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Plants at Home click for larger image |
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 My love for houseplants, horticulture, and indoor and outdoor gardening goes back 20+ years. In the first year I really didn't do too well with plants and was about to give up. An ex-co-worker gave me a cutting of a philodendron, told me to place it in water and sit it on my desk. A couple months later the cutting rooted, she potted the plant for me, and in 3-6 months the plant began to grow. Fast forward, a few years later and that same little cutting had grown, like a vine, all over my desk. Eventually, I had to take the plant home, went through a 2-3 hour process of carefully placing the vines on my wall with small pieces of white thread and clear tape. In a few months the plant clinged to the walls on its own and begin climbing the walls of my tiny, one-bedroom, efficiency apartment in Oakland, CA. This marked the beginning of my affinity for plants and gardening. Not into vegetable gardens, just flower and indoor gardening. A NASA research document came to the conclusion that house plants can purify and rejuvenate air within our houses and workplaces, safeguarding us all from any side effects connected with prevalent toxins such as formaldehyde, ammonia and also benzene. In another study made in 1996, a bedroom with no plants had 50% more colonies of airborne microbes than a room which contained houseplants.
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Some of us go crazy buying plants when a special occasion arises to add ambiance. Only to have them die
because we didn't take care of them. Some of us have even received them as gifts which is nerve racking because honestly who wants to be responsible for killing a plant that's also a present. But remember, just as outdoor plants are beneficial to the great
outdoors, indoor plants are beneficial to our indoor environment. Many common houseplants and blooming potted plants are reportedly able to absorb significant amounts of harmful gases out of the air through what they do naturally, photosynthesis. Some houseplants are
better at removing certain toxins than others. Unfortunately they don't
take care of tobacco smoke. But there are enough known plants that
do a good job of removing pollutants from the air we breath to cause
us to view houseplants as more than just an attractive feature in
decorating the interior environment. Think of how this could be
beneficial to stuffy offices and schools etc. |
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Plant Tips and Websites
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| Choosing Indoor Plants | ||||||||
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In 1984, NASA senior research scientist Dr. Bill Wolverton tested houseplants for their ability to maintain clean air for future habitable lunar bases. Testing in sealed chambers, Wolverton found that philodendrons and golden pothos were excellent formaldehyde controllers; gerbera daisy and chrysanthemums were impressive benzene purgers; pot mums and peace lilies were highly rated for TCE removal. His initial findings suggested that one to three mature plants were enough to improve the air in a 100-cubic-foot area. He also found that it wasn’t just plants doing the clean-up work, but the microbes that were specific to the plants’ roots. Another 1989 NASA study concluded that tested houseplants removed up to 87 percent of toxic indoor air within 24 hours. It is not so much the houseplant that is doing the work of cleaning the air, but the beneficial microbes found in the soil of the potted plants that are responsible for filtering the air, so long as the plant itself is healthy. And thankfully, it doesn’t take a jungle’s worth of plants to make the difference: Professor Margaret Burchett and horticulturist Dr Donald Wood at The
University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney, Australia have been
studying the method and rate in which plants take up VOCs from the
air around them and have found that you don’t need many pot plants
to improve air quality…. Professor Burchett discovered through her
research, you only needed one large plant in a 300 mm (12 inch) pot,
or three smaller pots on a window sill in a large living room (15
square metres or 3200 square feet) to make a measurable difference
to the VOC levels in that room. They found a reduction could be
measured in as little as 48 hours. 
The
Exotic Rainforest in Northwest Arkansas is the only rain forest exhibit in the state where any visitor can walk through a living tropical forest without charge accompanied by a guide who has studied the species within the collection. A guest once said it "looks like Costa Rica under
glass."
Don't let the photo fool you, the atrium is not enormous. The entire structure is not quite 8 meters by 8 meters (24 feet by 24 feet) with a 5 meter (16 foot 4 inch) ceiling at the highest point. Constructed in 2002, it is large enough to house a large rare plant collection that grows just like a natural rain forest with a controlled humidity of never less than 85%, controlled temperature never lower than 12.75 C (55 degrees F), and automatic overhead watering. The collections includes many species that have either reached or are approaching their natural adult rain forest size! A large number of the plant species are naturally planted including exotic orchids and tropical species including flowering trees are found in the garden along with those growing naturally on an epiphytic tree above your head just as you would see them in South America! In one area is a group of full grown banana plants that have produced delicious fruit more than once along with a pond and almost 19,000 liters (6,000 gallons) per hour waterfall.  Large Philodendron as well as Anthurium species with almost 2 meter (6 foot) spans hang from the ceiling creating the sensation of walking beneath a rain forest canopy. Additionally, the walls are lined with hanging baskets to make you feel as though you are actually walking in a South American rain forest. To add to the sensation you'll hear the sounds of naturally falling water as well as exotic birds recorded in the rain forest. The birds sound as though they are flying just overhead and in the distance you'll hear the soothing sounds of Ecuadorian pan flutes. The center post has a scarce hanging Cercestis mirabilis, the African Embossed Plant, along with numerous Anthurium species, rare ferns, Philodendron species and other exotic species on all four sides. A large leaf Philodendron sagittifolium covers the entire post and has now almost reached the ceiling. Close to 300 species of rare plants can be found throughout the building with many very large specimens hanging from the ceiling. The plants appear as comfortable in the Exotic Rainforest as they would in South or Central America since they frequently produce colorful inflorescences in the spring and fall. Although often difficult to locate, among their leaves you'll find 3 species of tropical tree frogs as well as a few small green lizards known as anoles. A beautiful Blue and Gold Macaw named Wizard also resides in the atrium. The large pond with moderately large fish is immediately to the right of the walk just out the kitchen door and all this is in the backyard of colonial home built in 1890 in a small Arkansas town. We've hosted up to 60 visitors in a single day due to several tours offered by garden clubs and groups of home schooled students. The Exotic Rainforest is not a business, it is a private botanical garden and there is no charge to visit. So if I can tell the bench seat is warm the next time I sit there I'll know someone, perhaps you, has visited! You are welcome to share our park bench anytime via the net or in person. All we ask is a call before you come. The garden is open to the public free of charge. from Exotic Rainforest |
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Orchid Care: A tall, slender stalk leads to an
exquisite flower composed of three inner petals, three outer petals,
and a cupped petal distinct from the rest. Labellum, inflorescence,
sepal—the names of the anatomical parts sound as fabulous as they
look. The whole exotic composition is almost alien in appearance,
extravagant in the extreme, yet possessed of a delicate intricacy.
Orchidaceae is arguably the most stunning and elegant family of
flowering plant known to man. For millions of years, the orchid
family has thrived and expanded, defying evolution, Mother Nature,
and the exploitation of its greatest opponent—Man. One hundred and twenty million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, a magnificent flowering plant came into being—the orchid. Evolution led to the demise of many plants and animals, but the orchid flourished, thriving on every continent save Antarctica. Orchids have adapted to live in all kinds of environments—mountains, bogs, grasslands and rainforests. At least 35,000 orchid species now populate the planet—and there is always the possibility that unknown species still await discovery. continued on beautifulorchids.com |
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Plants are more like humans than you think Natural variation with plants can easily be equated to varied beautiful races found in our own species. There is only a single species of human being known as Homo sapiens and members of our species have many facial differences and body shapes, sometimes distinctive to our race or the part of the world in which our family originated. We realize our species has different races which don't look exactly alike but we also understand there is only a single species of humans. The only major difference in most humans is skin color, hair color, height, weight, facial feature such as color of the eyes. All humans still have the same basic internal organs and same basic external body parts. Even though there are many variations in skin color in our species we would never consider declaring an individual a different "species" simply because of the color of their skin. What about the color of the hair or eyes? if we were to declare each individual with a different skin, hair or eye color a different "species" the confusion would be unfathomable. Which race, hair color or eye color would be the base species? If some extreme "scientist" were to claim the Anglo, Negroid or the Asian race was the accepted species and all others needed a new name for their "species" the world would surely "implode" and rational scientists would immediately declare those new names invalid. Often we admire racially mixed individuals since they have captured some of the best qualities of each of their parents. The same can easily be true of variations within a single plant species. If one plant variation has developed a unique "skin" color as is common with some human races and another has very unique eye qualities the combination of the two can produce outstandingly attractive offspring. If one parent had unusually long lobes or an unusually shaped leaf blade and that is combined with another parent of the same species that has other unique characteristics, the plant offspring can be stunning and is immediately thought by the untrained to be a "new" species. Still, both parents are from the same genus and species whether plant or human. Still, when we collect plants we often want to do the same thing as that "extreme scientist" simply because a leaf has a reddish underside while a plant that looks basically the same has a greenish underside. Color has very little to do to do with the determination of a species. Simply because the underside of one leaf is burgundy while another is green does not mean the two plants are different species. They just had unique parents. from Exotic Rainforest | ||||||||
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Plant Links
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 Nothing
beats fuchsia for an explosion of vibrant, eye-catching blooms. Hang
your fuchsia plant near a window, where it'll get filtered sunlight.
If you hang it outdoors, keep it in a shady location. These
made-in-the-shade bloomers don't like harsh, direct sunlight.It's a perennial, so you can overwinter it indoors. Bring your plant inside when the temperature drops below 45°F/7°C. It won't tolerate frost. Easy to find in garden centers and nurseries, there's just no excuse not to enjoy this sizzling show of flowers all season.  Dwarf Chenille Plant gets its common name from the fuzzy plumes of
tiny red flowers that trail above a thick mound of small, serrated
leaves. Given enough light, this plant blooms nearly year-round.
Repot in spring only when it has outgrown its container. Use a pot
with drainage holes to prevent soggy soil. It's naturally bushy, so
you don't have to pinch its growing tips to get it to branch out.
Keep it well-watered and fertilized during the
growing season. This plant also appreciates high humidity. You can
place the pot on a tray of wet pebbles to raise the humidity around
it. Or, mist the foliage with room-temperature water every day
except when the plant is in bloom. Raising the humidity also helps
to prevent spider mites from invading. Watch out for these pests,
especially in winter when indoor air tends to get dry.
Deadheading tip: Pinch off
flowers as soon as they start to fade. This will encourage many more
blooms.
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