“If you don't give them moisture, their leaves will dry out. If you want new foliage and growth, you need to mist them.”
The frequency of misting plants greatly depends on the season as well as the level of humidity in the air in your zone. However, in general, it is recommended that you mist your plants at least a few times per week after considering existing moisture levels around.
Types of Plants That Like Mist
Tropical houseplants and plants that love high-humidity—such as the Chinese Evergreen, Boston Fern, and Majesty Palm—will benefit most from misting, says Plunkett. (Zebra plants, orchids, arrowhead plants, and begonias are just a few others that love mist.)
As a rule of thumb, all cacti, drought tolerant plants, and the great majority of succulents, should never be misted! In addition to these plants, there are some plants that actually enjoy decent levels of humidity but, should not be misted because of their fuzzy foliage texture.
By regularly spraying your houseplants with water, you raise the humidity around their leaves, keeping delicate species from the tropical regions of the world happy in distinctly untropical homes.
This said, a good mister is still considered an essential tool for houseplant longevity. That's because misting is one of the best ways to keep your houseplants clean and healthy. Over time dust settles on leaves making it more difficult for light to be absorbed for photosynthesis.
Letting the leaves get too wet and / or allowing them to stay excessively wet for a prolonged period of time can encourage mold growth on the leaf surface, so it's always important to ensure you don't ever allow puddles of water to form on your plants' leaves - this applies when watering as well as when misting.
Some plants want daily misting; others are OK with two to three times a week.
It is possible to overmist? As they say, too much of anything is still too much. Repeatedly dousing your plants with moisture is no exception, so Resta says be careful not to overdo it. "You want to be cautious about how much water may be gathering on your leaves' surface," she notes.
Your Spider Plant will do well in normal household humidity but will thrive with a bit more humidity. Brown leaf tips may indicate the air is too dry, so mist your Spider Plant regularly using a Mister.
Tips for Misting
To mitigate this, be sure to use rainwater or distilled water when you mist your plants. Avoid filtered water, as the salts in many water filters can be damaging to plant roots and leaves. It's also important to regularly dust and clean your leaves.
“This ultimately creates a better exchange of oxygen and moisture. Misting one to two times per week can refresh your plants and keep them happy and thriving.” So it's OK to keep that pretty misting bottle near your plants—just don't let that be the only water they get.
Misting creates humidity, and some tropical plants appreciate it (though there are more effective methods for increasing humidity around your plants), but it should supplement watering. To water properly, pour water directly on the soil until it runs out the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
They normally need watering once or twice a week in the spring and summer, but less in the autumn and winter. However, depending on the type of houseplant, this is not always the case.
2. Misting. This method of watering is not recommended for succulents at all. Instead, you should only mist your succulents when propagating cuttings, as mature succulents store water in their leaves.
The temperature of where your houseplants reside is important to take note of when purchasing a humidifier. If your plants are staying in a place where they're too warm, then you need a cool-mist humidifier. However, if they're staying where it's too cool, then you need a warm mist humidifier.
Plants can benefit from both warm and cool-mist humidifiers, but the choice between the two depends on the needs of the specific plants and the environment they are in.
Simply combine 1 tablespoon (14.7 milliliters) of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of dish soap and 1 gallon (3.78 liters) of water and spray it on the foliage of susceptible plants. Baking soda spray works because it disrupts fungal spores, preventing them from germinating.
Ice-Cube Method. Just put two ice cubes on the soil in the plant, as they melt, your plant will get water without any mess.
How do you water indoor plants without making a mess? You can use non-draining pots, drip trays or you can water your indoor plants in a sink to avoid any mess. You could also use a controlled watering method such as a self-watering pot, watering spike or watering with ice cubes.
While misting can be good for some plants, it does come with a risk. Misting your plants often may attract moisture-loving pests (and not just plant pests!) or increase the risk of fungal infections.
Consider misting your plants once or twice a week during the cooler months because the air is dry, and require less frequent misting in warmer months when humidity levels are higher.
At least once a week, mist your spider plant's leaves with water to simulate the humidity of its natural habitat. If you live somewhere in an extremely dry environment, spray more often. Due to low humidity, the tips of the leaves are showing signs of stress by turning brown.
Rainwater is probably a plant's favorite, so long as you don't live in a place with too much pollution. Well water is usually good too, if it's not too alkaline for acid-loving houseplants. 2 Tap water can be great, but the salt in softened water can become problematic—and some plants don't like chlorinated water.