Stewarts Office Plants

We supply many businesses across the South, from Sussex and Surrey, through Hampshire and Dorset to Wiltshire and Somerset. For more information about the services we offer visit our home page, or contact us here. In this blog you'll find news, interesting snippets, stories and pictures of our staff's adventures out on the road.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Question: should I feed my plants in the winter?


Answer: Orthodox advice on interior plants (and orthodox advice to staff in our industry) is that all plants should be fed roughly monthly from Easter to October. We use proprietary powder feeds mixed in our watering cans.

However, some plants (particularly Ficuses, like Benjamina) start to suffer from feed deficiency (manifested by losing leaves in the case of Ficuses) by this time in the winter, so it has become our practice to give plants a gentle feed once or twice during the 'off season'.

Some of my staff in fact claim never to stop feeding completely, merely to cut down the strength and frequency employed. One particularly venerable technician has a very complicated schedule involving different brands of plant food in varying quantities throughout the year, which for the life of me I can't fathom out. But hey, it works for him.

So in short, yes, you probably should give the fast growing plants like Ficuses a little feed about now. Of course if you have office plants looked after by Stewarts, we do all this thinking and feeding for you!

Jonathan

Thursday, January 13, 2011

GOOD FOR YOU

FACT: Indoor plants can reduce fatique, coughs, sore throats and other cold-related illnesses by more than 30%

Contact with plants and nature is a calming tonic for the body and soul. More and more scientific research is proving that being near plants is good for our mental and physical wellbeing.
Plants help reduce stress, make people happier, lower symptoms of discomfort and minor ailments, speed recovery from illness, improve concentration, productivity and creativity, save energy and create clean air in a green and natural way.

FACT: Hospital patients with plants in their room have less pain, anxiety, fatigue, take significantly less pain medication, have lower blood pressure and heart rates, and are happier with their recovery rooms than patients without plants

True? Houseplants spread germs in hospitals? FALSE! Houseplants actually clean the air removing impurities, not adding to them! The humble houseplant could contribute to savings to the NHS.

FACT: Plants make you happy! When houseplants are placed in a room, people's blood pressure becomes significiantly lower, and they find tasks less stressful

FACT: Plants take in CO2 and release oxygen. This is important to your health in general and also to your bone health

FACT: Plant-filled rooms contain 60-60% fewer airborne moulds and bacteria than rooms without plants

FACT: Plants can reduce dust in a room by a fifth and help reduce toxins in the home

True? Dont put houseplants in the bedroom as they use up all the ari! FALSE! Actually the opposite happens as plants naturally refresh the air by absorbing harmful CO2 and emitting oxygen. The best air purifying houseplants are Orchids, Bromeliads and Succulents. These plants conserve their energy during the day and refresh the air predominantly during the night, which means they will purfiy the air in your bedroom while you sleep!

FACT: For people who sit and work at a computer for more than 4 hours per day, a houseplant nearby has been proven to increase productivity.
FACT: Indoor air pollution, often referred to as indoor air quality (IAQ), contributes to 40% of absenteeism
FACT: Houseplants can reduce symptons of Sick Building Syndrome by a quarter, and the results have been found to be long-lasting
FACT: Houseplants can improve the health of office workers and attentiveness increases as much as 70% when plants are put in a classroom.
This information has been provided by Plants for Life, which aims to promote and recognise the real benefits of houseplants in the home, work, environment and to our personal health. Plants for Life is a 'not-for-profit organisation that collates and communicates independent academic research into the health and wellbeing that houseplants bring to our every day lives.

If you would like some more information on this report then please contact us.
There is more information on this report so if you would like a full copy then click on this link and then print www.plants4life.org/p4l-report.pdf