Floriculture Specialty Arrangements 2134 Heather Dombroski

What this unit covers? Floral design care of ferns, palms, and other foliage plants Growing plants with the proper amount of light Fluorescent lights/Incandescent lights Proper indoor climate Watering and fertilizing plants Soil mixes and soil substitutes The art of potting

When finished with this unit... You will be able to compare the environment of any room and suggest several types of plants that would conform to the surroundings.

Floral design care of foliage plants Most flowering plants peak beauty for only short periods, foliage plants are handsome the year around Most kinds are durable, and can stand a wide range of temperatures, moisture and light conditions You'll find sizes, shapes, leaf patterns and colors for practically any decorative scheme in your home

Lighting Photosynthesis is triggered by light Foliage plants can acclimate to low-light 4 different types of lighting Sunny: at least 5 hrs of direct sunlight in winter Semi-sunny: 2-5 hrs of sun in the winter Shady: no sunlight, shadow Semi-shady: open light, not direct

Artificial Lighting Fluorescent lights make it possible to have thriving plants in the places where you'll enjoy them most: attic, basement, etc. The best set-up fluorescent unit with reflector installed inches above surface of table Three 40-watt tubes and a reflector in. wide will light a growing area 2 ft by 4 ft Should burn 14 to 18 hours out of every 24 Incandescent light, burned several hours, will help, but it can not replace natural light of fluorescent lighting

Climate: humidity, temp, moisture Fresh, moist air helps plants thrive indoors Excessive dryness is harmful to plants, etc. House plants grow comfortably in degrees The container must have a drain hole Tip burn develops when plants are too dry Relative humidity should range from degrees of room temperature

H2O and plant food With high alkaline it is hard to grow acid loving plants – Use acidic peat moss Growing media should be nicely moist Size of container and season effect watering Zeolite H2O softeners can harm plants Replaces Ca with Na 3 basic elements needed by plants N, K, P every 2-3 weeks during active growing

Soil Mixes Good potting soil for foundation Two parts garden soil, one part leaf mold and one part sand Plants from the desert need a gritty, lean growing medium Epiphytes grow in osmunda fiber, unshredded sphagnum moss and chipped redwood bark perlite makes a perfect substitute for sand Vermiculite can be used in place of leaf mold

Potting Pot size comes first General rule is to use a pot half the height or width of the plant you will grow in it A geranium 12 inches tall does well and looks nice in a 6-inch pot Soak new clay pots for several hours

Any Questions? With that we can begin cutting and potting.