We've all been there: You buy a beautiful new plant, water it, feed it, and make sure it's getting the sun or the shade it needs. You do it all, only for the plant to die a slow, painful plant death.
But thanks to TikToker Plant Daddy Koss (@k_wos), we're learning that it may not always be our fault. In a popular video, Koss shows a sneaky "death trap" that may be setting your plants up for failure.
The scoop
The clip begins with Koss taking two new plants out of a store-bought planter. He pulls both plants out and begins gently separating the roots to reveal a small net around each root ball.
"This definitely has to be my least favorite part about buying new plants," his voice-over explains. "These netted death traps. If you don't check for them, please do."
Once he finds the small nets in the bottom of his plants, he uses scissors to gently remove them.
"I definitely used to think I was the reason why some of my plants were dying for so long until I found out that they were really suffocating," he adds.
@k_wos You didn't kill your plant it never had a chance to begin with 😤💀 #plantdaddykoss #plantsoftiktok #planttips #planthacks ♬ Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz(806744) - MaSssuguMusic
How it's helping
The death traps he's referring to go by many names, such as root meshes, mesh pots, or net pots. No matter what you call them though, they're many plant parents' greatest enemies. These meshes restrict the plants' roots from growing as large or wide as they need to, which can really hurt the plant's health.
The root mesh can also mess with the amount of water a plant absorbs. If your plant is young with thin roots, the mesh can absorb and hold too much water for your plant. But if you have a big root system that's being confined by the mesh, the roots, and mesh can make it harder for water to penetrate into all the roots. It's a lose-lose.
What everyone's saying
Many commenters said they'd never heard of the issue before.
"Oh I had no idea, thanks!" one person commented.
Even Jake from State Farm was stunned.
"Brb, gonna check my house plants," he wrote.
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