More and more often, individuals and owners of office space decide to install impressive vertical gardens in their interiors. Arranging plant species and installing a green wall is one thing, while the maintenance of such a system is another. Vertical gardens require regular maintenance. Find out how to take care of the plants arranged in them, what treatments should be remembered in the first place and in which cases it is worth using the services of specialists. By following our instructions, you will be sure that the decorative qualities of the green wall will last a very long time!
Basic care treatments - irrigation and fertilisation of plants
When discussing the issue of maintaining vertical gardens, it is impossible to start with a different aspect. First of all, we must be sure that the plants have enough adequate light (preferably energy-efficient LED with the appropriate intensity and colour of approx. 5000K) because it is a key factor for optimal plant growth. The side light from a nearby window is not enough. We should take care to light the plants from the front, thanks to which plants will set up properly and will look the most decorative - they will have healthy and dense foliage.
Watering and fertilising are another basic activities that should be taken care of. It is worth recalling that plants grown in the form of vertical gardens are planted in small containers/ pockets, so that they do not have very much space for growth and accumulation of water.
Usually, vertical gardens are equipped with automatic irrigation systems which definitely facilitates this process. These systems can be complemented with fertigation, thanks to which plants arranged into the wall can be immediately supplied with mineral fertilisers dissolved in water. Thus, irrigation and fertilisation take place in one go. Remember, however, that the doses of fertilisers must be minimal. Plants on a green wall need much less nutrients than those grown in standard pots.
The owner of the green wall should also take care of spraying the leaves with water mixed with foliar fertilisers - this will additionally affect the nice image of leaves and their gloss. The water should be soft. Thanks to this, it will not leave mineral sediments after drying.
Plant pruning
Plant cutting is another, no less important, maintenance of the green wall. At the beginning of using the vertical garden, it is of the utmost importance because it determines the plant density. Later, pruning becomes necessary for other reasons - it is supposed to prevent excessive growth of flowers, which would otherwise take up too much space. Note: not only too long shoots but also overblown inflorescences should be pruned and dry leaves removed!
Fortunately, it does not usually need to be performed more often than once a month.
How to protect the green wall against diseases?
A vertical garden, like a traditional garden, may be attacked by pests or various pathogens, such as fungi. Tight arrangement of plants is conducive to diseases - after all, the beauty of the green wall depends on their high density. That is why it is worth to prevent and conduct the most important preventive treatments. For example, alternately with foliar fertilisers, it is beneficial to sprinkle plants with ecological decoctions of, for example nettle, horsetail or garlic (with famous antibacterial effect). Sometimes, in more difficult situations, it is necessary to reach for stronger chemical agents.
In addition to the mentioned care treatments, it is also worth taking care of the systematic cleaning of dusty leaves - to this end just wipe them with a damp cloth no more often than once a month.
Regular checks and cleaning of systems
Once every six months, inspection of the irrigation system should be also conducted. To this end, a professional company can be hired - it will give us more certainty that everything is all right and necessary repairs will be carried out if need be. As the 4Nature System - Wertykalni, we perform the first set of maintenance treatments, as well as the aforementioned inspection of the wall irrigation system free of charge under the guarantee for plants. The maintenance service is performed within two months after installing the wall ordered from us. On request, we can also provide later systematic maintenance. Once a month, we visit the interested customers from Warsaw, Cracow and the surrounding area - the price for such a service depends on the number of square metres of the vertical garden.
Once every 3-6 months, clean the gutter or tank with water, and the water filter. When irrigation takes place in a closed cycle, it is obvious that every few weeks it is necessary to top it up with water. The recommended frequency depends on the microclimate of the particular interior since the ambient humidity and temperature have a significant impact on the water evaporation rate.
Causes of plants dying in green walls
Sometimes, despite best efforts and devoting time to maintenance treatments, it happens that some plants in the vertical garden begin to look worse. If we do not have done our best, then we should look for reasons elsewhere. This may be due to poorly chosen too little light, inadequate or lack of room ventilation, direct stream of dry hot or cold air from air conditioning.
Fortunately, our experience shows that if you follow the recommendations and instructions during installation and subsequent maintenance, there are no major problems with maintaining the vertical garden in a very good condition, and the situations described above are extremely rare.
