PLANT BASICS
BY GEORGE EDGAR
When I answer questions at the garden
center where I work in the summer, or at church, or when someone calls
me, or on the phone for Backyard Farmer, I can usually put the questions
into one of three categories: A.
“How do I ……?” For example, “How do I prune my tomatoes?” Or
“How
do I or can I prune my Lilac, Forsythia, or Raspberries?” B. “When do I …….?” For example, "When do
I prune my Lilac,
Forsythia, or Raspberries?” Or "When do I put Grub Control on my
lawn?” Or “When do I spray my roses for blackspot?” C. “Why is this or that happening to my
plant?” For example, “Why don’t I have as many tomatoes as I did last
year? Or “Why are my
pine tree needles turning brown and falling off?”
The answers for categories A and B on
“How” and “When” comes from experience and should come from University
based research. The answers to the “Why” questions (C) usually take some
inquiry about cultural practices. Cultural practice means “How are you
taking care of the plant in question?” One big problem is the person
usually does not know the kind of plant, let alone the variety. If you
are a regular reader of our articles you know that there are different
plant families and within them are different varieties or cultivars.
Some plants require more care or different care than other plants. This
is why you need to keep the tag that came with a plant or write it down
someplace so if you have problems you can find answers much faster.
However, I try to determine what the plant is from the description, a
picture, or a sample, and then try to answer the question.
Regardless of the plant, I usually ask
about the 5 basic needs of a plant in order to see what may be affecting
plant growth and development. How the person has been taking care of the
plant in question makes a difference.
1. SOIL
Soil is one of
the most important elements a plant needs in order to start, grow,
develop, and reproduce. An old saying is, “When starting a plant or
garden, for every dollar spent 90 cents should be spent on soil, and 10
cents on the plant material.
I usually ask
“What kind of soil is the plant in? If a houseplant, is it in the proper
kind of potting soil? If outside is it hard clay soil that holds the
moisture and does not let the water drain and then dries to a hard crust
or have you added organic matter so the roots of the plant can grow?”
Plants do not
grow in the soil, but the roots grow in the air pockets between the soil
particles. If you have hard clay, there are very few. Compaction makes
this worse and the main source of compaction in our yard and garden is
from traffic by pets, kids, adults, bicycles and even lawnmowers,
especially riding mowers. Don’t walk on wet soil. If you have sand,
the particles are farther apart and the water drains too fast so the
plant does not get enough. If a plant is in a container the same holds
true. However, some plants like CACTUS will drown in regular potting mix
and needs lots of sand.
2. LIGHT
Every plant
needs light for photosynthesis. Light hitting the leaves and bark helps
the plant produce food for its growth. Some plants require full sun or
if inside a very bright light and at the other extreme some plants can
not tolerate full sun and do best in dense shade or can live inside
where there is very little light. So I usually ask the person to
describe the kind of light the plant is getting. Is it in full sun,
partial shade or full shade? If inside, is it in a sunny window, under
artificial light, or in a north window?
3. WATER
Every plant
needs air and water to grow and survive. Most plants grow in soil in the
ground or in a container and the air and water are taken in by the
roots. However, there are some that are air plants and the roots get
their oxygen directly from the air. They still need water. If a plant is
in the ground or in a container and it gets too much water it drowns as
it cannot get the air the roots need. Plants in my pond can survive as
the roots get their air from the soil and water but do not rot. So I
ask, “How often do you water your plant and how do you water?” Most
plants do not like to have water on their leaves (especially African
Violets) and even some water garden plants like water lilies and Lotus
do not like to have water splashing on their leaves.
4.
HUMIDITY
Humidity is
defined as the amount of moisture in the air or how damp the atmosphere
is. Here in
5.
NUTRIENTS
I have left
nutrients (fertilizer) to the last as it is the least important of the 5
but usually the first thing someone adds to a plant that is struggling.
Too often nutrients are added even if they are not needed. Many times we
take too good care of our plants as we add too many nutrients and too
much water. I ask, “How often do you fertilize this plant and with what
kind of fertilizer?” All fertilizers have three numbers. The first
number is for the amount of nitrogen which makes the foliage grow. The
second is for phosphorous which is needed for good root growth and
flowering. The third is for the amount of potash which is needed for
hardiness. The bag or box will also list some of the micronutrients that
are important but most plants do not need a great amount.
Learn what cultural conditions your plant
needs, then diagnose your own problems by asking yourself the above
questions. If you know what cultural conditions your plants like, and
then you treat them accordingly, you will be amazed how much better they
grow. Copyright 2012 |