Home plants do more than just beautify a space

Ms Dyner Patrick Hadassah, a botanist and environmental scientist, has been working with plants all her adult life. She spends most of her time in her two gardens, one in Bungoma and the other in Nanyuki, where she analyses and experiments with hundreds of plant species. Over the years, she  has developed a bias for indoor gardening and is constantly researching on the effects of house plants on the interior environment.

“House plants have so many benefits for  the occupants of a building that people should start viewing them as a necessity rather than just as a component of interior décor,” Ms Hadassah says.

To begin with, the effect of indoor plants on the aesthetics of a room cannot be overstated. Plants help provide a serene living and working atmosphere. Ms Hadassah points out that studies have actually proved that looking at plants, and nature in general, subconsciously makes people calm and relaxed. For instance, a cactus plant on one’s desk might help them work better as being around plants improves memory retention and concentration, hence boosting productivity.

She says students also tend to perform better when they study in environments with lush greenery.

“There is a reason why patients are traditionally brought freshly cut flowers by their loved ones. Studies have actually shown that being around plants can boost the healing process, and surgery patients have, in some instances, recovered faster when placed in a ward with indoor plants,” Ms Hadassah offers, adding that plants help people avoid being aggressive and become generally happier by reducing stress and fatigue.

“Basic biology teaches us that plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere, thus raising the oxygen levels in a room. Some indoor plants like the aloe vera, spider plant and the peace lily even go a step further and remove pollutants like benzene and carbon monoxide from the surrounding, effectively improving the air quality,” she offers.

If you’re looking to save on fragrance, Ms Hadassah recommends asking your florist to give  you lavender or jasmine plants, which smell great and thrive in the Kenyan climate.

However, the scientist warns that many house plants take in oxygen during the night while giving out carbon dioxide, and should thus be kept out of the bedroom.

“There are a few houseplants that give out oxygen during the night, and having these plants  in the bedroom is encouraged because the increased concentration of oxygen that they provide will help the occupants achieve quality sleep.” House plants that give out oxygen at night include the snake plant (also curiously known as “mother-in-law’s tongue”), the cactus and most varieties of  orchids.

Ms Hadassah further explains that plants release moisture through transpiration. Consequently, keeping house plants raises the humidity levels in a house or office as they give out water and this generally helps in keeping respiratory diseases at bay, while at the same time cooling the building naturally, hence assisting its occupants to save on air conditioning costs.

Ms Hadassah recommends at least one indoor plant for every 10 square metres of indoor space.

Mr Maxwell Otieno, a landscape artist and owner of Kiambu’s Kega Gardeners and Planters, agrees.

“Many of our clients have a keen focus on outdoor gardening, but sales of indoor plants have been picking up rapidly in the last three years,” offers Mr Otieno. Kega Gardeners and Planters is a horticultural enterprise that deals in the sale and planting of both outdoor and indoor vegetation in Runda, Gigiri and Ruaka.

Asked what factors one should take into consideration when choosing the right indoor plants and flowers, Mr Otieno says that the most important factor should to be the location where the buyer intends to place it.

LIGHTING AND SPACE

“Different plants require different amounts of lighting and space considerations. Before you go out to shop for an indoor plant, you should first look around your room to identify where you intend to put the plant. If you have room near a window, for instance, then you will generally go for succulent plants and cacti, which thrive on lots of natural light,” he says. “However, if the space  is in a corner behind your office desk, you can consider the ZZ plant (it is native to East Africa), the money plant or the popular heartleaf plant. Many climbing vine plants can  grow with minimal light.”

When shopping for house plants, it is important to find out the size the plant can reach upon maturity. This is because some plants can be  tiny  when you buy them but can end up becoming many times bigger, thus requiring more room than initially anticipated. Mr Otieno points out that while people have taken to planting palm trees indoors, especially in restaurants and shopping malls, the height of the palm  tree cannot always be regulated and once the plant reaches the ceiling, it has to be cut.  If you intend to grow a tree indoors, it is best to ensure that the tree can be pruned  regularly   to control its size. Where height is a restriction, the gardener suggests going for  creepers and running them along the ceiling.

Caring for a house plant can be a daunting task and calls for great commitment. Therefore, Mr Otieno advises that before shopping for a house plan, you should ask yourself how much time you are willing to devote to it.

He cites the orchid as an example of a house plant that requires tender,  loving care to survive and bloom.“Orchids are prone to diseases and will easily wilt and die if left unattended for a few days. Some people who planted orchids in their homes have had to go for training at the Kenya Orchid Society to learn how to best care for the sensitive flowers. If one is not willing to put in a lot of time, then they are better off not planting orchids,” says Mr Otieno. For busy individuals who might occasionally forget to water or prune a plant, there are plenty of house plants that require little care and won’t die easily. These include the money plant, the snake plant, aloe vera, English plant, and cactus, among others.

Once you have brought  a plant indoors, Ms Hadassah recommends that you avoid moving it around. She says that plants usually take months to get used to their new surroundings. During this period of acclimatisation, the plants redesign their orientation end even change the size and pigmentation of their leaves to adapt to their new surroundings.

MIMIC NATIVE HABITAT

“Once you’ve bought houseplants and brought them into your home, the secret is to try as much as possible to mimic the same conditions that those plants thrived under in their native habitats. This should take into consideration the amount of lighting, the composition of the soil and the amount of water to be given to the plant,” says the researcher.

Ms Hadassah echoes Mr Otieno’s words regarding lighting, saying it is a crucial factor to the survival of house plants. She says there are certain indications that should alert you when your plants are not getting sufficient light. These include leaves turning yellow and falling, flowering plants failing to bloom, slower-than-normal growth, and thinner-than-usual trunks with long spaces between the leaves.

To rectify this, you can introduce artificial lighting to help the plants thrive. According to Ms Hadassah, light from fluorescent bulbs placed half a metre above the plants is efficient as it contains the necessary spectrum required for photosynthesis. She, however, warns against over-lighting the plants as this might cause them to wilt, making their leaves dry and fall off. Plants that have been exposed to excessive light often have brown, scorched patches on their leaves. The leaves might also seem faded or washed out.

“Just like human beings need to sleep for proper growth, plants also need eight hours of total darkness every day,” she says.

While it is a no-brainer that houseplants need to be regularly watered, Mr Otieno says that one would be surprised to learn that a huge number of his customers kill their plants by not watering them regularly.

“If you are not in a position to regularly water your houseplants, you can insert a sponge (or a diaper) at the bottom of the flower pot underneath the soil. This sponge will absorb water and when the moisture content in the soil goes down, the roots of the plant can tap into the water stored by the sponge, now acting as a water reservoir,” suggests Mr Otieno.

He reveals that he sometimes pours the remnants of his tea into his flowerpots for the plants to enjoy. This, he says, makes the plants develop greener and bigger leaves. He adds that he sometimes also pours water that he has j used to boil eggs into his flower vases. “I usually let the water cool then pour it inside the containers. This introduces calcium into the soil, which is good for the plants,” he explains. Another watering secret that Mr Otieno reveals  is adding a tablespoon of vinegar to every litre of water you use to water your plant. This, he says, adds essential acids to the soil that help the plants grow with more vigour.

Mr Otieno strongly discourages watering plants with cold water. Ms Hadassah agrees, adding that plants hate cold water. She says that water below 20°C will cause the plant to become dormant by stifling any further growth.

But excessive watering can  also be detrimental to plants. When you notice a foul smell coming from the plant’s pot, this can be a sign of overwatering as it indicates that the plant’s roots are rotting underneath. Other characteristics of an over-watered plant include spotting, mould, or fungus on the soil surface and  brown and rotten patches on the leaves.

As a guide not to overwater your plants, you need to ensure that the soil is kept moist but not wet or muddy. Ms Hadassah adds that water should never be left standing at the bottom of the container.

“At Kega Gardeners and Planters, we sell all our house plants in containers that have drainage holes at the bottom so that excess water can seep out to avoid water-logging,” says Mr Otieno.

CONTAINERS

When choosing a container to for your house plants, Mr Otieno says, the container should not only complement your interior décor, but also suit your plant. The container’s size should be proportionate to the size of the plant upon maturity. Small pots are generally encouraged as opposed to large ones. This is because while large pots retain too much water that might not be accessible to the roots, the smaller pots allow the roots to absorb the maximum amount of water from the soil easily.

You might choose to speed up the growth of their houseplants by adding commercial fertiliser, but Ms Hadassah is firmly against this approach. She argues that people  tend to apply too much of artificial fertiliser, hence scorching the roots of the plant. She instead encourages the use organic potting soil (mixed with compost).

Keeping your houseplants clean and dust-free will go a long way in preventing them from being attacked by pests and ensuring that the leaves get sufficient exposure to light for them to grow. You can spray water on the leaves occasionally to remove dust and insects. Once in a while, you can wipe the leaves clean using a wet sponge dipped in water.

In  place of water, Mr Otieno says that he sometimes cleans his houseplants by dipping a sponge in milk. This, he says, gives the leaves a glow that makes them all the more appealing to look at.