4 Houseplant Myths We Should Stop Believing
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 13 июл 2024
- Do houseplants really clean the air in your home? Does misting a houseplant really increase the humidity? Let's look into some of the "common wisdom" in the world of houseplant care and see if it really makes much sense at all.
IN THIS VIDEO
→ The Wolverton Study: ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19...
→ Review of the Wolverton Study: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
SUPPORT EPIC GARDENING
→ Shop: growepic.co/shop
→ Seeds: growepic.co/botanicalinterests
LEARN MORE
→ All Our Channels: growepic.co/youtube
→ Blog: growepic.co/blog
→ Podcast: growepic.co/podcasts
→ Discord: growepic.co/discord
→ Instagram: growepic.co/insta
→ TikTok: growepic.co/tiktok
→ Pinterest: growepic.co/pinterest
→ Twitter: growepic.co/twitter
→ Facebook: growepic.co/facebook
→ FB Group: growepic.co/fbgroup
DISCLAIMER
Epic Gardening occasionally links to goods or services offered by vendors to help you find the best products to care for plants. Some of these may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if items are purchased. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. More info on our process: www.epicgardening.com/disclai...
Any other houseplant myths I should cover?
gravel in the bottom of pots
how to use heavy industrial pesticides indoors on houseplants and ornimental horticulture.. lol.. I read a review the other day rating 'roundup promax' at a one star because it killed all his indoor grass, not just the weeds.. HAHAHAHA
That they give oxygen at night.Lol
I have close to 400 cacti in my basement for winter, 30-40 kinds. Temps stay around 55 degrees.I usually (mist) them about once a month during winter. They spend April-October in a greenhouse. Just wondering if the mist myth applies to them as well? Its been a growing collection for 12 years.
Also planted various cacti seeds for the first time 2 months ago(around 600 :) I have them covered in plastic with led lights in my bedroom. I've kept them moist and many have sprouted and seem to be doing well. I'm in upstate NY. Hobby turning into an addiction :) 👍
Is adding hydrogen peroxide in water good for plants? And is watering plants in the morning more beneficial?
I’m still telling my husband my ever growing plant collection is “cleaning the air.” 😉
I support this ;)
Same.
spoken like a true addict ;)
Of Course, The Manipulative Lying Wife
Gerald Clay what’s a marriage without a strong foundation of lies?
Take away from myth #2: turn apartment into jungle. Got it 😆👍🏻
That's the exact takeaway ;)
Challenge accepted 🌿🌱🍃🎋🌴🎍🍂🌿🌱🌴
Let’s jungle the house
I already kinda have it. Look this profile picture.
I was going to comment that I’m not telling my husband that because when I ask if there’s too many plants he says “oh no, it’s helping us with cleaning the air.”
why didn't you just tell me that Santa does not exist.
Oh that one's totally true - ho ho ho!
😭🤣🤣🤣 this is how I felt haha
Because he does! In all of us🥰
😂 and I feel totally virtuous with the morning misting care routine. ..
😂😂😂
The reason plants will slow down growth in the wintertime is simply because most places get less light during the winter. Less hours of light = less light-dependent photosynthesis = less growth. It has nothing to do with the plant "conserving energy" for Spring. I'm so happy you brought that up!
Exactly!
Indeed. Plant growth will slow down in winter because of light levels. The indoor temperature won't change much so it's best not to water them as much as the growth becomes spindly.
Irene j
as someone from the north of Norway: my plants do not grow during the three months without sunlight. unless I give a plant extra light and dust it off it literally doesnt grow during winter
I had a friend whose dad was a horticulturist. Her house was surrounded by plants. It was in the suburbs; Burbank, California. Back in the 90’s there was a huge fire in the area. There wasn’t anywhere that we could go and not smell the fire, except her home. Once you were inside the house, the smell of smoke disappeared. It was lovely. You couldn’t see the house from the sidewalk because of the vegetation. Sadly, the new owners cut down all the plants and put grass (rude!).
One time someone on my floor came to me saying that her plant was dying and she didn't understand bc she gave it plenty of light, it was directly under a grow light even! I asked to see it, she brought it out to me and... It was an English ivy that was severely sunburned 😑
So another myth is that the more sunlight the better; some plants can't handle direct sunlight as they've evolved to live on the forest floor!!!
Oh definitely. I recently got into plants and so I bought a pack of succulents, but they had no info or names. I assumed all succulents liked a lot of sun, but then noticed one was browning at the tips.
Turned out it was a zebra plant and they don't like full sun
Did you know this woman or did she just turn up one day having heard you're a plant whisperer?
Very true, I kind of killed my Polly allocasia plant. It only has it 2 most recent leaves, because of the summer I now moved it up the closet, it now doesn't get direct sunlight. Maybe some in late evening.
Myth #1: Don't mist your plant
Kevin: *continues to mist plant as he tells us not to mist plant*
Me: "....s...sstop that."
It looks so fun though.
Hahahaha 👏
🤣🤣🤣 Sooooo True✌️
Had a monstera adansonii.
I never misted it.
Leaves would turn yellow and burn.
So i propogated new monsteras.
I mist them morning and night.
Daily.
Now the leaves stay green and thrive 🙃 misting is very healthy.
@@valeriesanchez3074 Yep! Was just about to say this, I have a rhaphidaphora tetraperma and philo swiss cheese, and they both love a good mist twice a week in the morning and night!
Is it a myth that if you set a certain house plant on fire and breath the fumes, It'll make you feel happier ?
LOL
I just did & I can confirm you that this one is NOT a myth😂😂😂
Won't make your lungs happy. Stick with edibles.
😂🤣😂
Cannabis is cool
As the daughter of a ventilation engeneer (who got a really clear lesson about this after buying my first house), please be careful about raising the humidity in your house. It can cause moisture damage, fungus and nasty bacteria in the house which can lead to a lot of expensive damages to the house as well as to your health. Things like leaving the bathroom door open after taking a shower, not having your bathroom and kitchen fan on, not airing out your home can cause thousands in damages already after 3 months
Not gonna say this is never true, but the house I grew up in and lived in for 47 years did not have either a bathroom fan or a kitchen fan, and did not have moisture damage, fungus or bacteria. I think a lot depends on the age of the house and how well it is sealed around the windows, doors, etc.
huh. that makes sense
Getting an indoor humidity gauge makes it easier to adjust the humidity. Older houses cannot handle 40% indoor air humidity for long, newer (better air conditioned) can handle up to 50% on short runs. As an asthmatic, I need humidity to be around 25-30% or my airways try to swell shut. So I keep track when I need to run my humidifier and how long so I won't damage my appartment or if I need to air out extra humidity. Ps. I live in a climate where indoor air humidity can drop under 10% in winter.
Just had to explain this to a resident after they got mold in their home for the 5th time in a period of 2 years
Why then do some landlords not install and maintain these things
Way to break my heart about plants that 'clean air'. 💔 🤷🏻♀️ I'll have to buy a few more plants to cope with this news. lol. good vibes only
I'm laughing coz I got the exact same mister he's using but I thought it was for dish soap this whole time I've used it to hold my soap XD
@Anubis The Jackal saw it at canadian tire for $10 but decided not to get it
so you've been misting your dishes with soap?
@@jaimewood7089 it's a very good question
Oops...
Is misting soap on your dishes effective? If so, I'm gonna do the same thing
Misting is a placebo for the gardener. :-)
I'm still gonna do it cause it's fun!
one of my plants thrive if I mist it, but most of my others do better without misting it
Or its for people who have a small tiered rainforest, and understand tropical, and desert plants, have highly evolved stomata, adapted for light daily rainfall, and root systems that work different at different depths. Its no myth that dusty leaves are less efficient, or that others trap humidity. Obviously staying at a healthy RH is always necessary.
@@ontherims3284 Sure, but a quick spray is not going to change RH. Maybe for 5 minutes. Now if you have a mist system, then it’s definitely helpful, but if you do that in a house, you better have some really good ventilation! (I have seen it done successfully in a house.)
I feel like I shouldn’t have watched this video
☺
Same i feel like this misconceptions are bulshitt i feel like this is still all true! I want to believe scientists instead of this guy
Me too. I am sad now.
Outch Kevin I always mist my indoor houseplant everyday and all looks good and I have lots of air humidifier plants I don’t care if my house looks jungle 😂🤪🤪
Me too 😶
Another misconception is that “ house plants “ are a real thing ,there shade plants or rainforest plants that can tolerate more shade , there is no plant that would naturally or would prefer to be in someone’s home :)
Exactly! I have an Instagram video on this!
If the outside temperature doesn't match what the plant needs then growing indoors can help you create and control the environment for plants but it has to be done correctly.
Pete P Obviously. Plants existed long before houses. The term "houseplant" is simply to differentiate exactly that: which can be grown indoors. It's not to imply they are designed for houses lol.
You low key broke my heart about the air purifying myth 😭 but all good tips! Loved!
Nooooo Amanda :(
Epic Gardening hahaha it’s the main reason I got my bf to agree to let me continue buying plants 😂
@@amandaliberty3543 yah.... that was the moment all of us plant addicts, errr, plant lovers, turned the volume down quickly and looked around suspiciously to make sure none of our family members heard him say that. sometimes we gotta justify our all this foliage somehow!
Jen _ Barnes Family Homestead Hahahah you got it - I will never admit this to my family - NO WAY
@@jen.BarnesFamilyHomestead That's too funny!
I turned my volume down when he mentioned that in the video because I didn't want my bf to tell me "I told you so!" Hahaha 😂
So.. what I'm taking away from this is that I need at least 100 plants per room, cool, cool yeah I think I can do that 😂
I’d like to add that “bright indirect light” is not necessarily a steadfast rule. A lot of plants can handle and thrive in direct light. Especially in winter when the sun isn’t so strong.
SO TRUE
My jade pothos loves direct sunlight! I was always told they loved indirect sunlight.... My baby is 5 years old now and is growing leaves bigger than my hand! She is happy where she is and I believe I'll let the plant tell me what they actually like xD
So true. My Tradescantia Zebrina is on a full sun place all day long, and loving it. Sure, it took some adjusting starting in the early spring, exposing it to the sun gradually, but now it is beautiful! So much different than the one l have hanging on my south facing window indoors.
Yeah, but be careful telling people this. You can't just throw a plant that's growing in a darker spot into a sunny spot, it'll burn before it can adapt. Plants need to get used to the light level they're placed in. Even a plant that can take full sun will burn if it's been growing in the shade up until then.
I work at a garden center, and so many people buy from our "house plant" selection and want to plant them outside because they've seen that species growing outside before. Those poor babies have lived in greenhouses their whole lives!
True! But best to acclimate them before you put them in direct light
MYTH 1: MISTING PLANTS - misting doesn't increase humidity. get a humidifier.
MYTH 2: HOUSE PLANTS CLEAN AIR - no noticeable impact to air quality
MYTH 3: BIGGER POT = BIGGER PLANT
MYTH 4: HOUSE PLANTS DIE IN WINTER
Thank you 😀
I mist my plants quite heavily. That simulates rain and then I don’t have to dust them. And my house has serious dust issues 😂😂😂
stimulating rain is not a good thing.....photosynthesis ceases completely for the first 30 minutes after a rain/shower due to stomata closing after being exposed to a high liquid humidity gradient. Even after 3 hours it has been shown that photosynthesis activity is reduced
Azzury Street I cared 😘
I cared
@@Orholam5 that's interesting. I put my plants on the balcony when it rains and I swear I noticed they get new leaves the next day. How come?
emijta there’s no way a plant could create all the cells and tissue needed for a new leaf bud in one day. It probably means the plant was thirsty, and the water helps create hydrostatic pressure and the existing bud pokes out
TL;DW= 1-Misting doesn't help plants/humidity *if it your air is super dry. Wet leaves might even help pests, not the apartment jungle. Keep an eye out, buy humidity meters.
2-Plants don't "clean" your air unless you have an incredible number of them in an **air tight** small space, unless you live in heavy pollution areas, opening a window for 2 minutes will help the air more than having a 100 plants. Plants help you as a person more than it does your city-person-lungs.
3-Re-potting should be incremental, don't over do it when re-potting, plants like to be snug, not over-wet in a bunch of loose wet soil.
4-Plants (sorta) don't die/go dormant in the winter, only when they don't get their native environment. Get a humidifier and keep temp over 58-ish and you're alright.
......also they need light, bruh.
Thanks for reiterating these points, Kevin, i see some pseudo-science often when it comes to googling house plants and how to care for them.
Injecting real questions and objective truths cannot hurt in this space, it deeply needs it.
Amazing summary. Couldn't agree more re objectivity
Pepper plants do remove the smell of cigarette smoke from a room, I know that from experience, I assume it is the green leafy foliage. .
I have some cayenne pepper plants, I dont smoke though
Plants help clean out the bad vibes 😌
Yup! that's why they actually "clean your air" but tbh a lot of nature does, like pets!
Yasss
Misting 3 - 5 times a day does make a difference.; especially if you have clusters of plants together. (Make sure to do this only when sunlight is not direct.) & make you are misting your distilled, purified, or at least filtered water. Before I added misting to my daily routine, my average humidity % in the spring & summer months is around 20% or less, & I live in Colorado where it is REALLY dry. & when I started misting 3-5 times a day, I noticed my average humidity would stay between 30%-45% & right after a misting up to 60% for about 5 minutes then average out. So don't completely boot it. It just takes some extra time to do it more frequently. & if you're an aroid lover, your aroids love it
I agree i most everyday and my plants are thriving - when i don’t there is a noticeable different
Humidifiers are completely safe if they are cleaned once every 1-2 weeks. I’ve used them for years, and they’ve actually improved my health since using them. I just wanted to point this out because you are making it seem like using a humidifier rather than misting would somehow be dangerous, when on the contrary, it’s actually much more sensible, as they AREN’T dangerous if maintained correctly AND the amount of time investment you spend in a couple days, misting your plants, is the same amount of time it would take for a person to maintain their humidifier in an entire month (with 2-4 cleanings). I’m not suggesting you stop misting, but people should only do it if they enjoy doing it, and if they struggle to keep up with the misting, it’s much easier to just buy a humidifier.
I couldn't have agreed more. I've been misting my 13in tall calathea makoyana daily (both top and undersides of leaves) and only water it maybe once every 2-3 weeks lol. But I wouldn't mist more than once bc who has the time for that haha. Never had any crisp edges and it's been growing strong for over 6 months now. Never had a spider mite infestation as well. I would love to have a humidifier but living in a subtropical climate makes it impossible haha. On rainy days, we get over 60-80% humidity. Interestingly, the humidity doesn't stop my plants from crisping up so misting is a real time saver for me instead of carrying all of my plants into the bathtub to bottom water them every single week. And before the misting, I watered my calatheas weekly and you could only imagine how much of a pain that was since they don't like tap water. I've had numerous spider mite infestations with my other plants but ever since I started misting, it easily became one of the cheapest methods for pest prevention.
I have got my grandmother’s 20-year-old Dracaena (I named her Cornelia) that was never misted before. Her leaves were all crumpled up at first when I got her. I thought it is because of her age. However, I started to misting her every day. It didn’t take long and all her leaves get fully restored, smoothed out and very healthy looking. I guess it depends on many factors wether plant needs to be misted or does not. It is never just simple yes or no.
I live in Central Europe.
Even though the misting doesn’t do much for humidity, it does help to mist plants so that the leaves can get water directly. It’s best the mist them in the evening though, because water on the plants can magnify the sunlight and burn the leaves.
Why'd you have to tell me about Myth #1 misting is my therapy :...(
You can still do it. It just won't do anything other than make you feel better
I just ordered a cute mister like the one in the video :(
Dust or wipe the leaves. Just relaxing.
Keep misting if you enjoy it. It won't hurt your plants except maybe for African violets, and such, who don't do well with wet foliage.
The spider plant..my sibling once gave our mom one for mother day, which they had planted in kindergarden. After five years, every single friend, relative and acquaintance of ours had at least one sapling descending from it...
Thanks for dealing with these! Hopefully everyone will watch this. I like to tell folks that misting is like a placebo for them, so if misting makes them feel good, they should do it.
The only thing I’d maybe disagree a little on is about plants slowing down in winter. Here in Seattle, plants growing in windows really do slow down quite a bit in winter because the days get so short and we have weeks of deep gloom at a time. So I do recommend that they put off repotting of certain things until the days get longer. Also almost nobody has air conditioning here so houses here do actually get warmer in the summer than, say, in the Midwest.
One thing I always deal with at the shop is people thinking they can plant into a container with no drainage as long as they put a layer of rocks at the bottom. (And of course the whole “layer of rocks for drainage” myth itself). A layer of rocks isn’t going to help when it’s full of water and you don’t even know it, and after a few waterings it’s going to be full of soil anyway.
Another one is people being so afraid of overwatering that they underwater, believing that they can overwater a plant in a single watering. I always make sure they understand that overwatering is a function of frequency, not amount given.
We had one lady who killed cactus she was taking care of for a friend, and was convinced that it was because she had given it more than the 2 tablespoons of water her friend had said it needed. This was a big cactus, not a little 2” pot! Her friend was there with her and was making her feel awful about it; she was on the verge of tears. We gave them both a bit of cactus education that day. :-)
I did hear on the radio the other morning that there was a recent study that showed having lots of plants in your house can help you from getting sick. The presence of plants increases your humidity within the house via transpiration and a higher humidity greatly effects how long viruses/bacteria are airborne. Something like 15 minutes of airborne in a humid room vs a dry room its more like an hour. Thought that was cool.
Interesting, I'd love to see the paper on that!
@@epicgardening The research cited and linked from popsugar.com examined the role of relative humidity in the aerosol transmission of influenza. The research did not include the role of plants: "Maintaining indoor relative humidity >40% will significantly reduce the infectivity of aerosolized virus."
@@paulacothren3591 that sounds plausible.....idk why anyone would grow anything but cacti in
There are studies in hospitals comparing rstes of recovery from surgeries (and use of pain killers etc) comparing those around plants and those with none. I dont think humidity has anything much to do with it. Its a biophillia affect i think.
@@anthonyLopez-zj4ww You are correct: E..O.Wilson's hypothesis regarding the desire to connect with nature (philia as the opposite of phobia).
This is such a great site, you explain things so clearly with logic and experience. I must admit, sometimes my mind drifts off and I just enjoy the sound of your voice and the cadence of your delivery. Not to be weird, I do actually hear what you are saying and I learn something with each video! My parents were educators and broadcasters so I appreciate someone so well spoken as you. Thanks - I'll keep on listening!
On the up-potting thing, one thing I like to do for my indoor plants is choose a nice big pot that it will eventually live in, and just grow it in various pots inside of that pot. Makes the plant look a bit nicer and allows it to grow in different stage pots.
Pothos on the left corner is beautiful.. can't take my eyes off. And the purple oxalis 😍
Dins it is the only really healthy looking plant he has. Of course maybe he just hasn't had indoor plants for very long.
Ahhh ok. Thank you for posting the links to the Wolverton study. I read part of the actual study and all of the short review. So they DO clean the air, but as you noted, one plant for each foot and a half basically. I mean you COULD get there, but it would be a legit jungle. Like your carpet would need to be grass, lol. Ok, that makes sense. I guess something is better than nothing though, eh?
Mortessa every little bit helps. Even with 5 plants the air will be cleaner than it was.
Plus our houses aren’t hermetically sealed, is the other key factor I think. (I mean I assume lol, maybe someone’s is)
You are the most modern, most aggressive, and most intelligent gardener I've seen here in RUclips. I'm glad I've found your channel since I've been pretty much misinformed by numerous sources based on what I kept on knowing from your videos.
House plants may not purify the air, but they sure make me happy 😂 boyfriend is concerned about space but our house will be a jungle, watch this space
Katie Mac Arts get a smaller boy friend if you run out of space
I use to believe that plants cleaned the air. I had so many, in attempts to help my asthma. However I read the NASA study, and ended up getting a air purifier and it made the world a difference to my breathing. Simple put, plants are not enough inside a home.
It takes to much effort to mist my plants. I just turn on the humidifier. Great video!!
Honestly misting helped my plants so much. All of them started growing at least two leaves since I started. The only thing I makes sure to do is always provide good air circulation to them.
Wow, ur viewers’ comments are just as informative! Thank you for the information. Indoor plants is such a hot trend right now, in part due to some of the myths that u highlighted in your video. If people enjoy taking care of plants and watching them grow, it’s probably a good hobby for them to pick up. It can also be very wasteful too if people are just jumping in on a trend and buying into the myths!
I thought plants added more air to your environment. That's my justification for the 20 plants (and growing!) in my bedroom. :)
Air cannot be created out of nothing......I think you mean oxygen....and while photosynthesis does create oxygen it's MUCH MUCH MUCH less than what we breathe (average human breathes in 11,000 liters of air per day...that's about 2300 liters of oxygen and we consume about a third of it, so 766 liters/day....ONE WHOLE TREE produces 87 liters in a YEAR....meaning houseplants have the teensiest negligible effect on oxygen)
That's cool I have a bedroom jungle as well it's in a basement I go through about ten gallons a week of water in the winter haha
@@Orholam5 stop looking for arguments and not picking bud this is like the fourth time I've seen you doing this
@@moonlitmatt3241 they're not picking arguments, they are providing information.
@@Orholam5 Thanks for the info! :)
Great list! How about the one about putting gravel in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage? Betsy Begonia did a great video debunking this after someone corrected an earlier video of hers. I still see this myth being passed around though. Needs further debunking!
I've got an entire video on that one!
@@epicgardening Aha, good work. I’m kinda new to your channel, so I must have missed it.
I fell for that one once, never agian. My plant was fine though. But now I just use a better draining soil
I have a hard time getting right sized pots for various reasons. What i do is use stones or gravel to fill up excess space before repotting a plant to reduce the risk of too much water.
Also helps with repotting because the roots get air pruned if I wait too long.
Not for the air root growing species, sure, but it's a solution if you can't get your hands on decent pots
I've always thought that putting stones on top of the soil will increase humidity for a bit longer as the stones will gradually relese the moisture, but even if it doesn't it looks pretty nice. Never seems to have harmed my house plants. It also stopped my young cat from climbing into the big planters for a pee.
I FOUND YOU! I follow you on TikTok and was super excited to see you on RUclips. My balcony garden would be nothing without your help. Anyone else here binging his videos! Good on spreading good info my dude
Kevin, you certainly inspired a lot of "conversation". I had a great time reading the comments! A lot of these misconceptions are just difficult to let go of despite evidence to the contrary. Simply put, if your plants are doing well, you are doing something or everything right, so keep doing it. If not, it might help to try something different. I don't know that I will ever completely give up misting, but I have stopped putting gravel at the bottom on my containers.
The mist one is half true. There are a few plants (like Boston ferns) that LOVE being misted in addition to watering
“Misting your plants doesn’t really do much”
Me: *misting my plants and it being therapeutic to me* 👁👄👁
I love this guy.. his videos are not only informative..he also has a great sense of humor and calming positive energy about him that makes his videos easy to watch. 👍
The only gardening channel I've Come across while looking for tips on gardening and my houseplants that I subscribed to and watch regularly now just for fun. 😶😊
I am absolutely in love with your videos, the info that you provide and your beautiful plants. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and having such calm energy that makes me so confident to look after my 27 house plants! ✨🙏🏻
Thank you so much Steph!
I thought NASA released a study saying 6 snake plants in the same room did clean the air?
technically they do, but very few buildings simulate the environment of the rooms used for the study
the variables aren't the same so the results won't be either
since we don't live in airtight chambers there's air coming in and out of most homes, significantly diluting the amount of chemicals the plants will be exposed to and therefore actually filter
edit: although to be fair, I might not be looking at the same study you're referring to
I really love ur videos man, I also like ur tips, they’re very helpful!!! Especially when I’m starting to have interest in houseplants. Thank you again :)
You bet my friend
Great video! Lots of nice little info nuggets here, I love the little photo of you and Charles in the back, must've been fun times!
Was a dream!
Misting strengthens the stems of my plants by simulating the rain. Plus it cleans the stomata which can get clogged with growing medium silt and dust. Granted it doesn't make them grow faster or bigger but it's still beneficial.
That’s depressing 😢 that house plants 🌱 do not help with cleaning our air in our houses 🏘 I always believed that
Jenny Monroe don't believe everything you hear on RUclips.
Still gonna mist my maiden hair ferns. They were totally looking dead until I misted them. Now they're beatiful.
Yes i totally agree i saved my mums maiden hair fern by misting it when she never did before hand and now 6mnths later its biggest and best its ever been along with 4 other ferns, every time we forget to mist them for a day they get sad and start dieing lol
So excited I found your channel. Awesome videos and super educational. Thanks so much!
Recently found your channel and I’m in love. 😍
So it looks like the up-potting thing is what’s been stopping my prayer plant from thriving thank God I clicked on this video
On the gravel one.... I have several begonias on a tray of gravel with water and the humidity reads 54% compared to the 38% in my home. So, is this because I have plants grouped together or what is causing this? I take the humidity reader away and it drops as I get away from the plants. I am not putting them in the bottom of the pot, but on a separate tray with water in them. Even if the humidity is only locally helping and slowly evaporates as it gets further into the room, I am only trying to handle what is right at the plant anyway right?
Mix of gravel,close together, etc
The second myth (plants purify air) is so common even you believed it two years ago. From the Epic Gardening blog:
"The weeping fig tree is one of the best plants to have in your home when it comes to remove formaldehyde from the air. It also purifies air of toluene and xylene. In fact, it was studied by NASA as a plant to include in space flight due to its toxin-cleansing properties."
There's even an article dedicated to the house plants that make you more productive by, you guessed it, purifying the air.
I decided to check for myth number one and this is from the article The Ten Best Houseplants for Beginners:
"If you need to increase the humidity levels, there are a few simple things you can do, the most obvious being to invest in a humidifier. If you don’t want to buy more equipment, try grouping your plants together, popping them in pebble trays or misting them gently with water."
I think you're a cool dude and make great content, but you might want to look through some of your old blog posts.
This was super helpful, thank you. Two of my plants were suffering hard from bugs after I starting misting. I will stop now for a while
Glad to hear!
Really nice summary of common myths. It's beautiful to see your oxalis flowering. Must admit, I believed the air cleaning myth until fairly recently.
You and me both - the studies refuting only recently came out relative to the original NASA study
@@epicgardening I would love it if the FTC got involved and officially denounce that test for the purposes of preventing sellers from using it as selling bullet point.
@@epicgardening I have to admit, plants really brighten up a room and make it feel cleaner even if they don't clean the air.
You always comfirm my suspicions. I never listen to anyone's old wives tales when it comes to my plants. A lot of my friends do way too much to their plants and don't understand why theyre still dying.
I find my rooms are not complete until I add a plant. My Pothos leaves are as large as your hand. Never have I ever. All my plants show off to me. I tell them all how beautiful they are and that I love them as I touch them ever so lightly. My Pitbull is big too. Must be something in the Water. 😆 I love your tone. The care you take as you explain plant care. The atmosphere full of love helps. Children enjoy as well. Peace , Love and you are AMAZING!!!! LIVE AND LOVE Y'ALL!!! It just feels good. Have your favorite desert too.
Thanks for the tips! Love your videos and the Zion poster :)
House plants clean dirty energy in the air
When you say 'dirty energy' specifically what do you mean?
@@epicgardening Plant's react to their whole electromagnetic environment. Obsorbing or transmuting EMF radiation like sunlight obviously but also a large spectrum of the scale. They are basically doing a clean up job compared to a plant less room, sometimes in sacrificial way with harmful EMFs. www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2016/1830262/
www.emf-risks.com/radiation-absorbing-plants/
@@epicgardening Again, the research examines plant biological responses and resistance to HF-EMF and does not address an improvement of ambient air quality.
i thought you meant the vibes LOL
Maria Lucarelli same! I feel dumb lol
You know what’s NOT a myth? Ivy is a pest magnet! Don’t grow it in your home. The spider mites will take over 😜
What?! I have Ivy plants and ive never had a problem! I judt double checked as i am scared of those things and gladly i didnt find any and also researched: spider mites come when your plants are de or overhydrated
I’ve heard that too. I’ve seen some beauties but never bought them because of that.
if you’re looking for something similar there’s a succulent that looks just like variegated ivy, it might be called rubber ivy! i find the pests don’t like succulents too much because you can keep the soil pretty dry
A got an English ivy a few days ago and when I got home I realized it was infested with spider mites but I’m sure they went away with the pressured water I gave it and the insecticide spray. So far I haven’t seen any.
Thank you you are very helpful keep growing be blessed
The only caveat I'd make to the misting/humidity myth is that you can generate humidity around a plant if you keep a humidity tray under that constantly has water.
It's really important for indoor bonsai especially, which really suffer when they don't have access to humidity.
Ooh! TIL that I may just be an Agressive Up-potter! Thanks, man, this will be a big help going forward.
That fact I cannot have enough plants in my home to purify our air is so disappointing 😩
Myth 2 kinda broke my heart too☹
Learned something new (again) from your wonderful video today. Would love to see you do one on common house plant pests, such as aphids in particular :)
Shall do!
@@epicgardening can you add spider mites on the list. Hate those little things. This area is just full of them.
Man you just helped me out a bunch, I was always wondering why was my soil always damp even thought I have a drainage at the bottom and I give them enough amount of sunlight. Not only that but I water them a good amount. So when I tried researching it on google it didn't really help at all. But thanks a bunch also I'm new at planting. 😊
Great info! What is that purple plant at the end of the video? My goth heart needs it 🖤
Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia zebrina
Also look at Peperomia metallica. It's a plant with black leaves and red undersides, so it actually does remind me of the band Metallica it looks really cool
Angela, another one for your Goth heart- Raven ZZ! My daughter just found one for us at Walmart of all places! We've named her Morticia. 😊
@@loriyoung653 I have two :)
What about "talking to your plants"? Used to be it was a recommended way to get them to grow better 😁 I wonder if there's been legitimate studies about that!
Yes. I've read a few University studies. I'd have to try to look them back up, been awhile. Studies says music, sound, affects them and also plant memories. Pretty interesting reading , I'll try to find them for you👍
I'll have to do some research on this one!
@@epicgardening one of the ones I read, but many more www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531191360492X
Ohhh my grandmother used to tell me that you have to talk to them. I always figured it had something to do with the carbon dioxide coming from your breath
When a plant is stressed they give out chemicals and this attracts pests. Plants also communicate with chemicals, so if one has a parasite, others close to them will reinforce their defenses to keep the parasite from spreading. All this has been found by science, as for talking to your plants, I think that when you talk to them, you give out pheromones, and they are very sensitive to this. Also studies has shown that music could help plants defend themselves from diseases...
I talk to my plants I tell them how beautiful they are. In the wild they are never alone, they are surrounded by other plants and animals of all sizes, moved by rain and wind. They need all the stimulation we can give them
Thank you so much for this video! I was misting my parlor palm and I think I was hurting it. No more misting for me.
Glad to hear!
More optimism: plants do alter the micro biome in your house and can help prevent an abundance of bad bacteria in the air, which means they literally clean the air, even if they don’t filter out all the VOCs as effectively as an air filtee
Im glad here in Malaysia, its pretty humid and summer all year. my plants are happy
I have 2 plumerias and I live in las Vegas so they spend most the year outside but as they don't like cold temperatures I bring them once the temps hit the low 40s and stay inside until it warms up. In that time they'll loose all their leaves slowly and sleep for a bit but once I put them back outside they'll wake back up in the sun and warmth
Oh thank god I watched this video! I have been looking for some advice regarding upsizing too much as I have been thinking about it but didn't want to inadvertently cause my jade plant harm. Thanks for the advice!
Great advice, esp. about repotting in a not-super-big pot 👌 I often make this mistake, thinking I'm doing the plant service by providing it a bigger place for the roots to grow 😅
Hmmmm sounds more like they need to do that study again also its possible some microorganisms in the soil or a completely unknown factor was limiting VOCs. That's the beauty of science though, definitive answers sometimes take a very long time to get if ever....its a process, a learning one!
Yes, doing it on a larger scale would be amazing
i hear a lot of people fearful about "bacteria" entering fresh cut wounds of plants. although i'm sure this CAN happen, it's really not something you need to worry about. people often forget that plants generally are very hardy when it comes to their leaves and stems getting damaged.
I listen to a lofi spotify playlist and most of your background music is on that playlist. You have good taste my friend!
Here’s a bit of optimism: you see that tower of plants behind him? That’s enough to filter the VOCs all around that book shelf. The articles that suggest it won’t work, assume people don’t have a vast amount of plants in their home. What they really mean, is that a ficus won’t do the trick, but ten will.
I feel like giving away all my plants 🌱 now. You broke my heart 💔when you said they don’t provide oxygen.
I mist my cranky Triostar once a day. She loves it,the wench!!😂 oh and you need to stop wid this, I don't believe you🤣😂
Kim Smith 😁
😆😆😆
I heard about a study measuring indoor air quality in houses next to busy roads where the pollution was very high, even indoors. Now, I'm not sure if they actually planted trees or just measured in different areas with vs without trees, but the result was that houses that had a row of trees in between them and the road had a significant increase in air quality.
Unfortunately, I don't know what study this was so I can't link to it nor do I want to say that this is absolutely true. I just wanted to mention it to see if anyone else knows about it.
I appreciate the tip about soul volume and repotting- hadn’t heard that one yet, and it makes perfect sense, of course!
Me: stop misting your orchids.
Them: but humidity *squirtsquirt
Me: You’re going to give you’re shit crown rot.
Them:but air roots *squirtsquirt
Me: No.
Them: they are tropical. Duh. *squirtsquirt
Me: stop that.
You know how long I’ve been telling people that with their orchids? And that humidity trays are great for drip trays but are useless used in a small grow tent or something like that? It’s frustrating 😄
Regarding number 2, I don't think you can say something isn't true based on one study being done. There would have to be another study that looks at houseplants in a different controlled environment or looking at if these plants affect a larger surface area. If those results came up that in fact, there is no decrease in these chemicals you could confidently say it isn't true and call it a 'myth'
I’m definitely guilty of thinking of the future and potting my new plant buys into too big a pot
Glad for this video it was an awesome watch
very informative! Thanks for all your great videos!
Appreciate you
I can't believe you have an oxalis (aka wood sorrel) - it's a pernicious weed in my back yard!
Funny how that works huh - one man's weed is another's prized plant ;)
@@epicgardening Indeed - One thing I love which most people would say is an evil invasive plant which can send its rhizomes from one side of a highway to the other is the shoots and tips of Japanese knotweed - lots of free, delicious veggies (and some even make "rhubarb" pie with the shoots...
@@annestudley8235 Are you talking about kudzu? I am just learning about this amazing plant! You can use the root to make Japanese jelly candies or wagashi! You can feed the leaves to livestock and i think theres a vining part you can weave into baskets.
Kudzu. Not that bad. 😄
@@barkingsheep5224 I'm not talking about kudzu, but that's another great example - it's actually medicinal and is an expensive supplement in health food stores in places where it doesn't grow like wildfire - like where I grew up. Maybe Japanese knotweed only grows like wildfire in Eastern Canada (where I now live) and the northeastern US. You can google it and find a lot of info. One thing is that the roots are used in natural medicine against lyme disease due to its exceptionally high resveratrol content - way more than grapes or red wine.
@@annestudley8235 certainly in the UK its illegal to plant japanese knotweed outide because its hella invasive and can damage the foundations of your house, drainage systems, roads etc.
Did you start putting your name on the screen in the beginning in the hopes people will stop calling you Eric? 😂
It's my #1 prayer
@@epicgardening omg I totally thought it was Eric
@@epicgardening I thought you were Eric
This is a great channel I'm getting a lot from the videos thank you! One thing that would be great to improve would be the use of American measurements. In Australia we use the metric system so whenever you say something in inches for example or degrees I have to stop the video and convert it which makes it a little challenging. Thanks :)
With regards to the "cleaning the air" myth, an additional fact is that the study used both soil and activated charcoal. The study concluded that the main thing that cleaned the air was actually the charcoal. Its still an interesting study though and I definitely use the "cleaning the air" excuse with my husband as well. Thanks for talking about these myths!
This guy didn't read the actual study, he just glanced over the headline/3 lines of text or something. lol
On page 9: "As in previously reported studies, these results indicate that
plants can play a major role in removal of organic chemicals from
indoor air. The work reported herein confirms that plant systems,
and not the potting soil itself, are responsible for removing most
of these chemicals. However, it now appears that the part
microorganisms and plant roots play may be more important in the
removal of chemicals than was previously believed."
I suggest people read the actual study, this guy can't be bothered to read a paragraph worth of info by the looks of it, and he will confidently talk out of his ass.
I've had lots of success with keeping off mealy bugs by misting my plants. 😬 So I mist more for that than for increasing humidity.
Very informative! Thank you for sharing this!
What great idea for a video. And what a great video. Thanks for posting!
You're very welcome!