Indoor foliage not only creates a natural look to the interior of your home but also offers a welcoming environment which leaves a long-lasting impression. To transform your indoor spaces and bring out the optimal atmosphere for your family and/or employees, you will need the services of an experienced landscaping professional. If you are in Orange County, California, you can contact The Landscape Expert for professional help regarding your landscape project for your home or business.
What is Indoor Foliage?
Indoor foliage, also known as houseplants, are the plants grown inside residential areas and offices. They are mainly grown for decoration, but they end up providing other physiological benefits to the people and the environment. There are different kinds of plants you can grow in your home and business spaces depending on the look and feel you want to create.
When using plants for indoor landscaping, you can decide either to grow them in pots and vessels or prepare an indoor garden. With the help of a competent landscaper, you will be able to make the best choice of indoor foliage that matches the feel of your space.
Factors to Consider When Doing Indoor Foliage Landscaping Projects
Most indoor foliage plants are from arid areas and require similar conditions in your home or office to remain in good condition. It is essential to do some research on the plant you want to use for your indoor decor. This ensures that you provide the necessary conditions to keep it healthy and appealing. Some of the factors you need to consider before making your choice include:
Available Space
Before deciding on the type of plant to use for your interior landscaping, it is important to determine the amount of space available in your house or business area. The aim of incorporating the foliage plants is to create a fresh and natural look; but if overdone, it can lead to overcrowding and end up ruining the appeal of your living area.
If your building is small, just use plants that don’t grow wider, and do it in pots or vessels. On the other hand, when you have plenty of space, you can start up an indoor garden using more widespread plants.
Lighting
The amount and quality of light present in your environment will determine if your indoor plants grow well or merely survive. Characteristic of light to consider include the quality, duration, and intensity. If the light in your rooms or corridors is insufficient, the plants may end up losing their color, thus, fail to serve the intended purpose. The quantity of light tends to diminish and reduce in intensity during winter.
However, you need to ensure you change the location of these plants when necessary. You can choose to incorporate some artificial light in your living space to ensure your plants don’t run out of sunlight. The amount of light needed depends on the particular indoor foliage. Hence, you need to do some research before choosing the plants to use.
Temperature
Temperatures in your home or office can vary depending on the season. Often, the best temperatures for most interior foliage plants range between 60 and 80 Ft. When choosing the foliage for your indoor decor, you should ensure that the present temperatures can accommodate the species you want.
Some indications that the temperatures are not right for your plants are slow growth, spotting of leaves, and change of green leaves to yellow. Therefore, you need to be careful where you locate your plants and ensure you regulate the temperatures as required.
Care and maintenance
Though different plants vary in the care and support they need, most require a certain amount of water, fertilizer and even pruning to maintain their health and appearance. However, you might bring home a plant and later lack the skills and time to give it the care and it ends up drying up or losing its appeal.
With the help of an expert landscaper, you can choose houseplants that you are willing and able to devote time to look after. Hence, your home doesn’t lose the texture color and warmth provided by these plants.
Humidity
Most foliage plants grow well in conditions that are similar to those in their native environment. Low humidity may lead to browning or scorching of the leaves. The moisture in your home or office is likely to be lower than the ideal requirements for these plants; hence, you can increase the humidity by either using a humidifier or growing the plants close together.
It is crucial to understand the humidity requirements of your plants before bringing them home. This makes it easier to take care of them and ensure they thrive in your living space.
Soil
The root health is a significant factor for the survival of houseplants. The method you use to do your indoor foliage landscaping and the type of grounds may substantially affect its root system and health in general. The plant's root system must be able to extract water and nutrients from the soil mix to promote growth and prevent death.
Make sure you have a proper soil mix for every type of plant you want to include in your indoor foliage landscaping to ensure adequate aeration and drainage for your plant's root system. If you don’t know the soil to use on your indoor foliage, always consult an expert landscaper or botanist. This will help increase the plants' lifespan.
Common Types of Plants You Can Use for Indoor Decor
You don’t necessarily need ample space to beautify your living area with indoor foliage plants. With proper advice from the professionals, you can transform the dream you have for your space into a reality. Here are some plants that can change the look of your indoor space
- Areca Palm
Areca palm is a leafy plant that does well anywhere in your house or office. However, you need to keep it away from direct sunlight to prevent discoloration of the leaves. Although the plant grows up to 30 feet, the growth is restricted to about 7 feet for indoor foliage.
To achieve this height, you need to plant the areca palm in a small pot, and the thick roots will help limit the size. This plant acts as an air purifier and a humidifier for your office or home.
- Aloe Vera
Not only does Aloe Vera create a good complexion for your space but also helps in getting rid of toxins produced by chemical-based cleaners and paints. Due to its origin, Aloe Vera does well in dry conditions. Hence, it would be best to place it in the sunny corners of your room and avoid regular watering.
- The English Ivy
This plant filters chemical pollutants produced by cleaning products and reduces the airborne fecal matter. However, special care is required for this plant since it attracts pests if it doesn’t get enough light.
- Ladies Slipper Orchid
This slipper orchid provides the missing aesthetic feel to all dark corners of your home or office. Its uniquely-shaped purple flowers and green leaves increase the beauty and appeal of your room. The plant should not be placed in direct sunlight, and you should avoid using treated water on it.
- Snake plant
Snake plant is one of the best natural air purifiers. This makes it a perfect fit for the bathrooms and areas where chemical products are used regularly. This plant is effortless to take care of and does not dry up quickly even when watering is not routinely done. However, the snake plant easily rots. Hence, you should always ensure the type of soil you use is self-draining.
- Indian Basil
Also known as Tulsi, the Indian basil is an easy plant to grow since it can still thrive with little or no maintenance. This plant needs a small space to develop but requires direct sunlight and regular watering to remain healthy.
Benefits of Indoor Foliage Landscaping
Interior landscaping plays a significant role in providing you with a tranquil and pleasant environment at home or in your workplace. Some of the benefits you accrue from proper interior decoration using plants include:
Improvement of air quality
Plants’ leaves have a large surface area which enables them to exchange water and gases with the surrounding environment. This improves the climate of your home and office by reducing the levels of carbon dioxide, regulating the dust levels in the atmosphere and reducing toxins and pollutants released by chemicals.
Create a natural sense of wellbeing
For most people, being near greenery improves our ease to the surroundings. The presence of plants makes the building more relaxing and stimulating. Interior landscaping has a significant effect on the occupants of a given space. A well landscaped interior garden improves the perception of visitors entering your home or office. Proper landscaping helps reduce stress by bringing a natural feel to your home and office space. Besides, these plants could be used as partitions especially in open plan offices.
Cooling
Through the process of evapotranspiration, plants help in cooling the surrounding air. Especially in tall and crowded buildings where temperature needs regulation, indoor plants will naturally create a calm atmosphere for the occupants. The exchange of air between plants and the occupants also brings a cool feeling in the office space.
Plants lower the background noise
In the past, plants have always been used to curb the noise on busy roads. Additionally, the interior plants also regulate the noise levels inside buildings, hence providing the occupants with a peaceful environment to go about their business.
If the space you want to incorporate indoor foliage has high noise levels, it is crucial to consult with your landscaper on the best choices of plants to use.
Common Houseplant Problems
Indoor foliage using green plants is a beautiful idea when done in the right way. However, it is frustrating when the health of your Houseplants start to deteriorate, and you lose the natural appeal they offer. With a little more care and maintenance, you can avoid and correct these problems.
Here are a few problems you are likely to face when using houseplants for your indoor decor.
Some pets like cats and dogs can scratch the indoor plants’ leaves, thereby posing a threat to your indoor plants. Besides, some plant species are poisonous to these pets and could lead to the death of your pet. To avoid the frustration of losing your plants or your pets, consider putting barriers and distractions to keep the animals away from your plants.
Plants under stress are highly susceptible to attack by pests such as scale insects and whiteflies. Plants that harbor pests easily lose their appeal since these pests are likely to destroy the leaves and cause color change or even spotting. To keep these pests away from your houseplants, you need to reduce stress by providing the ideal conditions required for these plants to grow.
Infection by diseases could lead to the destruction of parts of the plant or the death of others. To prevent diseases from spreading and ruining your indoor foliage, you should pluck off the infected leaves. Avoid overcrowding in your indoor garden to ensure proper aeration. This will help keep away fungus and bacteria which cause diseases.
Stretching to awkwardly tall heights is a significant problem in buildings with poor lighting. If your plants grow towards the source of light, you should consider moving them to brighter parts of the room and trimming the excess pieces. By doing so, you will maintain your desired lengths.
Find a Professional Landscaper Near Me
If you are tired of the look in your home or business area, and you want to transform it using the art of landscaping, you will need the services of an experienced landscaping professional. The Landscape Expert has competent landscapers who will closely work with you to ensure you turn your living space to an attractive and desirable place to be.
We can transform your business or home interiors by using indoor foliage. You can contact us at 714-855-3479 if you need to consult with a professional landscaper in Orange County, California.
