OCR Text |
Show House plants need extra care in winter Just because your house plants are kept inside doesn't mean they are out of winter harm's way. In addition to damage experienced experi-enced by outdoor plants this winter from record cold temperatures, many indoor plants brave problems from cold weather as well, said Larry Sagers, Utah State University Extension horticulturist. Most indoor plants are from tropical regions and show cold temperature damage when the thermometer dips below 45 degrees. The symptoms vary, according ac-cording to the plant, but the leaves usually turn black or brown, then dry out and turn into a "green slime," he said. "If damage is severe, the plants will die," he said. "Plants show damage after short, brief exposures to cold temperatures." He said even though a furnace thermostat is set at 70 degrees, the home is not 70 degrees. Frost on the windows indicates interior temperatures at that point have reached 32 degrees. "Tropical plants placed near the window suffer damage when ex-posed ex-posed to these cold temperatures,"he said. Another popular location for interior plants is the entry way of businesses or homes. He said exposure ex-posure to a blast of cold air from the outdoors can cause severe damage to interior plants very quickly. Sagers said a similar problem related to cold temperature is relative humidity. The greater the temperature difference between the outside and the inside temperature, the lower the relative humidity inside. in-side. Increasing humidity is important to survival of interior plants. In most cases, interior humidities with forced air heating is 10 percent or lower. By comparison, the relative humidity in the Sahara Desert averages between 20 and 25 percent, per-cent, he said. Humidities are increased by grouping plants together, by running runn-ing a humidifier or constructing a pebble tray, he said. Pebble trays are easy to construct and they are effective, he said. Take a leak-proof pan and fill it with pebbles or marbles. Add water to the tray so that it comes within about one quarter of an inch from the top of the pebbles. Set the pots on the exposed pebbles or marbles. The pots should always sit on top of the stones. The stones evaporate water around the pot and increase the humidity. This helps prevent damage to plants in the dry interior air, he said. |