Humidity Management
The humidity levels in a home can impact the health of indoor plants. Most tropical houseplants prefer higher humidity than plants such as cacti or succulents native to more arid regions. On the other hand, young seedlings will quickly succumb to fungal diseases when the humidity level close to the plants is too high.
When evaluating potential locations for growing plants indoors, it’s important to keep humidity levels in mind. Air temperature can be regulated for the entire home, or controlled room by room. Humidity levels are more challenging to control and maintain.
The Impact of Indoor Heating and Cooling
In general, indoor conditions tend to be within an acceptable range for most plants until we start to regularly use winter heating or summer air conditioning systems. These systems can create overly dry conditions for most houseplants.
Certain rooms, like bathrooms and kitchens, usually have higher humidity levels than the rest of the home. These spaces are good spots for tropical houseplants that like a little more humidity than the average home can provide.
Ways to Increase Indoor Humidity
Humidity levels in other rooms in the home can be enhanced with cool-air humidifiers. Small table top options can be placed near plants or plant collections to increase the humidity level surrounding the plants. Hand-held misters are another option for adding moisture to the air around a plant, but this increased humidity level will be short-lived.
There are also easy low-tech strategies to control the humidity level immediately surrounding individual plants or groups of plants.
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