How To Maintain The Right Air Humidity For Indoor Plants

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The enemy of indoor plants is dry air

Insufficient humidity in the room is one of the main limiting factors in the development of indoor plants. Meanwhile, in the absence of proper values for this parameter, the plant, unless it is a succulent, suffers very seriously: its aerial roots, leaf tips dry out, metabolic processes in tissues are disrupted. Cordilins, dracaena, conifers are especially sensitive to a decrease in moisture.

The decorativeness of indoor flowers deteriorates sharply, the plant is attacked by many diseases (spider mites, thrips), and flowering in such conditions may not occur at all.

How can you help plants survive such a "winter drought"?

It should be said right off the bat that adjusting humidity is much more difficult than temperature. This issue is especially relevant in winter, when, with the connection of central heating batteries, the air humidity in the room decreases from 40-50% to 25-35%, while the optimal values for most plants are 60-80%.

Spraying plants is the simplest and most familiar technique for all flower growers. There are quite a few water sprays, and they are presented in a very different price range, starting from a 15-ruble device that is screwed to any plastic bottle. It is best to spray indoor plants with boiled warm water. Boiling the water will help prevent salt stains on the leaves, and the room temperature will relieve the plant from thermal stress.

Remember that not all plants will enjoy direct spraying. It will be well tolerated by representatives of flora with rather hard leaves and some others. You can safely spray ficuses, philodendrons, monsters, anthuriums, codiaums. Plants with pubescent and delicate leaves are best not directly sprayed, but spray water next to them.

The same should be done with most of the flowering subtropical plants, such as gardenia, camellia and the popular azaleas during the flowering period, since water droplets are detrimental to the delicate flower petals. In addition, indirect spraying is necessary for bromeliads and orchids growing on pine bark blocks or epiphytic trees. Winter watering should not be frequent - once a day (preferably in the morning) will be enough.

If you did not spray, and a spider mite managed to attack your plants, then you can take health measures as follows: after the crown has been wetted with water, the plant is wrapped in transparent plastic wrap, which should be tightly pressed against the leaves. After one to two weeks, spider mites will disappear, since they do not tolerate high humidity.

An excessive number of sprays in combination with a cool temperature can lead to overmoistening of the earthen coma, which in turn creates favorable conditions for the development of small wingless white pests - sugars. Podura damage small roots, germinated seeds, seedlings. To get rid of them, it is enough to lightly dry the earthen lump and sprinkle the soil in the pot with a layer of sand.

Another technique for increasing moisture around the flowers is to place them on a wide tray, into which a layer of drainage is poured, covered with sphagnum. The bottom of the pot should not come into contact with the water constantly present on the bottom. Vapors from such a pan increase the humidity by about 8%.

A fairly effective way is to use household air humidifiers. In this case, the undoubted benefits of humidification will extend not only to the green inhabitants of your apartment, but will help you yourself. Normal air humidity will help your skin, it will be a good prevention of pulmonary diseases and insomnia.

Humidification devices are classified into "cold steam" humidifiers, "hot steam" humidifiers and the most advanced ultrasonic air humidifiers, which use a thin piezo membrane that throws small droplets of water into the air. With the help of ultrasonic humidifiers, you can achieve 80% humidity - this humidity is good for tropical greenhouses; in the room, it is better to limit yourself to 60%.

In the absence of such devices, you can put a bath with water on the battery, which will gradually evaporate and humidify the air in the room.