Do you have the post-spring break blues combined with COVID-19 isola-tion woes? It may not be a solution to any of your academic or virus strug-gles, but a plant may bring a new sense of life into your pandemic infested world. Not sure where to start? Let the plant enthusiasts help.
The Plant Enthusiasts:
Trina Anderson is a nursery worker at SYG Landscaping and Nursery in Pullman. She has been with SYG for five years but has been learning the difference between weeds and plants since she was young. With a house-plant expert for a mother and a land-scaper for a father, Anderson picked up her plant knowledge with ease. “I learned a lot from them growing up, and through hands on experience,” Anderson said. “I also read a lot.”
Dominic Villareal is the owner and founder of A Modern Plantsman in Col-fax, Washington. He found an interest in plants about 10 years ago when he She grew plants with her grand-mother, who had an orchard and a massive garden. They often grew Christmas cactus and experimented with geraniums. A particular favorite of hers, currently, is a Mexican cactus that sits amongst aher myriad of plants onatop her desk. “Being in Moscow, and being on campus, my gardening is limited to what can go on my desk and my win-dowsill,” Nimnicht said. would take walks around his neighbor-hood in southern California and pick up various plants to take home. He bought his first plant, an alocasia, around the same time.
“I remember just being really fasci-nated by the huge leaves of an alocasia,” Villareal said. “I thought, ‘How cool is this? It’s called an elephant ear, and these leaves can get bigger and bigger.’”
Chrissy Nimnicht, is a member of theUI Plant and Soil Science Club (PSSC) at UImember, is a plant hobbyist and a plant pathology major. She’ has been growing and working with plants from a young age.
She grew plants with her grand-mother, who had an orchard and a massive garden. They often grew Christmas cactus and experimented with geraniums. A particular favorite of hers, currently, is a Mexican cactus that sits amongst aher myriad of plants onatop her desk.
“Being in Moscow, and being on campus, my gardening is limited to what can go on my desk and my window-sill,” Nimnicht said.
Why You Should Invest in Plants (Yes, Even in a Dorm or Apartment)
These experts all agree that plants are a great addi-tion to any home. They can make even a dorm or apart-menta home feel alive, which may be a great option during finals week when you definitely won’t.
“It’s something alive and green there with you,” said Anderson said. “It brightens up the space and makes it feel more comfy and homey. You can talk to them and they don’t talk back.”
“For me, they bring a therapeutic value,” said Villareal said. “They give a space life because it’s literally a living thing. I think, also, caring for something and tending to it brings a lot of value to my life.”
“It’s so nice to see something green and growing in your space, especially if you’re stuck in an apartment looking at the side of another building,” said Nimnicht said. “Most people, when they go to college, also leave their pets behind and it can be really hard to adjust to not having a living thing to take care of.”
What Plants Should You Get?
Anderson, first and foremost, recommends spider plants. These plants don’t require a lot of light or water, so they are quite forgiving and difficult to kill. They need four to six hours of indirect light, daily, whether that is from nat-ural light or a grow light, a light that provides rays similar to the sun’s spectrum. If you put them in direct light, they will get sunburnt. They are also easy to propagate because they send out long shoots with a few blossoms of baby plants. You can propagate these either in water or moist soil and grow entirely new plants.
“You can generally tell when they need to be repotted because they’ll outgrow the pot,” said Anderson said. “If you can see roots sticking out the bottom, go up one pot size.”
She also recommends succulents, as they don’t require much light or water, and tend to be forgiving, like spider plants. Specific succulents she suggests are aloe, jade plants and haworthia.
Villareal recommends anything slow growing withand low maintenance. Plants that are problem-solvers and don’t require much light work well in dorms or apartments that don’t have ideal space or lighting.
“A lot of times, when people come into the shop and, they say ‘I have no lighting,’” Villareal said. “And I say, ‘Well you’d be surprised out how many plants don’t need a lot of direct light, they just need some sunlight.’”
Some of the easiest plants Villareal refers cus-tomers to are drought tolerant plants like snake plants, sansevieria, Zamioculcas zamiifolia plants and anything that requires watering as infrequent as once a month.
Nimnicht is a succulent fan and recommends them to anyone in small spaces. These will do well on a windowsills or generally anywhere with gets some amount of light.
“Succulents, in general, are great for small spaces, because most of them do grow in shady conditions of hostile environments anyway,” she said. “You don’t have to water them, and they don’t need that much light.”
For those who want to veer away from succulents, she also recommends spider plants and snake plants. Purple heart, similarly, does well in a windowsill or hanging basket. Nimnicht said even miniature roses do well as houseplants, but make sure to wear gloves.
Where Can You Get These Plants?
If any of these plants tickle your fancy, you now have three options to purchase or learn more about them. SYG Landscaping and Nursery is located in Pullman. Until Sept. 30, their hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. More information is listed on their website.
A Modern Plantsman is located in Colfax, Washington. They are open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and their website.
PSSC is based out of UI College of Agricultural Sciences, and they have plant sales twice a semester. The next one will be April 30 and May 1. Look for the banner in the Idaho Student Union Building on the second floor. If you are interested in joining the club or have general questions, you can email [email protected].