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Moisture is important for all plants, but especially for those with thin or delicate leaves such as ferns,� caladios, ficus or pumilas.

The leaves wrinkle or dry up.
Dark spots form on long, narrow leaves.
Buds drop off and flowers wither prematurely.

Indoor plants in hot rooms suffer from all kinds of problems. Hot air encourages growth but also dries out the surface of leaves and makes the water in the soil evaporate quickly. Therefore you have to water more often.

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Spraying. Use a fine-mouthed hand sprayer two or three times a day. The water should be room-temperature, and it is best not to spray flowers directly or spray in bright sunlight coming in through a window. Some plants have delicate foliage that does not like to be sprayed directly, such as begonias, gloxinias and primulas.

Trays with pebbles. Pots are placed on a tray containing wet pebbles.

Submerging the pots. They are buried up to the rim in a larger vessel, filled with very wet peat or vermiculite - a water-retaining silicate mineral.

Humidifiers. Used to raise the level of humidity in a room. Cold-air ones are more efficient because they lead to fewer cryptogamic diseases.

You can also use radiator receptacles that are sold in stores and fill up with water.

Create a microclimate. Arrange plants in groups to create a small microclimate in which they protect each other from an excess of dryness in the air.

Terrariums. Grow plants in closed or nearly closed receptacles such as bottles or terrariums.

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Keep dust from accumulating on foliage so that leaves can breathe properly.

Remove dead leaves from the flower pot, keeping them from getting wet. This will prevent many diseases.

Watch the leaves and stems for any sign of pests. Twospotted spider mites are very common when the air is dry. They are microscopic in size but can be detected from the webs they spin between leaves.

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