Feb 20, 2020

Caring for your Indoor Leafy Living Wall

There are so many different kinds of indoor living walls you can create and there are even more plants you can choose to put in them. Often times all of these choices may leave you feeling unsure of where to begin and as a result you may become overwhelmed and discouraged. Have no fear! We have created an infographic that breaks down how you can begin to think about organizing your living wall. If you group together plants that have relatively similar needs such as light or humidity you can begin to narrow down the options of plants you can use in your indoor living wall. When you are considering where to place your living wall, it’s important to pay attention to the sunlight exposure that the spot receives. If you choose a spot that has direct high light exposure the plants that will do well in this spot differ from some of the plants that can live in a more shaded, indirect light exposure area of your home. With this in mind we have curated a list of some of our favorite Low, Medium and High Light plants and put it into a format that is easy to use as a guide.

There are other factors, besides light, that also play a part in the success of your plant’s growth, one of which is the level of humidity in the environment that your plants are growing. You will see that in our Infographics we oftentimes reference “basic household humidity.” This might mean different things to different people or it might not mean anything to you at all.

Here is a breakdown of what basic household humidity means and how to increase it.

The humidity level in the average household is often below 30 percent, some plants may be able to adjust to this dryer environment, however some—especially those from more tropical regions—need a more humid environment in order to thrive. So, how do you go about creating a more humid environment for your plants? Here are 4 simple ways you can increase humidity for your houseplants:

1. Misting houseplants with water

This is an easy and great solution for increasing humidity. Keep a misting bottle filled with clean water near your plants and spray them regularly. This additional water evaporation will create a more humid environment for your plants. When misting it is important to keep in mind that if water residue is not evaporating fast enough off your plants it can cause mildew and fungus to grow.

2. Build your own humidifier by placing plants in trays with pebbles and water

Fill a waterproof, clean tray halfway (at least an inch) with stones, gravel or perlite and pour water over them so that the pebbles are halfway submerged in the water. Set your plants on one of these trays, be careful that the water is not soaking into your plant, this can cause root rot and result in plant collapse.

DIY Plant humidifier solution

3. Use a room humidifier

A room humidifier can be a very effective tool to increase the humidity in your home. Humidifiers will increase the humidity of the whole room that they are in resulting in a more humid environment for your plants. Make sure to fill your humidifier regularly in order to maintain the humidity in the room.

Home humidifier

4. Group your plants together

For houseplants that have humidity needs that are just slightly higher than basic household humidity, grouping them together can create an adequate, more humid environment. Plants release moisture through the process of transpiration, so when they are grouped together this process will create a more humid environment in the surrounding air.

Living wall plants

It’s important to note that there are things that oftentimes dry out environments and consequently decrease humidity. This includes air conditioners, doors or windows with constant drafts and heaters. If your plants require more humidity be careful not to place them in your house where they are over exposed to these variables.

You can also get more inspiration about how to create and build your living wall from our Indoor Living Walls eBook! Happy Planting!

Additional References:

Download our Indoor Living Walls eBook on How to Create an Urban Jungle in your Home.

If you have more questions about the needs for different plants you want to include in your indoor living wall you can go to http://www.ifd-inc.org/plants.

Misting and humidifier: http://homesteadbrooklyn.com/all/2017/1/20/6-ways-to-increase-humidity-for-houseplants

DIY plant humidifier: http://www.timberpress.com/blog/2015/08/houseplant-calendar/