Discover the Benefits of Success With House Plants Books Pdf File: Health, Beauty, and Happiness

It is very helpful to have a general idea of how much light is present in a given location in your house. You can get a fairly good estimate with a handheld light meter, or you can use a 35 mm camera and do the following:

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Windows with eastern exposure within the home generally provide the best light and temperature conditions for most indoor plant growth because plants receive direct morning light from sunrise until nearly midday. Footcandle readings at these windows can reach 5,000-8,000. As the morning progresses, the direct sun recedes from the room.

An eastern room is cooler than southern or western rooms because the house absorbs less radiant heat. Light from the east is cooler than that from the south or the west, and thus it causes less water loss from the plants.

In the summer, when the sun is farther north than it is in the winter, the sun rises at a sharp angle in the morning and is high in the sky by noon. Direct light comes into a south window only at midday. If there is a wide overhang covering the windows outside, the sun may not enter the room at all. The sun at noon on a summer day may measure 10,000 ft-c. Indoors, however, a southern window with wide eaves on the outside will receive about the same amount of light as a window with northern exposure. Southern and western exposures are interchangeable for most plants. In the winter, most plants, except those with definite preference for northern exposure, can be placed in a room with southern exposure.

Because of the low-light levels, maintaining healthy plants can be a challenge. A northern windowsill can measure light levels as low as 200 ft-c on a clear winter day, which is optimal for some plants, such as the African violet. This exposure is best for plants with green foliage because the coloration on variegated foliage tends to disappear under low-light conditions. Although most plants grown indoors will not grow in a northern room, they may tolerate it for short periods of time.

What temperatures are likely to occur in homes? During the summer, air conditioning that may have been turned off at night or weekend thermostat settings that may have been raised result in higher than desirable night temperatures. During the winter, heating that may have been turned off at night or weekend thermostat settings that may have been lowered may result in lower night temperatures. Be especially careful not to allow temperatures to drop below 50 degrees F, or chill damage will result on some sensitive foliage plants (e.g., Chinese Evergreen, Aglaonema). Chill damage is manifested with the yellowing of lower leaves and/or defoliation.

Learning to water is one of the most important skills in plant care. Applying too much water can suffocate plant roots and too little water causes growth to become erratic and stunted. Watering frequency will depend on the conditions under which the plants are growing. When dealing with how much water to apply, consider the following:

The growing medium provides anchorage, water, and minerals. When repotting plants, make sure that the new mix is well drained and aerated, holds water and nutrients well, and is within the right pH range (5.0-6.5). A good potting mix provides ample amounts of oxygen to the root system. Most professional mixes are good to use. Some plants require special mixes, e.g., bromeliads, orchids, and African violets. Either purchase these mixes or prepare your own. Below are some formulas that can be used to prepare a homemade potting mix.

Bromeliads are plants from Central and South America, which are either epiphytic (they grow on tree branches or in the crotches of trees) or terrestrial (they grow in the ground). Although most of the bromeliads can be grown successfully in foliage plant mixes, most grow better in specially designed soil mixes. Any mix for bromeliads must be well aerated and drained.

Tree fern slabs may also be used to grow epiphytic orchids.Add 1 ounce (dry weight) of dolomitic limestone per 4 gallons ( bushel) of soil mix. Do not add fertilizer to the mix. After the plants are potted, add ounce of liquid 10-10-10 with minor elements per gallon of water and fertilize once every 6 weeks (if the plants are growing in osmunda fern fibers). If plants are growing in fir bark, use a liquid 30-10-10 with minor elements every 6 weeks instead of a 10-10-10 fertilizer.

Acclimatization is generally done in the greenhouse or the nursery. Plants are grown for a period of time under low-light levels and with fewer nutrients. Because this slows down plant growth, acclimatized plants are not ready for the market as early as nonacclimatized plants. Acclimatized plants cost more compared to nonacclimatized plants, but this is money well spent. Figure 7 and Table 2 describe the symptoms and appearance of acclimatized plants.

Avoid plants with unnaturally spotted, yellow, or brown leaves. If the plant is unhealthy at the nursery, chances are that it will die soon after consumer purchase. Look for pests on the undersides of leaves. Remove the plant from the pot and examine the root system. Healthy roots generally are and should be visible along the outside of the soil ball and should have an earthy smell (Figure 8).

Constructed of materials such as polyethylene, polyurethane, recycled plastic, and fiberglass, plastic pots have evolved from very simple to quite elaborate. They have the advantage of being lightweight as well as chip- and break-resistant. Air exchange and water evaporation rates are generally lower in plastic containers compared with clay containers. Plants in plastic pots will not dry out as quickly as plants in clay pots, increasing the danger of over-watering.

If the plant is small, dip the foliage in tepid water and swirl it around. Water should not be used when cleaning cacti, African violet leaves, and other plants with hairy leaves. Instead, use a clean, small paintbrush brush to remove dust. Remove dead flowers and leaves regularly. Leaves with tip and/or marginal necrosis, such as fluoride damage, should be trimmed to the healthy part.

Spider mites are the second most common pest problem on houseplants (Figure 14). The adult females are about 1/50 inch long, hardly visible with the unaided eye. Mites feed on the undersides of young leaves. Infected areas are grayish or yellow speckled.

Thrips, while uncommon on houseplants, predominantly feed on plants in patios and other outdoor areas (Figure 15). Thrips are small, slender, 1/25 inch to 1/12 inch long, and tan, black, or brown in color, with lighter markings. Adults and larvae feed on shoot tips, flowers, and leaves by sucking sap and cell contents. Injured tissue has a whitish or silver-flecked appearance due to the light reflecting from the empty cell walls of the dead cells.

Do you comma here often? There are a lot of houseplant books out there and we've read and owned a lot. Most have some great qualities but some are truly brilliant all rounders and deserved to be recommended. Our favorite books are listed below.

This is a super fun book to give as a gift to someone who likes or dabbles with houseplants. It's not a joke or novelty book though and is surprisingly useful to the beginner and intermediate houseplant owners.

Due to the broad topics covered this is a great houseplant book for the beginner and expert equally. It's all presented with gorgeous photos showing clearly every step in the DIY projects and the Plant profiles allow for easy identification of plants.

The beauty of all Dr. D. G. Hessayon's books is that they contain very simple accurate advice that's straight to the point. It's a fantastic reference book for hundreds of houseplants. This is also his most recent release, which combines the best and most modern bits from several of his books into one larger volume.

Houseplants Made Easy is a complete houseplant care manual, consisting of 367 pages of comprehensive information and advice. It is divided into three parts to help make caring for houseplants easy, giving you the confidence to provide care for healthy houseplants, as well as recognize and treat common houseplant problems.

Stem cuttings can be taken from both herbaceous plants (e.g., garden flowers and houseplants) and woody trees and shrubs. Because the new growth of trees and shrubs hardens as the summer progresses, cuttings taken at different times of the year vary in their ability to form roots. Softwood and herbaceous cuttings are the most likely to develop roots and become independent plants, hardwood cuttings the least likely.

To successfully propagate plants from cuttings, a number of challenges must be overcome. Once a cutting is severed from the parent plant, it can no longer take up water, and excessive water loss will result in death. The wound from the cut makes it susceptible to diseases. New roots must be formed as rapidly as possible if the new plant is to survive.

Take cuttings only from healthy plants. To prevent the spread of disease, use clean tools and pots (clean with 10% bleach, rinse, and let dry thoroughly). Use fresh soilless potting mix since garden soil can harbor plant diseases.

Take hardwood cuttings in winter or early spring. Deciduous plants (those that lose their leaves every winter) have no leaves at this time. Thus, water loss is not a serious problems with these cuttings, unless the buds open. Hardwood cuttings are more difficult to root than softwood cuttings, and it may take two to four months for roots to form. The technique does work well with some shrubs such as forsythia, privet, and willow. Needled evergreens can also be propagated using hardwood cuttings, but care must be taken to reduce water loss.

The potted cuttings may be placed in an unheated area with a heating element to warm the rooting mix if the area is well lit. If not, cover the pot and cuttings with a plastic bag and place in a warm, brightly lit room, as with deciduous hardwood cuttings. Providing light is essential for successful rooting of these cuttings. Check for roots once a month. It may take three or four months for roots to develop. Acclimate rooted cuttings as described above. 2ff7e9595c