to become a plant parent?

Number 1: Do your research and take it slow

It’s not hard to become a plant parent. The most basic components involved in raising a healthy plant are water, light, temperature, and soil. However, like other living things, each plant has specific needs in order to survive. According to Eric Graham, a biology professor at CWU, it’s important to learn what the plant needs by doing a little research beforehand, and then try to provide it. For example, how much is too little or too much water? You won’t know until you have actually done one or the other. An advice from Dr. Graham is to pay attention to your plants every day and try your best because they will give you signs on whether what you’re doing actually works.

Number 2: Figure out and practice plant needs

Each plant has a different water need. Scott recommends people to experiment with watering and seeing how the plant reacts to the different watering patterns. A helpful tip that she wishes she had known in the beginning was to get a pot with drainage holes in them, or put rocks under the soil so that if you over water the plant, water can still runoff. For Dr. Graham, he looks at his plants carefully every other day in terms of needing water. To gage the water amount, he would sticks his fingers in the soil to determine how wet the soil is. Depending on the moisture of the soil, he can then determine whether to water them or not.

Besides water level and temperature, there are another two things that affect plants directly. As an experienced plant-mom, Scott recommends people to experiment the type of lighting that the plant likes. Usually, plants are put near the window to get sunlight. However, there are plants that need more light than other, and vice versa. For example, Scott has learned that the light in her kitchenette helps her plants grow a lot better than sunlight, so that’s what she has been using. On the other hand, sometimes too much sunlight can damage the plants. “Sunlight helps, but direct sunlight will hurt their leaves,” says Kracke when being asked about what a new planter should pay attention to.

Number 3: Do more than just the regular

Besides satisfying the plants basic needs, there are other things that you can additionally do to help boost your plants’ growth. According to Kracke, when you first buy a plant, they’re most likely in a plastic container. In order to keep them alive longer, you’ll need to move them into a new pot filled with fresh soil to make them feel better. Additionally, Scott also says that having a pot with drainage holes will also be better if you don’t know how much water to put and are afraid of pouring too much water.

For beginners, starting out with easier plants like cactus, bonsais, or succulents is a good idea because they won’t require that much water and specific daily attention. However, it doesn’t mean that you should pay less attention to these plants. Being a plant-parent means that you take care of plants as if they’re a close friend. You should think about them and care for them in a responsible way. For Kracke, she considers the plants her “babies” who she talks to every two weeks and gives them compliments to motivate them.

All in all, plant-parenting is a very calming and caring activity that provides peace and stress relief for many people. It isn’t just a hobby, but an action of love. For people who are new to plant parenting, it’s okay for plants to die. Just don’t give up and try again. Everyone is different, and every plant is different. Start with simpler ones first, and after you’ve gained some confidence, then you can get more finicky plants. Some people are better with different types of plants and will have varying experiences, but in the end, you will be able to find your type of niche.

- Written by Lidaily