Brooklyn-based plant doctor offers up her fool-proof methods to filling your home with green
By
Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
Bring more of the outdoors into your life by filling your home with plants. In this AccuWeather Living Well, Monica Danielle gets you started.
Many are missing connecting with nature as stay-at-home orders continue around the globe. What better way to bring more of the outdoors into your life than by filling your home with green?
Being surrounded by life is good for both your mental and physical health. Studies have shown that not only can plants improve the air quality in your home by absorbing chemicals like carbon monixide and formaldehyde from the air, but they also release oxygen.
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist who created the company Greene Piece. (Credit: Alex Bandoni)
Credit: Alex Bandoni
Acquiring and maintaining plants may seem daunting, but, according to Maryah Greene, a New York City-based plant doctor and stylist, her clients - or "plant parents" - as she calls them, often have very intense connections with their plants.
“Plants can be our emotional support the same way people have an emotional support pet or animal," Greene told AccuWeather. "Sometimes it’s a connection with a loved one who’s passed away and they’ve left a plant for you that was very meaningful to them at one point in time or it’s just a reminder."
Greene grew up in in the suburbs of Japan, where she began to adore the culture of caring for and honoring plants, according to Greene's company site, Greene Piece. When she moved to New York City a few years back, "the vacant city lights and concrete felt off in comparison," to her experience in Japan, and she realized she was not the only one that felt trapped in the concrete jungle of the city.
Her company grew from that idea, helping clients to cultivate their own green thumbs by finding the right plants for the right spaces taking sunlight, temperature and lifestyle into account.
“A lot of my clients are sort of coming out of a divorce or they’ve moved to a new town or a new city and they’re starting from square one with their apartment and I think it’s the perfect time to get a new plant because a year from now you see all these new leaves and it feels like you’ve just got here yesterday, so it’s a really nice reminder of how far you’ve come.” Greene said.
Where to begin? Greene advises to take it slowly. Start with one plant.
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist who owns the company Greene Piece. (Instagram / Greene.Piece)
Identify a space
Greene says most people acquire plants in a backward fashion: They find the plant first and bring it home. “You want to sort of reverse your thinking when it comes to bringing a plant into your space. I’ve found that the most common way people think when bringing in a plant is go to a nursery or a plant shop, ‘This is a beautiful plant, I’m bringing it home.’ It should actually be the opposite way of thinking. ‘I have this empty spot right above my piano and I’m thinking, 'Oh, I’m getting some bright and direct light here. What type of plant would go good for that space?'”
Assess lighting and temperature
Once you've identified a space, determine the lighting and temperature situation. "When you think about lighting you can think of it on a spectrum from bright direct light all the way down to low light and in between there’s indirect light,” Greene advises.
Is your ideal space on a window sill that receives direct sunlight? Maybe you live in a basement apartment with low light? Perhaps the best spot for your plant is in a bedroom with indirect window light. Knowing what kind of sunlight your plant will receive will make all the difference when choosing which one is right for you.
Choose your plant
Once you know the space, lighting and temperature, choosing your first plant is easier. You can order plants online at places like Rooted NYC. All the information about the plant including light, size, watering schedule and even whether it's pet friendly is available.
One of the best ways to care for a plant is to know where it's originally from so you can mimic its original environment, Greene said. “One of the tropical plants that I have, my Monstera, is getting a lot of bright light, it isn't getting any direct light, but it’s getting a lot of indirect light, and I also have a humidifier next to it to try and get that jungle-y vibe in the corner of my Brooklyn apartment.”
Maryah Greene. (Credit: Joy Imani Bullock)
Joy Imani Bullock
If all that seems too complicated, Greene says there are plants that are perfect for beginners.
"The ZZ plant is a gift from above because it is indestructible. The ZZ plant does really well in really low light ... So you can put it in a basement and it would be completely fine, thriving. It also only needs water once a month.”
Don't over or under water
One of the biggest mistakes people make with their plants is over-watering, Greene notes. "I see over-watering as two different things. Over-watering can be watering too often or the quantity of water that you’re giving a plant."
So how can you tell what's happening with your plant? "When you’re watering your plant too often you’re going to start to see the leaves turn brown and soggy and you won’t really feel any sort of rubbery give to the leaves, and then if you’re watering too little you’re going to start to see the leaves crisp up and dry out sort of like a potato chip."
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist in New York City.
Instagram.com/Greene.Piece
If you're not sure what's up with your plant, don't water it more. Greene says the best thing you can do is leave it alone. "When you’re thinking about some of the best things you can do when you’re thinking about whether or not you should give the plant anything is just give it a break, that’s my number one tip.”
Incorporate the plant into your schedule
Once you've got your plant settled, incorporate checking on it into your schedule. Greene says you'll soon find you're looking forward to seeing how your plant is doing. “One of the things I do to make it a part of my day-to-day is when I wake up and make my coffee and go through that whole regimen, that’s when I check in with my plants. So instead of having it seem like it’s an additional duty that you’re adding to your schedule, whatever that may look like right now, if you’re adding it in and making sure it’s a priority just as much as brushing your teeth and getting your coffee, it’ll feel like a moment of zen every time you go and check in on that plant.”
Report a Typo
News / Recreation
Brooklyn-based plant doctor offers up her fool-proof methods to filling your home with green
By Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
Bring more of the outdoors into your life by filling your home with plants. In this AccuWeather Living Well, Monica Danielle gets you started.
Many are missing connecting with nature as stay-at-home orders continue around the globe. What better way to bring more of the outdoors into your life than by filling your home with green?
Being surrounded by life is good for both your mental and physical health. Studies have shown that not only can plants improve the air quality in your home by absorbing chemicals like carbon monixide and formaldehyde from the air, but they also release oxygen.
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist who created the company Greene Piece. (Credit: Alex Bandoni)
Acquiring and maintaining plants may seem daunting, but, according to Maryah Greene, a New York City-based plant doctor and stylist, her clients - or "plant parents" - as she calls them, often have very intense connections with their plants.
“Plants can be our emotional support the same way people have an emotional support pet or animal," Greene told AccuWeather. "Sometimes it’s a connection with a loved one who’s passed away and they’ve left a plant for you that was very meaningful to them at one point in time or it’s just a reminder."
Greene grew up in in the suburbs of Japan, where she began to adore the culture of caring for and honoring plants, according to Greene's company site, Greene Piece. When she moved to New York City a few years back, "the vacant city lights and concrete felt off in comparison," to her experience in Japan, and she realized she was not the only one that felt trapped in the concrete jungle of the city.
Her company grew from that idea, helping clients to cultivate their own green thumbs by finding the right plants for the right spaces taking sunlight, temperature and lifestyle into account.
“A lot of my clients are sort of coming out of a divorce or they’ve moved to a new town or a new city and they’re starting from square one with their apartment and I think it’s the perfect time to get a new plant because a year from now you see all these new leaves and it feels like you’ve just got here yesterday, so it’s a really nice reminder of how far you’ve come.” Greene said.
Where to begin? Greene advises to take it slowly. Start with one plant.
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist who owns the company Greene Piece. (Instagram / Greene.Piece)
Identify a space
Greene says most people acquire plants in a backward fashion: They find the plant first and bring it home. “You want to sort of reverse your thinking when it comes to bringing a plant into your space. I’ve found that the most common way people think when bringing in a plant is go to a nursery or a plant shop, ‘This is a beautiful plant, I’m bringing it home.’ It should actually be the opposite way of thinking. ‘I have this empty spot right above my piano and I’m thinking, 'Oh, I’m getting some bright and direct light here. What type of plant would go good for that space?'”
Assess lighting and temperature
Once you've identified a space, determine the lighting and temperature situation. "When you think about lighting you can think of it on a spectrum from bright direct light all the way down to low light and in between there’s indirect light,” Greene advises.
Is your ideal space on a window sill that receives direct sunlight? Maybe you live in a basement apartment with low light? Perhaps the best spot for your plant is in a bedroom with indirect window light. Knowing what kind of sunlight your plant will receive will make all the difference when choosing which one is right for you.
Choose your plant
Once you know the space, lighting and temperature, choosing your first plant is easier. You can order plants online at places like Rooted NYC. All the information about the plant including light, size, watering schedule and even whether it's pet friendly is available.
One of the best ways to care for a plant is to know where it's originally from so you can mimic its original environment, Greene said. “One of the tropical plants that I have, my Monstera, is getting a lot of bright light, it isn't getting any direct light, but it’s getting a lot of indirect light, and I also have a humidifier next to it to try and get that jungle-y vibe in the corner of my Brooklyn apartment.”
Maryah Greene. (Credit: Joy Imani Bullock)
If all that seems too complicated, Greene says there are plants that are perfect for beginners.
"The ZZ plant is a gift from above because it is indestructible. The ZZ plant does really well in really low light ... So you can put it in a basement and it would be completely fine, thriving. It also only needs water once a month.”
Don't over or under water
One of the biggest mistakes people make with their plants is over-watering, Greene notes. "I see over-watering as two different things. Over-watering can be watering too often or the quantity of water that you’re giving a plant."
So how can you tell what's happening with your plant? "When you’re watering your plant too often you’re going to start to see the leaves turn brown and soggy and you won’t really feel any sort of rubbery give to the leaves, and then if you’re watering too little you’re going to start to see the leaves crisp up and dry out sort of like a potato chip."
Maryah Greene is a plant doctor and stylist in New York City.
If you're not sure what's up with your plant, don't water it more. Greene says the best thing you can do is leave it alone. "When you’re thinking about some of the best things you can do when you’re thinking about whether or not you should give the plant anything is just give it a break, that’s my number one tip.”
Incorporate the plant into your schedule
Once you've got your plant settled, incorporate checking on it into your schedule. Greene says you'll soon find you're looking forward to seeing how your plant is doing. “One of the things I do to make it a part of my day-to-day is when I wake up and make my coffee and go through that whole regimen, that’s when I check in with my plants. So instead of having it seem like it’s an additional duty that you’re adding to your schedule, whatever that may look like right now, if you’re adding it in and making sure it’s a priority just as much as brushing your teeth and getting your coffee, it’ll feel like a moment of zen every time you go and check in on that plant.”
Report a Typo