Unboxing & First-Week Care

Your plant just spent 1–4 days in a dark box. The first 14 days at your house aren’t “new plant care” — they’re transit recovery. Here’s what to do, and what to leave alone.

Day 0 — Unboxing

1. Open the box right-side up. Cut the tape on top, don’t flip.
2. Photograph everything before you remove it — the box, the packaging, the plant inside. If you’ll need to file a damage claim, you have 48 hours and these photos are the evidence.
3. Lift the plant out by the pot, never by the stem or leaves. Remove paper sleeves and tape gently; some leaves may unstick with a tiny tear, that’s fine.
4. Check the soil. Bone dry? Water lightly until it drains. Damp? Don’t water — wait.
5. Place it in indirect light. Bright spot, not direct sun. Direct sun on a transit-stressed plant will scorch leaves within hours.

Days 1–3 — Acclimation

Expect: a few yellow lower leaves, mild droop, maybe a single dropped leaf. None of that is a problem — the plant is reallocating energy from leaves it can’t support to roots it needs.

• Don’t fertilize. Stressed roots burn easily.
• Don’t repot. The plant is using the nursery pot’s familiar root environment to anchor itself.
• Don’t move it around. Pick a spot and leave it there for at least two weeks.
• Don’t mist obsessively. A short pebble tray or a humidifier set to 50–60% is fine. Wet leaves invite fungal issues, especially on Calatheas and ferns.

Days 4–14 — First Watering & Observation

Stick a finger 2 inches into the soil. If dry, water until you see drainage from the bottom holes, then let it drain fully — never let the pot sit in standing water. If the top inch is still moist, wait another day.

What’s normal: continued slow leaf yellowing on the lowest 1–2 leaves, no new growth yet, leaves orienting toward the light source. What’s not: rapid full-plant yellowing, black mushy stems, leaves with white webbing or sticky residue, or sudden total collapse — those are the moments to contact us.

Week 3–4 — Repot If Needed

By now the plant has either acclimated or it hasn’t. If it has — new growth is starting, leaves are firm, soil dries down predictably between waterings — you can repot if the original pot is too small or you want a decorative pot. Step up one pot size only (a 4″ plant goes into a 5″ or 6″ pot, not an 8″).

If the plant still looks stressed at week 4, hold off on repotting and email us with photos — we’ll diagnose first.

Quick reference: what’s normal vs. file a claim

When in doubt — photograph and email us. We’d rather diagnose by photo than have you guess.