The Indoor Landscape at The Collegian
In an effort to provide as healthy an indoor environment as possible for residents of The Collegian, a substantial “garden” of living plants is maintained in the two multi-story stairways filled with natural light as well as in the dining area where only artificial light is available.
Living indoor plants provide a host of benefits for residents, staff, and visitors:
Psychologically, we find plants attractive and enjoy having them around. After all, our distant ancestors lived out-of-doors on the plains of eastern Africa, where they were surrounded by plants day in and day out.
Aesthetically, the foliage of living plants also softens the sharp angles and flat surfaces that characterize our buildings.
And through photosynthesis—where plants take up carbon dioxide and water and in the presence of light produce oxygen and simple sugars—plants improve a building’s air quality.
Most indoor plants are native to tropical areas of the world. That’s because tropical plants live in an environment that is warm year-round and may not have any discernible seasons, just like our temperature-controlled buildings that are kept at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. The plants we use indoors are also tolerant of low light levels. In the forests where they grow naturally, they typically live on the relatively dark and windless forest floor.
Here at The Collegian, four different tropical plants are grown.
Aglaonema
Aglaonema (pronounced AGG-lay-oh-NEE-mah) is native to tropical areas of eastern Asia and the Philippines. It has variegated or mottled foliage. Here at The Collegian, several cultivars—or “cultivated varieties” that do not exist in the wild—of aglaonema are grown, some with larger leaves, some with smaller, and with leaves of somewhat different hues of green. The plant’s botanical name is Aglaonema commutatum.
Peace Lily
Peace Lily is also commonly used in this building. Its long, dark green leaves are produced from a very short stem, so the plant’s foliage appears to erupt right out of the soil it’s growing in. Peace lily produces large, white flowers off and on through the year. It’s native to forests of southern Mexico and its botanical name is Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum.
Pothos
Pothos (pronounced PAHTH-ose) is a trailing vine that is native to the island of Mo’orea (moh-oh-RAY-ah) in the South Pacific, near Tahiti. Sometimes called devil’s ivy—because it has become a real pest in other tropical areas where it’s been introduced—the plant has teardrop-shaped leaves mottled in green and yellow. In the wild, it grows up into trees, but in the absence of something to climb on, its foliage simply hangs down from the pot it’s planted in. The botanical name for pothos is Epipremnum aureum.
Dragon Tree
The fourth indoor plant you’ll see at The Collegian is dragon-tree which is native to Madagascar. Unlike the forest-floor plants mentioned above, this plant naturally grows on sunnier sites. Its long, slender, dark green leaves are produced in clusters at the end of gangly, leafless stems. Although it prefers a sunny location, it is somewhat tolerant of lower light levels. In this building, it grows best in the stairwells, in proximity to the big windows. Its botanical name is Dracaena marginata.
All four of these plants require relatively little care—other than weekly watering. They’re fertilized twice a year. When they outgrow their pots, the plants are either divided and re-potted, or cuttings are taken, rooted, and then potted up. All indoor plants appreciate occasional “showers” to remove dirt and dust that accumulate on their foliage in the absence of natural rain showers. At The Collegian, this service is provided several times a year by taking the plants outside briefly on mild days and giving them a shower under the garden hose!
I hope that you enjoy the indoor plants here at The Collegian. If you think “kind thoughts” when you pass by them, they’ll do everything they can to make your life—while inside this building—a little more pleasant that it would be in a building with no indoor plants whatsoever.
Whitey Lueck
Horticulturist at The Collegian since 1999