IN THE YARD: To keep indoor plants healthy (and alive) follow five factors

Depending on the species, indoor plants can be easy to grow and maintain or they can be very complicated.

Some owners make things more complicated than they need to be and will often over do the care of their plants to the detriment of the plants’ health.

Other owners will not pay close enough attention to the growth requirements of even the easiest to grow specimens and then complain they only have a “brown thumb” and cannot grow plants indoors.

There are five plant growth factors that are common to all indoor plants. These factors are the things that the plants need in varying amounts depending on the species. Once the owner learns to supply these factors in the right amount and at the right time for each plant then it becomes fairly easy to have healthy and beautiful plants to grace the shelves and window sills in the home all year around.

» Light is one of the most important plant growth factors and is the most common cause of poor plant growth due to a lack of understanding about what each plant needs. All plants need light, but each species needs a different amount. Many indoor plants grow best in bright, but indirect, sunlight. If there is not enough light the plants will indicate this by growing toward the nearest source of sunlight. This will cause the plants to become “leggy” by causing the plant to have a long, spindly appearance that is often tilted toward the light. If there is too much light, the foliage may turn brown along the leaf edges and the plant may take on a scorched or burnt appearance. When a new plant is brought into a home, it is a good idea to move it around to different locations with different light levels to find the right spot where the plant looks its best. There is usually a label on new plants that indicates how much light the plant prefers.

» Water is the second most common cause of poor indoor plant health. As with light, all plants need water but in different amounts. Once again, the label found on a new plant will indicate how much water is needed but this is a general guideline. The soil the plant is growing in will affect how often water is needed, some potting soils dry out faster than others. The home itself will also affect how often water is needed as some homes are drier than others depending on the type of heat and other factors. As a general rule to use as a starting point, insert a finger into the soil to the second knuckle to see how moist the soil is around the roots; apply water if the soil is dry. Over time the owner will learn how often to water the plant to keep it looking great.

» Temperature is very important to house plants. Most indoor plants are native to tropical areas and cannot tolerate cold temperatures. In general, these plants will grow and thrive the best if they are maintained between 60 and 85 degrees. Many plants will grow even better if the night time temperature is about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the daytime temperature as this duplicates the tropical conditions where the plant grows naturally. Most indoor plants will suffer if the temperature falls below 50 degrees and almost all will die if they freeze.

» Nutrients are what we call plant food. Just like people, plants need a healthy, well-balanced, nutritious diet if they are to thrive. The trick is to provide these nutrients in the right amount at the right time. Many owners over feed their plants and this leads to health problems. Others do not feed often enough. Look for indoor plant food in the garden shops. These products are formulated to take most of the guesswork out of plant feeding. Slow release products and/or those made for specific plants are always a good choice.

» Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air that surrounds our plants. Some plants grow best in humid air but others prefer dry air. This is another reason to read the information label that comes with a new plant. If humid air is called for, but the home tends to be dry, then the plant can be placed on a shallow tray filled with gravel or decorative stones. The tray can be filled with water which will evaporate and help to keep moisture in the air in the immediate vicinity of the plant.

There are other things to consider when caring for indoor plants but these five factors are common to them all. Through trial and error the right mixture can be found to keep the plants healthy and beautiful. Once the correct recipe of light, water, temperature, nutrients and humidity has been found, it will be much easier to care for the plants.

Sutphin is an extension agent with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Danville Unit Office. Contact him at (434) 799-6558.