I get a lot of questions regarding what people are going to need to buy in order to keep their new seedling healthy, as well as recommendations on products like fertilizers and such. Also - in the care guide you receive with your seedling, I always have products and ratios if you want to make your own custom soil mix when you repot your plan in the future.
Below are direct amazon links to all the products I personally use. Everything from necessities, to soil additives. All of these products I have been using throughout my time with these babies, and none of them have ever let me down quality wise.
Now, if you purchase any of these products through the amazon links here, I do earn commission. That being said - That's why I took my own pictures of the products to prove I do actually use them, and I really do recommend them.
Tap Water Conditioner
If you are going to get one thing, this is number one thing I recommend to EVERY plant parent. If you use tap water to water your plants, you want to have a conditioner so none of the bad tap water chemicals are affecting your plants and their roots.
Soil Meter
I have tried multiple moisture meters and this one has been the most accurate in my opinion. Moisture meters are SO helpful because you can actually see how wet the soil is at the bottom of the pot - not just the top. It also measures the PH of your soil too.
Soil Enhancer/Fertilizer
Fertilizing can be so stressful, every plant needs a different NPK ratio or to be diluted so or so amount. I love this fertilizer - You can use it on any one of your plants, so if you don't want 10 different fertilizers for all your plants, this is easily the best route to take.
Pruning Shears
Getting a dedicated pair of pruning shears is SO important, when pruning any plant you want to make sure the blade is sharp and will make a clean cut. These are only $5 on Amazon and I love them, just make sure you sterilize them between every prune.
Monstera Fertilizer
This is one of the first results that come up when you search "Monstera Fertilizer" on Amazon, but I have been using it with all of my monsteras and I love it. When I first got it I used it on some cuttings and had so many new leaves popping up left and right.
Gnat Traps
Look, when I tell you I was losing my mind when I had over 50 polka dot sprouts and gnats were EVERYWHERE. They loved the polka dots, and also my personal beloved arrowhead. I tried the sprays and nothing worked but these stickers? AMAZING.
Potting Mediums
It's no secret that I don't buy store bought soil, I custom mix all my soil depending on the plant and its needs. In all the care guides I provide with the seedlings I always include the soil mix recipe I use for that specific plant. Below are all the links to every potting medium I use, what benefits they have and their purpose.
Coco Coir
Purpose: Moisture Retention
In every single soil mix recipe you are going to see either "Peat Moss" or "Coco Coir" as one of the ingredients. I use coco coir for multiple reasons: Peat moss is bad for the environment, coco coir is way cheaper and you get a lot more, plus people have compared the two and ended up with the same results, so using coco coir instead of peat moss is a no brainer. It comes in a brick, you break it down when you get it and get SO much more product than you think you would just looking at the brick size.
In every single soil mix recipe you are going to see either "Peat Moss" or "Coco Coir" as one of the ingredients. I use coco coir for multiple reasons: Peat moss is bad for the environment, coco coir is way cheaper and you get a lot more, plus people have compared the two and ended up with the same results, so using coco coir instead of peat moss is a no brainer. It comes in a brick, you break it down when you get it and get SO much more product than you think you would just looking at the brick size.
Perlite
Purpose: Drainage and Moisture Retention
Just like coco coir, perlite is something you'll see in every soil mix recipe. Perlite is the main medium used for drainage, because at the same time it also retains moisture. Every plant parent has at least one thing in common: the fear of root rot. So being able to have an ingredient that drains excess water while retaining moisture at the same time is great at preventing root rot. The link I provided is 1qt, since the normal person doesn't need heaps of perlite - but if you are wanting more, this is what I typically buy.
Just like coco coir, perlite is something you'll see in every soil mix recipe. Perlite is the main medium used for drainage, because at the same time it also retains moisture. Every plant parent has at least one thing in common: the fear of root rot. So being able to have an ingredient that drains excess water while retaining moisture at the same time is great at preventing root rot. The link I provided is 1qt, since the normal person doesn't need heaps of perlite - but if you are wanting more, this is what I typically buy.
