Thursday 28 February 2013

Indoor Tropical Plant Care Tips


Most houseplants are tropical plants. Indoors is definitely an artificial environment for any plant. Growing tropical plants indoors means you have to give special attention to plant diseases, fertilizing, watering and lightweight.

Light

Light is one of the most crucial factors for all plants. Plants obtain vital energy from light. Natural sunlight may be the best source of light for plants. Keep indoor house plants close to the windows. If you have placed your plant inside a corner, use light from an incandescent bulb for 5-8 hours. Proper amount of light is essential for plants to grow and flourish. Greenhouse bay windows are a good idea to keep indoor tropical plants healthy. In case your plant is appearing long and lean, which means it needs more light. Keep turning the guarana plant, so that light is distributed evenly all over the guarana plant. Special plants need certain specific light requirement. For instance, direct hot sunlight might burn the African violet plant, however, an adequate amount of light is necessary for African violet care. Without having sufficient amount of light inside your home, you can grow low light house plants.

Temperature

Most of time, people ignore this factor. For indoor house plants, conserve a warm temperature. Flowering plants need lower temperature. Keep your room well ventilated. Avoid keeping indoor tropical plants near hot appliances. Maintain warm temperature in evening and cool temperature at night for indoor house plants. Avoid any cold or hot drafts.

Air Temperature

Excessive low or high temperatures may modify the growth of the plant and cause lifeless appearance and foliage damage or drop. It's ideal to provide the plant a cooler temperature during the night for proper growth and advancement.

Fertilizers

Fertilizing the soil is essential for the effective and overall growth of tropical plant. Spring is the best time for you to fertilize, but you need to lightly fertilize throughout the year, once or twice in a month. As the nitrogen content in the fertilizers promote the development of the plant, phosphorous help in root development. The presence of potassium accentuates root growth, while calcium helps with the absorption of phosphorous and potassium.

Re-Potting

Re-potting or changing the pot of the guarana plant is very important to guide its growth. A plant cannot continuously grow within the same pot. At the time of re-potting, you need to use a pot which is of the following larger size and has larger drainage holes at the end than the previous one. The drainage holes allows excess water to flow out of the pot. You may also use a potting mixture that enables free drainage of water.

Humidity

A specific amount of humidity is essential for tropical plants. Should the required humidity level is not provided, the end of the leaves turn brown and begin drooping. Plants tend to lose water faster with the openings in the leaves than replacing it through their roots. You are able to provide the plants humidity by placing them on the tray of wet pebbles. This makes the water evaporate upward in the surface of the stones, developing a humid atmosphere around the plants. You may also generate humidity by simply spraying water around the leaves of the plant. Remember, plants when saved in an air-conditioned room wilt out faster as air-conditioner gets dry the humidity of the room completely.

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