Best Practices for Ongoing Maintenance:
The goal is for plants to gradually become a natural part of your everyday routine, especially in terms of selfcare.
I recommend finding a time during the day where you can spend some quality time with your plants (start small with just a couple of minutes!)
Things I recommend doing on a regular basis:
Touch the leaves!
Check the soil!
Pick up the plant!
Inspect leaves for yellowing/bugs :(
Play around with how you like to water your plants. Some people like to do a big all-plant watering session on the same day each week. I like "go with the flow" and when enough of my plants seem to need watering, I'll water a bunch. Otherwise, I water as I go and I notice individual plants need water.
Warning Signs:
Underwatered Plants
Super dry, compact soil. Often it will pull away from the edge of the pot.
Brittle, dried up, sometimes yellow leaves that sometimes snap
What to do? Water your plant!
*Underwatered plants are easier to heal than overwatered plants*
Overwatered Plants
Soil doesn't dry out and might smell
Fungus gnats on the soil
Yellowing leaves, dropping leaves
What to do? Put your plant in your sunniest spot and do not water again until you are 10000% sure it has dried out.
If leaves are yellowing/dropping, root rot may have set in. You'll likely need to repot the plant and disinfect the roots with a fungicide solution. If the roots have completely rotted off, you can often propagate the plant to salvage the healthy stems/leaves remaining!
If leaves have irregular brown spots, this is a sign of a fungal infection (like root rot). If leaves have consistent brown spots on all the leaves in the same spots/appearance, it could be a humidity issue and your plant needs a more humid environment!
Pruning:
Dead leaves every now and then are completely normal and if your plant is also growing new leaves, it is actually a good sign to see it's shedding its older leaves.
If your plant has any dead or struggling leaves, trim them off! It's not serving your plant to hang on to them. Let your plant spend its energy on healthy and new leaves