Herself's Houseplants

It is nice to see some new orchids coming to the local plant dealers.  This is the first Grammatophyllum I’ve had or seen.  Outside this plant wants light shade, which indoors means a bright, sunny window.

Temperatures can be as hot as 105′F These grow outside in Houston but it’d really be much happier if you kept the temperature under 85′F.  Nights should be around 55′F So find a drafty window or door to put it near.  Or place it outside in light shade when not in bloom.  It can tolerate an occasional light frost.

Watering should be frequent, water frequently but do not let it sit in water.

Grammatophyllums are from the rainforests of Asia, so keep the humidity as high as you can.

As you can see in the photo these are large orchid plants, so they are great for floor plants.

Watch for rust, give it more sun if you see the rust fungus on the plant and better air circulation.

The more sun it gets the more blooms you will get.

Fertilize regularly, most orchid growers are now using the time release pellets when they repot their orchids.  I still prefer my liquid fertilizers.

Not only do stressed trees make their own aspirin to help protect themselves, they release methyl salicylate into the environment to warn other plants. I told you those plants were all talking about you.

It has also been verified that plants in laboratories under stress also produce asprin, which means your houseplants are likely doing it as well when stressed.

The release of aspirin stimulates an immune response type function in the plants.

. . . The discovery raises the possibility that farmers, forest managers, and others may eventually be able to start monitoring plants for early signs of a disease, an insect infestation, or other types of stress. At present, they often do not know if an ecosystem is unhealthy until there are visible indicators, such as dead leaves. . . [ read more Plants in forest emit asprin chemical to deal with stress]

. . . Walnut trees stressed by drought and other factors release large amounts of an aspirin compound to reduce damage and possibly warn nearby plants, a study released Friday found. [ read more Stressed trees release asprin compound, may communicate ]

We love our plants. And we really love growing them in pots. The current ‘in’ color scheme is complimentary. These are colors opposite each other on the color wheel. ( orange-blue, yellow-purple, red-green )

Gardening and houseplants are one of the things people continue to spend money on even in a recession, probably due to low cost and because they make us feel so good.

When it comes to using plant-filled pots on the porch or around the landscape, Americans are hardly able to contain themselves. U.S. consumers spend more than $1.3 billion a year on this gardening method, according to Container Gardening Associated, an online site devoted to the technique.
Container gardens, the use of a variety of plants in any type of container, are often associated with yardless apartments or condominiums. But they also are popular with the elderly and disabled , as well as for areas where soil quality is a problem or where pots define an area or direct traffic. [ read more Americans Hard to Contain on Potted Plant Expenditures ]

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