Why Foliage Plants Are So Popular
Foliage plants are increasingly favored by people, and the main reasons are: (1) The leaf colors and leaf shapes of foliage plants are incredibly diverse, and their unique charm brings people the enjoyment of natural beauty. (2) Most foliage plants are shade-tolerant and evergreen year-round, so they can be placed indoors for viewing in all four seasons.
Foliage plants are increasingly favored by people, and the main reasons are:
(1) The leaf colors and leaf shapes of foliage plants are incredibly diverse, and their unique charm brings people the enjoyment of natural beauty.
(2) Most foliage plants are shade-tolerant and evergreen year-round, so they can be placed indoors for viewing in all four seasons.
(3) Some foliage plants have the function of purifying the air. Scientific experiments show that if green can occupy 25% of a person's field of view, it can eliminate the physiological fatigue of the eyes, and it is most suitable for a person's mental and psychological state. Looking at green plants often helps regulate a person's spirit and emotions, making people feel cheerful.
(4) Most foliage plants are easy to propagate and simple to manage. They are very suitable for the needs of people in today's fast-paced society, who find it hard to spare more time and energy to grow flowers.
The Star of Home Gardening Decoration - Foliage Plants
Soft sunlight passes through the window screen; on the windowsill hang spider plants and sword ferns with sprays of green leaves, ivy and pothos swaying gently, and pots of areca palms, bamboo palms, and cordylines glow along the wall, while tender, water-like light music swirls in the fragrant air... tranquil, natural, and intoxicating.
The home greening decorations presented in thousands of households in Shanghai have already made foliage plants the star, because foliage plants can show their true colors wherever they are placed indoors, and they are a symbol of nature and life. Foliage plants can be so favored also because of their unique qualities, namely that they can embody the beauty of plant form, color, and charm.
After more than ten years of research, Shanghai horticultural science and technology workers have successfully selected from more than 300 kinds of plants more than 150 kinds of foliage plants that can be used for indoor decoration and have relatively high ornamental value, especially those foliage plants that give people a feeling of charming tropical scenery, such as various rubber plants, the climbing Monstera deliciosa, Philodendron, and Alocasia, as well as Caladium with various patterns on every leaf, and Bromeliaceae plants with rather peculiar variegated leaves. The most promising are the ancient ferns; most of their leaves are finely divided or fern-like, and when used as hanging decorations they can enrich the spatial layers. Plants such as staghorn fern, and bird's nest fern whose whole posture is like a bird's nest, can all give people a sense of mystery, antiquity, wild charm, and natural flavor. The greatest peculiarity of foliage plants is that they can grow in places with dim light. This is mainly because they have the characteristic of a low light compensation point. The so-called light compensation point refers to the light intensity at which, under a certain amount of light, the CO absorbed by photosynthesis and the CO released by respiration reach a balanced state. Only when the light intensity is higher than the light compensation point can a plant accumulate dry matter. Because the light compensation point of sun-loving plants is higher than that of shade-loving plants, under dim indoor light it is not easy to accumulate dry matter, and leaf drop, withering, and other conditions may even occur. For example, growing light-loving Chinese roses, five-needle pines, pomegranates, chrysanthemums, and so on indoors all tend not to survive, while foliage plants have the conditions to become the main indoor green plants in the home gardening craze. This is a home gardening boom sweeping Shanghai.
Summer Care Key Points for the Foliage Plant Snake Plant
Snake plant is a perennial herbaceous foliage plant of the genus Sansevieria in the family Agavaceae. Its leaves are sword-shaped and have a sweet, elegant fragrance. It is often planted in gardens and indoors, and it is highly favored by people.Snake plant, also known as tiger skin plant and thousand-year plant, is a perennial herbaceous foliage plant of the genus Sansevieria in the family Liliaceae. The underground part of the snake plant has tough rhizomes, and it has no stem. The leaves are clustered, fleshy, linear-lanceolate, hard and leathery, upright, and slightly grooved at the base; dark green, with horizontal bands alternating light green and dark green on both sides, slightly covered with white powder. Racemose inflorescence, flowers white to pale green, with a sweet, elegant fragrance; flowering period spring and summer.
Habits: Prefers warmth and humidity, tolerates drought, likes light and also tolerates shade.
Summer care: In midsummer it must avoid direct scorching sun, while in other seasons it should receive more sunlight; if it is placed in too dark an indoor spot for too long, the leaves will become dull and lack vitality. Watering should be moderate, following the principle of preferring dryness over wetness. Usually wipe dust from the leaf surface with clean water to keep the leaves clean and glossy. In the high-temperature summer season, the potting soil should also be kept moist regularly.