We need a trillion more indoor plants.

[Michaelangelica]

Look at this abomination
Synthetic surfacing options for roundabouts and median strips.


Landscape Australia Expo 2009 - Melbourne Show

[freeztar]

I have a confession to make. I think I've lost the fight on the homefront.

My wife brought home a fake wreath the other day. Despite my protesting, it matches the kitchen paint!

Finally she seeked the reason behind my disdain. When I tried to explain my reasoning, I got the response, "whatever". All of a sudden, my disdain for plastic plants is turned on me and I'm left to consider my accrual of empty beer bottles. Since I'm not willing to go cold turkey, I suppose it's a fair cop.

Nonetheless, I plan on stocking our windows full of live ones once our finances simmer down a bit. (April is a bad month for us in the US...taxes, insurance renewal, and the usual rent and bills)

[maikeru]

Say it ain't so, Freeztar.

I was wondering if some of the kind folks here could give me some advice. I'm growing a Meyer's lemon tree indoors, and I put it in some more homemade biochar/terra preta soil. But it's withered and not looking so hot. The leaves have dropped off of it. I believe this is because the roots dried out during shipping to my house. Will it recover or do I have to give it up as a loss and order a new tree? Anyone grown one of these Meyer lemons?

This is my first one. The lemon tree's brethren, the lime and dwarf fig, are looking much better and putting out new leaves.

[Ganoderma]

if your adding ash and such, you could have swung the PH WAY too far, which will harm plants. many leafy plants do well in slightly acidic soil, say 6 ish. take a look see if yours is off the charts. other than that i find the only things that citrus really hate are droughts (mostly for small plants in post) and freezes.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by maikeru

Say it ain't so, Freeztar.

Freeztar So aren't you saving the empty beer bottles to recycle when you make your own home brew? Thus saving the money to buy your lady a new diamond ring?
You need to learn the art of Irish Dissembling!

I never did get the Yank obsession with wreaths.
Here they are only ever used at funerals!

I was wondering if some of the kind folks here could give me some advice. I'm growing a Meyer's lemon tree indoors, and I put it in some more homemade biochar/terra preta soil. But it's withered and not looking so hot. The leaves have dropped off of it. I believe this is because the roots dried out during shipping to my house. Will it recover or do I have to give it up as a loss and order a new tree? Anyone grown one of these Meyer lemons?

This is my first one. The lemon tree's brethren, the lime and dwarf fig, are looking much better and putting out new leaves.

Stick the plant in a bucket of water for a day or so; and complain to who you purchased it from that should not happen.

Cirrus need a lot of everything including
1. lots of light -full sun!
2. a bit of soil in the potting mix (I don't know why; don't ask).
3. lots of fertiliser including iron --slow release fertiliser (osmocote?) would be safest, so as not to over do it-- which could make the leaves drop off
4. lots of water. lack of this will also make the leaves drop off.
5. leaves will fall off a lemon if they are planted or mulched above the graft point
6 there are miniature lemons available now that take to pots a bit better than your standard huge tree
7. I have never had a lot of success with citrus in pots.
(I am going to try a dwarf citrus when I save up enough to buy one (very expensive -c. $50)

[Michaelangelica]

From a company that sells "air purifiers"

Dust (your sofas and beds are a good breeding ground), pollen from indoor plants , flying fibers from carpets, soot from the kitchen, airborne mould and bacterial particles on paintings, curtains and cabinets, various odors from insect repellants, glass cleaner liquids and deodorants – all these envelop us at home and office completely.

Oxynetsolutions.com: Making your indoors safe today for a healthier tomorrow.

Except to have pollen plants have to flower, and even then, not all produce air born pollen.
On the whole, most indoor plants DO NOT produce pollen!

Some more--plants will kill you--annoying Bull Shite

* Health & Safety Issue: Indoor plants though beautiful can prove fatal in some cases as some species are deadly poisonous and intake of such plant leaves or flowers may lead to death e.g. philodendron and some species of ivy are poisonous.

There are certain plant types that are deadly for cats and there are others that are dangerous for well being of dogs. Bird of Paradise, Pencil Cactus, Peace Lilly, Geranium, Iris Ivy, Lily of the Valley (Lilies are usually hazardous to cats’ health) and Tulips are examples of plants that a cat lover should never think to plant in his home.

Alumroot, American rubber plant, Anthericum comosum, Antirrhinum multiflorum, Mexican firecracker, Mexican snowballs, Mexican rosettes, Minature maranta, Minature marble plant are fine examples of plants that are non-toxic in nature.

http://www.homegardeningideas.net/in...lants/157-157/

The NASA research recycled again. How do journalists justify their existance? http://shredsomething.wordpress.com/...utionsolution/

some originality in this blog, some of it a bit speculative.
http://teebob.blogspot.com/2009/06/b...or-plants.html

The experiments conducted to test the absorption capacity of indoor plants have yielded excellent results. Employees Plants are also known to have de-stressing effects on the mind. The green color (sic) that the plants possess relaxes the mind. Placing plants in offices have resulted in the rise in productivity of employees. According to the studies conducted, the offices having enough plants in the premises have witnessed drop in absenteeism and enhancement in the creativity of employees

[freeztar]

pollen from indoor plants,

Yeah, my basil leaves drive me crazy with indoor pollen. I have to step outside and take a deep breath of smog/pine pollen/ragweed pollen/multiple species of spores/thousands of bacteria/viruses/whatever else is floating around at the moment, and then my nose stops bothering me. I can't even stand being in my house anymore. The pollen is outrageous! I keep dousing the plants with bleach and engine degreaser, but the pollen still remains...

* Health & Safety Issue: Indoor plants though beautiful can prove fatal in some cases as some species are deadly poisonous and intake of such plant leaves or flowers may lead to death e.g. philodendron and some species of ivy are poisonous.

There are certain plant types that are deadly for cats and there are others that are dangerous for well being of dogs. Bird of Paradise, Pencil Cactus, Peace Lilly, Geranium, Iris Ivy, Lily of the Valley (Lilies are usually hazardous to cats’ health) and Tulips are examples of plants that a cat lover should never think to plant in his home.

Alumroot, American rubber plant, Anthericum comosum, Antirrhinum multiflorum, Mexican firecracker, Mexican snowballs, Mexican rosettes, Minature maranta, Minature marble plant are fine examples of plants that are non-toxic in nature.

You should have posted these in the jokes thread.

Everyone knows cats love birds. That's why you have to make sure you never have an indoor Bird of Paradise. Cats will eat them. They will die. Plants are dangerous to cats.

What ever happened to survival of the fittest and natural selection? The kid that eats too many marbles doesn't grow up to have kids of his own.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Yeah, my basil leaves drive me crazy with indoor pollen. I have to step outside and take a deep breath of smog/pine pollen/ragweed pollen/multiple species of spores/thousands of bacteria/viruses/whatever else is floating around at the moment
Everyone knows cats love birds. That's why you have to make sure you never have an indoor Bird of Paradise. Cats will eat them. They will die. Plants are dangerous to cats.

What ever happened to survival of the fittest and natural selection? The kid that eats too many marbles doesn't grow up to have kids of his own.

LOL
You should be writing scripts for Monty Python!!
I always like to get a good lungful of PCBs, CHs, POPS every day. Atrazine is my current favourite.

The "plants are poisons" thing, that recycles every few months, annoys me as much as plastic plants. (There is also "Herbs are as dangerous as prescription pills" that has a six month cycle).
Being someone interested in herbs and clinical depression and Alzheimer's a nice plant to die with/for? has its appeal. So far I have not found one. Mostly plants warn you by making you spew your guts out or writhe around in agony for days or tasting like shit.
My best candidate, so far, has been Hemlock, but even then that has to be prepared in a special way and taken in a special way. Unfortunately, much to my kid's amusement, i killed my Hemlock. "You killed your hemlock!!" they shouted amidst VERY long, and loud, and impolite, guffaws.
How was I to know it did not like lime!!-- and I put the big bag of FREE builders lime that was thrown out for Council Rubbish- next to it. God hates me. She can be a real-- funny ha ha-- bitch at times.
Have you ever read T L Peacock's Nightmare Abbey."? That's me. (It is a 19C book and maybe downloadable from some Russian site). They made me read it when i was trying to pass English Lit at Uni.
I did meet my wife--who topped all the bloody courses.--in a Tragedy Tutorial -but that is another story.

[Michaelangelica]

This is a page from an, up and coming, new Australian horticulture mgazine
See
Hort Journal Australia - Online Viewer
They need to sort their web site, a bit, still

What I found intersting in this article
1. It recounts Sydney UTS reseach that supports the USA reseach
2.The comment "Australian urban air pollution health costs are about $12 Bil, per year"
and "pollution kills 1,400 people in Sydney a year'. This, in a city with the cleanest air in the region! (So much for the wimpy swine flu that has killed only 100)
3 .WHO predictions that by 2010 building managers will become responsible (legally?) for indoor air quality.
4. The comment "potting mix bacteria are the main removal agents" -removal of VOCs
So what implications does that have? Do we need the plants at all? How about some Terra preta potting mix? Would't that increase potting mix bacteria?

[Michaelangelica]

Researchers have found that the presence of houseplants in homes and workplaces can reduce eye irritation and stress, motivate employees, improve concentration, and even reduce air impurities. Plants appeared to have a positive effect on headaches and fatigue and hoarseness, and employees even reported having less dry skin when plants were introduced to offices. Interior plants have also been shown to increase work productivity; in one study, employees' reaction time on computer tasks improved by 12% when plants were present.

Now, scientists are testing the impact of plants on student performance and satisfaction in the classroom. Jennifer S. Doxey and Tina Marie Waliczek from the Department of Agriculture, Texas State University, and Jayne M. Zajicek of the Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, published a study of the impact of plants in university classrooms in a recent issue of HortScience. Their main objective was to investigate the impact of plants in classrooms on course performance and student perceptions of the course and instructor.

Although the researchers found no significant differences in students' grades and academic performance, differences were identified in students' overall course and instructor evaluation scores. Of particular interest, statistically significant differences were found between control and treatment groups when students scored questions related to "learning", "instructors' enthusiasm", and "instructors' organization". Students from the group whose classrooms included plants rated these items higher on the satisfaction scale. In comparisons of the two student groups, the most apparent differences were reported by students who attended class in the room that was windowless and stark.

According to Waliczek, "Our results showed that interior plants appeared to have the greatest impact on students who were in the classroom that had no other natural elements. Results also showed that interior plants can be a suitable alternative in some cases to architectural elements such as windows. Our study supports other research showing that plants have value beyond aesthetics in interior environments, including promoting positive feelings in university students."

The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS Hortscience electronic journal web site: The Impact of Interior Plants in University Classrooms on Student Course Performance and on Student Perceptions of the Course and Instructor -- Doxey et al. 44 (2): 384 -- HortScience

Plants In Classrooms Increase Student Satisfaction

This is a puzzle. If plants release VOCs how come all the reseach says VOCs go down ie plants lower or remove VOCs. Can someone explain this?

The study concluded that "while ornamental plants are known to remove certain VOCs, they also emit a variety of VOCs, some of which are known to be biologically active. The longevity of these compounds has not been adequately studied, and the impact of these compounds on humans is unknown."

Indoor Plants Found To Release Volatile Organic Compounds

Knowing about natural bug control might be important. If we have a trillion indoor plants we could also have a billion idots with pesticide spray cans!

House Plant Pests

House Plant Pests: Spider Mite Control, Getting Rid Of Aphids

Unfortunately, it’s also filled with low-level toxins. The air inside our houses can be three times more polluted than the air outside.
According to the EPA, indoor air is considered among the leading five hazards to human health. For many of us, that’s easy enough to shrug off: Open a window until the paint dries, right? But for those with health concerns, allergies or breathing problems, that might not be good enough. Those toxins — which come from the solvent that sticks the paint pigment to your walls and then evaporates — linger long past the new paint smell. In fact, household paints and finishes emit low level toxins into the air for years after application. For children (and what’s a major step in readying a nursery? New paint!) this can present a greater danger.

But, before you give up on plans for a new shade in the living room, check out low volatile organic compounds (VOC) options.
What the heck is low VOC paint, anyway

?
Low VOC: The Fresher Coat of Paint*>>*Lazy Environmentalist
Isn't that- According to the EPA, indoor air is considered among the leading five hazards to human health.-- sad?

I went to one of the biggest "Malls" i've been in recently- the Macquarie Centre (sydney suburbs). I remember it as a grassy farm-paddock. Now it is so big it has its own underground railway station. I felt like a country bumpkin as I explored its huge underground caverns /caves, The sound was strange, echoing rumble mixed with indecipherable musak and shop-lifting alarms. These whent off when every tenth person (it seemed) went past- no one seemed to pay any attention.
But the air, the air was very strange. It didn't 'feel' good or healthy. Very few plants all indistinguishable from plastic. A strange, alien future-world we are making for ourselves. (Yourselves?).