Chapter 8
Interior Uses of Plants
CHAPTER 9 - INTERIOR USES OF PLANTS
OBJECTIVES
1. List and describe interior industry facts.
2. List and describe interior plant facts.
3. List and describe interior lighting facts.
INTERIOR INDUSTRY FACTS
- No greater field in ornamental
horticulture holds greater promise than
interior plantscaping!
- The success of the plantscape is
measured by its appearance and health.
- The only real defense against vandalism
to interior plants is public education.
INTERIOR PLANT FACTS
- Tropical foliage plants have proven to be
the most successful indoor plants because
they do not require the period of cool
temperature dormancy that often makes
temperate zone plants unsatisfactory.
INTERIOR PLANT FACTS
- More interior plant deaths result from
over-watering than from any other
reason.
- The need to water a planting can be
determined by feeling the soil and
observing its color.
INTERIOR PLANT FACTS
- Deep watering promotes deep and
healthy rooting, while shallow watering
promotes shallow rooting.
- Pruning and Fertilization will not be
extensive in an interior planting because
of the plants’ reduced rate of growth.
- Too much Nitrogen may lead to spindly,
succulent, and unattractive growth.
INTERIOR PLANT FACTS
- Repotting of plants is necessary in
plantings where growth is allowed.
- Humidity is seldom a problem for plants
growing outdoors, but can cause a
problem for interior plantscapes.
- Air pollution cannot be escaped by
bringing the landscape indoors; air
filtration reduces the amount of dust.
INTERIOR PLANT FACTS
- Insects are a more common problem
for interior plants than diseases.
Top 5 pests in interior landscape
Aphids
Spider Mites
Scale
Whiteflies
Mealybugs
INTERIOR LIGHTING
- Light intensity is expressed in units of
lux or footcandle.
- A lux is the illumination received on
a surface that is 1 meter from a
standard light source.
- A footcandle is equal to
the amount of light
produced by a standard
candle at a distance of
1 foot.
INTERIOR LIGHTING
- Acclimatization is the adjustment of an
outdoor plant to interior conditions.
- The Minimum Light Intensity is the level
of illumination necessary to allow
acclimatized plant to produce new leaves
at a rate equal to or slightly greater than
the rate of loss.
INTERIOR LIGHTING
- Light quality is the color of light emitted
by a particular source.
- Plants depend upon blue and red
bands of the visible light spectrum.
- The unit of measurement for light
wavelengths is the nanometer.
INTERIOR LIGHTING
- Uplights are lights installed beneath the
plants and directed upward.
- The most important of all light sources
for interior plantscapes is natural sunlight
when it can be planned for and depended
on.
- Abscise is the process of leaves falling off
a plant.
CHAPTER 9 - INTERIOR USES OF PLANTS
OBJECTIVES
1. List and describe interior industry facts.
2. List and describe interior plant facts.
3. List and describe interior lighting facts.