Learn how to properly care for your tropical dish garden with this comprehensive guide. From watering to sunlight, we've got you covered.
If you have a dish garden, the general rule is to follow the guidelines for the plant that requires less water and less sunlight. We try to combine plants that require the same care so that your gift can have a healthy life.
For example, if all your plants in the dish garden are green foliage, it's more simple. But if you receive our Tropical Dish Garden, you will need to water the orchids and the rest of the plants differently. The orchids will be in an individual container so they don't get overwatered.
Generally, we combine orchids with other tropical plants or succulents. Don't be scared to water them because since the orchids are in an individual container, they won't get overwatered.
The two main guidelines are enough sunlight and enough water:
Light: Place your Tropical Dish Garden near a sunny window. At least 4-6 hours of indirect sunlight.
Tropical plants need a lot of sunlight for healthy development. If leaves start to scorch, they're receiving too much sunlight. If leaves start to yellow, bend, or look translucent, they need more sunlight.
Water: Add water every 7-14 days.
Your Tropical Dish Garden won't need as much water as often as your regular plants. Tropical plants like orchids and bromeliads, come from humid places where it doesn't rain as often. Succulents come from deserts where it is very dry. These tropical plants are designed to live without water for longer periods of time. That is why they're leaves are so thick, they keep water in them (kind of like camels) and if you add too much water, their roots rot fast, rotting the entire plant. Wait until their soil gets dry at least 1 inch under the surface to add more water.
How often? It will greatly depend on the plants' surroundings. Humidity takes a great place here because tropical plants absorb humidity and turn it into water! So really feel the soil before adding more water. If their leaves start to wilt and turn yellow, you're adding too much water. If their leaves start to burn on the ends, your plant needs more water.
Don't water at night if possible. Watering in the morning helps prevent disease.
How to know you're doing a good job? If your plants are thriving, their leaves will look shiny and crisp, if they're not happy their leaves will start to wilt and look opaque.
If you want to learn more about each individual plant, these are some of the plants we generally use. Plants are sorted in alphabetical order:
Bromeliad:
Flamingo or Anthurium:
Orchids:
Pink Wave:
Polka Dot:
Snake Plant or Sansevieria:
Succulents:
Every plant is different and as the days go by, if you pay attention, you can start to notice if the plant is happy or not where you placed it or if it needs water more frequently.
Now that we learned all these tips on how to care for your Tropical Dish Garden, I hope your plants start to thrive! Remember, no over-watering, and enough sunlight, those are the two main tips when taking care of tropical plants.
If you have any questions or need advice for a specific plant, let us know in the comments bellow and I'll do my best to help you.