This guide is 1,098 words, a 4 min and 23 sec reading time. It was co-written with houseplant expert David Dekevich. To learn more about David check out the partner lesson, The Joy of Indoor Gardening 🎬🌟🎙. Pot, plant, gloves & drip tray ⚡️ TLDR: Water approximately once per week, soak the roots, and ensure the pot has drainage. 📍 Introduction Indoor gardening is rewarding, fun, and once you get the hang of it, relaxing. Additionally, plants bring nature into the home, help rejuvenate the air, make a room feel cozier, and add a dash of flair at a very low cost.  With a bit of knowledge, anyone can become a proud plant parent. Requiring just light, water, soil, and nutrients, houseplants can survive (and even thrive!) in almost any home.  So take a deep breath and snag that cute succulent you see at the store. As the old saying goes, if you have a window, you can have a plant! 🪴 ⚙️ Gear  Required Plant Soil  Pot/planter Optional/recommended:  Saucer/plastic drip tray (like these)  Fertilizer/nutrients (e.g., Miracle Grow)  Watering can  Gardening gloves  📑 Lesson Glossary Container: also known as a plastic container or nursery container -- what the plant comes in Pot: also known as a decorative pot: what you put the container/plant in Root rot: a disease that attacks the roots of plants growing in wet soil Rootbound: having roots formed into a dense, tangled mass that allows little or no space for further growth  ✅ Potting Instructions:  Basic Potting (Nursery container inside a decorative pot)  Ensure plastic nursery container fits inside your decorative pot   If the pot has holes, place a plastic drip tray inside, or saucer underneath   Carefully lower plant into decorative pot & place in new home  Repotting (e.g., into a larger nursery container or decorative pot)  Remove the plant from the container.  If the plant is root-bound (e.g., roots circling plant), loosen roots & soil.  Fill the new container (or a decorative pot with holes) ~25% full with soil.  Place the plant inside & fill in the empty space with soil. Leave ~ 1 inch of space from the top. Top with pebbles/moss/gravel (optional) 📝 Notes, Tips, and Tricks: Shopping for Plants & Gear:  Hardware & home supply stores (e.g., Ace, Lowe's, Home Depot) typically carry required gear. Plant shops and nurseries usually have a greater variety of plants and pots.   For unique or one-of-a-kind pots & planters, consider furniture & home goods stores, garage/estate sales, thrift shops, flea markets, & swapping with friends.   Recommended online plant shop: Delano, The Sill, Ansel & Ivy For rare or exotic plants, check out Etsy and plant groups on Facebook. (Tip: make sure you are buying plants, not seeds)  To save money, consider buying younger/smaller plants as opposed to fully grown ones.  For beginners, fast-growing plants are particularly entertaining. However, they are also likely to outgrow their pots sooner.  Pots & Potting:  Pots are typically for single plants; planters are wider & hold multiple plants. Pots must have a mechanism for drainage, or the roots will sit in water, leading to root rot. Root rot (the growth of bacteria or fungus around the roots) is the leading cause of early plant death. A pot should be about 0-2 inches larger than the plant. If too small, the roots crowd & become rootbound, hindering the plant's ability to grow. If too big, there will be too much soil, leading to overwatering and root rot.  Filling the plant too high with soil leads to overflow when watering.  If a pot has holes, you can use a plastic drip tray inside or saucer outside. This will protect surfaces from dripping water. Alternatively, tuck it into a small, rolled-over ziplock bag.  Potting soil works well for most indoor plants. Cactuses & succulents thrive best i