Interiorscaping Compendium: NUTRITION, SOIL, SOIL ENVIRONMENT, WATER RETENTION

Environmental factors for growing a plant:
Light, water, temperature, humidity, ventilation, fertilization, and soil
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/houseplant/houseplant.html

LIGHT:
tips on light:
http://www.thesill.com/pages/plant-care
South windows provide the most sunlight, followed by east and west, and North windows provide the least sunlight. You can tell how much light an area has by how clear of shadows it makes. Plants can also be harmed by too much direct light (leaves can burn). If you do not have windows in your space- get a low light plant and it can live off of artificial light in the room.

WATER:

tips on watering:
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/water-well?page=0,0
You can check the soil's moisture with your finger (if the top inch is dry it is time to water). Watering in the morning is better so the plants can drink the water before it is evaporated in the heat of the day (and so it wont get fungal disease if constantly wet at night). Overwatering causes a lot of problems. When you do water- do so thoroughly.

TEMPERATURE:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/weather/temp-houseplants.html
Most plants like temperatures between 60-80 F. Basically if a human would be comfortable with the temperature- most likely a plant would be too.

HUMIDITY:
why plants need humidity and how to give it to them:
http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/humidity.html

http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-care-for-house-plants3.htm

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/houseplants/care/houseplant-humidity-guidelines/

Plants have humidity in their natural environments- some ways to give them humidity indoors are: humidifiers, watered rock trays underneath the plant, and spraying the leaves.

VENTILATION:
ventilation tips and why it is important for growers:
http://www.just4growers.com/stream/ventilation-and-environmental-control/ventilation-basics.aspx

Plants need moving air (but not heaters or coolers blowing directly on them). Still air can cause diseases.

SOIL:

Plants need a good mix of different kinds of soil to get good nutrients. Different soils will have different capacities to hold moisture (different plants have different needs).