How about houseplants?
Love the tropical look? Wish you were surrounded with luxuriant greenery? Want to enjoy it without sweltering in triple-digit heat? Want it all without going broke on water? The secret? Create an indoor oasis!
Indoor plants make sense on many levels. Plants soften the hard rigid lines of walls and furniture. Plants release oxygen into the air, taking up carbon dioxide and a number of harmful indoor pollutants. Plants reduce glare from light entering a window and can help provide privacy - all excellent reasons for creating an indoor oasis.
Jan Westborg, owner of Green Things Nursery, suggests selecting a theme for your oasis. “You could go for a Mexican Colonial look,” she says. “Fill vivid talevera pots with plants, such as the umbrella plant (Schafflera sp.), golden pothos (Pothos sp.) and colorful croton (Codiaeum sp.).”
Alternatively, create a Zen garden with oriental style pots filled with plants, such as bamboo palm (Chamaedora erumpens), prayer plant (Maranta sp.), and the dragon tree (Dracena draco).
A formal look can be achieved with plants that maintain rigid growth forms like snake plants (Sanseveria sp.), cryptanthus (Cryptanthus sp.) and Indian rubber plants (Ficus elastica).
Houseplants are available at a variety of local nurseries, but Green Things specializes in them. Green Things is located at 3235 E. Allen Road. Yes, they are open during construction and would welcome your dropping by. Be sure to leave extra time to stroll past the pens of pygmy goats, peacocks and domesticated cats that have the markings of bobcats. The latter are valued helpers around the nursery, catching small rodents that would otherwise damage plants.
Care for houseplants is easy if you think about what they are used to in the wild. In general, most of them come from the floor of tropical forests. Light levels are about equivalent to those in most homes. The temperature is right around 70 degrees all the time. Soil is a limited resource with many roots fighting for a “toe” hold. The soil generally lacks many nutrients and often dries out between rainfalls, sometimes for months at a time. All this makes many tropical plants ideal candidates for the home.
€ Containers for plants should have drainage at their bases. They also should be large enough so that it does not tip over, but not so large that the plant looks like a little waif.
There’s no need for anything other than potting soil in the container. Potshards and gravel at the bottom has been proven to be harmful to plant survival. If you want to cover the hole so soil does not drain out, use a piece of window screen or nylon stocking.
€ Soil for your plant should help hold some water, but not too much. For drainage it should include sand, perlite or vermiculite. Peat moss is often included to acidify the soil, but sterile compost is an option. Avoid soil out of your yard as it may contain insect eggs and weed seeds.
€ The top dressing is a layer of gravel on top of the soil to help keep the soil in place during watering. You can add a decorative touch with colored aquarium gravel or even colored marbles.
€ Light for houseplants is graded low, medium or high. Low light comes from a north-facing window. Medium light generally comes from east-facing windows. South- and west-facing windows provide high light situations. Make sure you select the right plant for the light level.
€ Humidity is generally low in homes, and there are some plants that will simply not tolerate this. Unless you want to install an indoor mist system, select plants that tolerate low humidity.
€ Water is the one thing that usually kills houseplants. If there is water in the soil, then it has no oxygen in it and the roots will drown. Always let plants dry between watering (unless it is an aquatic plant). I water all my houseplants once a week. If they need it more often, then they are too big for their pot.
€ Fertilizer is not often necessary for houseplants. Remember those poor soils of their native homes? You can add fertilizer once a month, but be sure you water it down through the soil. If you get a white salty-looking build up, you are over-fertilizing.
Houseplants look great, make oxygen and need little care. How about houseplants!
As well as writing about plants, Jacqueline makes house calls to help you with your plants or landscape design. For a private consultation about your landscape, call her at 292-0504. Please leave a voice message.
