House and apartment plants need to be tough, long-lasting and inexpensive. Fragrance and color are nice attributes, too.
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| Plants that grow well indoors, with good light and watering conditions, include the Spathiphyllum, front, also known as peace lily, many varieties of orchid, center, and palms.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
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Indoor plants improve our environment and truly help us feel better. Live potted plants cleanse the air of man-made volatile toxins, according to NASA studies, and are an important element of "green and sustainable" buildings.
If you're looking to spruce up your living space today, here are some proven winners:
• Spathiphyllum (or peace lily) is a shade-loving plant with a fragrant white anthurium-like flower, and glossy green leaves. It is ideal for shady interiors and perfect in a humid bathroom. You can set it in a tray of water with pebbles, if you will be away; water about once a week otherwise. You can also grow it in water and make a desktop fish tank. Rinse all the potting media off first. Add fish to eat any mosquitoes that might come for the water. Live tropical fish are also pretty and entertaining, particularly in an office setting.
• Orchids, especially dendrobiums, are tough, floriferous house plants. They need bright light. Even after flowering, orchids have pretty foliage. They are also excellent air-purifying plants. In Hawai'i, orchids are a bargain for their exotic beauty and long life. The newer varieties will bloom two or three times a year.
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| Rhapis or lady palm |
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Croton or Indian blanket |
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Fishtail palm |
• Rhapis or lady palm is a slow-growing, shade-tolerant house plant. It is fairly expensive at the outset, but will slowly grow and beautify your home and office for many years. It sends out keiki at the base of the clump, which tells you the palm is well cared for and happy in your home environment.• Croton or Indian blanket has brightly colored leaves and wants a bright spot in your home or on the lanai. There are many varieties and color and leaf forms to choose from. Long a favored landscape plant in Hawai'i gardens, the newer varieties are ideal for indoor culture.
• Fishtail palm or Caryota. This elegant Asian palm adds a taller green element to your room. Fishtail palms thrive in low to medium light and can take bright light if slowly acclimated.
- By Heidi Bornhorst
Special to The Advertiser
| Care and feeding
Water: Overwatering kills many houseplants. Figure out the minimum of water and stick to it. Once a week is good for most houseplants. Water deeply all the way through. If possible, carry the plant to the sink and let water flow through the pukas. Drain and then put the plant back in its regular spot.
Light: Most plants require a specific set of light conditions. Many house plants are strictly shade plants; don't set them out in the sun. Find out from the grower or nursery the kind of light the plant was grown in, and keep it in those conditions. Fertilizer: Most plants indoors are growing very slowly or not at all. The growers load up the soil with slow-release fertilizer. Most plants don't need any more; in fact, the excess salts from fertilizing can "burn" the roots or leaves, or build up to toxic levels.
Pest control: Sometimes-indoor plants get infested with wooly mealy bugs or sucking aphids or scale. Liquid soap such as Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap (available at health food stores) is good to smother the pests and "clean" them off your plants. Spray at a ratio of one tablespoon per gallon of water. Hosing off the plants is also a good way to get rid of the pests.
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Big changes on a small budget
Sometimes those little things add up to something big. And that's the goal of a pair of home-design seminars this weekend at the HomeWorld stores.
HomeWorld design team members Debi Spellman, Jennifer Garner and Harrison Shin will demonstrate how small changes — moving furniture, adding or rearranging accessories — can change the look of a room quickly and inexpensively.
The free, one-hour sessions begin at 1 p.m. today at the Honolulu store (702 S. Beretania; 543-5300) and at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Pearlridge store (98-107 Kamehameha Highway.; 488-1065). Call to reserve a seat.
Sunset with sci-fi at Waikiki beach
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| Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow star in "Sky Captain" at Sunset on the Beach tonight in Waikiki. Paramount Pictures |
Sunset on the Beach is back in Waikiki with food booths, entertainment and films on that 30-foot screen this weekend.
Tonight's movie is "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," a sci-fi fantasy starring Jude Law as the hero of the title and Gwyneth Paltrow as a plucky reporter. Tomorrow's feature is "Shall We Dance?" the hit Japanese version from 1997 that spawned last year's Americanized feature.
Sunset on the Beach festivals begin at 4 p.m. each day at Queen's Surf Beach; movies hit the screen after the sun goes down. Admission is free. Call 923-1094 for information.
Tooth fairy flies into Kaka'ako
Hey, kids, it's Children's Dental Health Month! And that means tomorrow is HDS Tooth Fairy Fun Day at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center in Kaka'ako.
That's where you can meet the HDS tooth fairy; learn to take care of your teeth and gums; and decorate your very own tooth box to keep your baby teeth in, vote for your favorite toothpaste and play games.
Hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free for the first 500 Hawaii Dental Service members and their families (bring your HDS card or print a copy of your card at www.deltadentalhi.org); or a $6 discounted fee for non-members.
The Hawaii Children's Discovery Center is at 111 'Ohe St.
Get ready for Hollywood marathon of movie talk
Movie fans, don't forget: Tomorrow is Hollywood's biggest night, and you need to park yourself in front of your TV to watch all the glamour, suspense and grateful tears at the 77th annual Academy Awards on KITV.
A half-hour preview begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the awards show at 7 p.m. Will Martin ("The Aviator") Scorsese finally get his due, or will Clint Eastwood steal it away for "Million Dollar Baby"? Will Hilary Swank take home another Best Actress Oscar? Will the critics' darling "Sideways" upstage all, and take home the Best Picture award?
If you just must know the answers earlier, a live telecast is part of Oscar Night America, hosted by the Hawaii International Film Festival from 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Pacific Club downtown. Also on the agenda: entertainment, dinner and drinks, door prizes and a silent auction. Admission is $150 general, $100 for HIFF Ohana members. It's a benefit for HIFF. Tickets available at the door. 528-3456 ext. 11, 358-3156.
Show your talent at workshop
Do you have the acting itch? Find out if you have what it takes at an acting and casting workshop for film and TV, from 2 to 6 p.m. today at La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls.
The workshop features director and acting coach Wayne Ward and actor/producer Joji Yoshida. Class includes on-camera cold readings and playbacks; audition preparation techniques; industry recommendations for Hawai'i, Los Angeles and New York; casting database for independent film projects; and talent agency and casting director referrals.
The cost is $52. Information: 395-5927.
Mississippi band to rock Pipeline
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| Rock band 3 Doors Down plays the Pipeline Cafe on April 5. Gannett News Service
Gannett News Service
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Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. today for the April 5 concert by Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down, whose latest album, "Seventeen Days," is at the very top of the Billboards chart.
Show time is 7 p.m. at the Pipeline Cafe. Tickets — $25 general, $50 VIP — will be available at the Blaisdell box office and
Ticketmaster outlets. (877) 750-4400, ticketmaster.com.
Sail back to 16th century
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| The nao Victoria is open to visitors at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
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Step back in time at the Aloha Tower Marketplace today and tomorrow: The nao Victoria, a replica of a 16th-century Spanish sailing ship that's on a 'round-the-world voyage, is open for tours.
In 1519, the Victoria was one of five ships that set sail in an expedition commanded by Ferdinand Magellan, whose mission was to find passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a search for valuable spices. Three years later, only the Victoria completed the journey, and its 18 survivors were the first men to sail around the world.
Today, the replica has an 18-man crew and is navigating by the stars and 16th-century instruments. The living quarters also are in keeping with 16th-century conditions.
This is the only U.S. stop the ship will make. The ship is on its way to Japan to take part in Expo Aichi — the world expo — 2005 and will visit several Japanese ports to share Spanish culture and the ship's research programs.
There are free tours today and tomorrow at 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m.
