Herself’s Houseplants

Are you one of those people who just must add water every time you walk by a plant? Consider growing some bog plants inside. They are easy to grow and they are far more exotic than your average house plant.

Carnivorous plants: These bog plants love sun So you’ll want a sunny window for them. They average about 6″ some more some less.

Umbrella plant: Would love a sunny window but will do fine in an east or west bright window. These grow to about 2′ potted up inside but can reach 4′.

Alocasias: Most of these do not want direct sun. They will grow 1′ to 2′ talk and you’ll feel your in the jungle.

All of these plants can be grown in sphagnum moss or peat moss, the only stipulation is that carnivorous plants can not be grown in soil that has had fertilizer added to it.

Pot up your plant and put the pot in a dish of water. Any 1″-2″ saucer will do just fine. Water them from the bottom, just top off that saucer when ever you feel the urge to water.

We all use plants to brighten our homes and decorate them. But I hadn’t thought of it as landscaping the home. A shift in viewpoint sometimes will give you some interesting ideas.

Indoor plants get a raw deal in Britain. The green-fingered Dutch understand only too well the benefits of flourishing house plants and use them as an integral part of their interior design, but we lag far behind.That may be about to change. Interior landscape design is big business. Modern buildings with their high glass atriums and huge areas of windows demand the softer shapes and contrasting green of plants. The time is ripe for homes to get the same treatment.Research has shown that plants can relieve sick building syndrome by increasing humidity, reducing noise and air temperature, and removing pollutants from the air. NASA has shown that the Dragon Tree, Dracaena, widely used in interior landscaping, is very effective for “scrubbing” pollutants such as benzine and formaldehyde from the air in stuffy offices.

“Plants can also help to direct people into certain areas in public buildings, and to relieve stress and make them feel more comfortable,” says Nick Brammall, of Ambius, one of the largest international interior landscaping companies. [ read more Landscape gardening for the home]

They recommend Weeping figs, Ferns, Geraniums, Spathiphyllums, Primrose, and Orchids. These are common indoor plants in England but less so in the US. So if you are looking for something different, give one of these a try.

See also:
Interior Plantscaping with Large Houseplants

It never occurred to me to grow a cactus in an office setting. I would think they would need more light. But if you have a bright office you might consider giving it a try.

. . . It’s easy to become a corporate cactus cultivator if you know a bit more about these unique plants. They are all succulents, which are species that contain specialized cells that hold water for a long time. Ordinary plants can’t store water this way and are thus more dependent on consistent groundwater to keep them hydrated. They need extensive root systems to hunt and absorb the water.

Cacti produce rather small, shallow root systems just inches beneath the ground. There they suck up rainwater the moment it falls to earth. This ability to take up moisture faster than ordinary plants is their key to survival in excessively dry climates. It also means that you don’t need a big pot for cactus plant roots.

Succulents are vulnerable to one thing — rot. Once waterborne bacteria or fungus enters these interior tissues, the rot spreads uncontrollably. In the wild, cacti prefer porous gravelly or sandy soils that water passes through quickly. Very little is left in contact with the succulent roots. Success with cacti depends on soil porosity in your pot. Fast or express drainage practically ensures you’ll never overwater this plant. That is, of course, if you don’t let water sit in the saucer for more than five minutes. . .

[ read more Cactus plants can thrive in office setting]

Of course there is the other side who consider cactus to be bad Feng Shui in the office