How To Care for Houseplants – Light

Deciding how much light your plant needs can be a very tricky decision to make.  If a plant is receiving too much or too little light, it could die.

In general, foliage plants need less light than flowering plants and most houseplants enjoy plenty of partial sun or bright light rather than direct sunlight.

However, these are only very general rules and they do not apply to every plant.  Therefore, in order to help you make sure that your plant is getting the right amount of light, become familiar with these terms to describe lighting conditions:

• Direct Sun – This type of sun is normally foundin areas with south facing windows.  Sunlight pours in for at least 5 hours a day.  Only a few plants can tolerate this much light, mainly Cacti and certain Succulents.  However, many sun loving plants, if given some shade protections and lots of water, will survive in these locations.
• Partial Sun – this includes locations which have windows facing either east or west, and which thus receive direct sun for less than 5 hours per day.  flowering houseplants especially enjoy these locations, but you must provide adequate shade protection in west facing windows during the summertime.
• Bright Light - These are areas which receive a great deal of light through the reflection of sunlight off of ceilings and walls, but which do not receive any direct sun.  The majority of the foliage plants you will buy enjoy this type of light.
• Filtered Light – This refers to light which shines through either an overhang or trees and bushes outside of the window, or through blinds or curtains inside of the window.  Normally, an area approximately five to ten feet away from a window which receives direct sun for a portion of the day may fit into this category.  While only a few flowering plants can tolerate this fairly low lighting condition, many foliage plants can adapt very easily to this type of atmosphere.
• Shade - This type of light can be found in interior rooms which receive no light from windows.  Most houseplants cannot survive in such conditions without the aid of artifical lighting.

When choosing a lighting condition for your plant, the most important thing to remember is that both the intensity of the light and the length of time the light hits that particular spot in your house are the two factors which will affect your plant the most.

You must also be aware that the growth of your plant will depend on the seasonal increases and decreases in light intensity.  Therefore, during the summer, when the intensity of light and heat is at its strongest, plants will grow faster and will need mroe moisture and fertilizer than during winter months when the light is less intense.

The portion of the country that you live in also affects the amount and intensity of light your plants take in.  If you live in a high elevation, your plants will receive a higher intensity of light than someone who lives at sea level.  Snow, smoke, haze, fog, screens, porches, shrubs growing outside of windows, there are many things that can influence the type of light your plants will get in your home.   Because there are so many different factors which alter the amount and type of light your plants are taking in, it is extremely important to be on the lookout for signs that your plant is receiving too much or too little light.  Too much light will cause a plant to wilt and its beautiful green leaves to fade.  Too little light forces a plant to drop many of its leaves and to grow unusually thin, long leaves.

Another important lighting tip concerns plants which are kept near a window.  Always be sure to turn these plants every now and then or else the plant will begin to grow in the direction of the window, where its source of light is coming from.  Be aware that windows can magnify the heat from the sun, and that plants kept near a sindown during summertime are susceptible to leaf burn.

If the space you choose for your plant does not offer it a sufficient amount of light, you can either boost the amount of light it is receiving through the use of artificial light, a fluorescent light fixture is the most efficient way to do this, or simply give the plant less fertilizer, thus discouraging it from growing at a rate which would require a type of light you cannot offer.

How To Care for Houseplants – Humidity

Humidity and temperature are very closely related.  When air becomes warmer, either naturally, or artificially, the humidity level tends to decrease quickly.  This is most evident in regions where temperatures are extremely warm during the summer months, or during wintertime, when the heating unit in the household is being used.

While houseplants such as Cacti or Succulents require dry air condtions, the majority of the plants you will be growing in your home need humid conditions in order to survive.  The easiest way to determine the humidity level of your home is with a hygrometer, a device that measures the moisture in the air.  These are readily available at most nurseries or hardware stores.

If the air in your home tends to be on the dry side, less than a 50% level, you should try one of the following methods of increasing the humidity in the areas where you keep your plants:

• Humidifiers:  A cool vapor humidifier placed in an extremely dry home will not only increase the level of comfort for your plants, but for your family too!  Portable humidifiers can be placed wherever needed, while a humidifier installed as a part of your central heating unit can increase the humidity level in your home by as much as 25%.
• Misting:  This is the easiest and least expensive way to boost the humidity level for any plant.  Ferns and Orchids respond especially well to misting, but be aware that certain fuzzy-leafed plants, such as the African violet, should not be misted as spotting may result.  It is best to mist in the morning with luke warm water.  Spray with a fine mist so that a cloud is created around the plant, being careful not to damage furniture or other household items that may be harmed by the falling mist.
• Humidity Trays:  These are another popular method for dealing with low humidity levels.  Begin with a tray at least two inches in depth.  Make sure the tray is waterproof, that is, one made out of such materials as metal, rubber, plastic or glazed ceramic, clay trays should be avoided for they will retain moisture and may damage any furniture they are resting on.  Fill the tray with pebbles, pea gravel, perlite, vermiculite, or small rocks and add water, stopping just below the top of the pebbles.  When you place the plant’s container on top of the rocks, make sure that the pot does not touch the water, which could result in root rot.  Your plant will enjoy a higher level of munidity, you can check the level with a hygrometer, just make sure you take the reading close to the plant itself.
• Naturally Humid Rooms:  Another way to boost the humidity for a particular plant is to place the plant in such naturally humid rooms as the bathroom or the kitchen.  The hot water used in these rooms generates humidity that certain moisture craving houseplants love! 
• Grouping Plants:  If your plant desires just a litle bit more humidity, grouping it together with other houseplants can give it the extra moisture it needs.  Since water evaporates from any plant’s leaves during the natural process known as “transpiration,” the area immediately surrounding a group of plants wil be naturally more humid than an area whwere a plant sits alone.  Additionally, your plant will enjoy the company of the other plants!!  Just make sure to leave enough room between the plants to allow for proper air circulation.

Plant Facts: Botanical Gardens

What is a Botanical Garden?  Well, if you haven’t been to one, check out the nearest large city next to you, or your own, and plan a visit.  They’re beautiful and informative!

Private, public gardens and parks are created to make our cities and areas beautiful!  However, botanical gardens go a step further than beauty.  They provide a wonderful opportunity to study plants of all kinds and varieties.  In the botanical garden, we can control the environment, the food, and often they type of plant we want to see grow and thrive.  Some of these plants are quite exotic.

In these greenhouses, experiments are performed on the environment and plants to see what hurts or what helps them.  Plants that are from other areas can be grown and examined in their setting. 

A very famous botanical garden you might have read about is Kew Gardens in England.  There, you can observe a large variety of trees, plants and flowers and the insects that love them, from many other places.

Plant Facts: Sleeping Plants

Do Plants Get Their ZZZ’s? 

You might say that even plants sleep, but not like we do.  They are not resting due to over-working or because they’re exhausted, it’s just that there’s not any light.  Which incidentally, helps humans as well.  Can’t sleep?  Make sure your room is really dark. 

You see, we need sun and so do plants.  As the sun shines, the flower blooms open and soak up all the sun they can, preparing for the nighttime.  This light is energy to the plant, just like it is for humans.  Flowerheads lose heat at night, and will close their blooms to keep in as much of the heat from the sun as they can. 

Prove this true by taking a plant from a light room into a cooler dark one.  You will notice that the blooms close up and open again in the warmth and light. 

Hey, it’s self protection!

Plant Facts: Linnaeus, A Swedish Naturalist

Who is Linnaeus and what did he do?

What’s the big deal about Linnaeus?  Well, although many well-known men in the past had made studies of plants, it was not until the eighteenth century that a scientific study was made. 

This was done by a Swedish naturalist called Carl von Linne, who published his work under the Latin version of his name, Linnaeus.  He is the one who divided all plants into families, or species, and worked out a system of names.  Many plants are still known by these names.  Well, someone had to do it.

He was also famous for his work on the reproduction of plants.  By studying their stamens, he was able to describe how plants reproduce themselves.  His work was extremely useful to botanists.

Plant Facts and all Green Growing Things – Part 1

Below are some answers for kids and grown-ups about all green growing things.  Enjoy and learn together!

1.  What Makes Most Plants Green?

Green plants owe their color to a pigment called chlorophyll.  This substance absorbs sunlight.  It converts this light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in the plant and released as oxygen.  It is this process, called photosynthesis, that supplies the atmosphere with most of its oxygen.  Without green plants, there would be no life on Earth.

If you have plants in the house, it is important to make sure they are in a position where they will get sunlight. 

2.  Why Do We Water Plants?

The leafy parts of plants consist largely of water.  Some of this is lost as the plant breathes and some dries out in the sun.  This water has to be replaced by wter drawn up through the plant’s roots.  Minerals the plant needs from the soil are dissolved in the water, so this is how the plant is fed.  These minerals are particularly important to green plants because they are needed for the process of photosynthesis.

3.  Why Do People Use Manure For Plant Food? 

As land is used for raising crops and veggies, minerals in the dirt are used up causing the soil to no longer be nutritious for the growing plants.  These minerals must be replaced.  Gardeners and farmers use animal dung to help replace the nutrients that the plants need to continue to grow. 

The two kinds of fertilizers, mineral and organic are often used to aide in the growth of crops and the food that we need.  Mineral fertilizers are those that are manufactured and then purchased.  Organic fertilizers consist of plant matter and animal dung that builds up over time, and creates this huge heap of manure.  Farmers then carefully spread this organic fertilizer over the soil.  This keeps the dirt full of necessary nutrients for the continued growth of our food supply.  

4.  What is Animal Dung?

Animal dung refers to waste products from digested food that the animal has eaten.  It contains nutrients which are readily taken in to the plant from its roots underground. Animal dung works best when it is spread over the dirt in a “fresh” state, as it’s nutritional value is at its highest level.  If the manure has dried, farmers will often dampen it with water so that it is absorbed into the ground more quickly. 

I know it sounds gross, but one ”animal’s” waste is another plant’s food!

5.  Why Do Some Trees Grow So Tall?

Sunlight is essential to keep plants and trees green and healthy.  The surface of green plants and the leaves of trees have to be exposed to sunlight so that photosynthesis can take place.  Trees which grow in woods or forests make a lot of shade.  Therefore, to obtain the light they need they grow upward towards the sunlight.  New branches and leaves grow on the upper part of the tree where there is maximum light.  House plants tend to lean toward the light for the same reason.

Some of the tallest trees in the world are found in tropical jungles.  This is because these areas have long periods of sunlight and a lot of rain.  This abundance of light and water, which feeds the trees with minerals from the soil, produces very rapid growth throughout the year.