Tips to Increase Humidity for Your Plants
You hear this all the time. Those beautiful foliage plants that you see all over Instagram and Pinterest need “high humidity” to be happy. Perhaps you are struggling with some crispy leaves and higher humidity is the solution that your local plant guru has offered. How on earth do you increase humidity in your home, office, or planty corner to make your plants happy?
How much humidity is enough?
Before you make any elaborate attempts to transform your home into a rainforest, how much humidity do your plants need anyway?
There are plenty of houseplants that are quite tolerant of the humidity levels that your home currently offers. These plants include snake plants, ZZ plants, and many others. The houseplants that tend to have higher humidity needs will have leafy, soft foliage, such as Calathea, Anthurium, Ferns, Alocasia, and some Hoya varieties. These are affectionately known as the “Instagram Famous” houseplants or less affectionately known as “that crispy pile of sticks in the corner that’s always miserable”. These are the plants who are most happy at humidity levels of 60% (or higher) but may suffer through levels at 50%.
Wait…how do I even measure humidity?
A very inexpensive way to measure the humidity levels of a particular space is by purchasing a Hygrometer. These can be found readily at many garden centres, big box stores, or online. They measure humidity levels of the space and often will give you a temperature reading too. The humidity levels of your space may surprise you! It will give you a thorough understanding of why your plants might be suffering.
Ways to increase humidity for your houseplants
1. Move your plants to a humid space
sometimes the best way to increase humidity for your plants is to move your plants to a more humid space! If you have a window in your bathroom, that is prime houseplant real estate for humidity lovers. Your plants will love being in proximity to those steamy hot showers as much as you love taking them!
2. Misting
One of the most relaxing habits of plant owners is to tour their houseplants with a mister or spray bottle and spritz the area around their plants! While this would not be suitable for succulents who prefer to stay dry most of the time, a calathea or a fern loves a good misting! It is also a great preventative measure for spider mites who love to hide in dry spaces.
3. Pebble Trays and Water Glasses
The infamous pebble tray is another way to increase the humidity for your plants. You line a tray with pebbles and fill the tray with water. Keep the plant on top of the pebbles so it is not touching the water directly. The water will then evaporate around the plant and the humidity around the plant will increase. Another similar method is to put decorative glasses or jars in proximity to your plants. This is particularly handy when it comes time to give your plant a a drink because you have water nearby!
4. Plants love friends!
As if you needed an excuse to buy more houseplants! Grouping plants together is a great way to boost humidity levels as they create their own microclimate. If you already have a lot of plants, they will thank you for the humidity boost! If you don’t already have a lot of plants…this is the sign you’ve been waiting for!
5. Humidifier
I won’t sugar coat it. If you want to increase humidity in a particular space, a humidifier is the most efficient option that will give you the results you’re looking for. Humidifiers come in many shapes and sizes and price points, depending on your budget. They can increase humidity for a small space or an entire room. They also have many benefits for humans as well, such as helping dry skin.
6. Greenhouse/ Terrarium
For certain houseplants, you may need to pull out all of the stops to keep their humidity needs met! Since it isn’t safe to keep your office at 80% or 90% humidity levels, you can set up an indoor greenhouse or terrarium for those “unicorn aroids”, mosses, or begonia. You can get indoor greenhouses that will fit into a bedroom, basement or office that are equipped with grow lights to grow your own little jungle. There’s also the increasingly popular “IKEA Greenhouse Cabinets” to check out for some great ideas.
Additional Resources:
Be sure to check out my Instagram @plantyquirkyblogger to follow my plant journey and for more houseplant tips and advice.
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