Temperature and Humidity for House Plants
Every plant has a preferred range of temperature and humidity in which it will grow best. They will also tolerate temperatures outside of this range, but will die if exposed to sustained periods outside these ranges. It is important then that a house plant has a preferred temperature similar to the home in which it lives. This is generally around 65-75 F. Different parts of the home will have varying temperatures, such as a conservatory, kitchen or living room. The direction the rom faces will also affect the temperature, and also the temperature range. It is best to have night time temperatures 5-10 F – fluctuations of 20 F over the course of the day will often cause problems for most house plants.
Humidity is the relative amount of water vapor in the air, and it can be difficult to control in the house environment. The lower the humidity the greater the amount of water that will be lost from the plants leaves and the quicker the plant can dry out. Humidity can be increased by providing a tray of water in some form near the plants so that it evaporates into the air.
