Have you ever gone to the garden center, been wowed by a plant,
bought it, brought it home and then never have it look quite the
same again? Yeah, me too.
Have you ever gone to the garden center, been wowed by a plant, bought it, brought it home and then never have it look quite the same again? Yeah, me too.
Such an about-face can take place due to a number of factors – from watering and fertilizing to even where you plant it. Here are a few tips to ensure your nursery-bought plants will perform the way you hope they do.
Watering
First of all, plants grown in containers will dry out many times faster than those planted in the ground. So if you plant your new specimen in a container, expect to have to water it more frequently. Depending on the size of the container and whether it’s sitting in direct sun or not, you may have to water every day during warm weather.
Regardless of whether you plant your specimen in a pot or in the ground, one quick trick will tell you if it needs water or not. Stick your index finger into the soil right up to your first knuckle. If the soil feels dry, the plant needs watering.
Fertilizing
Instead of giving your plants one huge dose of fertilizer at the start of the season, consider feeding them minute doses at regular intervals. I fertilize twice a month during the growing season in spring and summer. I alternate between liquid fertilizer, such as Miracle Grow, and dry fertilizer. Sometimes, I even add a timed-release fertilizer like Osmocote. By fertilizing often, but at lesser strengths, you avoid the chance of overfertilzing. Too much fertilizer can “burn” plants and sometimes even kill them.
Deadheading and pruning
Deadheading is simply a fancy horticultural term for removing old and dead flowers. Taking off old flowers before the plant sets seeds fools it into putting its energy into more buds and flowers. The job of a plant in life is to die and produce more seeds. Deadheading interrupts this cycle and the plant will keep trying to flower.
Good hygiene
This goes along with deadheading and pruning, but the key to plant health is good hygiene. Besides picking off dead flowers, look for diseased leaves and pick these off, too. Also, clear the ground underneath the plant of fallen leaves, branches and weeds. Debris on the ground is a breeding ground for insects and disease. Likewise, pruning off dead and broken branches on the plant also removes a potential entry point for insects and disease.
Location
Just like real estate, where you end up planting your specimen will go a long way toward its success. Placing a shade-loving plant in sun will mean death; planting a sun-loving plant in shade could lead to diseases like powdery mildew and also death. Take the time to find out the cultural needs of your newly-purchased plants. Often, this is as easy as reading the plastic label that your plants come with. Almost always, these labels will say whether the plant needs sun, shade or partial sun/shade.
Keith Muraoka lives and works in Gilroy. His award-winning column has been in this newspaper since 1984. E-mail him at ga********@*ps.net, or write him in c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, CA 95021.
