Whether you are a seasoned green thumb or just starting your gardening journey, having the right tools can make all the difference. From the essential watering can to the pruning shears that sculpt your shrubs like an artistic masterpiece, these plant care tools are the keys to unlocking a horticultural adventure like no other. So, get ready to dig in!
Table of Contents
Outdoor and Indoor Gardening Plant Care Tools
Watering Can
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Let’s begin our gardening journey with the aid of some indispensable tools: watering cans. These handy devices are a game-changer when it comes to nurturing your plants and ensuring they receive the hydration they need. Unlike a hose, a watering can deliver water in a controlled and precise manner, right at the base of your plants.
Whether you’re tending to delicate cape marguerite, shallow root flowers, or shallow root plants, or nurturing robust shrubs like anemone and poppy, a watering can offer a gentle and accurate way to provide them with the nourishment they crave. You can rely on this essential tool to care for a variety of plants, from the radiant sunshine Ligustrum and the vibrant hibiscus to the majestic delphinium. Its reliable and targeted watering ensures the health and vitality of your beloved flora
When it comes to material, watering cans are available in a range of options, primarily the classic galvanized steel. This sturdy material is known for being durable and resistant to rust. However, if you are looking for more eco-friendly watering cans, you can opt for biodegradable watering cans made from recycled plastic or biodegradable materials to nourish your houseplants.
Spray Bottle
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
You might be confused and think, we’ve got watering cans, so why do we need spray bottles? What makes a spray bottle essential is its ability to provide targeted moisture to specific areas of your plants. Plants with delicate foliage such as monstera and philodendron, for instance, crave a touch of humidity to thrive, and a regular misting from a spray bottle can be a good rescue! As with any plant maintenance tools, spray bottles often come in various materials to pick from based on your personal taste, including plastic, glass, and the more eco-friendly options.
Pruning Shears
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Some plants grow more vigorously than others and require more occasional pruning sessions to shape their growth, remove unwanted branches, as well as promote new shoots–and that’s where pruning shears reign supreme as plant care essentials! Pick a size depending on your plant’s size, for larger branches and shrubs, we recommend pruning shears in bigger sizes, but for more compact-sized plants, a smaller pair will do the trick.
Tips: Always opt for pruning shears that come with ergonomic grips or non-slip handles to enhance your comfort during the pruning sessions.
Hand Trowel
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Whether it’s for planting delicate seedlings or transferring plants to their new growing bed, hand trowels are your faithful companions. These plant care tools usually come with curved blades and ergonomic handles, to provide you with precise control over soil placement and to withstand the rigors of digging the soil. However, the compact size of the hand trowel may not be suitable for larger-scale gardening objects, as well as for digging tough or rocky soil. In these cases, alternatives like shovels or gardening forks can be more effective.
Hand Fork
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Hand forks have vital functions by gently loosening compacted soil, improving the soil’s aeration, and enhancing the soil’s structure and drainage. Nonetheless, there are some cons to consider about these plant care essentials, as they might not be effective for large shrubs and trees and deeply-rooted plants. But worry not, as digging forks and garden spades can be the best alternatives, and moreover, if you’re looking for a new tree planting tool.
Humidifier
Suitable For: Indoor gardens
If you’re living in drier and hotter climates where water can evaporate more quickly, sometimes a regular misting might not be enough, and this is why humidifiers are there to help! These plant care tools help create an optimal humidity level for your plants, especially for plants that are not tolerant to dry areas. Moreover, humidifiers are particularly crucial for tropical and subtropical plants, where high humidity is a necessity to thrive. On another positive side, humidifiers provide a consistent and controlled release of moisture, sometimes without the need for regular misting anymore.
Grow Lights
Suitable For: Indoor gardens
Are you living in a cooler climate but craving some houseplants that are more suitable for tropical and warmer climates? Fear not, as the grow lights are there to bridge the gap between your growing area and the plants’ ideal environments! Grow lights, as the name indicates, are essential plant care tools that provide alternatives to natural sunlight, by ensuring that your plants receive the adequate spectrum of light for photosynthesis purposes. With grow lights, you can create an ideal environment even during the harsh winter season.
Tips: Grow lights often come with a higher cost by setting up the installation and by the daily electricity it needs and can be much higher compared to relying solely on natural sunlight. To address this problem, you can invest in more energy-efficient devices, optimize lighting usage, and consider utilizing natural light in your indoor area by placing the plants near windows for certain full or shade-loving plants.
Soil Tester
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Not all plants tolerate slightly acidic soil. Some thrive in alkaline, while others prefer neutral soil, and that’s why soil testers are made. Soil testers help you by understanding the pH balance and provide valuable insight into the pH levels of your soil. These yard care tools are also valuable by assessing the presence of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, so you can determine which nutrients your soil is lacking. Soil testers are generally easy to use, as you can pick models that feature digital displays or color-coded indicators that are user-friendly and easy to interpret.
Gardening Gloves
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Gardening gloves are definitely essential as they help to protect your hands from sharp edges, thorny spines, and abrasive surfaces. These plant care tools are also there to protect your hand from toxin-containing sap that can be found in most aroids. If you’re planning to do a ‘makeover’ to your plants, whether it’s during the chill winter or the burning summer, you also don’t need to worry about getting your hands frozen or sun-burned!
Moisture Checker
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Most plants love moist soil, even the ones that are tolerant to some periods of drought, and that’s why you need to add a moisture checker to your gardening wish list. Moisture checker, similar to humidifiers, provides an instant and precise moisture level of your soil. This can be very beneficial for the plant itself, and also save a lot of your time by not doing unnecessary watering, which can definitely harm the plant if you’re doing it too much.
Additional Plant Care Essentials Worth Considering
Rake
Suitable For: Outdoor gardens
The benefits of rake for outdoor gardening are abundant. Firstly, rakes can be used as tools in clearing the land for planting, by helping you remove fallen leaves, bigger clippings, and other organic debris–something that would be much more difficult to do with hand forks. Moreover, a rake is way more suitable if you’re preparing the soil for planting massive plants such as maples, which usually require more gardening areas to thrive. Similar to hand forks, a rake can also be used to loosen the soil and promotes good aeration and root development for bigger-sized plants.
Plant Support
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
If you’re planning to grow plants with vining and climbing growth habits, you’ll definitely need these plant care tools. These types of plants need a reliable framework to cling to, preventing them from sprawling on the ground or tangling with the other plants. Plant support comes in a broad range of options you can pick based on your preferred style. You can use a natural-style support such as trellises made from branches or twigs, or a more stylish option like moss poles and coir poles.
Plant Saucers
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
You might have never heard about plant saucers, but these plant care tools are essential, especially if you’re the type of indoor gardener. Plant saucers are crafted to capture and hold excess water that drips from the drainage holes, saving you from unwanted water damage to your floors and furniture. Whatever the style you’re aiming for, plant saucers come in a variety of materials, from terra-cotta to ceramic, and more lightweight plastic.
Seedlings Pots
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
Seedling pots are unique plant care tools that act as the first home for your seedlings before they’re sprouted and moved to the next gardening bed for a flourishing garden. One of the most remarkable advantages of seedling pots is their portability, giving you the freedom to start growing the seedlings almost anywhere. It’s worth noting that, due to their compact size, seedling pots have limited space for the roots to grow so never make this pot your permanent plant’s home.
Gardening Schedule Board
Suitable For: Outdoor and indoor gardens
These plant care tools are completely optional, but to level up your gardening game, you might need this one. The purpose of gardening schedule boards is to help you organize which plants require watering, pruning, fertilizing, and any other specific requirements they need–moreover, if you have a lot of plants in your scenery! You can choose from traditional boards or even digital versions that can be assessed through mobile apps.
Plant Care Tools You Should Own In A Nutshell
To ensure your plants thrive and flourish, there are a few essential plant care tools you should have in your gardening box, such as pruning shears, a watering can, and a hand fork. Additional tools such as seedlings pots and plant saucers, combined with all the essential tools and your love and attention, will surely present you with a healthy and beautiful scenery!
New author in the hood. Loves gardening and flowers are my spirit animals (yes I know they are not animals but I insist). I will be covering most of the flowers’ topics here and occasionally random though as well.
