9 Tips for ADHD Plant Parents
Inside you are two wolves
One is your love of plants
The other is your ADHD.
Let’s face it, you love plants, but it can be so hard to keep them alive and thriving when you have a hard time even finding the phone in your hand while on a phone call. So what can you do? Here are 9 tips on how to care for plants when you have ADHD.
1. Less is more
As tempting as it may be to buy a cart-load of plants–trust me I know the feeling–it’s not the brightest idea to start out with a houseplant forest. Start with a few smaller and less care-intensive plants such as a ZZ plant, Snake plant, or Spider plant. Don’t let the names fool you, these babies are just as leafy and gorgeous as their more extravagant relatives.
2. Play to your strengths…and know your weaknesses
If you know that one particular aspect of plant parenting is what’s difficult for you, try finding some plants that need less of that care. If watering on a schedule is hard for you, try getting a cactus. If keeping them in a well lit spot is difficult, try getting a plant that requires low light (or get a plant lamp). If repotting is hard for you, try getting plants that are slow growers, or try air plants, which don’t require soil at all!
3. Give them a shower
One of the more daunting things ADHD people deal with are tasks that involve a lot of tedious work. Going around and individually watering all of your plants takes time and effort–which we ADHD folks care greatly about. So here’s what you do: Take all of the plants that you can fit in your bathtub and place them with enough distance that they won’t overshadow one another. That way they can get as much water as they need. Then all you need to do is use your shower head (a removable one works best for this) and let it rain! Not only does it make the task go much quicker, it’s also an easy clean up.
Pro tip: When using this method I suggest that you get a filtered showerhead, as some tap water can have minerals or chemicals in it that can cause build up on your plants or worse, cause them to start dying.
4. Use watering bulbs
If you have plants that don’t fit into your shower, or you don’t have a shower, try out watering bulbs. They come in many different colors, sizes, shapes, and materials. Here are some that are shaped like mushrooms! When the soil dries up, the bulb releases more water to keep the soil moist. Be careful with these and do your research, though, since not all plants like constantly wet soil.
5. Spray bottles, lots of them
So many plants require a certain level of humidity and this can be hard to keep up with. I always misplace my spray bottles, so I just bought a few cheap ones and placed them wherever my plants are kept. Now when my plants are looking a little dry I can give them a spritz with one of my many spray bottles. Bonus points if you get some that are a bright color to make them stand out more!
There are some plant humidifiers that can help with this problem as well. Though that can become expensive if you have a lot of plants or you have them in various locations.
6. Keep them visible
Don’t place plants too out of the way. Make sure they’re in your everyday line of sight so that you can tell right away when they aren’t doing well. One thing rings powerfully true for those of us with ADHD, “out of sight, out of mind”. So keep your plant children in sight!
7. Make a checklist
Hear me out, I know for a lot of people with ADHD lists are the bane of our existence. However, it can really help to break down your plant care in a list format. Take one or two hours to sit and write a checklist for yourself that is easy to read and understand, and that you won’t dread looking at .Split them up based on needs, like sunlight, water, humidity, fertilizer, etc.
Pro tip: Using various plant-care apps have helped lots of people manage their plants. Plus, many of these apps have free versions or free trials. Personally, writing and having a physical checklist helps me remember but do whatever works for you to keep your plants alive!
8. Ask for help
Whether you have a few plants or a lot, it can be hard to keep up with them all on your own. There are so many times I have had to ask my housemates or partner to help with my plants. Sometimes it can be hard to remember, other times I just don’t have the energy to get to all of them. So if you can, ask for help from people around you. You may need to teach them and walk them through your process, but once they’re familiar with plant care it’ll be a breeze.
Who knows, maybe you’ll spark a love for plants in them as well!
9. Don’t get discouraged
Sometimes even with our best efforts, plants will die. It doesn’t make you a bad plant parent if you weren’t able to handle a certain feisty plant or if you got one that maybe wasn’t in the best shape to begin with. Even if the plant died because you weren’t able to keep up with the care, give yourself some grace and take it as a challenge to do better next time.
Bonus Tip: If all else fails…
Fake plants look just as good and require no care at all — aside from the occasional dusting!
