I don't know the answers to your questions specifically but I'm glad you asked them and await others' answers for you.

One example of another plant having a symbiotic relationship with an insect is with certain Philodendron species, their flowers create heat to attract a species of beetle. The heat helps the insect conserve its energy and the plant gets pollinated/fertilized.

Maybe this is unrelated. I will let you decide what you think about it. I've only ever heard of ants farming aphids on plants to harvest the honeydew secreted by the insects. If I see ants near my plants, it's a good sign that I've got pests nearby. I had some ants harvesting some aphids on some "decoy" radishes and when they say "farm" they really mean it. I've never seen rows and rows of aphids like that. Very similar to a corn field or other industrialized farm. I should have taken a picture, but how can I admit that I allow the farming of aphids and decoy plants in my garden? Well, it didn't save me from the caterpullars. Caterpillars love kale. At least it saved my tomatoes. I don't mind sharing with the caterpillars, they make a great FREE food source for the chickens and spiders. And the healthier the ccaterpillars, the healthier my chickens, the healthier and more tasty their eggs are for me to eat.

Just a hobbyist not a biologists. Never notice the nectar on the leaves or roots but don't want to see any insects at all on my plants. If I had ants, them aphids are worse for my plants to feed off of. Too small to try nature to correct or balance itself.

Some who used to respond here also knew B.J. Chahinian and could have asked his answer. Don't know who is still around now.

Stush

dert17,
Have you asked this question on the Botany forum? Might find detailed answers there.
Thanks for asking as it is very interesting,
Fred

Sans2014, thank you for this idea. I will write these questions on the Botany forum. But I will write them here too. Also I will try to find B.J. Chahinian's email. If found his mail, I'll send him my questions. If he would give his answer, I'll write them here (if he will allow it).

4. Let's talk about brain. We had no any intelligent creatures 3 billion years ago because evolution takes time, and natural selection need time to create very smart animals. But we don't have any brain in plants now. Let's imagine that our planet don't have people (us). And let imagine that our planet will not have any very smart creatures like us for the next 3 billion years. Let imagine that our planet will live for the next 3 billion years, and our planet will be "ok".

Can plants get the brain for next 3 billion evolution like animals (ok, very tiny brain)? If you think "no", can you describe the most intelligent creation (I mean only plant) in 3 billion years (for next 3 billion years)?

Can we find very smart (intelligent) plants today? I know that plants do
not have a brain. But anyway can you write the plant with the
most complex (smart, interesting) behavior today? Do we have an
evolution in the direction of increasing intelligence (more complex
behavior) of plants? Can you describe this evolution? If we have this
evolution why plants do not have any brain? We had an evolution for more
than 3 billion years. It's very big numbers. Why no one plant does not
even have a tiny brain (very very very tiny brain)?

5. Chahinian B.J. wrote about Sansevieria cylindric var. cylindrica "As all the sansevierias having round leaves needs brighter light to be properly grown. If not grown in bright light, the leaves will tend to flop".

I have 2 Sansevieria trifasciatas "Laurentii". I'm glad because this is a native plant or a very close plant to native plant and one of the easiest ones to grow. But one leaf of my "Larentii" tends to flop.Why is this happening? Do "Laurentii" need to bright light to be properly grown? If my "Laurentii" would stand in the corner away from an window Will the leaves tend to flop or not? When do leaves tend to flop (I mean Sansevieria trifasciata "Laurentii")

dert17, Unfortunately I have never read the book you have, it sounds great. As for Sansevieria Trifasciata Laurentii, they are a very good tough houseplant. They will Tolerate Low light for a long time, but they do better with the brighter and warmer temperatures you can provide. They will tolerate full sun in Florida, but the colors wash out to a slightly yellowish green. The best light for them is bright filtered light with some say morning direct light. The worst thing for them is cold and damp, that will rot them . I'm not sure why they some times get floppy leaves. One of mine is currently like that and I have staked it up with bamboo and string. I hope this helps. You certainly have some good questions. How many plants do you have? Are you a botanist? Or a hobbyist?
Fred

"How many plants do you have? Are you a botanist? Or a hobbyist?"

I'm not a botanist. I have bought my first plants 5 months ago (Sansevieria trifasciatas "Laurentii" + Spider plant var. Vittatum + Green Spider Plant). I bought them because I read these articles:

archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19930072988

http://www.greenenergyhelps.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Wolverton-et-al-1984.pdf

archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19930072988

http://www.wolvertonenvironmental.com/MsAcad-93.pdf

I chose plants that performed well in these tests. I thought that these plant can improve air in my flat.

But it was 5 months ago. Now I know more. I'm not sure that these plants can imrove air in real situation. I think that they can't. But I'd like to check whether the plants can clean the air in my flat or give me fresh air. To do this experiment for fun (only for 1 room).

But I think that Wolvertonen and other scientists made a mistake. They need to test natural plants but they tested decorative plants. I don't know why Wolvertonen made this mistake. It is obvious that the natural plants will clean the air better than decorative. For example, Green Spider Plant is a better than Spider plant var. Vittatum. But Wolvertonen tested Spider plant var. Vittatum. Why? It is obvious that Green Spider plant is better that Spider plant var. Vittatum in these tests.

It will be interesting to test natural plants. It will be interesting to find the best natural plants that can improve air in flats. I think that we can find them in Africa. But I'm sure that this is not a decorative plants.

But in any case I hope that I can check whether the plants can clean the air in my flat. I have now 2 Sansevieria trifasciatas "Laurentii" + 2 spider plants (1 var. Vittatum + green Spider Plant) + 4 Babes of SPider Plant (I wrote about them here: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3087386/experiment-511-mix-vs-coconut-vs-universal-soil-vs-garden-soil) + 1 Ficus elastica. I have 9 plants.

But they are too small now. But they are from the list en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study.

And I want to have natural Sansevieria trifasciatas from Africa and natural Spider Plan from Africa. But I'm sure that we don't know the best air-filtering plants because they live in Africa and we don't know their names.

And it would be interesting to test this thing for air cleaner: www.plantairpurifier.com

Is this work or not? I don't see any scientific research that this thing is to work. I meant that it works well enough to compare it with the professional mechanical cleaners.

good point, maybe I'll try to find the NASA report everyone cites.

hope this answers some of your questions

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073077.pdf

Thank you for this link. I will read it when I will have time (I need to work now). But I want to tell that NASA made study with close chambers. People write about this study (everyone cites) but they forget about it. But our flat is not a close chamber. What's why this study is not very good for real situation. Its was good for 1989 year but not now. We need to think about ventilation, air leak, etc.

New studies give us a new picture.

You can find more information here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_air_quality#Effect_of_indoor_plants

Thank you dert17

1. This is from the book: "Sanseviersias do not need much water to grow. The general rule is that even if the soil is dry on the top of the pot, dig with your finger, or a pencil, 2 cm (or 1 in) below the top of the soil. If you feel with your finger that the soil is moist there do not water".

Now my "Lauretii" grows in 1 part Universal Potting Soil + 1 part coconut substrate because I saw that my Spider Plants grow very well in this soil: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3087386/experiment-511-mix-vs-coconut-vs-universal-soil-vs-garden-soil

Please imagine that the height of my pot is N centimeters (I mean only the height of the soil, without draining). But I try to dig with my finger, N/2 below top of soil. If I feel with my finger that the soil is moist I'm not
water".

But Chahinian B.J. wrote that I need to dig with my finger only on 2 cm (or 1 in) below the top of the soil.

Do I need to dig with my finger on N/2 or on 2 cm below the top of the soil?

2. This is from the book "This is all that is needed [to dig on 2 cm], unless the plant is actively growing and you can see a difference in growht every day. In this canse water freely".

I don't see a difference in growth every day. Am I doing something wrong?

3. This is from book "One mix, that was recommened to me and seems to work very well is 1 part commercial potting mix with "coir" (coconut fibers), 1 part perlite, 1 part calcined clay and 1 part 1/2 in thick lava rock (the type used by orchid growers)"

I live in Russia, and I don't have any commercial potting mix with "coir". Can I use not potting mix with "coir" but 1 part Universal Potting Soil + 1 part coconut substrate.

I don't know anything about calcined clay. Can I use this? Is this calcined clay? This is from Russian wikipedia (I used google.translated, from Russian to English): https://translate.google.ru/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=ru&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fru.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F%25D0%259A%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BC%25D0%25B7%25D0%25B8%25D1%2582&edit-text=&act=url

I don't know anything about "1/2 in thick lava rock". Can I use it? NatureAqua, thick lava rock, but from 0.2 to 0.4 inch.

This is from book: "If you live in a drier area, or you have you plants in a greenhouse, you should use 2 parts of the commercial mix with "coir".

So can I use this mix?

1 part Universal Potting Soil

1 part coconut substrate

1 part perlite

1 part of this thing:

1 part of this thing (NatureAqua made this thing for the aquarium, this ground for the aquarium)

4. This is from the book.

"Using calcined clay not only provides good drainage but seems to chemically interact with the plant".

I do not understand this. "chemically interact with the plant". What does it mean? Can you explain this to me?

5. If I would this mix Do I need to have drainage?

Dert17, I don't use the 511 mix so I will have to decline comment, hopefully
some one will be along soon who can help on the soil questions.

As for water, Sansevieria, when they are actively growing in the longer days and warmer temperatures of summer use up the water they are given much faster
then in the winter when the plant is not growing much if at all. They will tolerate
moist soil when the temperatures are high. It is when it is cold that they rot when too damp. Sansevieria will rot if they are wet, but can take moist if it is hot and they have good light.

Sanseviera are slow growers. I don't think the average grower would notice growth day to day or even weekly. Perhaps if your conditions are near tropical
then you will notice growth over the course of a week, but I think it is more like watching paint dry, too slow to notice much happening. Hope this helps.
Fred

6. This is from book "clayey soils seem to add color and strength thought no controlled tests have been made to ascertain this."

Is it true or not, Did anyone test this idea? Chahinian B.J. wrote it in 2005 year. We live in 2015. If I would add some calcined clay Can I tell that I would have clayey soils? What does it mean "controlled tests"? How can I do "controlled tests"?

to do a controlled test you have to duplicate conditions for several plants but using different soil in each pot.

very good point about the new growth growing faster!

MsGreenFinger GW(8 Ireland), thank you for your detailed response. You wrote about my mistake. Sure, Calcinated clay is not expanded clay. It's important for me. Now I see the difference. I translated wrong from English to Russian "Calcinated clay".

What fertilizer do you use for your Sans in the
expanded clay? Do you use the fertilizer for
hydroponics, yes? What N-P-K do you use for you Sans? How often do you fertilize your plants in expanded clay? I think that once a month, right?

I asked you about the fertilizer because Walverton wrote: "We recommend adding nutrients only once every three months". But I have read that you need to add the nutrition once every 1 month. So I don't know how ofthen do I need to add the fertilizer in expanded clay.

And I have 2 question.

Please open this pdf file on page 3.
Sans2014 gave me link on NASA study. But Wolverton made this study. It's not manual random man. It's manual the man who made the famouse study.

I think that this is a professional soil from man who worked in NASA. That's why I gave this link.

https://www.plantairpurifier.com/sites/default/files/docs/Plant_Air_Purifier_Owners_Guide.pdf

Please open this pdf on page N3.

You will see the picture. You can see water bottom plants (from below, at the bottom of the plant). I mean we see 2 pots. Outer Planter Pot and Inner Slotted Pot. And we see that Outer Planter Pot has a water. It's very interesting because you don't need to water your plant at all. You will never over-water your plant. You will never under-water your plant.

It's so nice! I like this idea. It's so easy!

And Wolverton also use expanded clay like MsGreenFinger GW(8 Ireland).

Can I also buy 2 pots like Wolverton and grow my Sans in them? I mean the ordinary pots. Will my
sansevierias live in them? I don't sure that Wolverton used ordinary pots.

And Wolverton used Ceramic growing Media. He did not use expanded clay. What does it mean "Ceramic Media"? Can you explain this to me? (You can see Ceramic Media on page N3). Why Ceramic Media is better than expanded clay? Wher can I buy Ceramic Media? Can I use not Ceramic Media but expanded clay? What's the difference between Ceramic growing media and expanded clay?

I use 10-5-4 hydroponics fertilizer for grow cycle. I am no expert, but this seems to be right for my plants. I fertilize succulents irrregularly about once a month with 1/4 strength. And the sans are jumping out the pot literally, as the rhizomes grow, they push themselves out of the pot :)

I had a quick look at this pdf you linked in. This is a simple semi-hydro setting, but very expensive (I guess) and uses a little fan (why?) and electricity. You don't need this. Simply use pot-in-pot setting as you would use for soil-potted plants. Plant goes in a plastic pot filled with clay balls, that pot goes in the reservoir, which can be a shallow bowl or a glazed ceramic or glass container. You only need to maintain the water levels. For succulents, I don't really let them sit in much water, maybe 1 cm or less in the reservoir. Other houseplants tolerate water level up to 1/3 of the pot height. What the pdf says about transplanting is correct for houseplants, but may rot succulets and cacti so be careful.

Maybe you wanna have a look at this blog

It doesn't say much about succulents in hydro but there may be an article about that sooner or later ;)

Activated carbon is a tricky thing as it absorbs toxins and nutrients alike (as far as I know) so we don't really use it. I know a bit about it from the times when I used in my aquarium. I also used the ceramic media in the filter. It is like the expanded clay, an inert media that doesn't mess with pH in water but never heard it was used for plants. Generally in hydro you can use whatever media you like even glass marbles, only it has to be neutral regarding ph and should not absorb or release nutrients to water.

There was an earlier thread in the house plant forum about air purifying plants, I just can't find it at the moment. We agreed in the discussion that you need a very large amount of plants to make a difference in the quality of air, almost impossible. Also because a sans is slow grower compared to a ficus or spider plant, it produces less oxygen. So 5 plants in you flat won't make air better.

And I have 3 question.

Now I use 1 part of coconut and 1 part Universal Potting Soil. My Spider Plant like it. They grow very well. Much better than in 5:1:1 mix.

But I don't sure that this mix will very well for my Sansevierias.

I mean that they don't like too many water but coconut substrate keeps water too long. I have idea to add more perlite to make my mix more porous. Sansevierias very like porous mixes.

What do you think about mix A:

X part of coconut substrate

Y part of Universal Potting Soil

Z part of perlite.

Can you write me the optimal value of X, Y and Z for my Sansevieria? What do you think about X=1, Y=1=, Z=1?

Let's talk about mix wiht only expanded clay (hydroleca). We can call this mix B.

What mix would be better, A or B? (for only 1 year)

MsGreenFinger GW(8 Ireland)

There was an earlier thread in the house plant forum about air
purifying plants, I just can't find it at the moment. We agreed in the
discussion that you need a very large amount of plants to make a
difference in the quality of air, almost impossible. Also because a sans
is slow grower compared to a ficus or spider plant, it produces less
oxygen. So 5 plants in you flat won't make air better.

I know. I want to do this experiment only for 1 room for fun (for relax). Thank your for your detailed response again.

If only for 1 year, I would go with the soil mix. It takes time and energy from the plant to acclimate to hydro (grow water roots).

About the soil mix 1:1:1 or 2:1:1 (perlite:coco:soil) .

dert17: You have a very interesting book. I've been trying to find a copy. The only thing I've seen a paperback version on Amazon for $50. I'll keep looking and keep reading your questions.

I think I read somewhere that to make a room have clean air (not just cleaner air) it takes like 15-20 6-inch potted plants. For one room.

I don't know....since adding a lot of plants to my room, the air smells better, that's for sure.

laticauda(OK - zone 7)

I don't know....since adding a lot of plants to my room, the air smells better, that's for sure.

Thank you for your experiment. It's very interesting to read.

laticauda(OK - zone 7)

I
think I read somewhere that to make a room have clean air (not just
cleaner air) it takes like 15-20 6-inch potted plants. For one room.

I think that we need add N plants but we need to feel that air smells better. I don't think that 1 plant can give us such feeling.

Quote from Wolverton
"The Sanseviera (Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law's Tongue), a common easy to grow plant, also gives off oxygen at night. The only effect one should receive from filling a bedroom with plants is a feeling of breathing healthy indoor air. The only caveat is to make sure the soil's surface is covered to prevent mold spore growth".

Sourse: http://www.wolvertonenvironmental.com/airFAQ.htm

laticauda(OK - zone 7)

I don't know....since adding a lot of plants to my room, the air smells better, that's for sure.

I also write on Russian forum. One woman wrote that she worked as a teacher with children, and she planted Green Spider Plants in her schoolroom, and air became better. She felt it very clearly. Other teachers fell it too.

It will be interesting Will I fell this very clearly or not when my Sansevierias and Spider Plants will be bigger (larger).

And it's interesting can people change DNA of plants and improve their filter-air abilities? People do plants more and more beautiful but seems noone makes plants better in terms of air filtration.

laticauda(OK - zone 7)

I
think I read somewhere that to make a room have clean air (not just
cleaner air) it takes like 15-20 6-inch potted plants. For one room.

If plants can make a room clean (not just cleaner) why United States Enviromental Protection Agency does not write about it at all?

Residential Air Cleaners (Second Edition): A Summary of Available Information

Sourse: http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/residair.html#Will-Air-Cleaning-Reduce-Health-Effects

Quote:

"Some air cleaners may produce new, potentially toxic pollutants or may re-disperse old ones".

It's interesting to know can live plant produce new, potentially toxic pollutatns or re-disperse ones? For example, Sansevieria or SPider Plant.

Dert17

I found these articles that might interest you.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1470201/how-to-purge-out-the-chemicals-in-my-houseplants?n=2

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1461451/soil-microbes-for-air-quality?n=18

Sans2014,

Fred, thank you for these links, it was very interesting to read it.