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The Best Houseplant and Gardening Gear for an At-Home Jungle

It takes more than a green thumb to keep your indoor plants alive and thriving.

ikea watering can Ikea

By Tyler Chin

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Plants inherently don’t require that much human care — there has to be some reason species thrive on their own in nature. Houseplants, on the other hand, have to deal with your air conditioners and heaters, variable sunlight and tiny homes (AKA planters). So whether you’re just getting into indoor plants or you’re just starting to grow an at-home greenhouse, these are the best tools for keeping your little green friends alive and happy.

You can’t keep your plants alive without watering them. This minimalist watering can from Ikea has a gooseneck spout so you can ensure you’re hitting all of the soil’s dry spots.

By the time you see soil is dry, your plants are already pissed. Keep a moisture sensor meter plugged into the soil so you can easily tell when it’s time for watering or misting. Keep the red marker in the green, and try not to waterboard your plants.

You don’t need garden gloves, per se, but it’s nice to have a layer separating your hands from soil when you’re repotting plants. These bamboo gloves wick away moisture to avoid clammy, soily hands.

If you’d rather have a two-in-one tool to keep your plants hydrated, Time Concept’s Spray Sprinkler is the way to go. The hybrid tool is available in an array of colors to add some more zhoosh to your gardening kit.

Sadly not all of your plant’s leaves will make it. Snip them off before they start to rot and infect the rest of the plant.

Plants constantly losing moisture through their leaves. Ideally plants should be in an environment with at least 70 percent humidity, which is hard to achieve indoors. Instead, misting your plants regularly will reduce moisture loss and prevent them from drying out.

If you don’t want to handle soil with your hands, a hand trowel will help you easily transfer soil from bag to planter, and break up any hardened dirt if you dare brave an outdoor garden.

The potting mix and cacti mix are self-explanatory, but the lava rocks are meant to provide drainage for those who used a planter without a built-in drain hole (what is wrong with you?).

Justina Blakeney, founder of the boho-inspired houseware brand Jungalow, designed these planters to give plants a happy little home. Like any good planter, the Kaya has a drain hole. Buy a few Kayas in different colors to mix and match planters and water dishes for a custom arrangement.

Plant hangers are an interesting way to give vinous plants enough space to let down their, well, vines. Cofield, a Brooklyn-based design studio, made this hanger for Bloomist out of vegetable-tanned leather. The hanger is adjustable so it can accommodate a variety of planter shapes and sizes.

It’s a light specifically for plants. No, seriously. Aspect uses warm white light to help stimulate plants’ photosynthesis. Internet reviewers have had incredible success with Aspect’s Grow Light, so if you’re really failing at plant parenting, cop one so you can pretend to have a green thumb.

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