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Tips on Interior Landscaping XLANTS AND FLOWERS can be di-

rectly associated with contentment and happiness. irect ontact ith ature and plants can develop a mental whole- ness ecessary o ans verall ell being.

An xcellent xample s he ffice landscaping concept, which ome eight or en years ago was nitiated n West Germany as Burolandschaft . The concept consists f various arrangements of office urniture, sing ew creens, and many ive ndoor plants and rees, all judiciously placed with the complete absence f artitions. n ther ords, the

raditional office

cubicle

is gone.

Interior andscaping oday asically

consists f hree general areas: omes, offices, nd he more ntricate nd x- panded ommercial esigns. deas or each re nlimited nd ay e s simple r laborate s pace nd onditions permit.

The private homeowner often has the most freedom with his nterior gardens. These may ange rom a few plants on a windowsill to a lean-to-greenhouse, to an ntire olarium oom, epending upon:

• he amount of ight ntensity. • ow much ime and care an be

allotted o maintenance • he amount f space available for

proper placement as related to design elements

Types of plants and trees o be used also depend on available ight and humidity. Most ropical plants are rown in lorida r alifornia.

Recently home owners are urning to house trees in preference to house

U T H O R Everett Conklin s president f Everett onklin nd o., nc., nterior landscape ontractors, ontvale, .J .

plants. ouse ree s lant arge enough o have developed ts wn n- dividual haracter. izes an ange from 5' o 8' all sometimes up o 15' to 20') nd are preferably not pinched, sheared

or trained,

but

rather

grown

s

nature ntended. A ouse ree an be hought f s

an rchitectural lement, r living sculpture. t can erve s a very imc- tional part of a decor, creating interest, color, exture, and form o complement the simplicity or ichness of almost any residential nterior.

Special attention hould be given o the color and exture of leaves, tem or trunk structure, and overall height and span s elated o extures, eaves, colors and patterns existing in draperies, slipcovers, loor coverings, wall finishes, and upholstery.

For example, home designed with an Oriental nfluence might utilize ev- eral varieties of rees, uch s he Bam- boo

Palm Chamaedorea erumpens)

r

the hinese ralia Ming ree). more ictorian ecor might mploy Kentia Palm Howeia forsteriana) r a Giant umb ane Dteffenbachia amoena).

Interior oliage can grace almost any room n he home.

The ffice andscaping oncept e- scribed arlier s ore imited n he species nd ize ange esired. s rule he lants nd rees sed erve very unctional urpose, s ell s decorative ne.

At he nds f artitioning creens, plants anging rom ' o ' ay e placed ith n verall pread f 8

to 26 , depending upon available space and he desired overall effect ntended. Usually esigner r rchitect ill specify placement areas with many vari- ations n mind.

A very ush ffect may be pecified which ould tilize wice s any plants or more ense ut ffective design. enerally, pen ffices ave good nterior lighting available, ranging from 25 o 50 oot andles, ften supplemented with atural ighting n window areas. Special areas such as cafeterias,

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Above otel

obby. Above

o p oun-

dation s nterior arden. ip.ht n ffice planting. lounges, eception reas, nd levator lobbies may eceive unusual reatments with wider ange n height and overall pread. utstanding pecimen rees may e sed or reating nteresting effects.

Intricate nd xpanded ommercial designs

may

nclude

he

argest variety

of nterior oliage maginable.

Hotel nd ank obbies ave een turned into massive and exciting interior gardens using waterfalls, ountains, and streams to make the plantings as natural and efreshing s possible. To create well designed and unified effect within the lanting, izes anging rom 0' trees o iny ground cover creepers are often pecified. An nclosed hopping all an e made ore ttractive y he ddition of tropical plants and rees. Use f sky- lighting facilitates the existence f arge trees o urn he ublic rea nto year-round easonal park ituation.

Selection f lanting material vailable s irtually nlimited. ne of he largest problems, however, concerns the quahty f he material.

As mentioned efore, most f he tropical plants used in interior plantings originate n lorida r n alifornia. There hey re rown n ull unlight of 0,000 oot andles ith elative humidity f 80 o 90 percent and natural ainfall, ith upplementary rri- gation onstantly vailable.

When placed n our nterior environ- 231

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ment, hese ame plants nd rees re expected o ive n conditions f oppo- site ntensity. ighting s educed o 150 oot candles, humidity drops o 5 percent r ess, nd atering sually occurs every days.

Naturally, ne ould xpect ery poor esults rom his assive hock to he plant's ystem. eaves urn yel- low and drop, oliage and branch die- back occur, nd he natural esistance to disease s weakened.

What is the solution? Each plant and tree must be ubjected o gradual con- ditioning r cclimatizing efore t s ready o e sed n n nterior rea. The onditioning must nclude n d- justment eriod or he lants, here they can be exposed to increasingly less light, water and humidity over period of ime.

Heavily haded reenhouses nd cloth ouses re sed t he resent time, ut ven hese annot roduce the desired esults. Humidity and unlight re ard o egulate s hey e- pend on he elements sunny days s . rainy r cloudy days). Hopefully in the near future we will begin to see more perfected means of acclimating in order that interior hock can be eliminated completely.

Plant ources oday re apidly x- panding. lants n mall mounts re available n etail plant specialty shops, supermarkets, variety tores, and lower shops. arden enters upply wider selection n varieties and izes. Often a complete eference area s vailable o enable ou o o esearch. t s most important o know your plants, ealize their rowing onditions, nd mploy proper maintenance precautions.

Large scale

plantings

are

usually

pur-

chased rom he more pecialized n- terior andscaping irms hat acilitate acclimating n heir wn reenhouses, and have the space and volume o deal with he uantities eeded or ffice landscaping nd omplex ommercial jobs, These arger pecialized irms can offer ore xpert dvice, ndividual maintenance rograms, nd ental r leasing plans.

Professional maintenance programs

involve complete plant servicing includ- ing atering, eeding, leaning, nd spraying. ental lans re specially effective for flower shows, display areas, temporary plant placement, r general convenience.

Selection f plants as elated o he available nvironmental conditions s a topic of extreme mportance. Generally, tropical lants can be placed n hree categories based on necessary ight n- tensity: ow, edium, nd igh ight levels.

Low ight plant varieties are usually the ardiest pecies, equiring ight ranging rom 0 o 5 oot andles. Medium ight plant arieties re more sensitive o rafts nd vailable u- midity, nd need between 75 and 00 foot candles. igh ight plant varieties require 00 r more oot candles nd are most ensitive o a correct maintenance rogram.

The dracaena amily and he philo- dendron amily nclude erhaps he hardiest plant varieties commonly used for nterior oliage lantings. ight specifications can range rom 25 to 150 foot candles, with higher light naturally determining better growth and strength. These amilies can ake he most abuse and lack of watering, and so are classed among he avorites or nterior ses of all ypes.

Here are some general notes on plant care

Do not overwater. This s by ar he most frequent cause f plant failure. t is ar better o have dryness present than o have he plant virtually oaked and tanding n ater. he oots ill begin o ot nd ill estroy he plant's general ealth.

The

mount

f

ater

sed

hould

depend n he ype f ot clay r plastic—clay tends o absorb and evap- orate ore ater s t s orous substance) nd he ize f he ot s related o he oot ystem.

Allow for proper drainage within the pot. or ouse lants, ut ayer f crushed tone r ebbles eneath he planting mediimi. For larger plants and trees hich re ften laced n ndividual lanters, wo ystems f rain-

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age re ecommended: ayer f crushed tone at he base of he outer planter and also at the base of the inner plant pot. t is advisable o mix porous substances such as perlite and peat moss within he ctual lanting medium. Do not over-fertilize. asic nutrients are ound within good planting media; however, hey do occasionally need o be upplemented. wo r hree imes a ear s sually more han ufficient, otherwise uildup f ineral alts occurs nd may mpair lant rowth.

Remember o pray plants ccasion- ally s disease preventative measure. Research common pests and diseases to which your plant varieties are uscepti- ble. t is far better to take the necessary precautions han o isk he lant's health. e ure o carefully ollow he manufacturer's directions.

Plants lso eed o e leaned nd dusted, nce eek f ossible. o maintain he sthetically leasing atural

gloss

of leaves,

mist he

leaf

ur-

faces occasionally with water or with a weak olution of mild oap and water, or eaf hining roduct vailable n most garden centers. gain, ollow n- structions.

Trees and Shrubs fo r the Landscape X REES ND HRUBS orm ig-

nificant art f most andscape lantings. any inds re vailable, nd because f heir diverse haracteristics they can be used o develop many n- teresting and functional landscape com- positions. he ossibilities re lmost unlimited.

The most ffective andscape lantings are groupings of plants arranged in a leasing r unctional manner. oli- tary plants, aphazardly rranged, re seldom ffective. onsequently, well thought out basic andscape cheme s necessary

efore

lant

elections

re

made.

Basic lanning hould nclude e- termining the location and shape of the planting beds; he need or decoration, shade, creen r indbreak; nd he consideration of other home and garden activities. Once the basic plan has been determined, then selection of plants can proceed.

Selecting rees nd hrubs or andscape se s imilar o electing ther items or he ome nd arden. he more you know about he product you intend o uy, n his ase rees nd shrubs, he ore ikely ou ill e satisfied with he end esults. nformation hould nclude ot nly esirable characteristics ut lso hose eatures that ight ave n nfluence n he performance and suitability of the plant as t develops and matures.

Sources f his nformation hould be varied. Numerous garden books are available. artial isting f seful books s given at he end f his chapter.

dditional

nformation

s

ften

available through cooperative extension offices and s especially helpful n pro- viding nformation n he ocal er- formance f pecific rees nd hrubs.

Where ossible, ecommend hat every effort be made o ee he iving plant before final selection is made. This means visits o garden center or ocal nursery, botanic garden or arboretum, or, in some cases, to a neighbor who has the lant rowing n is andscape plantings.

All orts f nformation hould e assembled bout rees nd hrubs e- fore inal elections re made. Most of the rest of this chapter is devoted to the things o ook or.

Winter hardiness potential s of pe- cial ignificance or oody lants n most ections f he nited tates. Trees nd hrubs differ n heir ability to olerate he old f inter, nd hardiness atings have been established for most kinds. owever, his nformation or ewer ntroductions ay e lacking.

Most books ive inter ardiness rating or ach lant overed. his should

be carefully

noted

for

each

kind

of plant considered or andscape se.

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