Indoor plantation brightens up interior look

Nature is all powerful. It has the power to heal, cure, destress and nurture. Hence, without batting an eyelid one can suggest bringing nature in where you are, is probably one of the smartest ways of improving the quality of one’s environment. That is because most of us do not have the time to go out and seek out the goodness that nature has to offer.

Indoor plants don’t just create a sense of freshness. They brighten up the interiors creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Besides, improving the quality of air by releasing oxygen. Scientific research has shown that people feel much better in a space that is filled with greenery. Their productivity increases, stress levels and blood pressure levels come down. All these factors have added up to popularize indoor gardening or simply keeping indoor plants both in homes as well as in work places.

A number of important factors need to be taken into consideration when choosing indoor plants. Firstly, the natural light available in the place where the plant is to be kept. The container and the kind of time and energy that can be devoted for the maintenance of the plants.

Light is an important consideration because. There are very few plants that grow well in extremely poor light. And for those gardeners who love flowers-it is next to impossible to grow a healthy flowering plant indoors. All flowering plants require a lot of sunlight. Secondly, poor light results in slow and retarded growth. Similarly, one must remember that shade plants cannot withstand too much light. Therefore, if you are planning to reposition your plant from a low light area of the house to a bright light area it must be done gradually.

Another factor that needs serious consideration is the kind of container chosen. Using containers that are either too small or too large causes visual disharmony with its unbalanced appearance. Containers of the right size on the other hand provide adequate room for the roots to grow and proper watering.

There are two ways of planting indoor plants. First is the direct planting. Herein, the plant is planted directly into the container. In this case even when choosing decorative containers make sure there is a hole at the bottom. Therefore, you should make sure that you place a plate under the pot to prevent the excess water from the pot draining out and messing up the place. Double potting refers to the kind of potting wherein the pot with the plant is placed within another pot. In this case the second pot need not have a hole.

Though a number of fancy materials are used for making planters are being used these days yet, clay continues to be a preferred choice. This is because its porous nature allows air movement and proper drainage.

Choosing the right kind of plant is also important. This becomes all the more important because sometimes it helps you get better results when you choose a plant that complements your personality. If you are someone who likes to see fairly instant results and not work too hard it is better for you to stick to plants belonging to the coleus or palm family. Another excellent choice would be dieffenbachia. It is hardy, beautiful and requires minimum looking after. Money plants and rubber plants of course are all time   favourites. However, if you notice that a plant (especially, diffenbachia, dracaena, crotons or even coleus)starts growing new foliage only at the top. Then the plant tends to lose balance and begins to look a little odd. The best thing to do in such cases is to cut them back about six inches above the pot. These plants will soon fill the pot with dense foliage in no time. It is a good idea to use this opportunity to repot these plants.

Some of the common problems that we see in indoor plants are yellowing of leaves, the base of the stem turns soft and mushy and the tips of the leaves turn brown. Most of these problems are related to either of these three factors- light, watering or use of fertilizers. Yellowing of leaves is generally caused by overuse of fertilizers. Just keep a check on the amount of fertilizer used and you can see the leaves look healthier. Stems becoming mushy at the base is a classic case of over-watering. Browning of tips can be caused both by over-watering and use of too much fertilizer.

Today most of us live in apartments which probably do not provide adequate space for growing as many plants as we would like to. So, placing the plants properly is the challenge. Palms can be used as room dividers. Vertical gardening or putting the plants at different levels is also a good idea.

The market is flooded with creative and innovative pots and planters which offer great creative ideas of displaying greenery indoors. So, just look around and go green!

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