How to Identify a Hanging Plant
Hanging plants are great for enhancing design and sprucing up a room. According to Umd.edu, they can add a great visual element that is lacking in conventional flora. You may have seen different types of hanging plants before and wondered how to identify them. Many different types of plants can be hung from baskets to different effect, so determining the species of plant can sometimes be difficult. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Consider your environmental habitat. Depending on whether you are indoors or outdoors and what your climate is like, you can automatically eliminate certain plants that may not survive in the wrong types of conditions. For instance, if you are living in a dry and arid place, you might expect to find a hanging cactus, but not necessarily a hanging plant that requires a lot of water.
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Narrow down the type of plant you are trying to identify. There are several types of plants that are commonly hung. These include flowering plants, nonflowering plants and cacti. It should be somewhat obvious which category your plant falls into, depending on its physical features.
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Examine the physical features. Now that you have determined what broad type of plant you are dealing with, you can narrow it down even further. In the case of nonflowering plants, you can investigate the leaf shape, number, pattern and color to obtain details as to the species.
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Cross-reference your plant's image with a guide. There are many guides to plant identification on the market, such as "The New Houseplant A-Z" by Peter McHoy. There are resources available on the Internet as well, such as Plants.usda.gov. Using visual references to compare to your plant will help you eliminate the types of plants yours is not and come closer to finding the exact name of it. Many pictures will show exactly the shape of the leaves and the layout of lines and markings on each leaf, giving you a very precise reference.
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Care for your plant. Now that you have identified your plant, you can also identify its unique needs. Different plants require different watering schedules and amounts of sunlight, so knowing how to care for it can ensure its long life. Decide if the plant is hung in the most advantageous area and at the best height.
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Tips & Warnings
Your eyes are your best tool in learning the type of plant you are trying to identify. Don't take anything for granted, from the length and size of plant parts, to the color of soil in the hanging basket.
When identifying your plant, keep in mind that it might be at a stage of development that doesn't exhibit its typical physical features, so don't let this fool you into categorizing it into the wrong group.
