Furniture that lets your plants breathe: tables, shelves, supports
Choose the right furniture: tables, shelves and supports to optimize drainage, air circulation and exposure of your plants.
A houseplant doesn't live «on» a piece of furniture, it lives with it. The height of a shelf, the material of a shelf, the fact that a pot is raised or stuck to a solid surface are not insignificant criteria. All this can change the humidity around the roots, air circulation and the amount of light received. The aim is not to complicate your decor, but to enable your furniture and your plant to live in harmony.
The basic rule is simple: your plants need water... but they also need oxygen at root level. If there's too much water, the oxygen in the soil is driven out by the water: the roots can no longer do their job, they suffocate and rot. This is why, in pots, anything that facilitates the evacuation of excess watering is important: even when using saucers, it's important not to let water stagnate.1.
Where furniture comes in handy is in the way it handles the «after-watering» process. A completely full shelf can trap moisture under the pot, especially if you use a pot cover. Conversely, a support that slightly raises the container limits stagnation under the base.
Air circulation: the invisible comfort of plants
Indoors, we sometimes unwittingly create «confined» zones: plants crammed onto a shelf, decorative niches, pots stuck to the wall. But still air and stagnant humidity do neither foliage nor substrate any favors.2.
Ventilation is therefore key: «open» furniture such as shelves without solid bottoms, spaced shelves, open bookcases or plant holders (wall-mounted, suspended or free-standing) allow air to circulate around the pots. What's more, you'll also save on maintenance: a surface that's easy to wipe down limits water marks and deposits.
Exposure: furniture as a tool for capturing the right light
Light is often the most difficult variable to adjust, especially when you want a harmonious plant corner. A simple change in height or distance from the window can go a long way. To bathe plants that need it in light, you can :
- Place a slim console near a bay window;
- Install a stand or a piece of furniture to «elevate» a plant;
- Place a shelf on the brightest side of the room;
- Choose a piece of furniture with wheels so you can move it to suit the light.
In winter, this point becomes even more sensitive: indoor plant problems frequently appear in the cold season due to a classic trio: over-watering, insufficient light and dry air. Choosing the right furniture helps to correct at least two of these factors: bringing the plant closer to the light and facilitating cleaner watering management.
The quick checklist for choosing tables, shelves and stands
Before choosing the furniture for your plant, ask yourself these questions:
- Does the support allow you to use a pierced pot and let it drain, with simple protection for the furniture?
- Is the structure open enough to let air circulate around the pots?
- Does the height and position I'm going to give it really improve the light received, especially in winter?
When furniture facilitates drainage, air and exposure, your plant corner naturally becomes more beautiful... Your plants feel better, and so do you.
1 Water surpluses and shortages, La Clinique des plantes
2 Growing mix in which the roots grow (the “soil” of the pot). It serves to anchor the plant, retain water and nutrients, while also allowing air to pass through so that the roots can breathe.
