Do plants wilt at the sight of you? With these tips, anyone can keep a houseplant alive – even you!
植物一看见你就枯萎了？采用下面的建议，任何人都能让室内植物保持存活——甚至是你。

Step 1
Pick a plant that’s tough to kill. Hardy varieties include spider, rubber, and snake plants, and pothos, aloe vera, and peace lilies.
选一个生命力顽强的植物。顽强的种类包括醉蝶花属植物， 橡胶植物（叶厚而有光泽, 常作室内盆栽）和蛇型植物，以及石柑属，芦荟和和平百合。

Step 2
Choose a good location. Plants do best in the light and temperature of their native environment. For instance, tropical plants like their surroundings bright and humid, while cacti need sunlight but very little water.
选一个好位置。植物在光照和适于它们的自然环境下的温度中生长得最好，比如：热带植物喜欢明亮且潮湿的环境，而仙人掌需要光照但只需要很少的水。

Tip:Put houseplants that thrive on humidity in the bathroom – the dampest room in the house.
将那些需要潮湿的室内盆栽植物放到洗漱室——屋子中最潮湿的地方。

Step 3
Find out your plant’s foot-candle requirement, which is how many candles it would take to light the plant from one foot away. A plant that needs 250 or fewer candles is a low-light plant; one that needs more than 1,000 requires very bright light. If your plant didn’t come with this information, search for it online.
找出植物所需要的“英尺烛光”，即在一英尺的距离需要点多少蜡烛来提供它光。需要250只蜡炬或少于250只的属于低光植物；需要超过1000只蜡烛的属于喜光植物。如果你所栽种的植物没有附带信息，可以去网上找。

Step 4
Poke the soil with your finger before watering. If it’s moist, leave it alone. Overwatering is the no. 1 killer of houseplants.
浇水前用手指戳一下泥土。如果土是湿的，就不用浇水了。过量浇水是杀死室内盆栽的头号杀手。

Step 5
Fertilize a few times between the spring and fall. Low-light plants only require fertilization once or twice a year. Slow-growing plants need less fertilizer, while faster growing varieties need more. Choose a fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Water the soil before fertilizing to prevent fertilizer burn.
在春季和秋季之间要施肥。低光植物一年只需要1至2次施肥。生长缓慢的植物需要的肥料也少，生长快的品种需要更多的肥料。选择含有氮，磷和钾的肥料。在施肥前给花浇水以免肥料被蒸发掉。

Tip:Watering your plants with the water in which you boiled vegetables or water from your fish tank gives them nutrients that help them grow.
用煮过蔬菜的水或是用洗过鱼的容器中的水来浇花，这样能会给植物营养，从而帮助它们生长。

Step 6
Talk or sing to your plants. Some research has indicated this can help them thrive, as does playing certain kinds of music. Indian sitar music works best, followed by classical music. Stay away from heavy metal: Plants exposed to loud rock music died after a few weeks in one famous experiment.
和你的植物说话或唱歌给它听。一些研究表明这么做能帮助它们存活，有些植物需要放些特定的音乐。印度西塔琴音乐效果最好，其次是古典音乐。不要放重金属音乐。在一次有名的实验中，给植物放大声的摇滚乐，结果植物很快就死掉了。