Gardening Pleasures

Posts Tagged ‘plants’

Ensuring you get the best from the plants you buy

Plants for containers and bedding as well as vegetables and fruits are readily available during the spring and summer.  Many can be obtained in your local garden centres or by mail order and over the Internet.  They come in various stages of growth and sizes and the cost will depend on how much time and effort the grower has put into the plant prior to you buying it.

Take a bit of time once you get your new plants home to re-pot or plant them out.  With care and attention to watering, feeding and pest control, newly purchased plants will give you pleasure for this season, and depending on the plant, perhaps many more to come.

Potting
Particularly for summer hanging baskets or window boxes, use good quality compost for potting up newly purchased plants. Soil-less composts, while light and easy to handle, will dry out quickly and plants that are fast-growing, like fuchsias, will quickly be short of the nutrients they require.

Another important factor is the stability of the plant. For reliable results choose a compost (such as John Innes No.1) that is at least partially soil-based.  This will also reduce the consequences of over-watering.  To ensure the plant remains upright, use a small (3.5 inch /9cm) pot, and  lightly firm the compost. For the first time, water the plant thoroughly to settle the compost. Place the plant in a light, cool place to help it recover quickly from being transplanted and new growth should begin quite soon.

Growing On
As your plants develop a good root ball, they can be moved to their final positions, whether that is a container, basket or open ground. To check on root growth, carefully remove the plant from the pot, the white roots should fill the pot evenly. Using a similar compost such as John Innes No.2, and plant it out or plant in a pot.

Watering
During the growing season, watering is your most important task. Two basic rules apply – never allow the plant to stand in waterlogged conditions and never allow the plants to dry out completely. Water standing in a tray or plant saucer for a  short period will not create any problems, however significant over-watering can often result in leaves and flowers dropping. The best time to water is in the evening, be sure to moisten the soil evenly. An overhead spray can be beneficial to plants in very hot weather.

Pests & Diseases
Many plants such as Fuchsias actually suffer relatively infrequently from diseases although the most likely pests are aphids – greenfly and whitefly.  However with regular inspection, and spraying if necessary, these insects can easily be kept at bay.  Insect sprays for aphids are readily available from garden centres. Avoid treating plants during the middle of the day or in bright sunlight. Always read the label and use garden chemicals accordingly.

With fuchsias, the two main diseases to look out for are botrytis or grey mould and rust. Be careful about watering, feeding and growing conditions and inspect your plants regularly for any of the telltale signs of disease. If you see indications and treatment is required, use one of proprietary products that are widely available.

Once you have picked what garden you want, there are many other factors you need to decide before you actually get to work with your gardening tools. Mainly you need to choose its location. This is usually decided by several factors: How you will water it, how much shade it needs, etc. Some of these questions can be very important in deciding whether your garden lives or dies, so don’t take them lightly. You need to take each one into special consideration.

Choosing the garden’s location within your yard is one of the more important things to decide. You want to choose a location that will provide an ideal climate for the plants in your garden. I don’t know what type of garden you’re dealing with so I can’t give you specific advice, but if you do a Google search for the plant you’re dealing with then you’ll find a plethora of sites informing you about the perfect conditions for its growing. After this, it’s just a matter of finding the most shaded or most sunny spot in your yard.

Another deciding factor is how you plan on watering your garden. If you have a sprinkler system already installed for your grass, then it could be a good idea to put your garden in the middle of your yard. Then it will get watered at the same time, and require no extra work from your part. But if this doesn’t provide for a good location for your garden, then you might end up watering it by hose or dragging a sprinkler out there. In this case, just make sure your garden is within the ideal distance for a hose to reach. While this might not seem like a good thing to base the entire location of your garden on, you’ll be surprised at how nice it is to plan out in advanced.

Getting the perfect amount of shade for your garden can be a difficult endeavor. Once you have a basic idea for where you want your garden, you might want to watch it and record how many hours it spends in sunlight and how many it spends in shade. Compare your findings to an online web site, and you should be able to determine whether the spot you chose is ideal or not for planting and starting your garden in. Of course the amount will change as the seasons change, but this should give you a good idea of what to basically expect for the rest of the year. If necessary, later you can put up some kind of shade to protect your garden from getting too much sun.

After you’ve determined the ideal place for your garden and whether it has the right amount of sunlight, and whether you will be able to conveniently water it, you’re one step closer to actually starting your garden. Of course there are other factors that I have overlooked here, but mostly you should be able to decide whether your location is good or not based on common sense. Just think: If I were a plant, would I be able to flourish here? If you can honestly answer yes, then I think its time for you to head out to your local gardening store and buy the necessary soil and fertilizer to get started! Have fun!