How to Clean and Maintain the Leaves of Your Plants

Keeping plant leaves clean is not just an aesthetic matter: it is also a key aspect to guaranteeing their health and vitality. The dust and residues that accumulate there can become favorable agents for the proliferation of pests, such as mites and aphids, as well as the development of fungal diseases, that is to say originating from fungi.

This is probably something that you have noticed when returning from a long vacation and your little plants have been left adrift: among the dust and dirt, a kind of dandruff can also appear, a pest that, if not is not controlled, is capable of harming the health of plants. Therefore, cleaning the leaves regularly helps prevent the appearance and spread of these problems.

“The accumulation of dust, dirt or debris on the leaves can hinder the plant’s ability to photosynthesize,” explains Wilma Borchers, environmental and natural resources engineer, founder of Irene’s garden .

This directly affects the stomata, much like the pores in our skin, located on the surface of leaves. “They are crucial for several vital plant functions, including respiration, transpiration (water loss) and gas exchange, such as the absorption of carbon dioxide and the release of oxygen,” he explains. .

No! Daniela Maldonado, founder of El Jardinista, comments that some leaves require special processes or products. For example, plants with tough leaves, that is, those with a shiny upper surface that is firm and soft to the touch, such as gum trees, ficus, chefleras or aralias, “can be cleaned with a cloth , with a cleaning palette, with water or with a silicone-free product.

But there are also others that are more sensitive to water, “like certain succulent plants, which have a waxy coating that protects them from dehydration, or plants with thinner, rough, hairy leaves, which can be damaged by excess humidity or the presence of cleaning products on its leaves,” explains Borchers.

It’s a simple process and you can do it in different ways. A soft, damp cloth, sponge or jet of water is sufficient. It is also ideal to do it with potassium soap, “which will help us eliminate mineral salt stains in the case of plants with smooth leaves, with a leathery texture,” explains Borchers.

For plants with moisture-sensitive leaves, such as begonias, “other gentler methods should be used, such as simply using a brush to remove dust.” It is generally suggested to spray garden plants heavily with the hose, “to clean and control pests.”

A tip for high temperatures, and it can work especially if you leave your plants alone for a few days in the heat. “You can give all the leaves a good shower from the top and bottom when the temperature is low,” recommends Maldonado. That is, early in the morning or late in the evening.

No. As we said, there are plants and there are plants. To know which is yes and which is not, check the roughness of the blade. “Spraying would be beneficial in the case of tropical plants or orchids, which need humidity; This, however, would not be the case in succulents or rough plants,” warns Borchers, which tolerates direct water poorly.

Spraying increases the humidity of the environment, “something that tropical plants love, because this way they stay healthy and hydrated and relieve seasons of excessive heat”, which in Chile are usually very dry.

To spray properly, Maldonado recommends doing it away from the leaves, “at least 20 cm.” The goal is to keep the environment moist, “not to keep the leaves wet, as that could damage them.” “Small leaves that are about to open can be burned or damaged by fungal attack, especially if the temperature is high.”

Spraying is also an action capable of strengthening pest prevention, “since it keeps the leaves clean and moist and can reduce the likelihood of diseases, which are usually opportunistic and attack dirty, dry or weak plants”, adds Borchers. She points out the following warnings for spraying correctly:

• Avoid spraying during sunny hours : especially if your plants are in a garden, because a magnifying effect occurs: the leaves will burn and become marked.
• Be careful when spraying flowers : The petals don’t like water. They can contract fungus and scar themselves.
• Better not to spray at very low temperatures : the water does not evaporate and remains deposited on the leaf, increasing the risk of contracting fungi due to excess humidity.
• Try spraying filtered water: This way you will not leave stains of mineral salts present in drinking water on the leaves of your plants.

One of the most common tricks on social media associated with cleaning leaves is to do it with the peel of a banana. Since it was so popular, Maldonado was encouraged to try this acclaimed trend. “It occurred to us to clean up some Ficus lyrata with a banana peel, because we had read that it was impressive, that it was very good. But after two days, the leaves started to turn a medium black-brown color, and then they fell off. Horror,” he said.

What happened, according to what he investigated, was that the plant became dehydrated and that’s why the leaves were lost. “The whole question of homemade recipes must be taken with caution. If people are willing to do it, it’s best to try one or two leaves and see if the result is good. Continue there, but I don’t recommend it… It’s better to try with products or methods that have already been tested and work,” he says.

Regarding products, both professionals agree that the best option, especially if the blade is very dirty, is to use potassium soap. “It helps clean dirt, eliminate traces of mineral salts present in the water and also, incidentally, prevent the appearance of pests,” explains Borchers.

The product suggested by El Jardinista is Lucet, an organic, silicone-free cleaner that helps keep plants free of dirt. It is used on plants with leathery leaves, smooth blades, without trichomes such as monsteras, gum trees, ficus, philodendrons and palm trees. It should be applied once a month, in the shade and at the lowest temperature. “Wipe with a clean cloth, distributing the product over the leaf blade, removing dust, water stains and fungicide stains,” it says in the description of the product sheet.

The last recommendation from the founder of El Jardinista is to pay attention to foliar fertilizers. “I prefer to use fertilizer in irrigation, to avoid having to remove these fertilizer stains from the leaves,” he recommends.

*Product prices in this article are current as of December 12, 2023. Values ​​and availability are subject to change.