Indoor house plants add a touch of sophistication to any room and can be bought in abundance from most gardening stores.
It is rewarding, however, to grow these plants yourself. Choose quality seeds and plant in well-prepared soil. Use sterile soil from garden centres rather than soil from the garden as this may have unwanted weeds, insect larvae or harmful bacteria present.
Plant seeds in a seed tray and place in a warm area to stimulate their growth. If the temperature drops below 65F/18C at night, use a lamp or other means of artificial heating to keep them going.
As shoots begin to surface, make sure the tray is placed in good sunlight, or supplement with artificial light if necessary. Light and warmth is vital to the photosynthesis process.
Once the seedlings begin to grow leaves, tease the shoots out gently and replant in pots and containers where they can then be fertilized as they grow into strong, healthy plants.
Plants can also be grown from cuttings and are done so in a similar fashion. Choose a stem that contains a node (where the leaf attaches to the stem) as this node will develop into a new plant. Remove most of the leaves apart from the ones with nodes as this is where new roots will emerge.
Prepare the soil as you would for planting seeds and insert the cutting. Keep the soil moist but not too wet as this will cause rotting. Again, supply artificial light if natural light isn't plentiful and keep in a warm place.
As a cutting grows into what eventually will become healthy indoor house plants, it can be replanted into its long term pot or container.
Birdhouses
