Throughout this pandemic, we’ve all been spending more time than usual in our homes and inside the house, which begs the question -- how do we make it more enjoyable? The answer: plants. Not only do these chlorophyll-filled organisms give our spaces a more enjoyable aesthetic, but they also have been shown to boost mood, productivity, and health by increasing oxygen and removing pollutants and toxins from the air. For some people when they think of plants, it seems hopeless to keep them alive; however, there’s plenty of plants that are easy to care for and nearly impossible to kill. After propagating and raising over fifty plants, my room is now reminiscent of a jungle and I have some tips that I’ve learned along the way so you don’t have to!*
Regardless of what type of plant you decide to bring home, it’s important to make sure that you let the soil dry out between watering to prevent pests, overwatering, and root rot. Another must is to have pots and soil with good drainage -- make sure the pot has a hole and a plate for excess water and for soil -- a general potting mix with perlite (for drainage) is preferable. On another note, there are lots of inexpensive ways to grow your plant collection: nearly all plants can be propagated with a little work (succulents do best with leaf cuttings) and this is a great way to get lots of baby plants without having to purchase more. If you have any questions about plant care or want to know where to even get started, my email is [email protected], I currently have these plants for reference: cornstalk dracaena, aloe vera, spider plants (both varieties), golden pothos, philodendron, fiddle leaf fig, rubber plant, pepper plant, Chinese evergreen, painters palette, snake plant, asparagus fern, jade plants, crassula springtime, lucky bamboo, Burro’s tail, angel wing, and golden ball cacti. In the Corvallis/Philomath area, the best options for finding all of the plants mentioned are: Shonnard’s Nursery (Philomath off Highway 20 W), Garland’s Nursery (Corvallis off Highway 20 N), Home Depot (Albany or near AMC/Safeway), Penguin Flowers (Monroe Ave.), and even Market of Choice! * I am not an expert by any means in botany or plant physiology, these pieces of advice are from my own experience. The images are of the author's own plants! - Laura Jost If you want to write for the Crescent Crier, we would love to see you at one of our virtual meetings, which are every Wednesday at 1:30pm! To come to a meeting, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/TrQ5PqFcDqeE2yiB9, and we’ll send you a link ASAP. If you would like to submit a single article - or anything else like creative writing, an opinion, an art piece, photo or photo series, or something else entirely - then you can do that using this form: https://forms.gle/WAHSoWJuVwK3q5du6. If you want to contact us for any reason, you can email
[email protected]. Thanks for reading!
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