User Manual

16
COMMON HOUSEPLANTS
African violet, Saintpaulia. Grows well at medium light intensity. Provide
light for 16 – 18 hours each day during the vegetative stage. Leggy stems
and no blooms indicate that it is not getting enough light. These plants will
fail to bloom if they do not get 8 hours of darkness every night. Keep soil
moist but not soggy, it is best to water from the bottom. Keep their root
growth restricted slightly, do not repot. Enjoys high humidity. Use peat
moss or African violet potting soil.
Aluminum plant, Pilea cadierei. Grows well at medium light intensity. The
foliage will lose its variegation if light level is too low. Pinch off growing
tips and stems to encourage the plant to stay compact. Keep soil lightly
moist spring through fall, but drier in winter. Moderate to high humidity.
Use any good potting mix.
Arrowhead vine, Syngonium podophyllum. Tolerates low light but becomes
more dense in medium light to high light. Keep in average temperature and
avearege humidity. Surface of the soil should be dry before re-watering. Use
any good potting mix.
Asparagus ferns, Asparagus denisflorus, setaceus. Tolerates low light but
becomes more dense in medium light. Prefers moist air, recommended to
mist leaves daily. Surface of the soil should be dry before re-watering. Use
peat moss based potting mix.
Begonias, begonia x hiemalis, Enjoys medium light for long durations of 14 –
18 hours each day. Enjoys medium to high humidity. Keep soil moist, but
do not allow the soil to get soggy. Use peat based soilless mix such as
African violet mix. Provide good drainage. Overwatering will cause the
leaves to wilt and turn yellow. Immediately remove infected leaves. After
blooming is over, you need to make the plant go dormant. Cut back on
watering so that the plant is barely moist, but not dry. Keep it away from
light during this dormant period. In 6 – 7 weeks, the foliage will die.
Remove foliage and leave 3 inches of stems. When new growth appears,
repot the stems; you can discard the parent plant.
Cacti and succulents. Most plants in this category enjoy high to full sun
intensity. Keep the plants close to the source of light. These plants enjoy
fast-draining, sandy soil. These plants have shallow roots making drainage
holes unnecessary, just be mindful to not overwater the plant. Cacti need to
be watered less often than succulents. Surface of the soil should be dry
before re-watering, soil can become moderately dry before re-watering.
Cast iron plant, aspidistra elatior. This plant tolerates cool locations, low
lighting, and low humidity. It can survive infrequent watering and extreme