We need a trillion more indoor plants.

[Ganoderma]

i think its been mentioned before, but live trees in balls are easily transplanted after christmas...

or just make the switch to a ficus christmas tree, pines are over rated anyway.

as for lighting most plants mainly use chlorophyl a and b, which use the blue end and red end. so have a bulb of 2700K and one at 6000-6500 is a good idea just avoid those 4000-5200k things.


and for more plants. how many of us have windowsills? work, home whatever. there are a number of hard to kill plants that do ok on window sills for years. cactus, aloe's, african violets they all seem to take the varying cold/hot bright/dim and forgetfulness of the owner to water really well! i used to have a small morning glory growing in a coke bottle in my cars cup holder, but it got a little big and annoying so out it went.

plants can grow almost anywhere, trick is getting them there with little effort. once they pass the lazy test, its approved for the masses

[Michaelangelica]

Another study on the benefits of plants in hospitals.

This one mentions the positive effect of plant-patient interaction which is new.

Patients with plants in their rooms had significantly fewer intakes of pain medication, more positive physiological responses (lower blood pressure and heart rate), less pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and better overall positive and higher satisfaction with their recovery rooms than their counterparts in the control group without plants in their rooms.

An interesting note to this study—the majority of patients who had plants in their rooms reported that the plants were the most positive qualities of their rooms (93%), whereas patients without plants in their rooms said that watching television was the most favourable aspect of their rooms (91%).

The study suggests that potted plants offer the most benefit, as opposed to cut flowers, because of their longevity
. Nursing staff reported that as patients recovered, they began to show interaction with the plants, including watering, pruning, and moving them for a better view or light.

A number of studies have also shown that indoor plants make air healthier and provide an optimum indoor environment by increasing humidity, and reducing the quantity of mould spores and airborne germs.

This nonpharmacological approach to recovery is good news for patients, doctors, and insurers alike in terms of cost effectiveness and medical benefits.
The study provides strong evidence that contact with plants is directly beneficial to patients' health, providing meaningful therapeutic contact for patients recovering from painful surgery.

Article: Seong-Hyun Park and Richard H. Mattson, 'Effects of Flowering and Foliage Plants in Hospital Rooms on Patients Recovering from Abdominal Surgery', HortTechnology 18: 549-745 (2008)

Do Plants Speed Up Recovery In Hospitals?

[Michaelangelica]

How about this cute, inventive idea?

Living Moss Carpet Adds a Touch of Green to Your Bathroom
by Evelyn Lee
There’s nothing like the feeling of fresh cut grass under the toes, especially when stepping out of the shower. This Moss Carpet by Nguyen La Chanh brings the outside indoors in an unconventionally natural way by placing it underfoot. The lush green lawn thrives in humid environments, which makes your bathroom a perfect place to grow.

More pics and info here
Inhabitat Living Moss Carpet Adds a Touch of Green to Your Bathroom

[Flapjack]

Moss mats in the bathroom. Not for me but remember a lot of mosses carry antibiotic properties and were use in wars of old as the only healing available. Our bathroom is a home to orchids retrieved from supermarkets after they have dropped their flowers for a small % of there value. Its only 50 F. in there at the moment but some are still in bloom.

Also a couple of airplants.

My office is the home for fuchsia seedlings from my work on producing pest and disease resistant fuchsias

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

i think its been mentioned before, but live trees in balls are easily transplanted after christmas...

Sounds painful

as for lighting most plants mainly use chlorophyl a and b, which use the blue end and red end. so have a bulb of 2700K and one at 6000-6500 is a good idea just avoid those 4000-5200k things.

Anything low energy, that would fit into a standard light socket?

A Moss/Tinea cure Flapjack?

[Moontanman]

Moss is going to require quite a bit more light than a low energy light bulb. I've grown moss and it cannot grow indoors under normal ambient light conditions. The light conditions necessary to grow moss would require much more light than is available in most houses at floor level. If a window was positioned in way so that direct sunlight fell on it for a couple hours a day it might grow but to grow faster than a human walking on it would damage it would require far more light than is available in most if not all houses.

[Ganoderma]

that mat is neat, but i can't see it lasting more than a month lol.

low light? LED and Fluorescent are both great, and have good light per watt. the amount of light you will need will depend entirely on the plant your growing

Moss is going to require quite a bit more light than a low energy light bulb. I've grown moss and it cannot grow indoors under normal ambient light conditions. The light conditions necessary to grow moss would require much more light than is available in most houses at floor level. If a window was positioned in way so that direct sunlight fell on it for a couple hours a day it might grow but to grow faster than a human walking on it would damage it would require far more light than is available in most if not all houses.

great points! i used to grow it in my frog enclosures and the amount of light i needed was disgusting.....pretty, yes....environmentally friendly, no way!

[Michaelangelica]

On lights the NASA LED technology seems to have finally tricked down south
I thought these "Light Sticks" (Someone should make them an market them as Light Sabers!) were really cute

you can build your own long-lasting, nifty-looking LED light spikes. Popular Science details the parts and simple wiring steps needed to create the light spikes, which can be made from any clear container and hooked up and controlled as single units or chained into a system. No soldering or other intense electrical work appears to be needed,

Build Your Own Plant-Boosting LED Light Spikes | Lifehacker Australia

Lots of info at this site
LED Grow Master presents LED grow lights for plants and planet

More than 95% of the light emitted form our LED grow lights is in the peak absorption range, meaning the plants are able to absorb and use the
wavelengths provided for growth and health. High heat light sources such as HPS and Halide emit mostly heat. For every 1000 watts of electricity
used- approximately 750 watts is heat

LED Grow Lights and LED Plant Characteristics Comparison

• In commercial growing, monitor your CO2 levels. LED lights emit a large amount of absorbed light energy, which may require slight
augmentation of CO2 levels (typically 300-500 PPM).

LED Gardening Tips for use with LED Grow Master LED Grow Lights
Does this mean the lights emit less CO2?

[freeztar]

How about this? A little pricey, but very cool!

LumiGrow LED Grow Light [LUMIGROW1] - $1,507.50 : Buy LED Grow Lights, Procyon 100

[Ganoderma]

Led's work good. i had a board made here with a friend of a friend who makes panels for work. they worked quite well, but they dont penetrate very well so for tall plants they failed kind of badly. similar to flouros that way. but as mentioned, price is an issue...i stopped the whole idea a year or 2 ago until tech goes up and cost goes down lol.
guess its getting better now a days eh?