Tag: humidity

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Maintenance: Plant Propagation.

I’ve had some difficulties with propagations with my “string of turtles”. It’s more because of its placement, and to add to that, the humidity had dipped well below 50%. Understandable, at this point, there’s the solutions going towards giving this plant a humidity dome, or any covering that traps the humidity. This can be as simple as using plastic wrap to cover the tops of the plant pot. For some plants, this works. For others, it doesn’t and often results in the development of mold, and the end of the plant’s life will soon follow.

I’ve gone the route of looking through the pot with the “string of turtles”, and what I’ve seen is that the plant is well rooted into the top soil, and is still currently growing. For the vines and exposed leaves on the vines, I chose to remove those and put them in another location.

This location, was another terrarium, where I filled it with both sphagnum moss and sheet moss. I of course soaked and squeezed out the excess water, prior to placing them inside of the terrarium, followed by the “string of turtle” cuttings. Since the humidity levels are still quite low, it has to be covered at all times, maybe I’ll remove the cover for an hour or so, on a weekly basis. I’ve decided to do so once a week, after discovering one terrarium I didn’t open for a bit, and well, the smell wasn’t pleasant. Now, it’s not to say that terrariums should always be aired out, because some terrarium designs are permanent, and they are closed permanently. When this happens, you need something extra for its longevity. This is for another topic, and I will discuss this in another entry.

This isn’t the only set of changes with propagations I’ve looked at. The sundews, a good majority of my spoon-leaved sundews died, but from what I found out, sundews of most varieties, can be propagated easily, because they really don’t need much to multiply themselves. In the right conditions, sundews can create clusters of themselves. I know this, because my first, and second, set of spoon-leaved sundews, came in clusters when they were shipped to me.

The conditions I had some of my sundews in, were an open terrarium, where the bottom and surroundings were made up of a similar combination of what I chose for my “string of turtle” cuttings. I used those, with also a couple of parlor palms, just for a different look. I didn’t see what was coming, which were ferns growing out of the sheet moss. Since the terrariums are clear glass, I can fill the bottoms just enough with water, so that the mosses can be soaked in water, along with the sundews. The sundews are also comfortable in boggy conditions, and the sphagnum moss holds lots of moisture, this is perfect to protect the plants from the drops in humidity outside of the terrarium. Win-win!

This worked so well, I’m trying the same template with some more sundews, that are separated from the ones in that open terrarium I just discussed. Since those developed clusters of sundews, all the more reasons to try this out, in another setting. Granted, this will be a bit smaller, but they will still have wet sphagnum moss, and sheet moss, as the base of the setup. For this however, I’ve placed some plastic wrap over the top of the container to start.

Before I’ve tried all of what I mentioned, I also had some other sundew propagations in water, that I transitioned in a mixture of sand and peat moss, and a lot of water. This was placed in a clear container with a lid. For a bit, I had them covered, but as soon as I removed the cover, many started drying out very fast. This may be due to the very low humidity, which made the timing quite bad, so, I replaced the lid that covered these plants. I periodically check on them to see if they will recover. If not, then I know what my mistake was, and I won’t make that mistake again.

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Maintenance: “The Tank”.

Every now and again, plants need to be trimmed, pruned, and cut, for the sake of the health of the plant. This is no different for the plants within what I refer to as, “The Tank”. This is especially true for any instances of neglect, major or minor, as well as general care for the plants in there.

There are quite a few varieties of plants that I have in there, it’s often difficult to just cut what’s in there. When you have plants that have the tendency to grow continuously like a vine, you already know that those need to be trimmed.

I wasn’t feeling well, and when I was sitting out a month ago, I had some time to look at what I could not address right away. For one, during this time, my grow light wasn’t working properly, so I turned it off. As a result, because the plants didn’t get proper lighting, the leaves became a pale green, which isn’t a surprise. However, they continued to grow, because they still had their humidity. That eventually began to dry up, because of the continuous growth of the plants. Also, the plants weren’t getting enough light, and some of them trapped underneath one another, some leaves were withering away. Other plants and their leaves continued to grow without a problem.

The end result of it all became a decision of where to start trimming, and cutting. Most of the vines were of course the first priority to cut and trim. They were all over the place. Normally, letting these plants grow isn’t a problem, but because of a month’s hiatus, I had to go back to assess the situation. The issue comes with seeing just how much humidity was left in the tank. Surprisingly, there was still enough in there for the plants to thrive, prior to trimming and cutting.

While trimming and cutting, I of course reset the grow light to stay on 24/7, not because this is the plan, but because the light is damaged and needs replacing. It’s better for me to leave it on like this, and not to just leave off the light altogether. This way, the plants won’t be as pale as they are currently.

When I was finally able to see soil in enough areas within, “The Tank”, then I rehydrated the soil a bit more. I grabbed my pump sprayer to mist the area quite well. Then I replaced the lid on, “The Tank”, to keep the humidity inside and consistent.

My biggest challenge was to keep from trimming or cutting the wrong plants. It still happened, but not in such high frequency. There are some plants that are still quite tall, and are beginning to widen quite a bit. I have to make a decision of what’s going to happen next. I can trim and propagate, but that will mean removal of other plants that are especially growing tall, where I don’t want to remove nor replace. So, this will take some time to think about.

Until then, I’ll keep watch of the progress of re-growing some of these plants, and deciding potential locations to place some other plants. As long as they can be reacclimated properly, it will be a good result going forward.

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New Developments.

I have been under the weather as of late, and this resulted in some of my plants being compromised. However, for the ones that were not, I have some very interesting news.

When it comes to my existing plants, the cape sundews especially, they began pushing flower stalks, and they were quite big. For the ones I had, they grew and showed some nice white flowers at the tops of the stalks. I left them there for nearly a month, and they did their thing. After that, I cut them, because I needed the rest of the plant to recover, and grow properly. Before I knew it, another flower stalk appeared, in both my capes. I didn’t hesitate to cut them this time.

There’s also a smaller pitcher plant that had some issues, due to my neglect, in not allowing the plant to breathe. This led to one of the main pitchers somewhat “foaming” at the top of the main pitcher. I chose to allow the rest of the plant to breathe, and before I knew it, I discovered a bigger pitcher, not yet opened up, yet it was much bigger than the previous pitcher. It looks great.

I also had some issues with some of my butterworts, and I have three of them. The main one took very long to root, before I saw anything happen. The other two, I’m starting to see some leaves begin to push more leaf growth. One of those two, also pushed a nice purple flower.

For the one that took longer to root, I’m starting to see some of the leaves lift up, which is a sign that it’s going in the same direction as the others; and may begin to either flower, or have bigger leaves added to it.

When looking at these plants, it does take time for certain things to occur. It’s not just the plants pushing flowers, but for the plants to settle into their pots and go from there. It’s very satisfying to see plants flower, because if you’re not used to it, it may seem like a surprise, and a welcome one at that.

Of course this also means I had to refill the trays, to make certain they don’t dry out. Using sphagnum moss, it does dry out, but not as fast. I think this is why most of my plants didn’t dry out, after not watering them for a while.

One thing I try not to do, is let my plants dry out. If it happens, that’s unfortunate. It’s not always avoidable when you are injured, or incapacitated in some form. This will mean I will have to replace some plants, or heavily rehydrate those that may still be able to survive this drought.

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More Types Of Plants I Care For.

There is one particular plant that I’ve had for some time, and it’s been multiplying to the point, where I can’t keep them as I would like to. Thanks to keeping them in “The Tank”, they’ve been able to grow in abundance, and I’ve also watched several things occur during its growth. Because of the high humid environment inside of, “The Tank”, it can cause some plants to develop air roots, and grow quite nicely. This particular plant that I saw this in, grows quite fast. It’s so common to see this, in this particular species, it’s been given the nickname, “the inch plant”, because before you know it, it grows an inch from the last time you saw it. Its standard designation is tradescantia, and when it grows, it grows and it grows tall and fast.

I’ve not only been able to grow the initial plants, which were around three in the pot, they grew tall, to the point where I had to cut and propagate them in other areas of, “The Tank”. It didn’t take long for the tradescantia to root in the soil and then grow tall very fast. It’s just wild to see this. It took me some time to identify this one, because I just couldn’t figure out what to look for. It’s a good thing I am a recurring customer to the place where I initially bought this. Along with the parlor palms, and one red plant that I did buy from them the same time (3 for $10 at the time), it was a sight to see them grow the way that they did.

It was only a matter of time, before I had to remove the tradescantia, or a good set of them, from, “The Tank”. There maybe one or two propagations still in there, but I may remove those soon, because they are beginning to reach for the stars as well. Only difference, this one is also tangled between other plants, and even bending between those plants.

The red plant that was with those previously named, is nicknamed the bloodleaf plant, but is designation is also a nickname of sorts, Juba’s bush. This didn’t grow as fast in, “The Tank”, but it did grow, and eventually when it did start to grow, I also had to cut and propagate, like many other plants around them. Although, for one set, I’m starting to see some upward leaf curling, which isn’t a good sign. Hopefully I can remedy this, or replace the plant, with a recently rooted propagation.

THIS JUST IN: I have moved this particular plant, and placed it in an empty terrarium, with only peat moss and water, and I’m starting to see it improve. Also, I didn’t see the leaves change, so I did cut them off, so that it will begin growing new leaves. Some air roots are developing, which also shows that things are a little better for it.

It took some time for me to figure out what these were called. This way, if I needed to replace them, with a new purchase, then I would know what to ask for. I can’t say I would do so with the “inch plant”, because it grows almost like a weed, and it can propagate just as easily.

As for the parlor palms, it took some time, but once they begin to adapt inside of, “The Tank”, it was only a matter of time before seeing these plants begin to grow and display new growth. The shoots open up at the top, and eventually spread out; and with enough humidity and water in there, those leaves and the original plants increased in size. Not necessarily comparable to the “inch plant”, but its growth is still quite impressive. I’m just hoping it doesn’t outgrow its space, and touch the top of “The Tank”, like the “inch plant” often will. It’s getting very close to that, so I won’t be surprised if I have to remove some of them.

Another of these terrarium plants that I did buy, was the plant referred to as the, “peacock peperomia”, also known as the peperomia albovittata. This one tends to grow quietly, and I haven’t really noticed it for some time. Inside of, “The Tank”, I placed it in a corner, and it roots and grows with time. Nothing fast, but when you begin to notice something new, it’s spread out just enough for you to ask, “when did this happen?”

Propagating these plants, are just as easy, in this environment, because of the sustained humidity within, “The Tank”. I’ve done so for this one, maybe one time, and I have noticed that it did root quite fast already. Knowing that, it just means that I don’t need to do much in regards to having a separate area for it to grow, unless it becomes crowded. Right now, “The Tank” is becoming very crowded now, with additional plants mentioned in previous journals, so as far as I’m concerned, with these, and any terrariums that I’m using, I won’t really need to buy too many plants going forward.

I’m quite sure there are others, and it will take me some time to identify them, just like I did with the ones in this journal entry. Just know that plants of all varieties takes lots of time and patience to see any true results. Sometimes, the right environments can result in quicker results, and the right tools can aid in quicker, and better results.

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Temperature/Humidity.

Both temperature and humidity matters, in aiding the growth of plants in any environment. If they are big enough, like trees and bushes both big and small, they will adapt, not because they want to, but because they have to. All of the trees and bushes you see, eventually grew and adapted to the weather changes, and you see this in the city, suburbs, and the countryside.

In places where it snows heavily in winter months, or even has that chill in the air, those trees and bushes wil adapt. Those same trees and bushes will adapt, in extremely hot temperatures also. What may influence lots of their growth is the humidity as well, and much of their adaptation is due to getting rain every now and again. They’ll be in the sun all year, but rain only arrives in short instances; some more than others. When I say short instances, I don’t mean only raining once a month. Some places that might be true, but generally, you will see it rain several times monthly, for certain areas more than others. Seattle is a place known for being somewhat gloomy and rains a lot.

I’ll focus on humidity first, despite the order of the topics in the title. You’ll see why I did it this way, in a moment. I may alternate from time to time, so bear with me.

When looking at indoor plants, you need to keep both in mind, when looking for your plants to grow properly, you need to monitor the humidity. Humidity may be both good, and bad, for plants. I’ll tell you why this is.

Humidity is designated in three or four categories, depending on your applications. If you have pets and plants, you can use the designated labels often found on humidity gauges found in pet stores (see hacks), which are desert, moderate, and tropical. For most people, the humidity gauges found in hardware stores and other outlets, you have designations such as very dry, dry, normal, humid, and very humid. Clearly, you know the equivalents for each, but how the humidity affects you, may affect some of your plants in a similar fashion.

For some plants, unless they are labeled tropical plants, you won’t have too many problems in normal conditions, and they will grow, especially if the temperature is good. In your home, if you can walk around comfortably with little to nothing on, that may be an indication of how comfortable some plants can be also. This isn’t the case for all plants, because some can handle very dry humidity, such as succulents and cacti.

The humidity does affect the temperature, which is why we often see things like, “real feel” temperature, or we would see and/or hear, “but it feels like”, which I personally hate, but there’s a purpose behind it. It does vary, so don’t think that hot temperatures always has high humidity, or cold temperatures always has low humidity. It’s not always the case. Just look at some examples in the United States, with Arizona and Florida, where Arizona, and many areas similar, like some parts of Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and so on, may have low humidity, but the temperature can reach high in the triple digits at times. This is often referred to as a, “dry heat“. Florida is different, where the humidity can be in very high amounts, along with the temperatures. This is most likely because of the build of that state, where it’s a peninsula, pretty much surrounded more by water. You can look at the Northern areas like the New England areas, and New York state for example, where in the winter months, you will have colder temperatures, but the humidity may not be as low as you would expect. Why? Well, cold weather and low humidity (dry air) seem to go hand-in-hand. That cold weather can still retain quite a bit of moisture, especially when nearest to bodies of water, and intensify precipitations, such as snowfall, and other kinds of storms.

This part is much harder to explain, since I’m mostly referencing conditions indoors with plants.

For my indoor plants, the temperature does matter, because in warmer weather, it can be dry, due to other factors, such as being several floors above ground level. Believe it or not, this can affect your home’s level of humidity. You may have to adjust it for personal comfort, and for the plants’ comfort. In some instances, you will need a humidifier, or something a bit more heavy duty, like an evaporative air cooler. This may be needed, especially if you are in an apartment, where the heating system can be a bit out of your control. I known this, and I experienced some plants drying up, because the heat was so much, it dried the plants out, and the soil it was in. It’s clear from that, the plants could not recover, no matter how hard I or my mother tried to recover them. This happened when me and my mom visited her brother overseas, for two weeks.

Temperature and humidity goes hand in hand, because it can make or break some plants. Some plants can be fickle, and want to be in a perfect setting, where the humidity isn’t too high nor too low, and the temperature is also not too hot nor too cold. I’ve experienced this with many plants, which is unfortunate, but it’s a learning experience like everything else.
If you have the plants in the right environments, open air, or closed, you’ll aid in their growth, along with other factors, such as lighting. All of this helps, but what’s more important, in these scenarios? Lighting? Mediums? Water? Temperature? Humidity? Actually, it’s all of the above, and it’s not the same for all plants either, as most of us that have plants already know this to be true. For this journal, temperature and humidity will matter more here, because it’s the topic of this discussion.

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Trays.

I cannot say much about this topic just yet, because I’ve only used trays for one application, so far. It’s not to say I cannot discuss my experience with using them, because I will.
I’ve used trays for easier hydration for my plants, but just know I use this method for a handful of plant varieties, not just carnivorous plants.

I know that the humidity tray method is often used, especially when the humidity is somewhat low around the plants. This involves trays filled with water and little rocks, pebbles, or gravel. Some are quite similar to aquarium pebbles or gravel; but it’s not to say that they cannot be used in place of these little rocks, pebbles, or gravel, because that’s what I’m using currently.

Trays can be used for a multitude of uses. Some are used for propagation, and some are used for long periods of hydration so that it’s not needed to constantly or frequently watering the plants.

In using these trays for watering plants, they obviously water from the bottom, which means that the top won’t be included in this process. This means, that it will require a top watering, or a spraying, to get the tops of the plants watered, which is fine, because whatever doesn’t touch the plants, will end up in the trays instead.

Some trays are meant for more than just holding water. Some may be used for other purposes, such as propagation, seeding, and just for keeping plants organized in a neat setup.

This is what you see with trays where people are seeding, and use them to space out their seeds for them to grow without being clustered and the roots potentially wrapping around other roots of other seeds beginning to root in that area. If it’s one or two, it’s not that big of a deal, but if it’s maybe five or more, then it can be an issue, if they are growing into separate plants. Which is why this can be a good solution to prevent that.

Some trays can be used for propagations, and growing moss. When looking at the process of growing microgreens, it’s not much different on the surface as growing live moss. (There may be more to this, so when I do find out, I’ll discuss it later.) Just have them in water, and have the tray covered. The tray can be one that has some partition between the outer tray and the plants intended for growth, where the water will go to the bottom of the tray, and hydrate and nourish the plants from the bottom. The top will be receiving any air and while covered, it will get the water evaporating and rising to the lid, and comes down on the tops of the plants. This way everything gets hydrated, but also humidity to accelerate that growth, which you see happen with plants in terrariums. For those that have holes in the lids, that’s for some of the air to escape, and eventually some of that moisture will also escape. Now, this will result in needing to refill the trays more often, but it’s good for preventing algae growth.

This isn’t a topic that I know much about. I’m still learning about topics like microgreens, and even growing live moss. The latter, I’ve tried, and it’s still in progress.

There are various uses for trays, besides organizing. When it comes to plants, you know of some, and other creative ways to make things better. Over time, I’ll find out more, to show you what I find.