When purchasing a house plant for indoor gardening, select the plants that look to be free of pests. It's advisable to check the foliage undersides and the leaves for signs of disease or insects. You can select plants that look clean, sturdy and well-potted. If you choose plants with healthy foliage, then you can avoid plants with scorched or yellow leaves, wilted foliage, brown leaf margins, spots or blotches or spindly development. Moreover, shun those with torn leaves and those that have been cared for with "leaf shines," which add an irregular polish to the leaves. Plants that have new leaf buds and flower alongside young growth are usually of enhanced quality.
When transporting plants, it's important to remember the two seasons of the year that can create impairment to the plants: the hot, hazy summer and the cold, chilling winter months. During the summer, steer clear of placing plants in a car with the windows tightly shut, because temperatures will tend to rise and destroy the plant very quickly. You can shade the plant from direct sun while it is in the car; the plant can be scorched by the sun shining directly on it, although the air conditioner is on and it's usually comfortable in the car.
During the winter months, wrap plants utterly before leaving the garden center to transport them to your vehicle. A short run from the garden center to the car in severely low temperatures can kill or acutely damage plants. Wrap plants completely with newspaper or paper bags, and then place them carefully in the front of the car before you turn on the heater. The trunk of most cars is obviously too cold to transport plants safely during the winter months.
On an unmitigated trip, make special arrangements so that the plants will not be damaged and frozen by cold weather. Many foliage plants will be harmed significantly if the temperature drops well below 50'F, so it's vital to maintain a warm temperature as much as possible around these plants when carrying them from one location to the next. Finally, never permit wind to blow across them from open windows of the vehicle.
Research revealed an interesting phenomenon in the 1970s: Tropical plants grown in full sun have leaves or sun leaves, which are structurally different from the leaves of plants grown in shade, known as shade leaves. Sun leaves have less chloroplasts as well as less chlorophyll. Their chloroplasts are positioned deep inside the leaves as they are thick, tiny and plenteous. Shade leaves have a greater number of chloroplasts and more chlorophyll, as they are thin and much fewer in number.
When plants are grown in strong light, they develop sun leaves which are organically inefficient. If these same plants are placed in low light, they must either change existing sun leaves into evening shade leaves or drop their morning sun leaves and grow a fresh set of shade leaves which are organically more efficient. To lessen the shock which happens when a plant with sun leaves is set in the shade, progressively condense the exposure of light levels. This process is referred to as 'acclimatization'. The gardener should acclimatize the plants when setting them outdoors in the summer by slowly. |
