You’ve tried talking to them, but have you tried essential oils for your houseplants? Plant parents, this one's for you! 

Whether your home looks like a rainforest or you’re just trying to keep your succulents alive (we’ve all been there!), you’re on the right track.

Houseplants are good for mental and physical health. But they can also come with their challenges. Whether it’s mold, spots on the leaves, or insects taking over, houseplants sometimes need special care. Thankfully, if you’re trying to avoid using harsh chemicals on your plant babies (and in the air you breathe), there are many essential oils that can help your houseplants!

Peppermint

Are insects throwing off your indoor jungle vibe? Peppermint essential oil repels common culprits such as aphids and mealybugs, in addition to fleas, lice, spiders, ants, beetles, caterpillars, flies, moths, and plant lice! Besides looking ugly, insects can eventually kill your houseplants. Take care of this problem with peppermint! 

Rosemary

As many plant parents know, pests can often invade your houseplants! Rosemary can repel insects like mosquitoes, moths, flies, and ticks that might want to take up residence in your potted plants. And rosemary essential oil will even keep insect larvae off your plants. Also, if you have a problem with your cats peeing in your houseplants, rosemary should do the trick!  

Tea Tree 

Tea tree essential oil helps get rid of fungal growth on your plants. Fungus not only makes your plants less pretty, but can eventually harm or even kill your houseplants. Tea tree can also repel ants, flies, and other houseplant pests. Be careful with tea tree though, as it can sometimes increase the risk of sun damage to leaves if applied to plants placed in direct sunlight. Tea tree works best when applied to plants that live in indirect sunlight. 

Lemongrass

Lemongrass keeps gnats, spiders, chiggers, fleas, mosquitoes, flies, ticks, mealybugs, and ants at bay! Lemongrass also promotes plant growth! Win-win!

Frankincense

If you want an essential oil that promotes general plant health, give frankincense a try. It helps promote healthy growth and helps keep your plants looking great. 

Lavender 

Did you know that lavender is an all-natural insect repellent? It works great at keeping chiggers, fleas, flies, mosquitoes, moths, spiders, and ticks off your plants. 

Cedarwood

Cedarwood is often used as a toxin-free insect repellent. It keeps aphids, mealybugs, lice, moths, slugs, and weevils away. If you’ve ever dealt with aphids or mealybugs on your plants, you know that they can be very annoying! Before resorting to chemicals, give cedarwood a try! 

Eucalyptus 

Eucalyptus repels midges, sandflies, ticks, and other insects who might be bothering you and your plants. 

How to Apply Essential Oils to Houseplants

You can add a few drops of essential oils to distilled water* in a glass spray bottle and spray it onto your plants. Start with a low concentration of essential oils, around 10 drops of essential oils per 16oz of distilled water. If problems persist and your plants show no signs of reverse reactions, increase the amount of essential oil in your spray. 

You can also diffuse essential oils near your plants. But if you need to target a specific area of your plant for fungus or larvae, spraying might be better. However, diffusing near your plants works great as a general pest deterrent, fungus fighter, and growth booster. Add about 10 drops total of essential oils to your diffuser and limit diffusing to 1-2 hours per day per room so you don’t overwhelm your plants! 

*Why distilled water? It helps ensure that contaminants don’t get on your plants and also increases the shelf life of your homemade plant sprays! 

Additional Benefits of Using Essential Oils on Houseplants