Rentokil - 'No Easy Solution'

There's no good news from Rentokil today. Their 10 month trading statement ending October 31 projects a difficult outlook for the coming year.

We've not read or heard a word from Initial Tropical Plants, Rentokil's U.S. subsidiary.

Bloomberg reports from London.

Comments/Excerpts:

"There's hardly a division that's doing well,'' said Andrew Beh, an analyst at ING Financial Markets in London with a "hold'' rating on the stock. " Some businesses are clearly going to have to be closed, some will be sold. And they may be forced sellers.''

McGowan, 59, is seeking to cut costs as the profitability of corporate contracts is eroded by competition with rivals such as Mitie Group Plc. Rentokil, based in East Grinstead, southern England, said today that it's yet to find a chief executive to replace James Wilde, who was ousted in July.

"We expect a further deterioration in trading results into the first half of 2005,'' McGowan said in a statement." The year as a whole is likely to give a weaker performance than in 2004.''

ING's Beh said he'd like to see other "significant disposals'' in the next six months, perhaps including tropical plants and conferencing. The analyst is reconsidering his 140 pence target for the stock, which he said may fall to 130 pence.

"We are certain that we are taking the right actions to return the company to future sustainable growth,'' McGowan said. "There is, however, no single easy, quick-fix solution.''

Mitie Group, based in Bristol, western England, yesterday said net income fell 57 percent to 4.4 million pounds in the six months through September. The stock fell 4.5 percent to 150.25 pence. It was little changed today. Rentokil shares fell 2.9 percent yesterday.

Design Advice From IKEA

Here are 10 design ideas from IKEA for creating a better bedroom environment. Of course, our favorite home furnishings retailer recommends living plants.

No other retailer that we know of includes indoor plants in their visual merchandising photographs the way IKEA does.

We read about the opening of a new West Elm store (owned by Williams-Sonoma) in Corte Madera, CA. They have a store in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of our favorite places.

We’ve never been in a West Elm store so we explored their website. We looked at all the photos. There are no indoor plants displayed, only an occasional vase of flowers. We’ve looked West Elm…you’re no IKEA!

Excerpt: In a world with Ikea, Pier 1, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn, we probably don't need West Elm.

MITIE Update

UK support services company MITIE Group PLC reported today on the past six months ending September 30. Interior tropical plants maintenance turnover (revenue) is included in landscaping and not reported separately. Read the report here (pdf file).

From Croton Country

This just in from Miami, the Croton capital of the country. We lived in Miami for a while and well remember the ubiquitous Crotons growing as landscape shrubs.

We think they're neat houseplants but there are two caveats. Make sure they have high light over 200 foot-candles (12-hour day length) and check the underside of their leaves regularly for spider mites. They tend to be mite magnets as this article mentions. Be sure to sub-irrigate rather than drench and drain.

Planters of Dubai Is Twenty Five

Planters, an interior plantscaping company located in Dubai, UAE, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month.

Tis The Season

This is the time when interior plantscapers see red. Charles Dickens perhaps said it best..."It was the best of times, the worst of times". They will count the money, but utter oaths while striving to keep their clients 'points' in good health. For a variety of reasons that doesn't always happen easily.

Here's an interesting back-story about Euphorbia pulcherrima. So, you thought Poinsettia was a botanical name did you. Incidentally, you can usually tell what coast a person is from. East coasters, New Yorkers in particular, omit the 'i' and west coasters pronounce it correctly including the 'i'. Whatever! All, except perhaps your local interiorscapers, will gaze upon them and enjoy this iconic symbol of the season.

LEED Existing Buildings

PAW newsletter comment posted yesterday - Numerous LEED professionals suggested that we might want to lobby the LEED EB (Existing Buildings) committee rather than CI as EB deals more with "ongoing" operational efficiencies--in particular air quality.

This is the U.S. Green Building Council web page with information about LEED-EB (pdf file).

LEED Commercial Interiors

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced LEED-CI (pdf file) a new rating system for commercial interiors. LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design.

Where does interior plantscaping fit in to this green building rating system? Read this status report from PAW.

Excerpt from Plants At Work (PAW) newsletter of November 24, 2004 - LEED Effort Status

The new LEED-CI, approved last week is the third rating system developed by the USGBC serving all aspects of the building including owners, occupants, interior designers and architects.

Except for the term "organic landscaping" under the Innovative in Design section, plants have yet to be directly incorporated into the language of the LEED rating system.

We are currently researching the projects that HAVE utilized plant programs for Innovative credits to secure endorsements and broaden our appleal. Meanwhile, our 'grass roots' voice has been heard and recorded! As a matter of fact all of our comments were posted directly on the USGBC site until this final draft was approved on November 17th.

Consistently the USGBC suggests that the best arena for interior plants to glean LEED points is under the Innovative sections of the application. Last week at the USGBC's annual GreenBuild Conference, Plants at Work presented a white paper and poster titled "Authentically Green Interiors: Optimizing Natures Technology," based on information from the Genzyme Center.

Numerous LEED professionals suggested that we might want to lobby the LEED EB (Existing Buildings) committee rather than CI as EB deals more with "ongoing" operational efficiencies--in particular air quality.

We again encourage you to utilize the Plants at Work poster, presentation and research binders and actively participate in your LOCAL USGBC chapters. It is critical that we all play an active role at the local level in order to reinforce national efforts educating and influencing the USGBC. See the link below for a nearest chapter.

Nearest chapter

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This has nothing to do with indoor plants but we were tickled to read about the opening of the new FAO Schwarz on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Hopefully all of us are still kids at heart and will enjoy the virtual trip through the store. There are some really cool photos at the end. Check out the 'baby nursery'. Here's their website.
 

A Green² Atrium

Here is an opportunity for creative, techo-proficient interior plantscapers who understand greenscaping? We are attempting to get photos of this installation.

Excerpt: Stu Rose sleeps in a windowless bedroom, but he can see the moonlight shining on the leaves of his houseplants in Poquoson, Va.

But the houseplants aren't your normal potted shrubs. They grow 12 feet high and have to be trimmed to keep from grazing the ceiling. And that windowless bedroom? It opens into a sky-lit atrium.

"I can lie in my bed and see sky," Rose said with a smile that reappears whenever the conversation turns to his unconventional home.

The three-bedroom house is the first of what Rose and his wife, Trina Duncan, hope will be a cluster of seven sustainable, environmentally friendly homes -- dubbed Garden Atriums -- where rainwater fills the toilets and garden hoses and where electricity is supplied by the sun.

What's In The Pot?

Stories about hydroponics in Europe often have to do with the maintenance of decorative indoor plants. In the U.S., we only find drug bust stories about hydroponic pot growing. We found this story and accompanying slide show rather amusing.

Perhaps you'd like to reconsider this cool system. Now just what is that growing in the window?

Ecological Gifts

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has some good waste reduction ideas for the holidays.

Excerpt: Buy living gifts. House plants, garden seeds or potted trees that can be transplanted in the spring.

Better yet, sub-irrigate the gift plants so that the recipient can easily maintain them indoors. This is an even more sustainable greenscaping practice. It's a simple matter to set up your gift plant for measured sub-irrigation using the shoestring method.

What a low-cost value added addition it will be to your gift plant. Just point the recipient here to our weblog for any questions or assistance needed. Suggest that they click on 'Sub-irrigation' and 'Inside Plant Care' under 'Topics'.

How Low Is Low Light?

If we posted links to all of the outdoor gardening advice columns we read with misinformation about indoor plant care we'd use up our bandwidth in a hurry. This well intended article, however, has some significant misinformation worth highlighting, pun intended.

The author, an extension educator for horticulture, demonstrates a lack of understanding about light measurement inside buildings. He’s not alone. We read misinformation of this type daily.

Householders commonly move houseplants outdoors during the summer even though it's a bad idea. If they’re located in a shady location the natural light is in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 foot-candles. In the fall, they are abruptly moved back inside and plunged into a low light interior that may range from 50 to 500 foot-candles if in a window.

Doing the math, the reduction in light level is typically in the range of 80 to 99 percent. Would you lose weight in a hurry if 80 to 99 percent of your food intake was reduced in a day? This might convey an idea of the shock the plants are experiencing.

The author erroneously cites a reduction of “as much as 50 percent” which is a gross understatement. Further, the amount of light that houseplants receive in their Florida greenhouse is more like 20 to 30 times the light they receive in a Nebraska living room, not “two to three times”. The point here is that the article understates the degree of difficulty involved in bringing houseplants in from their so-called 'summer vacation'.

More than likely the author has never had a need to use a foot-candle light meter and perhaps doesn’t even know what it is. Outdoor gardeners, including professional horticulturists can get by without a foot-candle light meter. The range of outdoor light is much more forgiving.

The range of light indoors is not forgiving. The margin of error is small and the cost may be loss of a valuable plant. Light for photosynthesis is critical to an indoor plants health and survival. Most symptoms of poor health are caused by light starvation. Water and plant food only aggravate the condition.

The article illustrates the need for extension horticulturists to learn the true facts about interior plant maintenance including foot-candle meters and measured sub-irrigation (MSi), before writing about the subject.

We observe that it is poorly understood within the extension and Master Gardener programs that indoor plant care isn't merely another form of outdoor gardening or greenhouse growing. It is distinctly different from either of them.

Excerpt: Over the past month or so, homeowners have started to move many of their houseplants indoors after the plants have been set outside all summer. Well, simply moving plants inside can cut back on their sunlight supply by as much as 50 percent. Also, many houseplants sold in the Midwest actually were grown in Florida, where they received two to three times the amount of sunlight they would typically get in a Nebraska living room.

Cool Hydroponics

While roaming the world today we found Tor's blog in the UK with a link to Green Fortune in Sweden. They are providers of Streamgarden a really cool hydroponics system for home use.

If you think of yourself as a high-tech gadget freak you need one of these.

 
 
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Rentokil Recognized

Here's some positive publicity about Rentokil, UK. It's a pleasure to link it because we certainly have posted enough about their trials and tribulations this year.

We also applaud the fact that the story appeared in a paid circulation publication other than an industry trade magazine. It's positive publicity presented to the community outside of the trades. That's where we need to communicate rather than talking to ourselves.

Excerpt: Rentokil Tropical Plants, based at Acorn Nursery in Barrow Lane, picked up nine awards in the European Federation of Interior-Landscape Groups (Efig) Interior Landscape Excellence Ceremony held at Stoneleigh Park Exhibition and Conference Centre in Coventry.

The article also appeared here today, November 24.

This Bob Isn't A BOB

It's now down to the finalists in the BOBs, Best of the Blogs awards contest sponsored by Deutsche Welle (German wave) broadcasting company.

Excerpt: The Bush-Kerry debate held the attention of bloggers in all seven of the BOBs’ competition languages -- Arabic, Chinese, English, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. But while the world’s bloggers were examining America, American bloggers were scrutinizing themselves.

Characteristic of the rest of American media, bloggers in the United States, home to the world’s most blogs, were busy looking inward and analyzing what was happening in their own backyard rather than looking out into the international arena.

Soon the blogosphere will see whether the end of the election means the inward-oriented US bloggers will start looking abroad for ideas and influences. The media can only benefit from doing so, as Deutsche Welle's BOBs' nominees from the rest of the world show that there's a lot to offer outside the US and English.

More On McGowan

No earthshaking news about the future of Rentokil, but here's an update from the Uk.

Excerpt: He led the coup to remove Sir Clive, but did not expect to have to dismiss Mr Wilde as well. Once in charge, he rented a flat in London and instigated a review. He ruled out a break-up, focusing on changing a centralised culture he said was verging on "organisational arrogance, dogma and inflexibility".

Wow, those are strong words. We certainly have experienced plenty of dogma and inflexibility in the business but not firsthand at Rentokil.

Competing With Google

Frank Barnako at MarketWatch posted an interesting story about blogging including an interview with Mena Trott, co-founder of Six Apart creators of Typepad and Movable Type. Frank has more blog information, including links to Bloggercon III on his weblog.

The Meaning Of Green

We're glad this has been cleared up. Even better, how about 'Green²' meaning plants that are maintained with 'greenscaping' methods and are therefore 'green' in both senses of the word. Read on...

Excerpt: James Jao, chief executive officer of the US-based J.A.O. Design International told China Daily it is wonderful that the Chinese Government is making its people more ecologically concerned by adopting the concept of "Green Building" in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Game facility design. "Unfortunately, many people in China still have misconceptions and misinterpretations of the terminology of 'Green Building'," Jao said.

"Green Building" does not mean building with a lot of green plants, trees, or flowers. The term has a very clear parameter about it. Using recycled materials, recycled water and re-useable energy are essential features of green buildings.

Brighten Your Home With Houseplants

It's good to see the British also have outdoor gardeners who are ill informed about indoor plants...but write about them anyway.

Long Tail of Blogging

Steve Rubel wrote an excellent article about the blogosphere and the impact blogging is making. You can read more of Steve's well thought out observations on his blog, Micro Pursuasion. We have added it to our link list.

Excerpt: A similar long tail effect is now forming in the media content sphere. As blogging becomes more popular, it is now easier for news consumers to find specific niche blog sites that adequately meet their information needs. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in knitting, gadgets, cars, sports, politics or music, there’s a blogger out there who’s covering it well who can serve as your information filter.

It might even work for the subject of indoor plants for home and business!

Smarter Plants In Smart Buildings

Reading this we realize how close we are to entirely new interior plantscaping concepts. If we can control HVAC for the individual, we can control light and water for interior plants in buildings. The days of plonk-a-plant with drench and drain watering are hopefully ending.

This article is packed with key words and phrases that trigger positive thoughts about 21st century greenscaping in green buildings. All it will take is more out of the box thinking from sometimes technology averse interior plantscaping professionals.

We already have sophisticated sub-irrigation systems and new compact fluorescent light fixtures. Architects and interior designers have the skills to put these to use given horticultural direction from the interior plantscaping industry. More and better professional collaboration is long overdue.

We are dedicated to helping make this happen. Are you interested in joining the greenscaping movement?

Excerpt: Green technology can reduce costs by millions of dollars over the life of a building, and "doesn't cost a penny more than conventional construction," asserts Rick Fedrizzi, chairman of the 11-year-old council.

One Bryant Park will include floor-to-ceiling windows made of translucent insulating glass; it also will have roof gardens, and a system to capture and reuse rain and waste water.

Bob Fox, one of the architects, says the biggest savings could be in health care.

Sunlight in every office will offer a psychological benefit while filtered ventilation built into floors instead of ceilings will provide individual temperature control and reduce indoor air pollution.

How Mighty Is Mitie?

Mitie is in the UK financial rumor mill currently. We know very little about them other than that they are yet another significant size UK corporation offering interior plant mainenance services. They are a competitor of Rentokil Initial and PHS , companies we have posted about previously. We just don't know how significant a competitor they are.

The structure of the UK, EU, Pacific Rim and other global interior plantscaping markets is of great interest to us. If you have any information to share, please post your comments below or e-mail us privately on or off the record.

Plant Tour Days Adds Seminars for 2005

Four 30-minute presentations have been added to the popular Plant Tour Days event sponsored by the San Diego County Flower and Plant Association.

IKEA Mania Redux

We're certain that a lot of houseplants rolled out of this store yesterday...and that's a good thing.

Excerpt: The line to get inside IKEA began Nov. 2 when Scott Cesen of Ahwatukee Foothills set up camp outside the store. For his efforts, Cesen received $1,500 worth of furnishings and other accessories featured on the cover of the 2005 IKEA catalog.

Premier Preserved Palms

If there is an iconic photographic of preserved palm history, this is it. The Mirage Hotel and Casino atrium in Las Vegas was the watershed installation for preserved palms. It was the class of the strip when it opened in 1989 under Steve Wynn’s creative leadership. The atrium and flame-spewing volcano in front were major tourist attractions and publicized all over the world.

Nature Preserved of America, now reorganized as Preserved Treescapes International (PTI), made the installation. PTI is recognized today as the worldwide leading producer and installer of preserved palm trees.

The story and accompanying photo posted on the AME Info website misled us. The photo creates the impression that the palms in the Dubai International Airport are from Viridian International Ltd. Apparently, they are not. The Dubai Airport installation case study is prominently featured on the PTI website along with the Dubai Marriott Hotel.

The redesigned PTI website is impressive and persuasive. We believe you will find time spent exploring it to be time well spent.

Prestigious Palms

This is a rendering of preserved palm trees in the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

For those not familiar with preserved palm trees, it is an environmentally sound process. No living palms are sacrificed. Some of these palms are constructed from preserved palm fronds and recycled 'bark' or 'boots'. They are attached to a man-made structural inner core which is transparent to the viewer. Other versions have man-made molded trunks that precisely replicate nature.

A strong case can be made that these large palms are more ecologically 'green' than living palms. The preserved palms are sustainable products which can stand in place of real palms which have a high risk of ill-health or death in interior environments.

Houseplants Are House Plants

Quality houseplants are just that...house plants. If you moved them outside, don't do it next year. Ignore the advice of well-intentioned but misinformed outdoor gardeners, many of them so-called master gardeners. Keep your houseplants indoors year round where they are acclimated and pest free.

If you're top watering, switch to sub-irrigation with or without wicks, or use modified Planterra Ariana planters.

Commerical interior plant maintainers learned long ago that sub-irrigated plants will tolerate lower light levels than top watered plants. This is because water is distributed more evenly. Wet and dry extremes are avoided. Your plants will be under less stress and will thank you for switching.

Green Building News

Interior Business reports on Plants At Work (PAW) participation at the annual International Facility Management Association's (IFMA) World Workplace Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in October.

Next stop is GreenBuild International Conference and Expo opening today in Portland, Oregon. It is produced by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Excerpt: The council has faced down critical decisions about purity versus further expansion, recently opting to deny trade associations membership for fear of pressures for what insiders call "greenwashing" -- fashioning a camouflage of eco-sensitivity without the performance.

Drip, Drip, Drip

Here's a more sophisticated version of Martha's wick watering. We found Apartment Gardening Products searching through the exhibitor list for the recent Green Festival in San Francisco. We were looking for exhibitors offering products related to inside plants.

We are wondering what qualifies this as an environmentally 'green' product. What do you think? Comments?

 

Language Translation

We appreciate that we have English speaking visitors from countries other than the U.S.A. We have a keen interest in world-wide news and information and recognize that there are countries with more advanced knowledge.

This is a self-funded, non-profit weblog. If we had funding we would likely provide Spanish and French translation at a minimum. We will one day.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to read our English only blog. Please feel comfortable posting your thoughts and opinions using the comments feature below.

Why?

Click to enlarge. Although this is really a top watering device we included it in the sub-irrigation category.

At $13.95 each from Gardener's Supply, my questions is why would anyone would use these so-called 'Plant Sitters'? What does a homemade AquaPad (polyester pad) cost?

Once again, there is little or no instruction material, only hyperbole.

The ceramic cone is a switch. Evidently, it will regulate water flow from the tank depending on soil moisture. Note that it measures soil moisture at the top of the soil mass, not the bottom where the main root system is located.

Note that the water flows from the top by gravity rather than by capillary action from the bottom. There is thus no assurance of even water distribution. Note the caveat that “large planters may require 2 or more cones”. What is the definition of a “large planter”? We believe that it will unevenly water pots as small as 6”.

Water flows through the porosity of the ceramic cones. We suspect that accumulated salts will eventually clog these ceramic switches. It is a common problem with African Violet so-called “self-watering” ceramic planters.

So, we say ‘why’? Use a homemade polyester Aquapad. It costs next to nothing and will work infinitely better.

Why also would you want a rather ugly tank hanging on the side of the planter? An Aquapad is concealed inside any water tight decorative planter.

A Sharp Cookie

We discovered this article about Kim Parker when we searched for her company website. It was a delight to read. Kim is a professional, a pioneer and a personality we admire. Her success story in the interior plantscaping business is an inspritiation to women entrepreneurs everywhere.

Kim is a progressive 'greenscaper'. She was an early adopter of sub-irrigation methods and is, in our opinion, a sharp cookie.

We wish her continued success.

Excerpt: But to Ms. Parker, plantscaping is more than putting on a pretty face: It is remaining conscious of the environment. Her company reduces the need for power and water by installing plumbing-free reservoirs -- or "invisible irrigation systems" -- in the interior gardens it creates.

In addition, her plantscape system enables cleaner air in the workplace, since plants remove toxins from the earth's atmosphere.

A Greenscaper: Kim Parker Plantscapes, Inc., a California Corporation, was created in 1980 to "break the mold" by specializing in self watering plantscapes. It was our intention to become the first (and we remain to date) and only plantscape contractor to have used self-watering technology in every project to reduce plant replacements, reduce labor costs, and reduce the environmental impact of our fleet. PLUS: Eliminate watering "guesswork" and the plants will thrive!

As a result of our commitment to the most innovative and newest irrigation technologies, our schedule of guaranteed service maintenance is every 10-20 days; displacing the old and obsolete standard of weekly service. The proven savings in time, the reduced disruption to our clients and the reduction of carbon monoxide emissions has elevated KPI to a leadership position within the plantscape industry. Further, 20+ years of self-watering experience makes us the experts in technical support and customer service.

Wick Watering Gone Awry

We see many misapplications of wick watering similar to this. This method attempts to deliver water to the soil surface rather than from below. These methods employing a long length of yarn, cord or other fabric are tricky to manage. The water must travel a relatively long distance subject to the wick drying out. The amount of water delivered is also difficult to control.

Use a virtually fool proof method such as the shoestring method previously described.

Water-Wise Planter

Click to enlarge. The German made Water-Wise planter is new from Gardener's Supply since we last visited their website.

Although we have no experience with this planter, we have no reason to believe it does not work well. However, we have some comments about the product description.

We see nothing in the diagram or description that qualifies it as an ‘intelligent self-watering’ planter with ‘brains’. This is, in our opinion, hyperbole, an exaggeration.

Further, there is no 'intelligence' to guide a buyer on how to use the product. It is a major error to assume consumer knowledge, particularly when the misleading term 'self-watering' is used.

The only sub-irrigation planter that we know of with ‘intelligence’, meaning an on-off switch, is the CWI from Planter Technology. The Water-Wise planter does not have a switching mechanism that we can see. We also do not believe that the layer of porous clay provides any significant benefit.

We would recommend that anyone considering spending $39.95 for an 8” Water-Wise or $74.95 for a 14” Water-Wise buy Planter Technology planters. An 8” CWI is currently $9.95, a 14” CWI is $29.95. Their Natural Spring stand-alone planter prices are $19.95 for an 8” and $49.95 for a 14”. There are also 11" and 17" sizes.

We don't understand how Gardener’s Supply can justify the Water-Wise planter prices in light of competitive products such as those from Planter Technology. These are proven products used widely by professional interior plantscape companies. We believe the vacuum-sensor system is far superior to the Water-Wise system.

Water-Wise Round Planter has Both Brains and Beauty

These intelligent self-watering planters take the guesswork out of watering and have sleek contemporary lines that complement any home or office décor. They combine a water reservoir with an innovative sub-irrigation system: a layer of porous clay that hydrates and aerates roots. Although the high-gloss finish looks like designer ceramic, the Water-Wise is actually made of lightweight, unbreakable polypropylene that will never crack, chip or fade.

Self-watering, lightweight, unbreakable outside.
2 sizes, 8" and 14" diameter.
2 colors, classic White and rich Burgundy.
Easy-to-read water level indicator tells when to refill.
Includes bag of porous clay to hydrate and aerate roots.
Square Planters also available.

The Real Killer Is...

We extol the benefits of sub-irrigation because it is justifiable. However, if the light is insufficient no watering method will save an indoor plant from death. Websites and houseplant books frequently cite over-watering as the primary cause of houseplant mortality.

It is our experience, however, that light is the most critical factor. If over watering is a gun that kills houseplants, the trigger is insufficient light. It is worth the time to study this chart before installing any plant indoors. And…get your hands on a digital foot-candle (or lux) light meter any way you can.

Hobby Flower Hydroplanter

Click to enlarge. The RSSi 'shoestring' method uses the same basic concepts as commercially available sub-irrigation planters such as the Hobby Flower Hydroplanter from Spain. The point is not that they are comparable for commercial use, it is only that the basic principles are the same.

Here is a comparison:

Hobby Flower Hydroplanter Diagram – Commercially available.

No. 1, 2 - Water Level float indicator. This will indicate the level of water in the water tank, or reservoir. These float indicators are used in a number of sub-irrigation and hydroculture planters. They are known to occasionally stick in the tube and give a false reading. Be sure that the indicator is floating freely.

No. 5 - Water tank, or reservoir. We prefer to call this the water transfer area rather than reservoir. Constant refilling of sub-irrigation (a.k.a. ‘self-watering’) planters results in over watering.

It is best to measure the amount of water added just as in following a recipe. Contrary to widespread belief, plants do not have the intelligence to drink only as much as they need.

Water will capillary rise up into the soil mass until the soil is saturated; until it can hold no more. If you maintain the tank with a constant supply of water the soil will become super saturated, the plant will become oxygen starved, root rot will occur and the plant will die.

No. 6 Tube for filling the tank. Much like the fill pipe connected to the gas tank in your car. Unlike your car, you do not want a constant supply of 'fuel' added to indoor plants.

No. 9 – Wicks. These look quite similar to the shoelaces. There are many different types of wicks. Fabric, ceramic, porous plastic and hollow plastic formed wicks are the most common.

No. 10 – Air chamber. The claim is that this is for oxygenating the water and the roots. We are unaware of any impartial testing to substantiate this. We believe the claim is dubious.

Shoestring RSSi – this is a simple, low cost, versatile method for consumer use.

Water level checking. Lift the grow pot up from the cachepot and look inside. Or, use a pipette. The pipette can be a section of ¼” clear plastic tubing available from hardware stores. Cut a piece long enough to reach the bottom of the cachepot. Stick the tubing down into the cachepot; then hold your finger over the tubing top to create a vacuum. If there is water in the bottom of the cachepot, the vacuum will hold it in the pipette when you lift it out, thus revealing the water level.

The pipette is like a dipstick using a vacuum to hold a measureable amount of water. A pipette is a common laboratory tool.

Water reservoir or water transfer area. This is the space formed between the grow pot bottom and the cachepot bottom.

Fill – Lift the grow pot up and add a measured amount of water. Or, pour it through a funnel inserted into the space between grow pot and cachepot.

Wicks – Use sections of new or used athletic shoelaces or acrylic 4-ply knitting yarn. Double over the end of a chopstick and poke up into the grow pot drainage holes. Tamp the soil down from the top to be sure the wicks are in contact with the soil.

Cachepot (outer decorative container) – This can be any watertight container offering unlimited design flexiblity.