Most tropical trees and plants enjoy humidity. They often come from or live in humid environments, like the rainforest or the southern United States. If you are in a dry climate and want to grow tropical trees that usually grow in a humid tropical climate, it isn’t necessarily easy, but it is definitely doable. Keeping indoor tropical plants humid is much easier and you have several options. Tropical plants that lack humidity often develop brown leaf margins or leaf tips or have curled leaves. Flower buds may turn brown or even fall off. Read on to learn more about how to keep tropical trees humid in a dry climate.
How to Keep Tropical Trees Humid in a Dry Climate
How to Keep Tropical Indoor Trees Humid in a Dry Climate
Many tropical plants like humid conditions. A lack of humidity is often the reason many indoor plants struggle, especially in winter when our houses are dry from running heat. You have four options for adding humidity to your indoor environment.
1. You can mist the leaves of tropical trees once or twice daily. This method is pretty easy, but won’t offer consistent moisture. Depending on just how dry your home is, the misted leaves may dry quickly. Even still, it definitely helps and keeps your tropical trees much happier than doing nothing. You may find you only need to mist your plants every other day most of the year and in winter you should mist 2 or even 3 times daily.
2. Fill the saucer under your tropical plant’s pot with pebbles and fill it with water. Be sure the water level stays below the bottom of the container. You don’t want the roots sitting in water. Even though many tropical trees love humidity, they do not like wet soil. This can lead to root rot and even death. This method keeps humidity in the air and looks nice if you get some pretty river rocks or decorative glass pebbles or marbles. This diy humidifier is cheap and effective!
3. The third option is to purchase a humidifier. This is a great route if you have a sunroom with multiple tropical trees and plants and you don’t mind forking out the extra cash.
4. Move your tropical plants to the bathroom or kitchen. These areas of your home have a much higher humidity versus the rest of your home, especially the bathroom since it is a smaller enclosed area.
How to Keep Tropical Outdoor Trees Humid in a Dry Climate
If your tropical plants are in pots outdoors you can try 1 or 2 from the “Indoor Edition” above or move your plants closer together to up humidity. If you have multiple plants, you can fill a large tray with pebbles and create a humidity tray, instead of just using a single saucer per plant.
For planted tropical trees, you will need to water over the leaves at least once, preferable twice per day. The water will evaporate much faster during the day, so an evening shower over the leaves will give you more bang for your buck. You can plant close to a water source like a pond to add humidity. Another option is planting tropical trees close together. They will share humidity and hold moisture better and keep the area more humid than 1 single specimen will on its own.
Now you know how to keep tropical trees humid in a dry climate! Browse our Tropical Plants and Tropical Trees for sale!
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