The 5 Best Hacks to Keep Your Plants Alive

So, you finally took the plunge and planted your garden — and it looks *perfect*. Next step? Keeping it that way! We teamed up with Pinterest to get the most-pinned hacks for keeping your plant babies in tip-top shape until the end of the season. Keep scrolling below to see the ones we’re keeping at the top of our feeds.

1. DIY Eggshell Water: This mix is SO easy, we wish we’d thought of it sooner. All you need are some eggshells, water, and an empty container to create a solution to help your plants thrive. Simply combine the ingredients together, and let them soak overnight for a foul-proof fertilizer that gives plants *all* the nutrients they need to stay strong and tall.

2. Packing Peanuts Hack: Moving heavy plants around to give them some sun can be rough. But this simple swap makes it easy to maneuver them, with the bonus of promoting natural drainage in the process. First, fill the pot a third of the way up with packing peanuts. Then use dirt to comprise the rest of the container. Once your plants begin to bloom, it’ll be so much easier for you to ensure they get their sunshine.

3. Properly Prune: Before you grab your spheres and being clipping away, consider how it’ll impact each plant. Ask yourself: Are you trying to maintain your plants’ health? Restricting their growth? Trying to promote a specific shape? Or improve the condition of their stems? Your ultimate goal determines what kinds of cuts and how many you make. Luckily, all of these questions can be answered here, so click before you clip.

4. Water and Sunlight: PSA: Not all plants need the same amount of water and sunlight. If you’ve been evenly spreading the love, this handy chart gives you the DL on what’s required to keep ’em healthy on a plant-per-plant basis.

5. Coffee Filter: You know that hole at the bottom of your pot that *always* seems to get clogged when you water? Wave that problem goodbye by using a coffee filter. Position it between the dirt and your pot to keep all the contents in even as the liquid pours in. Bonus: It’ll keep the moisture locked in longer too.

What’s your best hack for maintaining a garden? Tweet us your tips @BritandCo!

(Photos via Getty)