her gardening blog

Archive for July, 2008

When it comes to houseplants, they have several basic needs: light, a temperature that is comfortable, humidity, soil, water, fertilizer and physical space. When you place all of these needs into one list, it can seem a little daunting to just cover the basic needs. However, understanding their significance requires a very small investment of your time. And when it comes to houseplants, a little knowledge really does go a long way.

I will cover each of these aspects for you over the next few days. Today we will begin with the first one: Light. Houseplants, just like people need energy to grow. But whereas people seem to obsess over avoiding carbohydrates, plants obsess over making them. I am referring of course, to photosynthesis, or the process by which plants take energy from the sun and convert it into sugars that can be used to grow. This is perhaps one of the most important chemical processes in the world.

Measuring Light

Light is the single most important factor in determining whether your houseplants will thrive or die. It is also one of the most misunderstood factors. It simply comes down to understanding that the amount of light your plants receive will determine if they are rapidly dying plants, slow-dying plants, plants that neither gain nor lose growth, slow-growing plants or rapidly growing plants.

Because light is not able to be held in your hands or poured into a glass and measured, you will need to think about it in terms of intensity, quality and duration. So what does that mean? Here is a general rule of thumb:

• Intensity of light: the strength of light available
• Quality of light: the wavelengths or colors of light
• Duration of light: the amount of time plants are exposed to light in a 24-hour period.

The relationship between these three factors is important to consider. For example, if the quality of light is high, but there isn’t much of it (intensity), pr it doesn’t last very long (duration), will your houseplant do well? Most definitely not. In an ideal world, you would want to give your houseplants the perfect intensity of the highest quality spectrum light for the optimal amount of time. But since that will never happen, you will need to compromise and manipulate it for your houseplant. Although a short burst of perfect light is wonderful, it is better for your houseplant to have 12 hours of lower quality light.

Light Factors

The greatest challenge that you will have is providing your houseplants with enough light. Although initially it may seem like a fairly easy task to provide your houseplants with the ideal quantity of light, it can actually be just a little more complicated. You may want to consider factors that will complicate and reduce the amount of natural light that gets to the leaves of your houseplants. These may include the following:

• Not as much sunlight enters your home in the winter as it does in the summer. In fact, winter light may only be 20% of the light you receive in the summer.

• Moving plants even a few extra feet away from a window will cause a dramatic reduction in sunlight. A few feet may not sound like much, but it is not uncommon to see a 100-fold drop in light when a houseplant is moved from a windowsill to a table a few feet away.

• Windows are not a source of sunlight. They merely allow light to pass through with, at best, 93% sunlight transmission. The sunlight transmission may drop to 50% if your windows are tinted.

• Windows which face the south will usually provide the greatest amount of sun exposure.

There are many other factors that may contribute to inconsistent natural light throughout the year. These include things such as fog, cloud cover, elevation, drapes and window treatments, the presence of ultraviolet-blocking coatings, dirt or dust on the window, reflections from light-colored interior paint and the presence of awnings, overhangs or shade trees near the windows.

In tomorrow’s podcast, I will discuss more about your houseplants and the light they receive by making the most of the artificial light you may have available in your home. What are your biggest challenges with light sources for your houseplants? Leave me a comment and share.

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The other day we talked about choosing a houseplant and how we need to think about our purchase before we make it instead of making an impulse buy. There are so many different houseplants to choose from, that you are sure to find one that you like and that will work in your home. You will probably find several!

Today, I have provided you with a video that shows you several different houseplants that you may choose to purchase for your home. A houseplant can go just about anywhere as this video will show you. So sit back, relax, turn up the volume and enjoy the show!

Which of these many plants did you enjoy the most? Which ones do you already have in your home? Which ones are you interested in adding to your home? Leave me a comment and share!

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One of the biggest problems in the garden at this time of year are pests. These pests can either be insects or mammals. Both of them can decimate a garden and neither one is necessarily better than the other. In light of this problem, I found a great article and post for you by Debra Roby. Here is some of what she had to say:

My approach to pests in the garden or landscape is usually to adopt a technique that is least harmful to the general environment while being highly destructive to the pest itself. So I often use soap, dusts, hot pepper and young men to deal with my pests. Except for muskrats. They actually drove me to buy a .22. But let’s hope your garden invasions don’t end up resorting to that degree of destructive power.

More than likely your invaders this time of year come in one of two varieties: insect or mammal. What can you do to discourage, or eliminate the problem if each case?

Insects:

In many of the spring/fall vegetables, planting time is the most important factor in preventing damage. If you plant brassicas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, beets and swish chard as soon as the soil can be worked but before the first frost-free day, the plants become established and you can pick a crop before warmer weather brings on insect invasions. So it’s too late for early spring plantings, keep in mind that any open garden space come mid- to late-September might be prime territory for a fall crop of these goodies.

Good commercial organic pest controls include Safer Soap, (dehydrates the dasterdly things) diatomaceous earth, (cuts softs bodied insects to shreds. like mini-glass shards) horticultural oils, (smothers those suckers!) and floating row covers (if the pests can’t get in they can’t eat it). ‘Bacillus thurengiensis’, or Bt and it’s known to gardeners everywhere is a bacteria you can apply as the insect worms are appearing. It is deadly to the invaders, but does not harm humans, birds or other animals. Look for it commercial by name or as Dipel.

—-Debra Roby

To read the rest of what Debra has to say, please click here. Now, while you are reading her advice, I’m off to rid my garden and lawn of some pesky grasshoppers. I’ll tell you more about that later. What pests drive you crazy in the garden?

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Many times houseplants are impulse buys. You may see a beautiful plant and before you know it, it is in your cart, paid for at the checkout and in your car on its way to your home. The best way to ensure the longevity of your houseplants is to think before you buy. By simply taking a few minutes to think about what you want from that houseplant and what it will need from you will greatly increase the odds that you will bring home a houseplant that you can enjoy for years to come.

Here are a few tips to help you choose the right houseplant for you:

• Go to the store prepared. Know which directions your rooms face and how much sunlight they each get. Light is the key to growing all plants, so knowing the intensity of the light that shines through your windows is very important when you are selecting houseplants that are appropriate for your home.

• Be sure that you know the temperature of your room—both daytime and nighttime.

• Consider the amount of space you have for your houseplant. Don’t choose a plant that will outgrow your available space too quickly.

• Be honest with yourself about the time and care that you will be able to devote to a houseplant. If you know that you will not be watering your houseplant regularly, then choose the plant accordingly. There are several houseplants that will be forgiving and will grow anyway.

• If you don’t know, then ask. Many garden stores or florists will have staff available to answer your questions. Take advantage of their knowledge. Don’t be afraid to ask what you may feel is a stupid question. Most of the time you won’t be asking anything that hasn’t already been asked. The staff is there to help. Use them.

• Choose your houseplants according to their light requirements. Different houseplants need different amounts of light. Read the tags and follow the suggestions you find there.

• Closely inspect the leaves of the houseplant for general health.

• Look closely for any pests or blotches that may indicate fungal or bacterial problems. Generally, the leaves of the houseplant should look shiny, and not dull, dusty or covered in residue.

• Look for any new leaves on the houseplant. At times it is difficult to distinguish a new leaf from an older one, but the color of the leaf is a clue.

• Check for buds on flowering plants. Plants need to be healthy to support bud production. An abundance of buds is a great indicator that the plant isn’t under any stress.

• Ask about delivery services. It can be difficult to transport large houseplants, so take advantage of any delivery options that may be available.

Choosing a houseplant can be fun if you have taken the time to think about your purchase before you make it. By taking a little time before, you are sure to choose a houseplant that will make you and your home happy. What are some of your favorite houseplants and why?

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In this week’s podcast, we are focusing on how to identify and treat growth problems in roses.  Today I will help you to ascertain which problems may be one of the common horticultural problems in your roses and how you can prevent them or treat them.  These tips will help you to create a rose garden that the entire neighborhood will be talking about.

We will discuss three different problems: 

• Dry canes or roots
• Sucker Growth
• Herbicide Damage

If you have a question for us here at Her Gardening Blog, please leave a comment below the podcast.  We will be happy to answer your questions and build an entire weekly podcast around them.  Enjoy! 

identifying-and-treating-growth-problems-in-roses.mp3

 

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Today I wanted to let you know about a great book that you are sure to want to add to your bookshelf for your garden. This book is chock full of great remedies for your garden and the author even tells you which ones work and which ones don’t and why.

The name of the book is The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why. You can just click on that link to purchase it or on the picture of the book. It will be a great addition to your garden library for organic gardening methods. The author is Jeff Gillman. He has a Ph.D and is an associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. I even found a video for you to watch with the author who explains a couple of the remedies and even one that isn’t in the book. You can watch that short video here:

What are some of your favorite organic home remedies for the garden? Please leave a comment and share.

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Yesterday, I briefly touched on Black Spot in Roses. But I felt that this topic deserved a little more attention as it is a common problem for roses. Just knowing how to treat or even avoid the fungus disease Black Spot can help a home owner grow beautiful, healthy roses. And that is what we want, right?

Today I have provided a video that talks more about the disease and what to do if your roses should acquire it. In this video, Dr. Steve Vann, Extension Urban Plant Pathologist, tries to calm fears by showing how to control the devastating disease. He works for the Arkansas Extension office, but his advice will work in any area.

So, now that you have learned more about Black Spot in Roses, what are you going to do to prevent it in your rose garden? Please leave me a comment and share.

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Yesterday we began discussing the many disease problems which can affect your roses. We covered how to diagnose and treat three different disease problems such gall, powdery mildew and downy mildew. Today we are going to talk about three more diseases which are common in roses and how to treat them.

Symptom: Yellow blotches on upper surfaces of leaves, small powdery orange or black postules on underside of mature leaves.

Cause: Rust—This is a fungal disease that may appear when days are warm and nights are cool and moist.

Treatment: Ensure that the rose plants have good air circulation and ample sunlight. If further treatment is necessary, you will need to treat with a fungicidal treatment that is listed for rust control.

Symptom: Brown dieback of cut canes; brown fuzzy mold on debris around the rose plant. In severe cases, the entire flower bud rots.

Cause: Botrytis blight (grey mold)—This fungal growth favors rainy cool periods or nights with high humidity.

Treatment: Remove all of the damaged areas of the rose plant and clean up leaves and debris from below the plant to prevent the fungus from spreading. Maintain good air circulation around your roses.

Symptoms: Dark black spots with irregular edges on the leaves. The spots tend to be round, varying in size from pinpoint to quarter-sized. Half of leaf yellows or leaf drops completely from the rose plant.

Cause: Black spot—This fungal disease favors rainy weather, poor air circulation or improper watering.

Treatment: Spray-Dust-Watering technique. After winter pruning, apply a dormant lime-sulphur spray. Remove dropped leaves and other debris. During the growing season, spray with fungicides listing rose black spot as a target on a rotational basis. Fungus spores are found on the undersides of leaves, so spray upward from underneath the rose plant. Spray in the early morning when the weather is calm and cool. Water your roses early to allow the foliage to dry thoroughly.

Now that you know some of the most common disease problems in roses, which ones have you had experience with? What have you done to control or eradicate the disease? Leave me a comment and share.

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Last week we began discussing the many different problems which are common in roses and are caused by insects. We discussed how to diagnose and treat insect problems such as beetles, rose midge, leaf cutter bees, rose cane borers, aphids, thrips, leaf rollers and spider mites. This week we are going to address several more common problems which may be affecting your roses, such as disease and how to treat those problems.

Symptom: Tumor-like growths on canes, roots, or at the bud union.

Cause: Gall (aerial, crown or root)—This is a bacterial pathogen that enters through a wound on your rose plant or by a pruning tool that is contaminated.

Treatment: Prune away any sections which are infected if possible. Sterilize your pruning shears and other hand tools with bleach or alcohol to prevent the bacteria from spreading. Any plants which are seriously weakened should be destroyed. You will need to treat the soil with a bactericide or leave it fallow for two seasons before you replant.

Symptom: White powdery material appears on young growth.

Cause: Powdery Mildew—This is a fungal disease that is fostered by warm days and cool nights.

Treatment: At first you should try spraying the affected areas with a solution of baking soda and dish soap. Make sure that the plants have good air circulation and an ample amount of sunlight. If you need to treat your roses further, then you will need to treat them with a fungicidal product for powdery mildew control.

Symptom: Dark, irregular splotches on foliage, dropping of apparently healthy leaves, sections of yellow leaves.

Cause: Downy Mildew—This is a fungal disease that may appear when nights are cool and humid. This mildew can develop very rapidly.

Treatment: Water your rose plants early in the day to allow the surface of them to dry thoroughly. Avoid overhead irrigation and prevent water from collecting around the plants. Cut the defoliated plant back. Clean up any debris and then dust with sulfur. Then spray the roses with a fungicide that lists downy mildew as a target.

Which of the above problems do you have or have had with your roses? Which methods have you used to eradicate the disease? Leave me a comment and share. Tomorrow I will discuss problems with rust, blight and black spot in your roses.

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