Why plants don’t like dust
To start with, a little refresher course in biology: plants absorb light through their leaves, which is then converted into glucose and oxygen. This way, the plant not only produces nutrients for itself, but they also give us extra oxygen in the house. But… you guessed it: if there is a layer of dust on the leaves, plants can hardly absorb light, so they cannot produce nutrients. This is not only bad for the growth and health of your plant, but you also miss out on extra fresh oxygen.
Not all plants need to be cleaned
However, you do not have to clean all plants. Some plants, such as succulents or the staghorn fern, have a special protective layer or small hairs on their leaves. This layer protects the plants from direct sunlight, so you don’t want to damage them. In that case, it is better not to dust!
This way you make your plants dust-free
Well, now that you know why you should keep most plants dust-free, it is also useful to know the best way to do this. How often you have to do this depends entirely on your home. One house simply gets dusty faster than the other house. So it’s a matter of keeping a close eye on it. However, it is often the plants with large leaves that collect a lot of dust, such as the Ficus, banana plant or bird of paradise plant.
You can get dust off in several ways. But no matter how you do it, don’t use cleaning products.
Below we explain three ways to make your plants dust-free:
1. Plant sprayer and cloth
A simple way to make your plants dust-free is to wipe them with a damp cloth or to spray your plant with a plant sprayer. But make sure when using a plant sprayer that you spray the dust off really well and, if necessary, wipe it off with a cloth. If you don’t, you just spray it wet, after which it just sits and dries up again. It is also important to first check whether the leaves of your plant can get wet. Some plants do not like wet leaves, such as the Begonia maculata, or the Polka Dot Plant.
In addition, you have to be careful that if you use one cloth for several plants, you do not accidentally spread a pest infestation.
2. Douche
Another good and easy way to dust off your plants is to give them a (lukewarm) shower. This comes closest to a nice rain shower that really makes plants the happiest. If you do not want the potting soil to get too wet, you can cover it with a plastic bag.
3. Tassel
There are of course also plants that are impossible to clean with a cloth, or that require so little water that they would drown in a shower. Of course, this can only be about one plant: the cactus. It is therefore best to clean these with a small, soft brush, so that you can also remove the dust between the skewers.
Photo credits
Headerfoto: Scott Webb – Unsplash
2023-08-27 18:28:28
#important #plant #free #dust
