Potted plant care?

Question

I really don't know much about plants, but I adopted this pretty plant from my mom's collection and it was a little dusty so I decided to clean its leaves with olive oil.... is this a bad thing to do?

Answer 1

I would say if leaves are overly dusty, it can cut down on the usuable light that the plant might be getting -- which can be a problem in the house anyway. If it is small enough to move the plant into the kitchen sink, or bathtub, the best way to clean them is the same as Mother Nature -- rain.

I use the sprayer attachment in the kitchen sink, or the shower indoors; or the garden hose outdoors to wash off dust and to thoroughly water the plant so the water runs out of the bottom of the pot. Let them drip a bit and put them back into place.

The reason to not use something like olive oil is that plants breathe through tiny pores on the surface of the leaf, especially the undersides of the leaves. Oils may suffocate foliage which is why insecticidal oil sprays are best used when woody outdoor plants are dormant.

That being said, it is possible that your leaf polishing will do no damage at all. If in the future you want to shine up the leaves of indoor plants, it is probably safer to purchase a "Leaf Shine" at a plant store that has been manufactured for that purpose. If the plant you oiled suffers any damage from it, chances are it is not going to be bad enough to kill the plant. Most plants have enough stored energy to put out a second crop of leaves if something happens to the first. If you are worried, you could try washing the oil off with a mild soap solution, but I also have had a bad result from spraying plants with detergent solution -- thinking it would work as well as the commercially available insecticidal soap! The detergent turned every leaf brown in a couple of hours. Of course the bugs died but....not the desired result. So if you do attempt to wash it, be sure you rinse it off well and then..... rinse it again. Hope everything turns out OK!

Answer 2

Try to get the olive oil off. It has clogged the plnt so it can't breath. I use a Pledge Grab-It to dust my plants' leaves.

Answer 3

A light coating won't hurt the plant. Next time, try wiping the leaves with diluted milk.

Answer 4

Leaves need to breath.Putting oil on them will not let them breath, and neither will the dust. I some times put mine in the shower, but if you can't do that try alittle milk and water. Believe it or not, it will not only clean them but shine them also.

Answer 5

i believe just a damp cloth would do the job. i don't know if olive oil will hurt the plant ,but i wouldn't use it on any of mine.

Answer 6

I would not suggest olive oil...it will clog the leaves....a better solution is a store bought leaf shine/cleaner

Answer 7

you should be able to get some great tips on plants and the care of them here in this article