Houseplant
Moisture, light,[3] soil mixture, temperature, ventilation, humidity, fertilizers, and potting are all important factors.
Horticulturists at Texas A&M University recommend acclimatization, a gradual process in which plants with too much or too little light or heat exposure are balanced accordingly to prevent overexposure.
Other factors, like humidity and ventilation, must be kept under regular levels to prevent plant failure and susceptibility to disease.
Plants require nitrate, phosphate, and potassium to survive, as well as micronutrients including boron, zinc, manganese, iron, copper, molybdenum, and chlorine.
By picking the right succulent and taking care of its soil and watering needs, the houseplant lives long to serve its purpose.
Ancient Egyptians grew ornamental (flowers) and fruiting plants in decorative containers, where blue and white lotus floral arrangements gave rise to more luxuriant bouquets during the New Kingdom.
Ancient Greeks and the Romans cultivated laurel trees (Laurus nobilis) in earthenware vessels.
In ancient China, potted plants were shown at garden exhibitions over 2,500 years ago, and they were seen as a symbol of wealth.
[13] In around 600 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar constructed a botanical garden for his wife, Queen Amytis, filling them with fragrant flowers.
Inventor and writer Sir Hugh Platt published Garden of Eden in 1660, a book which directed indoor plant growing methods.
[18]: 34 In the early 18th century, windows in London became wider and brighter, expanding the opportunities for the lower classes to grow plants indoors.
Furthermore, nurseries were flourishing in the 18th century, which stocked thousands of plants, including citrus, jasmines, mignonette, bays, myrtles, agaves and aloes.
[20] Some foliage plants which tolerated the typical gloomy and snug environment inside a Victorian house became popular.
[22] In the 1920s, commercial houseplant production began in California, focused on the Kentia palm and the pothos, later expanding to include Philodendron and Araucaria species in the 1940s.
[17] During World War II, houseplants became more common in offices, which began to more closely resemble the domestic environment as more women entered the workforce.
[22] Tropical plants like bromeliads, birds of paradise, and philodendrons were popular accents in tiki-themed spaces.
[26][27] A lush display of houseplants fit into the environmentalist and hippie movements in the 1970s; a large indoor garden is characteristic of 1970s design.
[25] Monstera deliciosa, ferns, aloes and snake plants (Dracaena species, usually sold under their former genus of Sanseveria) were also popular.
[38] Houseplants are obtained either by collecting wild specimens of plants, or by growing them in greenhouses or commercial nurseries.
[39][40] Plants grown for commercial production may be produced from seed, by using traditional propagation techniques, or through tissue culture.
[43][45][46] However, this study tested plants in ways which are not representative of an indoor environment; in sealed chambers and with highly elevated levels of the VOCs benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde.
[46] Others have shown that is possible to artificially enrich the soil directly with VOC-degrading bacteria and achieve the same result, and posited that exposure to high VOC levels (or low levels but in bursts) during experiments and the subsequent increase in such bacteria may have been a cause of the large differences seen in the results of various studies.
[48] A 2019 review paper calculated that it would require between 10 and 1000 houseplants per square meter to achieve the same level of VOC removal as occurs from passive exchange between indoor and outdoor air.
The authors only had enough good-quality comparable data to synthesize six areas, from which they confirmed a statistically significant improvement only in diastolic blood pressure and academic performance.
A 2004 controlled study discovered that houseplants could improve mental focus, stabilize mood, and raise psychological motivation when present in otherwise unadorned environments.
