Top plant care products for indoor and outdoor gardening
We love plants! Be it a bed of Ranunculus in the garden or a Calathea sitting pride of place in the living room. Throughout our blogs and videos we have been over the basics - how to water your plants, the importance of misting and understanding differing light requirements. Now we have created a gang of confident plant parents, we thought it was about time to highlight the very best of our indoor and outdoor gardening tools. Here are our top picks to aid any plant enthusiast and the reasons why they are so great!
Misters are a must have for any plant parent and if you don’t have one it’s definitely something to consider! The key to keeping tropical plants looking lush is humidity. Here, in Scotland, we have very dry air in our heated homes which can result in brown tips and crispy leaves appearing on our most beloved foliage plants. To combat this, mist the leaves using a spray bottle and water to keep the leaves green and healthy.
Many of us will recognise perlite from seedling compost, propagations or simply mixed into our plants compost, but what is it for? Perlite is a great way of adding drainage to general houseplant composts. It aids water retention by absorbing excess moisture as well as improving aeration to ensure healthy root systems. Furthermore, the addition of perlite prevents compost becoming overly compact. Compact compost can block water from draining and prevent oxygen from circulating around root systems often resulting in root rot. It is particularly useful for propagating cuttings using 50% perlite to 50% general houseplant compost. For repotting and planting seeds we recommend mixing 1 part perlite to 4 parts general houseplant.
Coir poles are most commonly used to support unstable Monstera deliciosa. Their natural growing habit is to stretch horizontally across the rainforest floor or to cling on to tree trunks. This leads to Monsteras without vertical support getting a little bit out of control in our homes. To combat this, simply add a coir pole when repotting your plant. Make sure the pole sits at the base of the pot to ensure it is stable enough to support the plant in question and secure with mossing pins or twine. These are also a great option if you have run out of space for trailing Philodendron or Pothos as their aerial roots allow them to grip onto the trunks of trees in the wild. A top tip is to mist your coir pole to encourage your plant to cling on!
Our Plant Gurus always recommend keeping your plants in their plastic nursery pots whether it be sitting in a decorative pot or for repotting purposes. Unlike most decorative pots, growing pots have holes in the base to aid drainage. It is easy to overwater plants in solid based pots as excess water can build up in the base and cause root rot. To avoid this, remove the nursery pot from the decorative pot and allow water to completely drain through post watering before placing the plant back in its designated decorative pot.
Here at grow urban we offer durable growing pots in a variety of sizes ranging from 9cm to 29cm in diameter. These pots are made from recyclable materials and are completely recyclable. We recommend keeping and reusing old pots for potting up your jungles in the future!
Liquid Gold Leaf is one of our favourite plant feeds. Their premium formula is made up of every essential plant nutrient including a fully soluble calcium. It has an incredible range of feeding applications for foliage plants, cacti and even hydroponics. This revolutionary feed is completely organic and made up of biorational ingredients which means there are no harmful effects to the environment! For general feeding, dilute 1m to 2ml of Liquid Gold Leaf to 1 litre of water.
Pest control without any harmful chemicals, SB Plant invigorator and Bug Killer controls the spread of Whitefly, Aphids, Spider Mite, Mealeybug, Scale and Mildew. It also acts as a growth stimulant to encourage strong, healthy growth.
Available as a 250ml concentrate or a 500ml ready-to-use spray.
Shell on Earth is a brand dedicated to sustainability and offers crushed shells as a grit substitute. Normally considered a waste product by the fishing industry, these whelk shells have been crushed, washed and dried to offer a multitude of applications for indoor and outdoor gardening. They make an excellent addition to garden borders and beds as a drainage layer to aid run off or even a layer of mulch for water retention. It also acts as great natural and gentle pest and weed control to prevent ravenous beasties getting to our much loved outdoor flowers and veg.
Available in 1.5kg or 3kg bags.
This completely organic formula provides optimal nutrition for flowers and vegetables. Organic Garden Fertiliser is a rich multipurpose solution enriched with pure humic and fulvic acids for healthy garden soil throughout the seasons!
Available in 1 litre bottle.
Corona Tools Range
We are pleased to introduce our brand-new range of gardening tools by Corona. Originally developed for the California citrus industry, Corona has become America’s leading tool innovator and we are thrilled to be able to offer it at grow urban. They strive to meet the highest standards in utility, quality and craftsmanship to provide the very best in outdoor gardening tools. Corona offer a huge range of premium grade stainless steel tools complete with robust tool heads, blades and welded joints. Some of our favourites include ‘Thinning Shears’ , the ‘Finger Micro Snip’, ‘ComfortGEL Transplanter’, and their ‘DualCUT Branch and Stem Pruner’
Corona also offers incredible care accessories including the ‘Universal Tool Pouch’. Its durable nylon construction complete with metal clip or belt loops is perfect for keeping your favourite tools close at hand. This pouch fits corona tools including hand pruners and folding saws. There is even a handy, front pocket perfect for storing their ‘Sharpening Tool ‘. This portable, lightweight tool is key for keeping your tools as sharp as the day they arrived and important to make clean cuts to avoid any diseases!
Haws have been creating watering cans since 1886. They are one of the world's oldest watering can manufacturers and are prized for their classic, durable designs.
Introducing our Haws Cradley Cascader which can hold a whopping one and a half gallons of water and make the perfect accessory for any outdoor gardener! Its long spout allows easy watering for particularly bushy flowerbeds. Complete with a detachable brass faced plastic rose, this watering can is perfect for watering seeds, garden plants and flower beds.
Other watering can types available in smaller sizes including ‘The Fazeley Flow’ and ‘The Langley Sprinkler’ for indoor use.
Carbon Gold, an All-Purpose Compost which is chemical free and approved for organic farming by the FSC and Association. This compost has a wide range of applications and is suitable for pots, containers, hanging baskets and window boxes - so perfect for growing your own plants, flowers and vegetables.
Available in 10L bags.
There you have it! A rundown of our top tools to ensure gardening success. Whether it be inside or outside we have the perfect accessories to give your plants a helping hand as they push out new growth during the growing season.