Your Nebula planter

Thank you for giving a plant a home. A small planter makes a lovely home for one small plant, and a small pot works a little differently from a big one: it holds less soil, so it dries faster in the sun and stays wet longer in the shade. This page covers what grows well in yours and how to keep it happy.

Plants that fit

Sun and moon planters have room for one small plant and a drainage hole.

• Echeveria: a rosette succulent that loves a sunny window. Water only when the soil is completely dry.
• Haworthia: a small, striped succulent that's happy in bright light without direct sun, so it suits most rooms.
• Burro's tail (sedum): trails over the edge, which looks lovely in a hanging planter. It needs a bright spot.
• Pothos cutting: easy, forgiving and quick to trail. Bright, indirect light; water when the top 2 cm of soil feel dry.
• Air plant: needs no soil at all. Rest it in the planter, and every week or two soak it in water for 20 to 30 minutes, then let it dry upside down.

Ice cream cones have a drainage hole. The small cone fits one small succulent, the giant cone a larger plant.

Planting

1. Lay the mesh pad over the drainage hole, if your planter came with one.
2. Use a potting mix that drains fast. Cactus and succulent mix works for succulents; for pothos, mix it half and half with regular potting soil.
3. Set the plant at the same depth it grew before, firm the soil gently, and wait a day or two before its first drink.

Watering

• Feel the soil before you water: push a finger in about 2 cm. If it's dry, water; if it's cool and damp, wait.
• Water slowly until a little comes out of the hole, then empty the saucer after 15 minutes. Roots sitting in water rot.
• Succulents usually want water every one to two weeks in summer and less in winter. A pothos wants it a little more often.

Reading your plant

• Soft, see-through or mushy leaves: too much water. Let it dry right out and water less often.
• Wrinkled, thin leaves on a succulent: thirsty. Give it a good drink.
• Pale and stretching toward the window: it wants more light. Move it closer.
• Brown, crispy patches: sunburn, usually after a sudden move into strong sun. Move it gradually.

Hanging your planter

Use a sturdy hook, and check it holds before you add the plant. Remember that wet soil is heavier than dry soil.

When it outgrows the pot

When roots poke out of the hole or the plant starts to tip, move it into a bigger pot. Then start a new small plant from a cutting: pothos roots in a glass of water, and many succulents grow from a single leaf laid on dry soil.

Name your plant

Nebula Plant, our app for naming your plant and getting to know it, is free on Google Play (Android). Get Nebula Plant on Google Play.