Houseplants and humidity
By Amy McDowell
When I was in
charge of watering inside the dome at the Des Moines Botanical Center, I
watered more than just the plants. I also soaked the concrete walls and pebbled
paths. The plants, screaming for moisture, needed more than just a drink of
water—they needed high humidity like the tropical rainforests of their origins.
During these cold
winter months, the dry outside air is sucked into our furnaces, heated, and
pumped through the heat vents throughout our homes. And just as we suffer with
dehydration such as thirst, dry, itchy skin, tired, burning eyes and tender
sinuses, our houseplants are suffering with dehydration that shows itself as
curling leaves, dry brown leaf tips, yellow leaf margins, shriveling, wilting,
bud drop and limp, weak growth.
The water that
houseplants take up through their roots is used for growth, but much of the
moisture is released, or transpired, through tiny holes in the stems and leaves
called stomata. Winter air pumped through our furnaces is so dry that it
rapidly taxes houseplants beyond their capacity. There are a number of things
you can do to raise the humidity level and aid plants, and it doesn’t even
require watering your walls and floors.
· Humidifiers are the simplest and most effective
method to raise humidity.
· Group plants close together so they can benefit
from each other’s transpired moisture.
· Make pebble trays. Fill sturdy plant saucers
with pebbles and water and place them around your houseplants. The pebbles
create more surface area than just a dish of water so it will evaporate
quickly.
· Turn down the furnace. Plants will transpire
less moisture if the furnace isn’t running as often. Also, keep plants away
from heat vents and drafts.
· If the kitchen or bathroom is bright enough,
move plants there, where humidity is often higher than the rest of the house.
· Misting plants is the least effective option. It
is a short-term, temporary solution that must be repeated frequently throughout
the day to even make a difference. In addition, water droplets on the leaves
may lead to disease.
