A number of tropical trees may be grown inside. Mike Brunswick, field reporter for HGTV's Great Indoors, visits the 46th floor of an office building with landscape architect Bruce Lemke of Plantscape to see what grows there. Plants are an important part of this company's decor, and they soften a hard office space, making it more homey. But you can't just plunk a plant into an office and expect it to survive -- you have to know and meet each plant's growing requirements. The temperature in this office is kept quite cool at night and on weekends to conserve energy, so the plants chosen had to be tolerant of cooler temperatures. A lady palm (Rhapis) (figure A) fits these requirements perfectly. Some offices are not accessible at watering time, so the plants also need to be drought-tolerant. Plantscape provides plants for office buildings all over the United States. One of the company's tips for keeping indoor trees the right size for their environment is to refrain from fertilizing, thereby discouraging new growth. The size of the plants used here is in scale with the office spaces, although in some cases the plants are very large. Ficus binnendijkii 'Alii' is less temperamental than F. benjamina (weeping fig) and doesn't have the latter's habit of dropping leaves. It prefers bright light but will tolerate medium light. Overwatering will cause green leaves to drop; underwatered plants will drop yellow-brown leaves. A miniature date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) (figure B) is used indoors to define a specific area. It requires medium to high light levels and prefers not to be overwatered, which causes foliage to yellow. If the palm is underwatered, the leaves will develop brown tips. Carpets are protected by the use of one-piece decorative containers. Plants should never be placed directly on floors or carpeting. This office's potted plants are placed inside decorative outer containers; a layer of gravel separates the two pots in order to keep the plants out of standing water. Cork mats are placed between the carpet and the containers for further protection. In offices with restricted access, sub-surface irrigation devices are used to provide moisture over a two-week period. Water is placed inside an irrigator and drips slowly to the root zone. Yellow sticky traps are used to trap insect pests.
RESOURCES :
Framali Tree Planter
Available in white or green.
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