“A lot of people don't understand the importance of misting,” adds Jenkins. “Misting is one of the top things that you can do for your houseplants. I advise my clients to mist their houseplants one to two times per week.”
Simply pull down on the level and watch the aerosolized water form a soothing cloud of mist over your plant. Misting is highly recommended at least once a month, and more often with species that enjoy it (see full list below).
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.
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.)
Misting your houseplants can be helpful to hydrate the leaves, cool the plant down in warm temperatures, and regulate water absorption. You should mist in the morning, taking care to spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves, and go for a nice, light coating.
Some plants want daily misting; others are OK with two to three times a week.
“A lot of people don't understand the importance of misting,” adds Jenkins. “Misting is one of the top things that you can do for your houseplants. I advise my clients to mist their houseplants one to two times per week.”
Most houseplants will thrive just fine without the use of a mister, Gillette says. Epiphytes will benefit though from a light misting every morning.
As for misting — for the plants that need to be misted to thrive like air plants and ferns — it's best to mist them in the morning *and* the evening whenever possible. The morning mist helps to prepare them for the day ahead, while the evening misting helps create a little extra humidity.
Also, don't mist plants that don't require a lot of moisture, like succulents, dragon tree (Draceana marginata), fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata), yucca, pothos, ponytail plant (Beaucarnea recurvata), cissus and spider plant.
As a rule of thumb, all cacti, drought tolerant plants, and the great majority of succulents, should never be misted!
Misting isn't beneficial for all plants and it can even cause some plants to rot. Avoid misting succulents like jade plants, echeveria and aloe vera because they're native to dry, desert areas and store lots of moisture in their leaves.
While spritzing can provide some moisture, unless the plant really thrives in humidity (ferns, orchids, or bromeliads, for example), Hovis says spritzing can do more harm than good. “What [plants] really need is a good soak,” she says.
Apply pesticides during the cooler part of the day, such as the early morning or evening. Treatments made in the early morning allow foliage to dry before temperatures reach 85–90°F. Take special precautions when using pesticides containing oil. Treat when conditions allow plants to dry quickly.
Wetting leaves.
Plants get their moisture through their roots, not their leaves. Direct watering to the soil surface and avoid wetting leaves because water helps spread some plant diseases. Use a watering wand to reach ground level or a soaker hose or trickle irrigation system to wet the soil rather than the leaves.
A: To a plant, there's no difference in the mist temperature. However, warm misting humidifiers sanitize the water as they heat it to vapor. That means there's a slightly smaller chance that humidity-borne diseases can develop with a warm mist temperature.
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.
Browning leaves are typically caused by under watering, sunburn, or overwatering. If the leaf tips are turning brown and crunchy, the soil likely became too dry for too long in between waterings. This can also cause the plant to drop leaves.
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.
Fill a spray bottle and walk around your home, misting water into the air. You can also lightly spray bedding and furniture that won't get damaged by water. The water sprayed into the air will evaporate quickly, thus increasing your home humidity levels.
However, snake plants don't really benefit from misting, as they're native to arid regions and are used to dry conditions. The thick leaves of a snake plant also help to prevent water loss, so misting is usually unnecessary.