You’ve ordered some plants from overseas and you’ve sanitized them—now what? To give your rare (and pricey) purchases the best chance of survival, your next critical step is to acclimate them. In this post, I will share some methods to acclimate your rare plants.
What is acclimation?
Acclimation is simply the process of getting your plants accustomed to their new environment. In their natural and ideal habitat, plants grow under certain climate and environmental conditions and removing them from these conditions will cause stress.
In my “Importing Rare Plants From Overseas” blog post, I purchased some rare plants that are not typically found in local nurseries or big-box stores. These plants are native to the rainforests of Central and South America, in environments with warm temperatures and high humidity. They are not items that you can buy from overseas and plop into your home with the expectation that they will thrive immediately. You need to create a similar environment first and then gradually introduce them into their new environment (your home).
Rehydrate Your Plants
The first step to acclimating your plants is to rehydrate them. After undergoing the packing and shipping process, it’s likely that your plants have not had any moisture for up to seven days. However, I would not do this if your plants have rotten roots.
Place your plants into containers of fresh water. You can use municipal tap water, but depending on where you live, it will likely contain quite a bit of chlorine and hard minerals. Ideally, the best types of water are filtered water, reverse osmosis or rainwater.
I also add a bit of Superthrive to provide a boost of vitamins and nutrients and let them soak for a minimum of 24 hours. If you’re going to soak them for longer than 24 hours, make sure you change the water every day to make sure that the water stays fresh.
If your plants were a bit droopy when you first received them, soaking them overnight should perk them back up. You should see the plant regain some stiffness and resilience in the leaves and petioles. At this time, you’re ready to pot your plant up. Use a well-draining aroid mix or a semi-hydro setup.
Keep the substrate moist and place your plants in a warm, humid environment.
Keep Your Plants Humid
The second thing you want to do is create a humidity chamber. This can be something super simple or very elaborate. Essentially, you want to have a mini greenhouse or an enclosed room that can trap the warm temperature and humidity. This will also protect your plants from cold drafts, wind or drying heat from your home’s central heating. To measure humidity levels, I would strongly recommend using hygrometers. If you live in a dry climate, then a humidifier is a must.
There are a couple of ways that you can create a humidity chamber:
Plastic Bags
Use a large, clear plastic bag to cover over each plant. This is the easiest and most convenient technique, and you can reuse plastic bags that would normally end up in a landfill.
Clear Plastic Bins
The second option is to purchase a big plastic storage bin from Amazon, your local hardware store or home goods store. Line the bottom of your bin with damp sphagnum moss, put your plants inside and close the lid. This is the same technique that many people use when creating a propagation box. It is perfect for rooting smaller plants and cuttings.
Miniature greenhouses
The third option is to purchase a miniature greenhouse from your local hardware store or Amazon. Aquarium tanks are also an excellent option. Both of these are much more spacious than propagation boxes and plastic bags, so it’s possible to put very large-leafed plants inside. The greenhouses can be easily dismantled and stored away, or you can have them up permanently to display your rare plants.
Humidifiers
The last option is to keep your plants in a room and run a humidifier. Considering the fact that these rare plants come from environments with 80% – 90% humidity, this is not an option I would recommend long term. The chances of mold growing in your home increases the longer you do this. Since acclimating plants is a relatively short-term and temporary process, you should not have to run your humidifier at 90% on a permanent basis.
Most homes have humidity levels of 40% – 50% which is the minimum that most rare plants can tolerate. You want to gradually work your plants down to this level by reducing your humidity, maybe in one to two week increments. When you see your plants putting out new growth even at the lower humidity levels, then you know you’ve done it right!
One thing to remember is that you still need to give your plants their basic care needs like lighting and watering.
Keep Your Plants Warm
Plants that inhabit warm, lush rainforests will need similar temperatures when they first arrive at your home. The ideal temperatures for rare plants are between 18 – 25 degrees Celsius (65 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit). There are only a couple of options to accomplish this.
The first option is to raise the temperature on your thermostat and keep your home temperature within this ideal range. However, this can raise your utility bill quite a bit depending on where you live, so this suggestion may not work for everyone. You may also receive objections from other people that you live with as well.
The second option which is much more cost-effective and localized is to use a seedling heat mat. These mats are used primarily for seed starting by keeping greenhouse flats warm at a consistent temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (70 degree Fahrenheit). Using a seedling heat mat will keep the root zone of your rare plants warm. Combining this with a humidity chamber will make your plant acclimation much more successful.
Keep Your Plants Under Good Lighting
Most rare houseplants originate from rainforest jungles where lighting conditions are bright, but with no direct sunlight reaching their leaves. You can accomplish this by placing your plants near a window or by using grow lights. For more information, check out my care guides for Alocasias, Anthuriums and Philodendrons. Most houseplants share the same lighting requirements mentioned in those articles.
I hope this guide is helpful! If you implement these techniques, the chances of your plants acclimating successfully is much higher. But just remember, plants are living things and the tips outlined here will not guarantee survival every single time for every single plant. Sometimes, regardless of what you do, you WILL lose plants. The only thing you can do is learn from it and try again in the future.
Always Keep Growing,
Heather (a.k.a. The Botanical Chick)
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