Monday, April 26, 2010

Fertilizing Your Indoor Plants

Now that it's springtime, indoor plants are coming out of their winter dormancy, and their active growing season is here once again. This is the time to fertilize your indoor plants.

Even though plants create their own food by photosynthesis, some minerals may be missing in the soil, and the plants will need an extra boost. However, since indoor plants have a slower growth rate and usually a lower light level, they don't need quite as much fertilizer as outdoor plants.

For balance growth of all plants, there are three essential elements which are needed: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). These are marked to indicate the amount of each. There are some other minerals, called trace elements, which are needed also, but in much smaller quantities. Each element has it's own purpose. Nitrogen provides green, leafy growth, Phosphorus promotes healthy roots, and Potassium helps plant growth and resistance to water and insect stress. The amounts of each are indicated by numbers, such as 20-10-5, which stands for the percentage of each nutrient. This means that the fertilizer contains 20% (N) Nitrogen, 10% (P) Phosphorus, and 5% (K) Potassium. The needs of each plant varies, and the wrong combination can be very harmful.

Water-soluble fertilizers, which the plants can draw from the soil, are best for interior plants. They are easily dissolved in water, and do not have an offensive odor or color. There are also foliar feed fertilizers, which are applied by wiping it on the leaves.

In order to determine if a plant needs to be fertilized or not, consider the following: - The foliage is looking pale, and/or generally unhealthy all over - The growth of the plant has slowed down considerably - The plant has not been fertilized in a long time Another way to find out is to check the soil for available nutrients.

All in all, sufficient nutrients are essential for plant health, just as they are for us humans!

Nature's Creation LLC is an interior plantscape and design company. We have been installing and maintaining indoor plants for commercial accounts for over 30 years. Visit our websit @ http://www.naturescreation.com.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Health Benefits of Plants

Did you know that there are harmful chemicals in the air you breathe every day? Did you know that plants in the office can reduce employee sick time by 14%? Are there any health benefits to having plants in your home or the building where you work?

There has been much research showing the direct impact of plants, but the most important impact is the removal of harmful air pollutants. Plants are able to neutralize such pollutants that are given off by various items in our offices and at home. Formaldehyde, for example, is one of the chemicals that can be removed by indoor plants. They do this mainly through their root zone. Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. There are many similar chemicals in the air you breath everyday that can easily be eliminated.

Different species of plants have different levels of capacity for pollutant removal efficiency. Maximum improvement of indoor air quality is achieved by using multiple species of plants for each location. The more leaves that are on a plant contributes to cleaner air quality. Adding just one plant can be sufficient enough to clean the air in a 100 sq. ft. area! It is no wonder that employee sick time can be reduced by 14 percent by adding greenery to the workplace environment.

So you see, plants are very beneficial to have around, not only visually, but also for improvement of indoor air quality which promotes a healthy environment in which to spend your time.

Nature's Creation designs, installs, and maintains interior landscapes. They have a full selection of live and artificial plants. Interior landscaping has been their profession for almost 30 years. Try Nature's Creation for all your interior landscaping needs today.

Shaun Lewis