One for the window sill, one for the desk...

GARDENING

So, you have chosen the right indoor plant types for your home. Next on the agenda is to make sure the containers are right, and your plants get all the nourishment they need. Lakshmi Unnithan Arvind offers suggestions on the kind of light, water and nutrients your indoor plants need, to thrive.

When space becomes a constraint, large potted indoor plants inside the house becomes difficult to maintain. In such cases, small indoor plants help create magic in small containers. They add colour to windows or tables, while some of them soften and blend with pieces of furniture.

As a part of the indoor landscape, small plants create a cool, spacious feeling, even in the warmest weather. Keep in mind that sound cultural methods, preventive care, knowing your plant’s requirements, and careful attention are crucial.

Some small plants carefully packed in wicker baskets on the table tend to be striking rather than the same scattered in rooms.If you’re looking for low-maintenance water-savers, consider planting succulents. They enjoy the sun and have impressive built-in water storage, making them drought-tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping. The hardy plants can strike roots anywhere, from a pot in a container garden to cracks in a stone wall. Some  succulents like sedum, aloe, agave, sansevieria and haworthias grow well indoors. Succulent and tender plants can be used in any room of the house at any time of the year.

The airier the conditions indoor, the longer the plants will last. Plants that are small propagate slowly and require very less light. If you have a balcony or a window sill, you can keep them for some days there and move them out to a permanent position.

Pony tail or elephant foot plant is an adornment in most living rooms these days. Space is at a premium in kitchens too. Modest and small plants can be incorporated here as it softens the stainless steel surfaces and enhances the natural beauty of terracotta, cork, wood and marble.

The most popular growing plants in kitchens are herbs like tulsi, sage, thyme, and rosemary. They might get their full sunlight on a sunny kitchen window sill. If you have a kitchen window box, bring the herbs in on rotation basis for a short stay.

Light matters

Most people try to ensure natural window light for the growth of their plants. If plants don’t receive light indoors, the leaves start yellowing and then they die. Light from reading lamps is also beneficial, but the new broad spectrum fluorescent lights are usually better. Generally, fluorescent light 10 to 14 inches above the plants will provide sufficient light for plants requiring medium light intensity, such as the pothos.

A combination of one warm white to one cool white light is best. If your plants appear spindly, they need more light and should be closer to artificial light. For even growth, turn the plants once a week so they receive light on all sides.Keep the compost moist, remove dried flowers and leaves and mist the plants indoors. Small containers with the plants could equally well grace a formal dining table or a corner of a large work surface in the kitchen. Buy a few boxes or containers for indoor display. Nowadays a lot of small pots in different shapes and sizes are available in markets. They range from terracotta cups being used as planters to fibre glass planters. For narrow shelves or window sills, transfer the plants into rectangular containers. Display all four of them as they are on a low table, or remove the supports of a plant trained up on canes and wires and place them on a high book case or on a pile of books so that they can tumble and fall a little way along the floor. Empty food tins also provide a home for plants too. Exquisite display depends on its containers too, so think innovative for the containers.All types of philodendron sp like pothos in soil-less culture in spice jars along with some ornamental leaves of aralia in it, cactus sp in a broken cup, chlorophytum in pots can  be kept indoors.

Succulents and cacti come in many varieties, providing the visual interest of striking shapes and textures, along with colourful summer blooms. Porous terracotta containers filled with a quick draining soil mix (half organic matter, half sandy, gritty stuff) create the best growing conditions. The first thing we need is coarse sand and cinder. Both these materials have to be washed and both have to be sieved to remove the fine dust. This coarse sand is mixed with fine manure. Manure items must be well rotted. A slow release fertiliser like bone meal can also be added in very small quantities. The important thing is that when such a mixture is watered, the water should not stand in the pot. Any extra water in the pot should drain out of the pot.
Succulents do not like having wet feet because most of them have evolved in areas of low rainfall or poor availability of water, and therefore their requirement for a porous potting mixture. This soil porosity does not vary from one grower to another depending on experience. A very porous soil has the advantage of not causing root rot but it can lend to root tip drying out. It also tends to wash off nutrients from the mix and needs more frequent watering.

NPK mantra

The basic food of the plant is nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium(K) and it has to be supplemented with trace elements. All succulents must be regularly fed. It is now believed that weak solutions of NPK should be given regularly to all plants in their growth period. A good commercial rose fertiliser used in 1/4th the recommended concentration once a month works perfectly fine.In cultivation, if using a porous mix, plants might need to be watered every third day in summer. This interval might increase to 10-15 days in winters.
One important thing is to water succulents only when they are in the growth. When they are in dormant condition you will not need to water them. The dormancy starts when they start shedding the leaves and then watering should be tapered off.

The least fussy plants are cacti.The only real demands these slow-growers have is that you shield them from extreme cold and don’t over-water. Small bottles are the best for money plants  or any aquarium plants. The roots get submerged in water and the leaves come out. It would be good if they receive some amount of morning and evening light. You could change the water once in two days and keep them in a well lit and well ventilated area and would provide some water soluble fertilisers for their optimum growth. These groups of plants require lower intensity of light.

There are a few plants that do well in dry and hot conditions and they are kalanchoe, sedum, echeveria, aloe, zebra plant, some caudiciform, cacti sp and aoenium sp. In summers, as you get sunlight filtered through the curtain, plants like sansevieria, pothos, philodendron, pleomele, snake plant and some agalonema sp. should thrive beautifully. Many house plants can be invigorated by growing them outside during summer.