Q&A: Darryl Cheng

Darryl Cheng, creator of the Instagram account House Plant Journal (@houseplantjournal) and author of “The New Plant Parent,” takes an engineer’s approach to houseplant care. Since he started House Plant Journal, first on Tumblr, then YouTube, then Instagram, he’s answered thousands of questions about plant care. Cheng has grown the House Plant Journal Instagram account to 631,000 followers. With engaging content like time lapse videos showing how houseplants react to light to useful how-to tips on better ways to care for your houseplants, his followers are eager for more from Cheng.

He's built his brand as a houseplant influencer, using his engineering background to explain the science of how plants can thrive. His insights and candor have turned him into a top resource for houseplant care on the internet. He’s even developed his own take on the light meter, which provides a more accurate assessment of exactly how much light a plant was receiving. Cheng’s LTH meter, which also measures temperature and humidity, is available from his online store.

As an engineer, he likes to solve problems. The big question he wanted to answer was how to measure light levels indoors. The typical light meter measures what’s considered adequate light in nature. Early in his houseplant journey, he realized the phrase “bright, indirect light” lacked the data needed to assess how much light your plant was actually getting.

“There’s no such thing as a green thumb, only people with large, unobstructed windows,” he jokes.

Garden Center spoke with Cheng about his thoughts on houseplants and helping new plant parents be successful.

How did you get into indoor plant gardening?

My mom asked me to help her decorate the house with houseplants but because she claimed to be bad with houseplants, I needed to figure out how to care for them. This was confusing because she taught me how to do outdoor gardening. When I started reading houseplant care advice, I understood why she didn't understand indoor plants: houseplants were always portrayed as decor that requires maintenance, causing people to believe every minor blemish was ‘something wrong.’ People expected plants to stay perfect so long as they cared for them properly.

Why did you start House Plant Journal?

My goal in starting House Plant Journal, in writing 'The New Plant Parent', and in creating my online course 'Essentials of Houseplant Enjoyment' is to help people break away from the perfection-driven approach to houseplant care so they can truly enjoy plants. It's a mix of science and realistic expectations to make houseplant care a more rewarding experience.

You built your following on Instagram. What are the current houseplant trends you’re seeing there? How have they changed since you wrote your book?

There's definitely a growth in the "plant collecting" aspect of the hobby — not just for adding plants as decor. The use of grow lights is more widespread due to the availability of cheaper and more home-friendly products. This means people can create more optimal environments for more expensive plants.

What factors do you consider when planning a post?

For time lapse videos, I just want to show a commonly available plant doing something that no one has seen at very high speed — like a leaf unfurling. The editing is very important: people scroll past things very quickly so the video must be engaging within the first few seconds. The overall clip should be no longer than 10-20 seconds.

With recent Instagram changes, I feel like regular posts don't reach as wide an audience as they used to, which makes it discouraging to spend so much time writing an informative caption only to have it reach a small percentage of your previous reach. Still, I try to write in my usual style: specific and impactful houseplant care advice — not the usual basic tips and tricks found on every website.

Why did you develop the LTH meter? How does it differ from what was already available?

I wanted a device that was compact and easy to hold. Most others are bulky and awkward to carry around. I also wanted to provide more environmental data so I added temperature and humidity readings. There is no other device that displays all three (light, temperature, and humidity) in one device.

On your site, you have a ton of real houseplant problems people have sent to you. You also offer several different levels of consulting help. How long have you been helping houseplant owners this way, and how has this part of your business grown since you started?

I recently started going to the gym and hired a personal trainer. While it is completely possible to learn all kinds of exercises from YouTube, you don't get direct feedback from an expert. This is the same idea with houseplant care. For generations, you would just hear tips and tricks in passing, try to implement them at home, but inevitably remain disappointed with the plant. People lose hope and label themselves a ‘plant killer.’

With the ability to have virtual meetings, I'm able to see exactly what kind of environment people have provided for their plants and I can ask specific questions related to their care habits.

I have been doing these consultations along with discrete questions via email for several years now. It is a smaller portion of my total income.

For more: www.houseplantjournal.com