How to raise the Humidity for your house plants?

Well winter still has a strong hold of us here in Iowa. The airs out side is dry and with everyone running our home furnaces on full force our houses are dry too. Most tropical house plants like humidity levels around 50%. Most homes are only around 15%. So here are some helpful idea’s to raise that humidity levels in your home.

1. You can always put a small humidifier in the room where you have the most plants.

2. Group house plants together. Be sure to leave some room between them so you do not create other problems, like insects or molds.

3. Pebble trays are great ways to raise the humidity direct around the plants. All you need to make a pebble tray are 2 things:

First get a plastic plant saucer several inches bigger that the base of the plant or take 2-3 small 4” pots and place them on a 14”-16” plastic tray. You are grouping the plants and using a pebble tray in one step. Next you will need some pea size gravel. Pet stores carry this in their fish departments and it is usually cheaper buying it there then at a garden center. Pour the pebbles into the plastic tray; the pebbles should be 1” deep. Place plants in tray and fill with water leaving the top of the pebbles out of the water. The pots will be setting on top of the pebbles and with the water level staying below the top of the pebbles you will not get water in your pots. As the water evaporates off the surface of the pebbles this provides the need humidity.

Winter Gardening Blues

With winter here, it's a little hard to go out and play in the dirt, but there still is "gardening" things to do. Most of us have started to get seed catalogs. So there is no time like the present to start thinking about what you want to plant. If you are a veggie grower you can draw up your garden plans now. Don't forget to rotate your crop. You can try a new veggie this year you have never planted before. Take this time do some reading up on problems you may have incountered last growing season.

In the winter you can give your house plants a little more of your time too.

Take a trip to your local garden center, many are starting to get their garden seeds in too. Many garden centers are not too busy this time of year, and you can visit with them about problems you may have had last year. Or talk to them any new project you are thinking about.

Winter does not have to be blue. It can be GREEN!!