I've been told often that we have house plants at home so I can do woodworking projects out of them. Half-guilty as charged because the other reason is the benefit home owners get from indoor plants that are clearly better at air cleaning, purifying and absorbing airborne chemicals, giving off oxygen in exchange for the carbon dioxide that we, including indoor pets, exhale. Plants also act as humidifiers in homes that could get dry from both air conditioning and heating (during winter). And plants do not have to be plugged in. Little watering and minimal fertilizing are all they need.
1. Cloning Indoor Plants (Propagating from Cuttings)
We all have plants die on us, me included. But it is also well known that many species of plants can easily be made to multiply with very little effort. Cloning a favorite plant is quite fulfilling and a money saver when propagating your favorite plant or plants that are proven to do well in your home. Time - two weeks at the most - will root so many different cuttings with very little fuss.
"Mother-in-law's tongue" (Sansevieria trifasciata or snake plant) is an ideal plant for indoors because not only is it a great oxygen generator, it is easy to grow, very resilient, and above, all easy to propagate. Stick one leaf in the soil, allow for a few weeks, water regularly, and an entirely new plant will emerge. Sometimes, the clone may even look differently from the parent plant. What is amazing about this plant is that when it takes carbon dioxide, it keeps the carbon like all plants do but it keeps the oxygen throughout the day and releases it only at night. It also conserves water that way.
A week to 10 days of soaking in water are often enough time for roots to come out. The cuttings are then ready for the soil.
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| This prolific plant not only clones easily, it is very low maintenance and quite water-tolerant. Note the roots fully developed while still in water. |
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| Non-draining plastic planters work |
2. Ivy Climber Part 2
I think the photos should be self-explanatory. Perhaps it is worth noting that I took the time to use a metallic primer before painting to insure the stem buried in the soil is rot-proofed.
3. Non Draining Planter
Using non-draining planters is ideal for house plants because of the minimal watering that is required. And there all kinds of options on what you can use. For example, below is half of what used to be a convection oven before the top cooking element failed. Instead of throwing it away, I used it a non-draining planter. A punch bowl you don't like anymore will work too; any large glass bottle, flower vases, any clear wide-mouth tall glasses will work as well. Clear sides allow for checking water level.
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| Any glass container will do |
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| Flower vases make good non-draining planters (shown here by the kitchen sink) |
4. Some Wood Works and a Narrow Glass Planter
Below, the spider plant, is what NASA picks as the plant to accompany future astronauts during extended space travel for its high oxygenating efficiency, easy and fast prolific grower.
Plants return so much more than they require from us.
