For many people, houseplants are almost pets. You worry about them when you go on vacation, ask your friends to look in on them, and sometimes spend hours on the internet looking up a possible wilting condition. Of course, in most cases, all your houseplant needs is a reasonable amount of light, soil nutrition, water, and ambient humidity. Unfortunately, even if you stick to a strict watering and sunlight schedule, the inside of a winter home when the heater kicks on is often much drier than is healthy for the leaves of a houseplant.
Most plants require not only water through their roots but also a reasonable amount of humidity in the air. Otherwise, they will lose moisture through their leaves which can cause brown spots and wilting. This is why many gardeners swear by misting, the act of spraying a light mist of water on your home, office, and green houseplants in order to keep their leaves moist and the air around them a little more humid. Of course, here at
Cool Off, we say why worry about doing this by hand when a misting fan can do it for you?
How Misting Fans Work
When most people think of gardening, misting fans certainly aren't the first tool that comes to mind but they are absolutely perfect for the task. Just like those little spray bottles that gardeners use to mist plants by hand, a misting fan can quickly and efficiently suffuse an area with fine droplets of cool water that will keep your houseplants happy and moisture-rich all through the dry indoor winter months. How it works is very simple. A
misting fan is exactly what it sounds like. First, you start with the water source, either a hose or a bottle depending on the kind of misting fan you want to use. From there, the water is dispersed through a nozzle into thousands of tiny droplets and the fan blows those droplets in the correct direction. Through this simple mechanism, you can ensure that your plants get the right amount of daily moisture without having to wear your fingers out on the spray bottle.
Misting a Plant-Filled Entryway
Many people who like to keep a large number of potted plants on the front walk and in the yard during the spring and summer often have a backup area like a covered porch or entryway to keep their beautiful collection safe during the
colder seasons. Unfortunately, this leaves your plants exposed to the drying nature of the house heater and away from any moisture benefits of rain or melted snow which means you will have to work harder to keep all the plants healthy. Fortunately, rather than spending half an hour individually spraying each item, you can use a single misting fan or a small line of them to lightly saturate every plant in the room with a delicate layer of moisture, just enough to keep the leaves from browning in the dry air. Simply put down a towel or a rubber-backed floor mat to keep the walking spaces clear and safe.
Misting a Single Plant
While misting is most useful in larger spaces, it's even a great solution for plants that sit alone decorating your kitchen or the tiled area near your patio door. Even if you have a small space for a single houseplant, a well-aimed misting fan can be used to keep your leafy buddy healthy and happy all winter long. If you want to control the radius of the spray, simply use a smaller fan and mount it so that it points straight down onto your moisture-hungry plant.
Whether you're working with one indoor plant or twenty, misting fans are a fantastic way to care for your green and leafy wards. For more information about where to get or how to set up an indoor misting fan,
contact us today!
