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 January 28, 2009 
A House Plant: Just What Is It?
This is the time of year when I have the luxury of spending extra time with my interior plants. My 46 feet long solar heated greenhouse can reach temperatures exceeding the mid-80s while outside it remains in the 20s.
I have to admit I have been a houseplant junkie from the early 1960s. For me it was more a passionate love of plants than a desire to decorate and enhance my surroundings, although, I must admit, the more I learned and was able to acclimate my plants to various conditions, the more I liked the combination.
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One of my first jobs as an independent contractor (once I closed my retail plant store) was working with interior decorators and designers on interior-scaping, a relatively new field that I naturally fell into. I knew what plants would do well and even thrive in what locations in any situation. Foliage plants were the rage at the time and I was there to share my knowledge of plant choices and needed care. Thus began a second career in plant-caretaking for celebrities and corporations.
Foliage plants at the time were often referred to as exotic plants simply because they were introduced into parts of the world outside of their historical documented range. They inhabited gardens as well as greenhouses and living spaces.
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These stems of Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) happily grow in indirect light in water that I change monthly.
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Houseplants are frequently grown for decorative purposes and as air purifiers. Most of these kinds of plants are tropical or semi-tropical in origin. Often outdoor plants are brought inside in the fall and serve nicely as winter companions. A sunny window with a flowering geranium adds great cheer to a room. On a similar note, your tropical plants might get treated to a summer vacation outside when it's warm.
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This Ming Aralia has been beside my computer for at least four years, content to be of service right where it is.
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Window gardening offers great relaxation allowing one to observe up close young new leaves unfold, and flower buds form and open. Watching plants develop, burgeon and rest offers a peaceful connection to the cycle of growth.
Ever since wealthy Romans built greenhouses using translucent mica, the notion of growing plants in containers, which is at least 3500 years old, was able to move indoors and stay sustainable. In 1860, Thomas Rochford and sons, Limited, in England were growing commercially such plants as ficus trees, ferns and palms for sale as indoor plants. The use of interior plants was especially popular during the Victorian Era. It was during this time that the Wardian Case (the forerunner of the terrarium) became so popular.
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Domesticated plants (they were wild once, right?) are special because they are very likely farther from their native habitat than any other plants we grow. When you bring one home remember it has been separated from its ecological niche, its native soil, its normal climate. It is very important to try to understand, empathize and like the plant that you are introducing into light, temperature and humidity suitable for yourself.
Your new addition will adjust to your living conditions relatively quickly. You should make every effort to find out just what it most prefers and then try to provide its needs as closely as possible. Remember plants are energy converters. In the presence of light they manufacture their own food, something no other living organism can do.
I mentioned a geranium in a sunny window above. A houseplant can be any number of annual bedding plants brought inside to a bright spot: impatience, for example. Even perennials and bulbs and cacti can be houseplants. Don't forget a window herb garden, too. Just suit the plant to the site. To answer my initial question, any plant you have indoors, be it a bit of moss on a rock you spray daily, can qualify as a houseplant. It's up to you.
He has no yard behind his house,
No garden green to till,
And so he works the hothouse plan
Upon his window sill.
-Old Song
From
The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on
January 28, 2009
© 2009 Ed Mues. All Rights Reserved.
eMail:
eGarden@MountainAir.us
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