Indoor Gardening and Houseplants: My new plant - Aristolochia fimbriata!, 0 by bsimpson1972

bsimpson1972 wrote:
The most important thing is to keep the mix open in order to make it possible for air to get to the roots. If you mix things like Perlite, pumice or Vermiculite into your regular mix, you do just that.

I grow most of my plants in a mix that is up to 50% Perlite. Gesneriads and succulents alike. Works like a charm. Again: The key is an open and porous mix. You might have to water a bit more but the roots won't get soggy.

In my experience, if you can keep the roots cool and the plant hydrated, a lot of plants can take more heat than the textbooks suggest.

My growing area can get well into the triple digits in July and August and I have found out that a bit of air movement and shade can just so take the edge off the worst parts of the day.

Another thing that can help a lot is to provide a tremperature drop at night. Many plants appreciate that a lot and often times flowering is induced.

Well, living in the desert makes for another set of challenges namely low humidity. There are many simple solutions for that problem. From fish tanks to sweater boxes. Everything clear with a tight sealing lid is a potential candidate for an enclosure. Keep enclosures out of direct sun or you'll wind up with steamed veggies.

I grow quite a few plants in old fishtanks and have had good success with that. Chirita micromusa (an annual species from Thailand), for instance, requires constant humidity above 70%. Any drop below that will result in crisp, brown leaf tips within an hour or so. I put it in the fish tank and it took off...

There was an article on growing Episcias in the desert and the conclusion the author came to was that enclosures work best. It's much easier and way more effective than misting because the climate you're in is so extremely arid. What I found very effective also are little water fountains and things like that to help create the necessary micro climate.

Just be creative. YouTube is full of useful videos on the subject. Just enter "terrarium" in the search box and you'll see. :)

Hope that helped!

Olaf

Sinningia muscicola growing in the open on a pebble tray.