Diagnosing Your Sick Houseplant
March 24, 2010 by admin
Filed under Indoor Gardening
Diagnosing Your Sick Houseplant
Indoor plants are particularly prone to sickness and few people are aware when their cherished plants arent flourishing despite being regularly watered. However it isnt difficult to read the signs that tell you your houseplant isnt doing too well. The leaves may turn brown or yellow, or the plant itself may start drying up. Some of the causes of illness can be remedied while others cannot be. While trying to address the problem, adopting the simplest common sense solution often works wonders. The usual reason why your plant is wilting is either too much or too little water. Check the soil to see if it is too dry or flooded with excess water. If it seems dry, wet the soil gradually until some healthy moisture shows through. If the water level seems too high, ensure that the drainage hole is not clogged. If you have put the pot in a dish to hold excessive water, empty it out and make way for the water to clear off. Drying leaves that appear to be browning or yellowing are probably suffering from over-exposure to sunlight. In this case, place the plant out of the glare of direct sunlight. If possible place it in a temperature-controlled environment like a green house. If the indoor temperature does not provide enough humidity, this can harm your plant too. There is a simple solution for this problem-place a small bowl of water near the plant and watch as the plant soaks it up and the water evaporates. Falling leaves and twigs could be a sign that the roots of the plant are being damaged from too much or too little water or excessive heat. Try to assess the environment in which the plant is placed before embarking on a course of treatment. Sometimes it may require a small amount of fertilizer in order to perk up and display its usual sheen. Your local nursery or a professional gardener could accurately asses the problem, in case you are at your wits end.
Choosing The Plants For Your Indoor Garden
March 23, 2010 by admin
Filed under Indoor Gardening
The most important thing to understand and remember while beginning with an indoor garden is you actually purchase the right types of plants. The article discusses many kinds of plants generally preferred for indoor gardens, and also help in maintaining your garden easily. A beautiful garden adds charm to your home, and is the best choice for increasing the aesthetics of your living accommodation. Books and websites provide great ideas as to which indoor plants should be used for decorating your house garden. However, the important thing is to have a good idea what you actually desire and what kind of dcor you wish to utilize in decorating your garden.
Sometimes one does not have substantial space for the garden, but desperately desire to have one. Alternately one might own a beautiful garden and desire to enjoy the view all the year-round. Its also possible to impress your family members and friends with distinct and decorative patterns and look of your indoor garden. If you want to change the overall getup of your home, or you simply dont have any space outdoors and still want to enjoy the garden foliage, you need to select the correct plants which can improve the look of your garden. If you prefer a plant that requires low maintenance, here are a few ideas:
The Bromeliad is a very beautiful plant having a bright and fragrant bloom nature that persists longer, as compared to the blossoming period of other plants. It helps to enhance the general dcor of your house one can immediately see the difference an indoor garden can make.
The Pothos is yet another popular garden plant, which is also referred to as Epiremnum aureum, Phothos aureus, Raphidorphora aureum, or Scindaspus aureus. The unusual thing of this plant is that its name keeps on changing all the time - even amongst the nomenclature community. However, all the terms refer to the same plant. Its a very interesting plant, and features flowers in golden yellow to white shades. The leaves are primarily heart-shaped vine and flourish brightly. The plant does not require a lot of maintenance.
Another example is that of the spider plant which requires low maintenance. The unique feature about this plant is that its difficult to kill. A spider plant can make a great house-warming gift for newlyweds, as well as for family member. The plant requires medium sunlight - which is easy to achieve and the plant flourishes even when theres little or no direct sunlight.
The snake plant is easy to maintain, and is a good choice for your garden. The common problem faced by people going in for snake plant is that they die by over watering. So one has to be careful while watering the plant, and often check out the moisture content before watering. The main advantage is if you plan to leave for the weekend, you dont have to make any special arrangements for someone to come home and water the plants. The snake plant too needs low sunlight as compared to other plants, so it can be the ideal choice for your garden.
Choose An Ideal Houseplant For Your Home
March 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Indoor Gardening
You get a nice refreshing atmosphere by placing lush plants within your home or office. Through that, you get clean air, the ambiance look beautiful, and give a heartening and calming aura. A home with no houseplant would be missing the important element of decorating. You need to perform some research before you selecting houseplant. First of all you should learn the safety regarding houseplant. Many of plants look beautiful but they can be harmful to your pets and children. For example, Philodendron and Ivy can be extremely injurious and poisonous for houseplants. Make certain that if youll have pets and children at your home, you need to search out which plants would be safe at your home.
Ferns are the most popular choice as for houseplant or indoor gardening. As they dont need much care and there is no need to repot them often as they are attractive. You can get a wide range of fern varieties in market. Each fern appears to be unique. You find some great ferns houseplants such as:
Maidenhair Ferns
Davallias
Fishbone Ferns
Cretan Brake Ferns
Begonias also would be a great choice for houseplant especially if you dont have a better light source. Begonias dont require much of day light to survive. Some of the indoor begonias flowers as well as leaves are beautiful. They also dont need a cool temperature, however it should not get cooler than 45 degrees Fahrenheit that would be 7 degrees Celsius. Here are some of the begonia varieties:
Rex Begonias
Iron Cross Begonias
Begonia Masoniana
The begonia and fern are not the only breeds of indoor plants, which would survive even the newest of lush thumbs. Here is list of various breeds of plants, which you can try too:
Spider Plants
Devils Ivy
Cast Iron Plants
Chinese Evergreen
Aloe Vera And Other Beneficial Houseplants
March 20, 2010 by admin
Filed under Indoor Gardening
In many households one would find an aloe vera plant kept in their kitchen. This plant is usually seen as a great indoor plant, since its very easy to maintain. To add further, they are seen as a great source to heal minor cuts and burns that take place in the kitchen while working there. It is very handy in applying it too, you just have to cut a portion of a leaf and place the inner gel onto wounded area. With repeated use, it shall heal the cut and ease the pain.
Besides aloe vera plant there are other useful plants as well that can prove to be beneficial to have around in the homes. A patch of herbs is an easy way to add flavor in many recipes. Various herbs have various tastes to fulfill. Like certain herbs if dried they can be used like loose leaves of tea which would make a relaxing beverage. Herbs are also known for their medicinal use too. There are edible plants which help you in easy digestion. They can either just be broken right from the plant or may need some preparation before the final use. Some common examples are tealeaves, peppermint, and ginger.
Following are some of the example like anise which is popular for easy digestion and is also widely used for easing colic in toddlers. Coriander is another such herb that helps with digestion and plus it is a decorative addition to many dishes. Fennel oil is also used to cure upset stomach; it is also used for in helping mothers increase the quantity of breast milk produced.
This was just a brief look at few other uses of houseplants. One needs to be careful while using these plants. Research the plant properly so that it wont leave any chances of any confusion later.
Advantages Of Hydroponics
March 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under Indoor Gardening
What is Hydroponics? It is a method of Cultivation of plants in nutrient solution rather than in soil. A Good news for those who are interested in hydroponics or other methods of growing plants without soil and want to try it out at home is that can be done easily, with a little bit of knowledge and experience of course. Hydroponics is easy to care for and set-up at home. There are supplies you can buy or some you may be able to find around the house. In hydroponics gardening, the dirt, or soil that you use to grow plants in a conventional method is substituted for a growing medium that is full of nutrients the plant needs to grow. The growing medium is fed directly to the roots by method of a drip-feeder. The system can be mechanized and the gardener can control how many drips the roots receive in a particular time frame. The more of the growing medium the faster the plants grow. Following are some major advantages of Hydroponics.
Save Time and Energy: As the system can be automated, the amount of time and energy that is required to maintain a hydroponics garden is less than with a traditional garden.
Fewer Worries: As long as enough water is present and growing medium the plants can be left unattended for a longer period of time. The concern about pests and the composition of the soil are not an issue with this type of gardening.
365 days of Growth: A home-based hydroponics garden can grow vegetables year round.
Faster Growth: Another bonus with this type of gardening is how fast you can have mature vegetables indoors (by increasing the amount of growing medium).
The kinds of plants that are best suited for hydroponics are ones with thin spider-like roots. Plants that have a bulb root system are still best grown in the traditional soil manner inside a pot or outside. When you are ready to start, germinate the seeds for your plants like you normally would. When the seed has started to sprout and has approximately 2-5 millimeters of growth it is ready to transplant to the hydroponics container and start growing.
