How to flush houseplants of chemicals???

15 years ago

I opened a Houseplant store 2 months ago with the emphasis being on cleaning the air in one's home with living plants. I have worked hard (and am working hard still!) at finding fertilizers, soil, etc that are organic to sell in my store. I have been buying my houseplants directly from growers in Florida. It has recently come to pass that I have accumulated a chemical toxicity in my bloodstream due the the chemicals that these tropical plant growers are using on their plants!! I never even considered this in my plan for this business!! Here I am trying to educate people on the benefits of living plants in their homes and I am selling them plants full of insecticides and fungicides and what have you! Since my store is small and is filled to the brim with these plants - all of a sudden I started having symptoms associated with chemical "overload" in my system from touching and pruning and breathing around these plants!!

Here's my question . . . does anyone know of a way to purge these plants from their chemicals when I bring them into my store? So far the only thing I can come up with is to hose each one down before I put them on the shelf. This would be quite a chore! But I am willing to do it in order to sell safe plants for the home. I don't have a warehouse or a garage to put these plants until they are cleaned up. When they get delivered, they get put directly into the shop. Since it is warm now (I live in the Midwest), I could clean them up easier now but in the winter - not so easy.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. I will post this question also in the Houseplant Forum but I was thinking that the "experts" would most likely be in this forum.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

digdirt2
15 years ago
Yikes! Major problem. First thing I'd do is contract with an organic plant supplier if possible. Then can you find out what the specific fungicides/insecticides they are, the ones causing most of the problem? The supplier should be able to supply you with a list of chems used and there are specific remedies depending on the chem.

And I assume you are sure that it isn't an allergic reaction to some of the more toxic plants - like dieffenbachia or arrowhead? The sap from both cause many people systemic problems just from touch. I found this list of so-called toxic plants and if they are the problem then changing growers won't help. ;) Toxic Plants

Do these come to you already potted up? If so, then in addition to hosing off the leaves, I would assume that the majority of the long-term problem is in the soil they are potted in rather than the plants themselves. Granted the plant will absorb some but most will dissipate quickly once they no longer have the soil as a source. Perhaps re-potting them in a good chem free potting soil will help? Is that feasible?

Increasing the air flow in the store should help you too but that won't solve the real problem. Good luck and keep us posted.
Kimmsr
15 years ago
The only way to flush potted plants of chemical overload is to run water, lots, through that pot. All houseplants should occassionally be flushed anyway. The big problem here though is this stuff ends up in the groundwater, and people that tell you well its only a little forget that hundreds of households putting only a little of a pollutant in the groundwater equals a lot.
Related Discussions
Watering houseplants with softened water
Q
Comments (22)
Whenever a plant has the potential to be in the same soil for 2 or more growth cycles, I use the gritty mix. I no longer have much interest in growing what we would think of as typical houseplants. Almost everything I now grow is either a woody plant that can be manipulated, or a succulent, though I do practice bonsai techniques when the whim strikes, on plants like coleus, snapdragon, or anything else, the looks of which can be enhanced by a variety of techniques commonly used in bonsai. Many bonsai techniques are very easy to learn/apply, and can be seriously effective tools you can use to keep plants healthy and looking good - no matter whether you have an actual interest in bonsai or not. So, as things are now, everything you might think of as a houseplant is in the gritty mix; but, if I was growing gobs of plants like pothos, croton, pilea (the more herbaceous stuff), I'd have a lot of them in 5:1:1. FWIW - oxalis really loves the gritty mix, as do almost all succulents. How I judge what soil to use: If it grows very fast or has a very enthusiastic root system and needs repotting every year w/o fail (if they are to perform well), I'd choose the 5:1:1 mix. Plants like datura, brugs, hibiscus ...... go in the 5:1:1 because they almost always need an annual repot. I can't see much reason to put plants like that in the gritty mix unless they're to be grown in rather or very shallow pots where perched water would be especially ruinous of potential, even if you CAN squeeze a fair amount of additional potential from plants in more carefully-structured soils. Al
...See More
How to convert systemic chemical fed rose bushe to organic roses?
Q
Comments (4)
This post is getting a bit old, but is is an interesting subject. I wouldn't think too much about the traces of toxic chemicals that might remain in your soil. The worst ones are typically fungicides and weed killers, they can build up in soil. Insecticides are often derivatives of plant extracts like tobacco (nicotine), and chrysanthemum (pyretrines), and nature hopefully takes care of them. However the situation, the roses will happily go organic, and if you don't have any particular problems with fungus in your area, it should be an easy transition. Good compost, composted cowmanure, seaweed meal, and stuff like plant friendly microorganisms; tricoderma (and others I can't remember their names), that can be added to soil and sprayed on the plants to help establish a healthy balance of natural microlife in the soil and around the plants. There are different kinds that can be bought in bottles, packages and boxes. If you cannot find any near you, you can take half a bucked of real good compost fill it with water,let is sit there for a wile, then strain it, and spray plants, leaves, ground and all with it. Compost and organic matter will help bring back earth worms, that bayer all in one products might have killed off.
...See More
new cabinets have chemical smell
Q
Comments (4)
my guess is that these are voliltle organic compounds (VOC) gasses from the glues and adhesives used in the cabinet boxes. These gasses are not exactly good for you, and folks with allergies can be sensative. I suggest keeping the doors to the cabs open, and keeping a window open in the space so you get some air change into the space. If you could, put a small fan at the open window to help discharge the room air to the outside. (I hope you don't live where the weather is cold right now) Generally the smell will go away over time. I would advise sleeping with the door and window open so you get fresh air. And actually there are some houseplants that feed on these gases and can help with the conversion of them to oxygen. I would recommend getting a couple of plants over doing anything that tries to "hide" the smell with another smell. Here's one article that I got when I did a search for "houseplants and VOC" Here is a link that might be useful: houseplants and voc
...See More
Hey Houseplant Peeps: How is fall going?
Q
Comments (92)
Blue: Looking very good. Your banana should be fine. Laurie: Yours is a perfectly sane idea. Garbage cans will definitely work. Heavier duty ones will be better in the long run. In our parts various kinds of plastic 55 gallon barrels are available at around $15-20. This is is the one I use to collect rainwater. Olives are shipped from Greece in these and I can get them at local flea market. Search barrels or rain barrels on craigslist, and inquire at local bakeries, breweries, food processing centers, et. The other available sizes I have seen/used are 15 and 35 gallons. In old days, before rainwater collecting became popular, they used to give it away for free. These are tough barrels. But there are other types too and you can make any of them work. I would look for food grade barrels as the other ones you never know what kind of chemicals were transported in them. Food grade barrels are the ones that exclusively used to transport food/juice etc. Once it has any other substance it loses its food grade status. Otherwise there is no difference in the plastic material, generally speaking. There are a few ways of diverting downspout water, managing overflow and stringing more than barrels together. Youtube has some good videos. If you need more details let me know and I will describe my setup. If you are worried about pollution/bird poop runoff from roof look into "first flow diverter". It is a clever way to reject the first few gallons of rainwater that contains most of the unwanted stuff. I do not have it in my system. The water should remain very clear for months easily as long they are not exposed to direct sunlight. Light encourages algae growth. I am always astonished how crystal clear it remains through the winter and smells fresh.
...See More
Dibbit
15 years ago
Another thing I would do, if at all possible, is to start looking for new premises that will allow for a staging area where you can flush out the soil of new plants as they come in. It may be you can't break the lease you have, even with documentation from medical professionals.

If it's not possible to move, then I would see of you can get a tray made of some waterproof(ed) material that will fit over the sink and out to the sides in the bathroom, and fit a spray attachemnt to it so you can do it there. Of course, as Kimmsr says, it will all end up in the water-waste stream, and your water bill may be huge. You may also have to have someone else do this for you, which would be another expense.

IMO, if you can't move, your best bet would be to find organic suppliers. I don't know if such exist, nor if their prices would be competitive. You might be able to build a niche business on e-bay, selling house plants for the chemically sensitive, although complying with various states' shipping requirements for live plants will add another layer of complexity.

I am so sorry that this developed. I've been there and it's NOT fun.
hoorayfororganic
15 years ago
Seems like a better option to buy through an organic supplier. Rinsing every plant of chemicals (on the leaves, not just in the soil) seems impractical as well as futile.
pablo_nh
15 years ago
See a doctor to confirm what you think is happening. You may just have an allergy to a new plant, or be developing allergies.

If you've seen a doctor, then disregard this message. :)

How to flush houseplants of chemicals???

Comments (5)

digdirt2

Kimmsr

Related Discussions

Dibbit

hoorayfororganic

pablo_nh

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US