Flowering and decorative plants are the best way to beautify a room. To care for flowers properly, one must love them and understand the conditions they need to thrive.
A plant is a living organism that goes through a growth period followed by a resting phase each year. This understanding is crucial for plant care. For instance, during the summer growth period, plants require more water and benefit from fertilization to boost their growth. In winter, during their resting phase, they need less water and should not be fertilized.
The life of a plant primarily depends on essential natural conditions such as light, air, temperature, water, and soil.
The best conditions for plants are found in rooms with windows facing southeast, as they receive sunlight for most of the day. South-facing windows should be shaded in the summer to prevent plants from overheating and drying out. North-facing windows can accommodate low-light plants. More light-demanding species, including herbaceous, semi-herbaceous, and flowering plants, thrive better in brighter conditions. Ficus, philodendrons, laurel, and other plants with thick, leathery leaves can tolerate lower light levels.
Not all plants need to be placed on windowsills. Plants like palms and philodendrons can be positioned further away from the window, while aspidistra can even thrive in a dark corner of the room.
Most plants develop significantly better if they can be placed outside on a balcony during the summer. However, they should only be moved outside after the threat of frost has passed and ideally on cloudy days. Once acclimated to the sun, they can handle warmer temperatures.
Room temperature is also crucial for plants. Many plants struggle with high temperatures in winter; for example, grafted lemons and oranges tend to drop their leaves if temperatures exceed 50-54°F (10-12°C), which can prevent them from flowering in summer. It’s best to avoid placing plants near radiators or stoves. Positioning them on windowsills can also create poor temperature conditions due to cold air from the glass and hot air from the heating system below. It’s better to place plants further from the window on small stands or tables.
The air in the room should be fresh, clean, and not overly dry. Therefore, it’s essential to ventilate the room regularly, ensuring that plants are positioned so that cold air from open windows does not directly hit them.
To prevent the air from becoming too dry—which is also not beneficial for humans—plants should be misted with room-temperature water daily or 2-3 times a week. This misting with warm water helps humidify the air, removes dust from leaves, and prevents the onset of pests.
Water used for misting and watering should not be straight from the tap or well; it should sit in an open container for several hours to reach room temperature and allow chlorine to dissipate. When watering, the water should pass through the entire soil mass and drain into the saucer.
The soil in which a plant grows is vital, as it provides the necessary minerals. Different plants require different types of soil, so careful selection is essential when repotting.
In urban settings, this issue is easily resolved, as the required soil can be purchased at a nearby garden center. Just inform the gardener which plants you need soil for. If you need to create your own soil mix, you will need turf soil, leaf mold, compost, and peat.
Turf soil is formed from the decomposition of sod over 1-2 years, collected from old pastures and piled up. This is the best soil, used either in its pure form or mixed for most plants. Leaf mold is made from decomposed leaves collected in piles during the fall. Compost is derived from old greenhouse manure that has broken down over 2-3 years. Peat soil is created after 2-3 years of decomposing peat piles.
To simplify soil selection for plants, you can sometimes use regular garden soil (the top layer of soil). Add coarse river sand to improve the mixture’s texture and drainage.
When creating a soil mix, remember that plants with fleshy or thick roots (like palms and ficus) should be planted in a dense soil mix consisting of 3 parts turf soil, 2 parts compost or leaf mold, and 1.5 parts coarse sand.
Plants with well-developed and fast-growing roots (like begonias and fuchsias) should be planted in a medium-density soil mix made of 2 parts peat, 1 part leaf mold, and 1.5 parts coarse sand.
Houseplants are primarily repotted in spring, just before the growth season, typically in March or April. Avoid repotting plants into pots that are too large; the new pot should be just big enough to accommodate the previous one comfortably.
When repotting, carefully detach the soil from the pot with a knife to preserve the root ball and ensure proper drainage so excess water can escape. Place some broken pottery at the bottom and add a layer of coarse sand. Then, add soil and plant the plant, ensuring the roots do not bend upwards. Do not plant the plant deeper than it was previously growing; the root collar should not be buried in the soil. After repotting, some plants may need to be pruned. Pruning helps regulate growth and shape the plant as desired. Cut above a bud on the outer side of the branch with a sharp knife. Once the repotted plant begins to grow, indicated by the swelling of buds and the appearance of new leaves, increase watering. To promote better growth, feed the plant with a solution of mineral fertilizers (1-2 grams per liter of water). Ready-made mineral fertilizer mixes are available for purchase. It’s even better to create your own mixtures, as this allows you to adjust the nutrient levels based on the plant’s condition.
To enhance plant growth, increase the nitrogen content in the mix; for flowering, boost the phosphorus. A standard mineral fertilizer mix consists of 1 part nitrate, 1.5 parts ammonium sulfate, 2 parts superphosphate, and 1 part potassium salt.
Watering with this mixture at a rate of 1-2 grams of mineral fertilizer per liter ensures normal plant development. For growth enhancement, water the plant with a mixture of 2 parts nitrate, 2.8 parts ammonium sulfate, 2 parts superphosphate, and 1 part potassium salt.
Before flowering, it’s best to water the plant with a mixture of 1 part nitrate, 1.2 parts ammonium sulfate, 3 parts superphosphate, and 1.3 parts potassium salt.
At the end of summer, fertilization should cease, as the plant enters its resting phase. However, you can still feed recently repotted and unrooted plants, as well as those that are sick.
Houseplants can be propagated through cuttings, layering, grafting, or division. Young plants produced through vegetative propagation retain all the varietal characteristics of the parent plant.
The most common method of propagation is through cuttings. A stem cutting consists of a piece of stem with leaves. It should be taken from a healthy plant, preferably from the tip of a shoot, cut with a sharp knife just below a leaf node. Herbaceous plants are propagated from cuttings in spring, while evergreen plants are propagated in summer.
Cuttings should be rooted in pots filled with coarse sand (they do not need soil until roots form). Additionally, rooting is more successful if the cutting is covered with a piece of glass, a cup, or a jar. Once roots appear, the cuttings can be transplanted into regular soil.
If plants are not cared for properly, pests may appear. The most common is the scale insect, which appears as small, raised yellow spots; it attacks oleanders, palms, laurels, and cacti.
Plants affected by scale insects should be thoroughly washed with warm soapy water or a tobacco infusion using a stiff brush. Be sure to wash not only the leaves but also the stems, taking care not to let soapy water touch the soil. Afterward, rinse the plant with clean water. Repeat the washing process after 3-6 days.
For other pests, use anabasine sulfate: 1-2 grams per liter of water, adding 4 grams of green soap or a ready-made soap emulsion (100 grams of soap dissolved in 1 liter of water, mixed well with 300 grams of kerosene). This mixture should be diluted in 10-12 liters of water.
Thoroughly spray the affected plant with the specified mixture, and rinse with clean water the next day.