That is the Question

Should one mist the foliage of your houseplants?

I recently heard a garden centre talk on houseplants. The speaker advised that misting indoor plants was not necessary and it was something she never did. I was surprised by this advice until I learned that she has a great many houseplants in her home and is working in a glasshouse or shade-house in the garden centre. If there are a lot of plants in a house the ongoing watering of these plants and containers will keep the humidity high enough in the house and around the plants, even if there is heating or air-conditioning operating.

In most peoples houses there are likely to be only a few houseplants and generally spread about the house. In the dry atmosphere, caused by heating and/or air conditioning, the plants are likely to have problems such as leaf tips browning off because the humidity around the leaves is much lower than in their native countries. In such a case misting the houseplants regularly helps keep humidity around the plants up. The natural habitats of indoor houseplants are, of course, outside, where they will be rained on naturally. Indeed, most houseplants are from tropical, sub-tropical or warm temperate regions and would be rained on regularly. The exception may be cacti and succulents that are from regions where they need their water storage features to get them through periods of drought.

I have a lot of houseplants in my house (45 at the last count) and I mist them at least twice a week. My advice is to give your indoor plants a mist from time to time. They will thank you for it as it will make them feel more at home. They will thank you even more if you mist them with Kiwicare Gro-Sure Houseplant Mist ‘n’ Feed which raises the humidity and provides foliage a feed.

See also Should You Group Your Houseplants?

David Brittain
Kiwicare