Q&A With NU Sophomore Austin Li: How Can a College Student Be An Expert Plant Owner?
Austin Li, a sophomore at Northwestern University, is a houseplant enthusiast, who owns around eight houseplants at the moment. Photo by Austin Li
Houseplants are absolutely everywhere. From Tik Tok to Instagram, from dorm rooms to the Tech geology department lounge (which is, yes, full of plants), the houseplant trend is extremely apparent. While the rise in plant popularity has been going on for the past few years due to factors such as urbanization and interior design trends, it certainly does not seem to be slowing. Plants are particularly common among young adults and teens, including college students. The task of keeping houseplants alive can be daunting and dissuades many college students from buying plants, but a lot of students still manage to balance plant care with their busy schedules. I interviewed Austin Li - a sophomore at Northwestern and houseplant enthusiast - to hear about his experience with plant care, his thoughts on the current trends, and get his tips for new plant parents.
How many houseplants do you have?
I think I have eight right now and in high school, it was closer to 17. Well, with air plants that would be like 22, but my mom takes care of them now because I guess she’s an avid gardener now.
How much time do you typically spend on plant care?
Austin also has two fish tanks, filled with fish, shrimp, snails, and aquatic plants. He uses the old water from the tanks to water his plants in order to fertilize them. Photo by Austin Li
Maybe like, ten minutes biweekly to be honest… [I]t’s difficult to find a time frame because the only time I take care of my plants is when I change water for my fish tanks and then use the fish poop water to water my plants.
Which of your plants is your favorite?
I think the first plant that I ever got was my favorite. So, I got this sophomore year of high school, so it’s been like four years now. It’s [a] tiny cactus that hasn’t grown much because I’ve been neglectful, but I got this cactus after I failed an AP Chem test, and I was like “Oh my god my future is over, might as well become like a plant man.” I went and got a plant and it made my day so much better… [W]eeks after that, like every time I would do Chem homework, I would despise it, but then I’d water my plants to feel better, so I think the first plant is pretty good.
When and why did you get into houseplants?
Definitely Chem was the first reason, and then I think one of my friends also just really liked houseplants as well, but she got into houseplants after I did so I would just tell her stuff about houseplants…. [I]t's cool to have friends in the houseplant game.
To you, what is the greatest benefit of keeping houseplants?
Well, one, they’re aesthetic and two, they just make me really happy. It’s like super cozy to look out at the window and it’s like snowing outside… there’s no green anywhere except for the plants. It’s cool how, like, you can have these exotic species of houseplants. I just want to collect them like Pokemon even though it’s probably not a good idea.
How do you feel about the rise in popularity of houseplants among college students?
It’s nice. I think college students are starting to think about the positive health benefits of plants, not that, like, it’ll cure cancer or something, but it does have, like, mental health benefits. I don’t know, it’s just trendy and they look good.
Most of the plants Austin keeps are succulents or cacti, which means they are more forgiving if you forget to water them. However, they need lots of light to thrive. Photo by Austin Li
How do you balance your plant care with your other responsibilities, like school work?
So, my fish tank is full of plants, so I guess we can count that as like plants. I just have a really good routine going on, because with the fish tanks, after you set them up and get the nitrogen cycle going, the tank kind of cares for itself. It’s a pretty healthy ecosystem, so you don’t have to do much work on it. So, given that I have two fish tanks, I just set aside 30 minutes every Friday or Saturday to change the water and use the water to water my houseplants and it turns out fine.
What advice do you have for college students who want to keep houseplants?
Do your research. It’s definitely not that difficult, it really depends on the plant though. So, since my plants are mostly succulents, it’s ok for me to be neglectful, but also make sure to provide them with lots of light. But in general, just like, read about the plant before you buy it. Avoid those plants at Home Depot that have, like, this spray over them… also avoid the ones like the jade plants where they glue the pebbles on.
Also, control your spending. I know if you have a couple houseplants and then they do well, then you’re tempted to buy like a thousand because you’re like wow I’m the master of green thumbs, but you’re really not. So maybe try to set a limit for your houseplant spending.