{"id":47464,"date":"2024-01-26T09:10:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/?p=47464"},"modified":"2024-01-26T09:10:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:10:51","slug":"living-with-houseplants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/2024\/01\/26\/living-with-houseplants\/","title":{"rendered":"Living with Houseplants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Houseplants like Peace Lily clean the air of pollutants in your home.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m embarrassed to confess that I don\u2019t always take my own advice<\/strong>. Take my houseplants, for instance. Decades of research have shown that houseplants reduce stress and anxiety. They can sharpen our attention, make us more productive and give us a happier outlook. They can fight indoor pollution and add moisture to the air in our homes. So why do a few of mine look so sad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First a typical house plants lives in the understory of a tropical rain forest where it gets bright filtered light.<\/strong> They\u2019re used to warm rain and perfect drainage. I\u2019ve moved mine to the best light I have but it\u2019s not enough for a few of them. I might have to find them better homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also had a problem last year<\/strong> by fertilizing a little too much. I could see the edges of some leaves were brown which was probably from over fertilizing but also could have been lack of light or too much water. Skip fertilizer in December and January and start up half strength mid-February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water just enough to keep the soil from going totally dry allowing oxygen to move back into the root zone<\/strong>. Houseplants are resting at this time of year and don\u2019t use as much water as when they are actively growing. Let the soil in a 4-6 inch pot dry half an inch down between watering then water with room temperature water. And don\u2019t let the pot sit in a saucer of water or the roots will rot. If your plants is in a larger pot let the soil dry down a couple inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t re-pot a plant in winter when they are slow to grow new roots.<\/strong> I\u2019m really anxious to transplant a couple of mine into more decorative pots but I\u2019m going to hold off until March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants that I have had good results with in lower light a<\/strong>re philodendron, peace lily, Chinese evergreen, cast-iron plant, schefflera, arboricola, ferns and palms. Hanging plants that grow well in low light are hear-shaped philodendron, pathos and grape ivy. Most of these house plants grow naturally in low light areas of the jungle. Don\u2019t overwater and they\u2019ll be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, this winter hasn\u2019t been as rainy <\/strong>as last but still it\u2019s been cold and my home is closed up to keep the heating bill down. Without doors and windows open to circulate fresh air, toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene can be realized from furniture upholstery, carpets, cleaning products, paint, plastics and rubber can build up inside. Carbon monoxide from the incomplete burning or wood and vehicle exhaust can also be present in indoor air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biological pollutants include<\/strong> bacteria, viruses, animal dander, house dust, pollen and dried cat saliva. What? Cat saliva? Do you hear that Archer? House mites, the source of one of the most powerful biological allergens, grow in damp warm environments. Mold and mildew grow in moist places like central heating systems and are just one more source of indoor pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA researchers suggest <\/strong>that the most efficient air cleaning occurs with at least one houseplants per 100 square feet. Even the microorganisms in potting soil removes some toxins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the easiest houseplants to grow are some of the best to have in your home. <\/strong>Any of the plants listed above would fit the bill. If you have a cat or dog that nibbles, however, it\u2019s best to stick with spider plants, palms and orchids, African violets, aluminum plant, bromeliads, peperomia, cast iron plants, Christmas cactus, chenille plant, creeping Charlie, false aralia wandering jew, piggy back plant and succulents like donkey\u2019s tail and echeveria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a little planning you can clean the air in your home while keeping the pets safe.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m embarrassed to confess that I don\u2019t always take my own advice. Take my houseplants, for instance. Decades of research have shown that houseplants reduce stress and anxiety. They can sharpen our attention, make us more productive and give us a happier outlook. They can fight indoor pollution and add moisture to the air in … Continue reading Living with Houseplants<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[563,693,813],"class_list":["post-47464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-trends","tag-houseplants","tag-indoor-pollution","tag-toxic-houseplants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}