Filed Under : 
Sep.8,2011
The natural benefits of plants in an office or home are many. They provide a great decorative touch to those lonely stretches of unpopulated floor, table or desk space, they improve the air quality of the room, and have a naturally uplifting presence that calms and soothes those who look upon them.
These are but a few of the reasons why every home and office space should be outfitted with any number of plants. Yet before you go turning your home into a leafy, jungle paradise that oozes atmosphere you should observe the following pointers and tips on some of the plant varieties you may feel inclined to add to your abode.
Firstly, as beautiful and innocent as most plants appear, many have an unknown danger lurking in the tips of its leafy tendrils that can potentially be very dangerous or even deadly to both animals and children. Some plants when consumed or even touched can cause severe illness. One of most popular poisonous plants is ivy, with philodendron another popular choice that is potentially harmful.
Any household that includes children and/or pets either living there or visiting even infrequently needs to have its plant life chosen with care. Researching beforehand the potential dangers a plant may hold, the symptoms they are likely to cause upon consumption, and the quickest and most effective remedy should that occur are all vital. Maintaining constant supervision over children and pets in areas where these plants exist is important, though ensuring they’re out of reach is even more so.
Kids are ingenious though, and if that pretty plant catches their eye, you can be sure they’ll devise a clever way to reach it and take a closer look, so don’t let your guard down even when you feel a plant is out of their reach.
Aside from the potential dangers of plants, when choosing any plant for your home it’s important to identify which area of the house that plant will reside, and the amount of sunlight it is likely to receive there. Hiding a plant that requires plenty of sunlight in a dark corner will ensure it does develop well, though you can remedy this by moving it into a sunny spot for at least a few hours each day. Putting your indoor plants outdoors for a few hours on nice days is a great way for them to get sunlight and air.
Another factor that can influence house plant care and growth is the temperature of the room or area it’s located in. Some plants thrive in warmer climates, while others may require cooler temperatures. Most need a nice moderate environment though, so if you stick it in a cool basement, or a stifling room in the summer, they may not grow as desired.
As a general rule flowering plants will require more sunlight to feed their growth than other types of plants. Tropical plants will do better in an environment with moist air, while cacti will thrive in the areas with dry air, those resilient plants should be able to survive even in conditions not ideally suited to them.
Category : house plants
It is difficult (and would probably be uncomfortable for you) to try to modify the temperature of your home to meet the needs of your plants. Instead, it is best to choose the plants that naturally survive in the environment that your home can offer.
It may be tough to grow plants like begonias, primroses, and geraniums indoors. They grow best in cool temperatures (between 50 and 60 degrees F). If you have a patio that is cooler, this could be a good spot for plants like these.
Plants like the African Violet do best in warmer, room temperatures of 70-80 degrees F.
To save energy, the temperature in most homes drops significantly at night. Your plants can probably handle this drop without a problem, unless it is exceptionally extreme. You would probably not be comfortable if it were that cold, though. Plants are used to a drop of about 10-15 degrees at night, since this happens in the wild when the sun goes down. If the drop is 25-30 degrees in your house, you should protect the plants with a newspaper or burlap tent until it warms up in the morning.
It is important that you make sure your windows are well insulated. If not, the temperature right by the window will too cold for the plants if it is cold outside. It is also possible for drafts to leak through. Be sure to move plants away from the windows at night if there is poor insulation.
Overheating can be a problem as well. In the winter, the air is typically quite dry. When you heat your home, it takes even more humidity out of the air. Moisture is extremely important to plants, so the low humidity can be harmful. Plants get water from the air, similarly to how they take it in from the roots. This is often overlooked.
You can compensate for the dry air by buying a humidifier for your home to add moisture. If you would rather choose a cheaper option, you can attach evaporating pans to the radiators. Make sure you keep the pans filled with water.
In addition to either of these two options, it is good to spray the foliage with water a couple times per week. This will give the foliage the moisture that the lack of humidity takes away. Also, it will clean the dust off of the leaves, and keep insects away, even with easy to care for house plants it’s a good idea to keep moisture around them. If your plants have hairy leaves, you should not spray them because they will get white spots and be more likely to decay.
As long as you care for your plants in a reasonable manner, they should be able to adapt to changes in the environment of your home.
Tags : Air Moisture, Burlap, Sun