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Courtesy
Durango Nature Studies
Christmas Cactus is from the tropical Organ Mountains in southeast Brazil.
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We've all seen the signs in our local floral
department: "Tropical House Plants."
But Durango clearly is not tropical. So how do these tropical transplants survive
in our homes and offices?
Let's take a peek into the natural environment of three popular tropicals -
Christmas cactus, African violet and spider plant.
Christmas cactus
From the tropical Organ Mountains in southeast Brazil comes the Christmas cactus
(and closely related cousins the Thanksgiving and Easter cacti).
Christmas cacti are epiphytes, plants that attach themselves to the substrate
of other plants. They are not parasites, draining the host plant of resources.
Instead, epiphytes glean water and nutrients from precipitation and droppings,
no soil required.
These plants are popular during the North American winter holidays because
their blooms brighten our short, dark winter days. In their native climes,
these cacti bloom during June, July and August, which, because Brazil is south
of the equator, are the cooler, darker months of the year.
Christmas cacti blooming is triggered by decreasing day length. To get your
own cactus to rebloom, place it in a location protected from artificial nighttime
lighting.
African violets
From the eastern coasts of Africa comes the African violet, first collected
in 1892 in what is now Tanzania. The plants grow out of crevices in forested
cliffs. There, the climate is warm and the sunlight filtered by trees and shrubs.
They are watered as moisture drips down the cliff faces and further humidified
by coastal mist. African violets were so named because their purple five-part
flower resembled European violets, however, the two are unrelated.
One of the most common potted houseplants, there are more than 2,000 named
varieties of African violets, and entire gardening organizations dedicated
to their cultivation. Ironically, their native habitat is jeopardized by deforestation.
In caring for this finicky plant, take a cue from its native habitat. Provide
bright filtered sunlight and increased humidity. How about that window in the
bathroom, or by the kitchen sink?
Spider plants
Spider plants could easily be voted most likely to survive a college dorm room
or swinging bachelor pad. These hardy plants, with special water-storing roots,
hail from arid South Africa. There they spread via runners, similar to the
common strawberry. These runners produce the trademark "spiderlings" that
hang from the stems. When the base of the spiderling comes into contact with
the ground, it roots, eventually forming a thick ground cover.
Their spreading habit makes the spider plant one of the easiest to propagate.
Just sever a spiderling from its stem and plant its base in moist soil. Why
propagate spider plants? Besides their ease of care, a study by NASA found
spider plants were able to remove formaldehyde from the air, making them excellent
indoor air filters.
We can appreciate our houseplants as the exotic immigrants they are, and aspire
to visit them in their native homes someday.
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