Do we know the conditions our apartment offers when we buy plants?
When deciding to add a new specimen to the collection, do we consider the stationary conditions, or do we fall prey to the impulse to have a new species, for purely aesthetic reasons?
I have often encountered cases where dissatisfied customers accused exotic plant sellers of losing their plants, even after long periods of time since purchase. At the same time, these complaints were accompanied by unrealistic demands, ranging from refunding the purchase amounts, to replacing the plants, or requesting warranty certificates. Such customers do not take into account that, on the one hand, the local seller is only an intermediary, not a producer, and on the other hand, that from the moment the plants leave the growing greenhouses - located thousands of kilometers away, in Europe (generally in the Netherlands, Denmark, or Germany - as the main producers) or even in Asia, in the case of species imported as cuttings or seedlings – these specimens go through numerous stages during which various actions cause stress and require adaptations. The very process of adapting to new environmental conditions consumes energy, putting pressure on them, and also highlighting the risk of losing them. In an attempt to document these risks, I discovered the following article, which I bring to your attention, in translated and adapted form, "Understand where your plants came from" - Understand where your plants come from:
What are the conditions in a plant growing greenhouse?
- Perfect lighting - plants receive direct, unobstructed sunlight, and in the case of tropical plant foliage, which prefers filtered light, this is partially blocked by using textile material tables placed immediately under the greenhouse roof. The direction of the light is exactly above the plants, which is why they show perfect growth, influenced by positive heliotropism (i.e., plants orient their growth towards the sun, the light source).
- Abundant watering - having large amounts of light available, plants will photosynthesize rapidly, thus requiring high soil moisture. Due to the rapid use of water in the photosynthesis process and good air circulation, the chances of mold or other fungal diseases appearing are extremely low.
- Fertilization - also due to the accelerated photosynthesis processes in the presence of light and abundant water, abundant fertilization will be necessary to replenish the nutrient reserves consumed in the growth processes.
- Root aeration - in most commercial greenhouses intended for the intensive cultivation of exotic plants, plants are grown in plastic pots with perforations that, on the one hand, allow water drainage, but also serve the secondary role of ensuring the permeability of the growing medium for air, in addition to the aeration naturally achieved in the upper area of the pot, where the substrate meets the air. Under these conditions, plants in the growing greenhouses massively produce carbohydrates through photosynthesis and use this stored energy to grow and develop structurally.
Where do the differences appear compared to the environment offered in the apartment?
- Lighting - if we refer only to tropical plants, which do not require direct natural lighting, the interior of an apartment can offer, at best, only 25% of the light energy intensity that plants receive in growing greenhouses. This drastic reduction in light radiation significantly affects the way and intensity of feeding and implicitly growth after relocation to the apartment environment.
- Watering - light is the parameter with decisive influence on the rate of evaporation and drying of the substrate, but most importantly, on the rate of assimilation and processing of water from the growing medium. Therefore, it is very important to check the moisture in the substrate before performing a new watering. It is not recommended to follow a watering schedule without discernment, which may refer to ideal or standardized situations but have no connection to the current reality in the growing environment. At the same time, tropical plant enthusiasts should not replicate the routines used in growing greenhouses for apartment conditions, as long as the environmental conditions are not fully reproduced.
- Fertilization - in general, it is not necessary, except in cases where plants show rapid, accelerated growth typical of greenhouse conditions. And, clearly, fertilization is NOT a substitute for proper watering and lighting!
- Root aeration - for reasons unknown to experts and plant growers, there is a growing trend among amateur enthusiasts to replant/transplant new acquisitions, sometimes also changing the substrate/growing medium. Often, the chosen pots are not suitable for the growth of exotic plants, their role generally being purely decorative. Such pots frequently lack aeration holes and water drainage. Another case is the placement of growing pots in decorative covers, which contributes to water stagnation around the roots and hinders their aeration. Such practices, along with the adaptation stress resulting from transport from the grower to the merchant, and subsequently from the merchant to the collector, significantly affect the health of the plants, drastically reducing their chances of adaptation. Under conditions of decreased natural resistance, somewhat comparable to the level of immunity in animals, it is very likely that diseases will develop, whether bacterial, fungal, or associated, or susceptibility to infestation by various species of mites or parasitic insects will appear. In this context, the rational dilemma proposed at the beginning of the article arises.