5 Signs You're Overthinking Plant Care (And How to Relax)

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever found yourself overthinking over a yellow leaf and wondering, “Is this overwatering or underwatering? Does it need water? Is this normal?” You’re just like the rest of us, plant friend! It's something I've done many, many times, and I know it's something that people in our community do all the time. We all want to get it right, but overthinking plant care can suck the joy right out of it. But in 2025, we need as much joy and as little stress as possible. So here are 5 signs you might be overthinking your plant care and how to fix it!

In this episode, we learn:

[02:57] Common overthinking traps in plant care
[03:54] Five tips to stop overthinking plant care
[04:33] Sign #1: You Google every little thing
[09:34] Sign #2: You’re watering on a rigid schedule (and believing plant care cards)
[12:55] Alternative to a finger test
[14:10] Sign #3: You panic over every yellow leaf
[15:37] Grow healthier plants, indoors and out, with Espoma Organic’s premium products!
[18:06] Sign #4: You throw the ‘kitchen sink approach’ at small issues
[19:40] Sign #5: You think you need to be a 'perfect' plant parent
[23:34] How to relax & enjoy your plants more

Mentioned in our conversation:

Want to lessen your stress over plant care?

Check out the full show notes and blog here!

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

Espoma Organic

Lessen you're overthinking, make sure you're using nontoxic products on your houseplants! Espoma Organic is dedicated to making safe indoor and outdoor gardening products for people, pets, and the planet. They have an amazing variety of high-quality, organic potting mixes, garden soil, fertilizers, and pest control products that are organic and eco-friendly. To top it all off, they have a huge sustainability commitment with a 100% solar-powered plant, zero waste manufacturing, and eco-friendly packaging.

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Have you ever found yourself spiraling over a yellow leaf?
0:03.3	Wondering, is this overwatering or underwatering?
0:05.8	Does it need water?
0:06.8	Does it need to be left alone?
0:08.0	Is this normal?
0:09.4	You might be overthinking your plant care and you're not alone.
0:12.3	It's something I've done many, many times.
0:14.9	And I know it's something that people in our community do all the time.
0:18.3	Now, the intention of overthinking plant care is pure.
0:22.3	You just want to do it right.
0:27.8	You just want to get it correct. However, the problem with overthinking is that it takes the joy out of plant care, right? All of a sudden, you're stressing about doing it right instead of just
0:32.5	enjoying the plant that is in front of your eyes. And in 2025, we need as much joy as possible and as little
0:38.7	stress as possible. The world will give us our stress. Our plants don't need to give us stress.
0:43.3	So let's dive in to five different ways you might be overthinking plant care and how to fix it.
0:59.4	Welcome to the Growing Joy with Plants podcast, where we not only learn how to care for plants successfully, but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate more joy
1:04.3	in our lives by doing so. I'm Maria, former plant killer turned happy plant lady, author of
1:10.1	Growing Joy, The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness, Speaker, Podcaster, and most importantly, your new best plant friend.
1:16.8	On Growing Joy with Plants, you'll find conversations about house plant care, gardening tutorials, and wellness through the lens of plants.
1:23.2	Plant care is self-care on growing joy.
1:33.3	Hello, my plant friend. I'm Maria. I'm here to help you care for plants and grow joy.
1:37.5	If you are a new listener, welcome. And if you are a returning listener, such an honor to be a part of your plant parenthood journey.
1:43.6	I really hope this episode
	...

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