How To Make A Tropical Climate For Plants

Have you ever been to Hawaii? I was fortunate enough to attend college there. It really is as beautiful as people and the ads claim it to be. I would go back to visit in an instant. While at school I noticed that everyday they had grounds people cleaning, mowing and trimming the campus. Our campus was very clean and manicured beautifully, almost as if the plants were fake. From a distance the grass looked a little too green to be real. This wasn’t like when you see the landscaping people outside your office window only on Tuesdays and Thursdays mowing the lawn and trimming. In Hawaii it’s everyday that people need to be out taking care of plants, trees, grass and any other type of vegetation. It needs to be everyday. The reason why is because it’s tropical and humid. Many plants thrive in a moist humid climate like Hawaii. I recently returned home from a trip to Shanghai, China and it was the same story. In the apartment complex I was staying, the grounds people were constantly maintaining the trees, bushes and grass everyday. Shanghai in the summer feels remarkably like a sauna, so needless to say, plants grow effortlessly. The point is that if you’ve visited or lived in a tropical climate you’ve probably noticed that any type of vegetation grows extremely well there. This is the reason why topical countries have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables.

There is a possible solution or at very least an aid in increasing humidity to your plants for those that don’t live in a tropical climate and it doesn’t involve packing your bags and moving to Hawaii of Fiji. Greenhouses and led grow lights work well for controlling light and humidity, but they cost thousands of dollars and not many people have that kind of money just laying around. I’m talking about cloches. And it’s not just me that’s saying cloches will increase humidity and create a micro-environment of warmth and moisture for your plants growing pleasure. The queen bee of gardening - Martha Stewart has suggested the same thing. At www.marthastewart.com she suggests this solution for plants with low humidity:

“Increase humidity by misting regularly, placing plants on a tray filled with pebbles and water. Or use a cloche or a cake dome to cover plants (remove cover if it becomes foggy)”

To be honest, I’m not a disciple of Martha Stewart, however, I do think she knows what she’s talking about and has a library full of clever ideas on gardening. When it comes to gardening I trust her suggestions. Maybe not so much when it comes to the stock market.

Garden cloches are a great option in increasing humidity for your plants or garden and it won’t cost you a ton of money. After watering your plants just cover your plants with the cloche and it will keep that moisture within the cloche and create an individual topical-like climate for that plant. It’s important that the plant is not over watered and that it is given good airflow and not suffocated. Many cloches today have air vents that allow for good air circulation. I know how difficult it can be to create a topical-like climate for your garden...I live in Texas! It’s dry and super hot in the summer. In the summer time here plants can easily dry up and die in a matter of days, so cloches are a worthy solution.

Here is the link to the Martha Stewart article with plenty of other information - The Root of the Matter and more decorating ideas, organizing tips, and homekeeping and cleaning solutions on marthastewart.com