Why and How to use Calanthea indoor office plants in your Boston office.

How PDi cares for your indoor Calanthea office plants.

1. Light: Light shade or dappled light for your indoor Boston office plants. Do not expose to direct, noon sun as it will fade the leaf colors, in winter or summer monthes.

2. Water: High humidity. Keep soil continuously moist throughout spring and summer, and reduce watering in the winter outside, however, with your interior Boston office environment more watering during the colder monthes is required because of hign heat and low humity in Boston indoor offices.

3. Temperature: Prefers warm and humid conditions. Keep above 60ºF if possible.
4. Soil: A well-drained potting mix.
5. Fertilizer: Feed regularly with liquid fertilizer throughout growing season.

6. Propagation:

Propagation is possible by division at repotting time. Keep new divisions warm and moist by covering the pot with plastic and providing reduced light until active growth starts again.

Interesting useages of Calanthea other then for designing your Boston indoor office plantscapes with colorful leaves.

Calathea is a genus of plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. There are several dozen species in this genus. Native to the tropical Americas, many of the species are popular as pot plants due to their decorative leaves and, in some species, colorful inflorescences. They are commonly called calatheas or (like their relatives) prayer plants. Several cultivars, e.g. Calathea cv. 'Silver Plate', have been bred.

Calathea cv. 'Silver Plate'

In its native range, the large and tough leaves are popular for holding small items. Sometimes, they are used unprocessed, e.g. to wrap fish for transport in parts of Brazil, such as the Benevidesregion of Pará. In other places, the leaves are used in handicraftto produce containers, such as the quivers of the Nukak people ofColombia. Most famous, perhaps, are the decorative Calathea-leaf rice containers produced in some villages of Thailand, especially in Ban Huak (Amphoe Si Bun Rueang) where they are an important source of income and sold to locals and tourists alike .At PDIPlants we have just begun using this interior green office plant within our indoor Boston office work places.

PDI unlimited plant care uses P.persimilis mites as biological weapons against Twospotted mites pest.

Phytoseiulus persimilis, orange critters, feeding on an immature two spotted spider.Plantscape Designs Inc uses biological controlls on your indoor office plants.

This predacious mite was accidentally introduced into Germany from Chili in 1958 (Dosse, 1958). From Germany, it was subsequently shipped to other parts of the world, including California (McMurtry et al., 1978) and Florida (Hamlen, 1980). These critters can keep your Boston plants healthy.

During the early 1960's, research on this species was conducted in Great Britain, Holland, Canada, and the United States. Since these initial studies, the ability of this predator to control twospotted spider mites has been demonstrated on many plants, including cucumber (Gould, 1970, 1971), tomato (French et al., 1976), ornamental ivy (Gould and Light, 1971), rose (Simmonds, 1972; Boys and Burbutis, 1972), lima bean (Force, 1967), dahlia (Harris, 1971), strawberry (Laing and Huffaker, 1969), and dieffenbachia and schefflera (Hamlen and Linquist, 1981).

Although these studies were conducted under greenhouse conditions (or in growth chambers) , there is evidence that P. persimilis can be an effective natural enemy in commercial strawberry plantings (McMurtry et al., 1978) and on ornamentals in commercial interior plantings (Lindquist, 1981). Whether the effectiveness of this predator in these environments will be comparable to its performance under greenhouse conditions remains to be seen.

At PDIPlants we use these critters to eradicate pests like the twospotted mites that feed on your Boston office plants in the Boston, MA area.

Plantscape Designs Inc uses IPM Labs biological control against Thrips in your office plants.

Combating thrips with biological controls:

Predator: Neoseiulus cucumeris or Amblyseius cucumeris

This is a tan-orange predatory mite. Adult females consume up to 10 thrips per day and have a 30 day life span. They can survive on pollen and spider mites in the absence of thrips. PDI uses these critters to eradicate thrips from your Boston indoor office plants.

Optimal Environment: 70°F min.; moderate RH.

Predatory mites are distributed over the crop weekly or biweekly, or released in convenient breeding units in which several hundred mites reproduce several thousand predatory mites over a six-week period.

Predator: Amblyseius degenerans (Neoseiulus degenerans)

These predatory mites work very well on greenhouse peppers, or other crops with ample pollen. They are able to multiply rapidly and are good searchers of prey. They do not enter a resting phase until December, and survive drier conditions than N. cucumeris.

Optimal Environment: 65-85°F ; 60-85% RH, Presence of pollen

Predator: Orius insidiosus Minute Pirate Bug, Orius sp.

Minute pirate bugs (MPB) are small, predaceous bugs that kill their prey by attacking with their piercing mouthparts and sucking out the body contents. Both adults and nymphs are predaceous. Adults lay eggs beneath the surface of plant tissue, often on stems or near leaf veins. The eggs hatch into small, yellow nymphs that develop into adults in 9-25 days, depending on temperature. Adult Orius can eat 5-20 thrips per day. They can survive on pollen in the absence of prey.

Optimal Environment: 70-90°F, day length 11+ hrs

Predator: Hypoaspis miles

This predatory mite is a scavenger that eats thrips pupae and fungus gnat larvae in the soil. Adults lay eggs in the soil, which hatch in 1-2 days. The nymphs develop into adults in 5-6 days. The mites reproduce quickly, and few are needed to establish an effective population.

IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed. IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products.

PDIPlants has been a long time user of the above predator mites that biological and safely eradicate Thrips pest in your office plants.

Why use Kentia palms in your Boston, MA interior offices?

Today Kentia palms are considered expensive. During their first introduction to Europe they were a luxury only for the elite aristocracy. PDI designs with these office indoor plants in Boston.

Once introduced into Europe, the Kentia Palm was immediately recognized as remarkable for its dramatic appearance and ability to readily flourish indoors. Strong survival rates meant greater numbers of seeds could be imported successfully. However, the Kentias were still very expensive to purchase and therefore exclusive even for Boston office indoor plants .

The prohibitive cost factor resulted in Kentia Palms becoming famous house plants among the nobility and aristocracy of Europe. Royal residences and stately homes had the high ceilings where Kentias could be displayed in all there glory.

The owners also had the budgets necessary for securing them. Kentias could be found by the late 1800's in parlors, ballrooms, reception areas and conservatories. Since Kentias lived in splendor for many years they were cost effective. Growers found them a popular, worthwhile and well valued investment. They believed that Kentias defined the good fashion sense and wealth of the plants' owners. Kentia Palms were admired throughout Europe's aristocratic, upper class and well-to-do middle class families.

At Plantscape Designs Inc. enthusiastically we design your Boston offices with these elegant indoor palms.

Majestic, hardy, these Kentia palms originating from the Pacific Island of Northfolk Island are an investment when designing your Boston office plant work place in the Boston, Ma area.

Repetitive use of green indoor plant design in Boston's buildings.

Repetitive use of Bamboo Palms in this downtown Boston office building both softens and adds a clean simple design to this buildings entrance.

Prior to this design this building's lobby emitted a cold unfriendly stark feel to incoming customers and employees.
The architect called PDI in to solve this problem, using live green tropical plants.

The repetitive use of six same Bamboos make this design simple but effective.

A more friendly welcoming ambiance greets all visitors.
At Plantscape Designs Inc we are always looking to solve a clients indoor office plant design problems which eventually become a positive opportunity for all parties involved.

Why use Hawaiian orchids in your interior office landscape?

1. There are over 700 species of Oncidium Alliance Orchids coming from Central and South America and thousands of hybrids around today. They have become very popular and make excellent cut flowers and potted plants. These long lasting flowering programs are affordable for your Boston office plantscapes.

2. Today's breeding has created plants that can bloom throughout the year with hundreds of flowers. Along with the classic "Dancing Lady" shaped flowers, today's breeders have created many new intergeneric hybrids that have larger flowers with a wider range of colors. Nearly all of today's hybrids thrive in the typical home environment with sufficient light and modest care. Here we offer a few of the newer hybrids. All are of the highest quality and very easy to grow and flower.

We at Plantscape Designs Inc like to change up now and then our colorful phalaenopsis orchid monthly programs with exciting Hawaiian varieties. Here we have an intergeneric oncydium red variety. PDI also has cataleyas, millitonias, dendrobiums, etc..

Where to use Schefflera Amate in your Boston cityscapes.

‘Amate’ is named after California nurseryman Archie Amate. The selected plant was placed into tissue culture where it has been produced in the lab for the past 20 years.

What makes ‘Amate’ different?Why do we at PDI use it in your interior landscape?

Here’s a quick list of the traits ‘Amate’ has over the regular Scheff.

1. Leaves which are:

Darker green

Broader

Longer

Thicker

Glossy

2. One of the best traits is ‘Amate’s resistance to mites. This doesn’t mean that the plant will not get mites … just much more resistant. It’s possible that the mites cannot penetrate the thick glossy leaves.

3. These indoor office plants are also grown a little differently. Three or four individual plants are planted in pots rather then 15-20 seedlings. This allows each plant to develop a larger more complete root system to support the plant for the long haul.

4. The growth of ‘Amate’ is very upright, symmetrical and uniform. Office Plants ranging in size from 8 – 14 inch keep many of their lower leaves providing a more "bush" like appearance. Larger plants will have more of a "tree-like" appearance. ‘Amate’ also holds leaves very well, even under low light interior conditions.

5. The plant doesn’t stretch like the regular Schefflera. You can place ‘Amate’ in areas which get morning sun, a northern exposure or even fluorescent lighting and still keep the plant looking good.

6. ‘Amate’ is not difficult to care for, but doesn’t like to have its feet kept wet. When watering make sure the soil is thoroughly watered and the excess is allowed to drain off. It’s best to keep the plant on the dry side as wet soil can cause root rot.

At Plantscape Designs Inc we position Schefflera Amates in your medium to high light environments within your indoor office plant design.

What are flapjacks for your indoor office plant design?

Flapjacks are succulents, which can make a different kind of a botanical statement in your office work place. Some interesting facts follow:

1. Scientific name: Kalanchoe thyrsiflora

2. Family: Crassulaceae

3. Common names: Flapjack plant, desert cabbage, paddle plant

4. Native to: South Africa

5. Description: A succulent perennial. Large, spatula-shaped, leathery leaves are 3 to 4 inches long and wide, and attached to the stem without a leaf stalk. The leaves are opposite, covered with a thick whitish wax and blushed with red margins. The leaves are stacked on each other like flapjacks to form a rosette, and face upward to reduce leaf exposure to the hot sun. The flowers are produced on tall, leafy stalks after the plants mature, usually three to four years. Individual flowers are small and held close to the stalk in dense clusters. Flowers are yellow-green and tubular. The main or mother plant dies after flowering; however, offsets are produced.

6. Light: Grows in full sun and partial shade. However, bright light is required to keep the red leaf margins; the plants becomes greener in shade.

7. Soil/moisture: Tolerant of most well-drained soils; very drought tolerant once established and very salt tolerant.

8. Culture/use: Flapjack Kalanchoe provides a bold look in your Boston indoor office plantings. Use it in beds in your lobbies, as an accent, and in containers and rock gardens. Though very drought tolerant, it will stand some water in the summer and should stand up to the Florida rainy season. Blooming signals the end of the plant's life cycle. Remove the mother plant when it dies and thin the offsets as necessary for a neat look; otherwise, long-term plantings develop mounds of flapjack plant. Kalanchoes in general are not known to be heavy feeders; apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer with minor elements two to four times per year or as needed. Mulch to suppress weeds, but keep the mulch well away from the stem.

9. Notes and misuses: Flapjack Kalanchoe generally is not susceptible to pests. However, it can be susceptible to rots in wet or over watered locations.

At Plantscape Designs Inc. we apply succulents such as "flapjacks" in our high light areas of our Boston indoor plant designs.

What is beneficial mutualism between your office plants and soil fungi.

1. Mutualism, is a relationship between two species of organisms in which both benefit from the association.

2. In this illustration to the left, the cellular block like structure of a typical office plant root that you may have in your interiorscape office plants has been compromised , penetrated, by a fungus species. This can be a good thing for your interior office plants.

3. Endotrophic mycorrhizae, a fungus, enter into a close relationship with your office plant root systems by means of hyphae penetrating between and into root cells. This mutualism between this two living organisms results in digestion of the fungus inside the root cells causing the enhanced growth of your plants.

4. The Endo fungi alter insoluble carbon compounds to soluble carbon compounds form for your office plant as well as changing the PH around the root producing soluble vitamins and auxin's for a healthier office plant. The fungus gets a protected nutrient place to live safely. PDIPlantsblog.com

Plantscape Designs Inc of Boston plants, always encourages proper mutualistic relationships between your office green plants and beneficial soil fungi always enhancing the correct PH environment in your plants potting soil. Serving the Boston, MA office plant environments.

Boston interior office plants and orchid flowers

Orchidaceae, is one of the largest families of flowering orchids. Twenty thousand species can be found here. PDI Plants uses these indoor office plants in you Burlington offices.

At Plantscape Designs Inc , we always encourage the use of flowering Florida or Hawaiian orchids. These unique adaptive flowering interior plants can be found in all parts of our ecological zones. Boreal bogs, mountain tops, temperate meadows, treetops near river banks and even underground.

Orchids can be found in your interior office environment as well. Orchids fleshy leafs and thick pseudobulbs, that retain water, are suitable for your Boston green plant office interiors.

PDI plants uses Vandas, Oncydiums, Phaleonopsis, Brasso cattleya, Cattleya, Miltoniopsis, Cymbidiums, Dendrobiums, Brassia and Paphiopedilums orchids in many of our Boston green plant locations.

What are metallic office plants?

1. Metallica is very different than most palms. The leaves are stiff and have a very simple undivided leaf. In deep shade the leaves become dark green and almost black with a metallic sheen. Hence the name Metallica.

2. More growers are beginning to produce this slow growing plant. In the past it was typically found grown in 6 inch pots only. Now as more plants are produced you’ll find it planted in 8 and 10 inch pots with 3 plants per pot. PDIPLANTSBlog.com

3. Metallica is slow growing so you can expect to pay more than usual. It’s slow growth also means you’ll be able to enjoy the plant in the same place for years.

Remember This…

One good rule of thumb in purchasing plants – Most of the plants that do well indoors are slow growers. Don’t judge a plant based just upon price and height. Slow growers usually cost more and may not be as tall but are better over the long haul.

4. Normal height for Metallica is 24 – 36 inches tall. They are very tolerant of low light conditions and work well when you need something different and upright.

They’re pretty easy to care for. Metallica does well with lighting that you’ll find in most homes and offices. If the plant is placed in brighter light levels the leaves lighten to a grey-green color.

DO NOT allow plants to sit in saucers full of water or never allow the soil to dry, this can lead to root rot. Over watering will lead to leaf tips that turn yellow.

5. Wait until the soil has dried down about half the soil depth. When you water, thoroughly water the soil evenly making sure the soil and roots have all had a good drink.

6. DO NOT let the plant sit in water!!!

Pest problems are hardly an issue with Metallica. The wide leaves make it easy to wipe down and keep the foliage clean. The leaves are also rigid and thicker making it more difficult for insects to “feast”.

7. Palms grown indoors can get spider mites and mealy bug.

Do not prune the metallica palm as you would other plants. It grows from a main stem, and the leaflets should be “tipped” or the leaf itself removed.

At PDIPLants Boston,MA we always design with low light office plant species such as Metallica.

If you’re looking for a low light palm that is also an accent plant check out the Chamaedorea Metallica palm, just be careful not to over water.

Why use liriope spicata in your office interior plant designs?

1. Liriope spicata is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plants from East Asia. Common names include creeping lilyturf and monkey grass. This perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and is commonly used in landscaping in temperate climates as groundcover. Creeping lilyturf has white to lavender flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall. It is one of the most popular groundcovers in the southeastern United States and areas with a similar climate. PDIPLANTSBlog.com

2. Creeping lilyturf is a native understory plant in China and Vietnam occurring in forests and grassy slopes at elevations of sea level to 5900 feet.

3. Creeping lilyturf is a rhizomatous, grass-like perennial which forms clusters of narrow, arching, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1/4 inch wide (0.6 cm)) typically growing 9 to 15 inches (23 to 38 cm) high. Erect flower spikes with small, white to pale lavender flowers arise, somewhat hidden, among the leaves in late summer. Blackish berries develop in fall and often persist through winter. Roots have prominent rhizomes and frequent tubers.

4. Creeping lilyturf is easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Moist, fertile soils with partial shade are ideal, but it also tolerates wide range of light and soil conditions. Creeping lilyturf also tolerates heat, humidity, and drought.

5. Creeping lilyturf is easily reproduced by dividing the root mass and rhizomes.

6. Creeping lilyturf is mainly used in mass plantings as a groundcover for exterior planters.

7. Plantscape Designs Inc. applies liriope spicata in the above interior lechuza contemporary containers to enhance modern interior office design work places while simulating exterior ornimental grasses in the Boston, MA business districts.