Follow these simple road safety tips while driving Cars and large trucks all use the same roadways everyday, but do drivers really know how to share the road safely? Here are some tips for all of us using the highways: Trucks create wind gusts. Keep both hands on the wheel when you pass a [...]
Plant deficiencies can be fixed As we get better at caring for interior plants, they tend to survive through the years. It’s not uncommon to have a plant that is still looking good and has survived over 20 years in an account. That good health condition is from more than just proper watering, adequate [...]
Do you know how to care for ZZ plants? The interior plant technician has a lot to do in a short time. We must spend a few moments checking in with the client, in case some issue has arisen. Then, the typical service activities required for each plant in our care consists of: Observation Before [...]
Learn methods to test soil moisture levels Determining the appropriate moisture level for an interior plant is perhaps the hardest part of an interior technician’s job. Proper amounts of water are vital to the overall health of container grown plants. Too little, and the plant can collapse and look wilted or “dead” to your [...]
Plants with high visibility should look vibrant and healthy Various problems are encountered when working with interiorscape plants. Left unnoticed, these problems can lead to a decline in the overall plant quality of an account, a decline in customer satisfaction, or a decline in technician safety. Some of these situations change so gradually that [...]
Monstera deliciosa is another plant prone to thrips In caretaking indoor plants, it's not unusual to go for months without ever seeing thrips. This pest tends to run in batches. When you discover thrips on one plant in an account the pest will very likely be on many plants throughout the account. But most [...]
Flying insects can harm your plants Having trouble getting flying pests such as fungus gnats under control? Try controlling them with traps coated with sticky materials. Commercially made sticky traps are pieces of colored cardboard or plastic coated with polybutene-naptha inert rubber polymer. Wow! Long description for such a simple solution! Flying insects are [...]
Dracaena Warneckii has fragile leaves You can always tell a novice plant technician by the way they handle plants. “Oops, sorry! I guess those were some leaves I heard crunching when I grabbed the plant by its sleeve.” “Oops, would you look at that! I guess it isn’t rooted well enough to carry it [...]
Do you know when to replace Chamaedorea metallica? The four per pot Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’ in the entry is down to one cane -- one nice cane, but it does look a bit thin... The kentia in the corner window office only has three fronds left on it -- though these three are quite [...]
Snake plant is beautiful and drought-tolerant Plants have adapted to survive dry periods in many ways. Some fold their leaves, others close their stomata. Interior plants living out their lives with their roots limited to the available moisture in a container, and their leaves exposed to chronic low humidity, are likely candidates for dehydration. [...]
