Plant Care
XLUX Moisture Meter Review: 6 Months of Daily Use on 31 Houseplants
Six months, 31 houseplants, and one battery-free probe. Here is what the XLUX got right, what it got wrong, and whether it actually stopped me overwatering.
A string of pearls, two calatheas, and a maidenhair fern later, I finally bought a moisture meter. Here is what changed, and why the meter earned its spot on the windowsill.
Six months, 31 houseplants, and one battery-free probe. Here is what the XLUX got right, what it got wrong, and whether it actually stopped me overwatering.
The finger test is free and always with you. The XLUX reads the root zone. I ran both side by side for a year to see which one actually saves plants.
A plain battery-free probe ended a decade of overwatering in my apartment. These are the ten ways it earned its place by the east window.
A string of pearls, two calatheas, and a maidenhair fern later, I finally bought a moisture meter. Here is what changed, and why the meter earned its spot on the windowsill.
Stop watering on a schedule and start watering on need, using a moisture meter and a five step Sunday routine that takes about twenty minutes.
Nine years of keeping a fiddle leaf fig alive, and the battery-free two-pack that changed how I water. Includes the one reading that nearly cost me the plant.
I ran the GooingTop grow light over my dimmest apartment window for six months. Here is what it did for my plants and what it did to my electric bill.
An eight-week side-by-side test comparing a GooingTop grow light to a real east-facing window, with the numbers, the failures, and who should buy which.
Ten reasons a grow light matters more in a rental apartment than it does in a house with a yard and south-facing glass.
A north-facing bedroom window, a pothos that stopped growing, and the small clip-on light that brought it back.
Five steps to stop your houseplants stretching toward a window that cannot help them, from a Portland apartment where every window is a compromise.
After six months with a GooingTop grow light in a third-floor walk-up, here is what it saved, what it did not, and what I should have done differently.
A six-month test of the GARDENIX DECOR 3-pack from a Portland apartment with one good window and a once-a-week watering habit.
I put the Gardenix self-watering pots next to the plain plastic nursery pots they replaced, on the exact plants that struggled most. One of them forgives a missed week. The other does not.
Ten reasons a self-watering pot fixes the problems that come with apartment living.
How a three-pack of self-watering pots changed my Sunday routine, and what they still could not fix.
Set up a self-watering pot in five steps and stop letting a busy week cost you a plant.
I left for ten days with the reservoirs full and came home to one dropped leaf. Here is the full honest review after six months of use.
Six months, 31 houseplants, one pair of shears. Here is what actually happened when I stopped using kitchen scissors.
I used kitchen scissors on my plants for years. Here is what changed when I switched to the VIVOSUN pruning shears, and when you should stick with the scissors.
Ten reasons a dedicated pair of pruning snips does more for a houseplant collection than kitchen scissors ever will. Kitchen scissors tear stems. These cut them clean.
I cut stems with kitchen scissors for nine years. Then a pair of VIVOSUN pruning shears made me wonder why I waited.
A step by step guide to pruning stretched, leggy houseplants back into shape with a clean pair of snips.
A year of Sunday-morning trims on 31 houseplants with one pair of VIVOSUN shears. The honest list of what held up, what spotted, and who should buy them.
Six months of dry forced-air heat, one small 500ml tank, and 31 houseplants that stopped crisping at the edges. Here is the long-term report.
I ran both for three weeks with a hygrometer in a dry Portland apartment. Here is what actually moved the number.
Ten reasons dry apartment air is quietly working against your houseplants, and what actually raises humidity around them.
Two calatheas died on my watch before I tried a small humidifier. Here is what happened with the third one.
A step-by-step guide to measuring, placing, filling, and running a small humidifier so tropical houseplants stop crisping at the edges.
The honest version of my MOVTIP mini humidifier review: what it actually did for my plants, the refill schedule I settled into, and where it came up short.
Six months, 31 houseplants, and one battery-free probe. Here is what the XLUX got right, what it got wrong, and whether it actually stopped me overwatering.
Nine years of keeping a fiddle leaf fig alive, and the battery-free two-pack that changed how I water. Includes the one reading that nearly cost me the plant.
I ran the GooingTop grow light over my dimmest apartment window for six months. Here is what it did for my plants and what it did to my electric bill.
After six months with a GooingTop grow light in a third-floor walk-up, here is what it saved, what it did not, and what I should have done differently.
A six-month test of the GARDENIX DECOR 3-pack from a Portland apartment with one good window and a once-a-week watering habit.
I left for ten days with the reservoirs full and came home to one dropped leaf. Here is the full honest review after six months of use.
Six months, 31 houseplants, one pair of shears. Here is what actually happened when I stopped using kitchen scissors.
A year of Sunday-morning trims on 31 houseplants with one pair of VIVOSUN shears. The honest list of what held up, what spotted, and who should buy them.
Six months of dry forced-air heat, one small 500ml tank, and 31 houseplants that stopped crisping at the edges. Here is the long-term report.
The honest version of my MOVTIP mini humidifier review: what it actually did for my plants, the refill schedule I settled into, and where it came up short.