Many plants purchased from nurseries are root bound, also called pot bound, and the internet provides a variety of suggestions for dealing with this problem. Slice the sides, cut the bottom off, butterfly them or don’t do anything at all. Which method is best?
Is the best fix for this problem different for different kinds of plants? Should trees be treated the same perennials or annuals?
Let’s see what the science says.
In a previous post I described the right way to plant a tree or shrub. If you follow that process, you will have success most of the time. Today, I’d like to look at a new method for treating trees before planting: washing and pruning roots.
Science does not stand still. Tree researchers are continually looking at ways to improve the planting process, and in recent years a new way of handling the tree roots has come to light. It goes against everything that makes common sense, but it could have some benefits.
Growing marginally hardy or non-hardy plants in cold climates usually involves growing them in containers and moving them indoors before winter. Everyone loves to see houseplants flourish when grown outside during warmer months – but no one likes bugs hitchhiking back inside! Fortunately, there are ways to remove unwelcome insects before they enter your home.
What do you give plants to drink besides water and plant food? This question was asked on Facebook and I was surprised at the number of household kitchen products that are given to plants. What did not surprise me was that not a single person provided any evidence that any of them actually worked.
A very common expression people use to justify their actions is, “my plants love it”.
I hate that phrase. Plants do not show love – they don’t even say thank you. If you give something to a healthy plant you have no way of knowing if it is harming the plant or doing some good, unless you see huge changes in the plant, and even then the changes could be due to any number of other causes.
In this post I discuss 13 items people feed to plants.
The use of wood chips for mulch is very popular but there are also many myths about it. Will it rob nitrogen from the soil? Is the dye on black mulch toxic? Do wood chips attract termites and can it ignite spontaneously?
These are just some of the myths I’ll investigate in this post.
Fish fertilizer is a common organic fertilizer that is recommended for both houseplants and the garden. It has a strong following and its proponents feel that it is better than any other type of fertilizer, but how does it really stack up against the most common organic fertilizer; compost?
Fish fertilizer – are the accolades true, or a bit fishy?
The popularity of indoor plants has skyrocketed in the last year and so have the myths surrounding them. I have gathered a long list of common houseplant myths to save you the trouble of making mistakes and getting into bad habits. Each myth has a brief description, and where appropriate, a link to a more detailed discussion.
Growing indoor plants is fairly easy if you take some time to research the plant you are growing and follow some basic rules. Don’t get sucked into internet hype about new ways to deal with problems. Experienced gardeners keep things simple.
Indoor plants do better with higher humidity and there are several recommended ways to create this increased humidity. Some of these suggestions, like misting and pebble trays, have been used for many years and are still being recommended today. But do they work? Do they increase humidity and are they good for houseplants?
The heating we use in winter dries the air in our home and this makes it more difficult for plants to grow. The same thing can happen with air conditioning in summer. Tropical houseplants are particularly vulnerable.
What is the best way to increase the humidity around your indoor plants and how high should the humidity level be?
There is a lot of talk about companion planting, especially for the vegetable garden, and marigolds seem to be at the top of most plant lists. They make other plants grow better and their strong smell keeps pests away. They even stop root knot nematodes.
Much of this information is anecdotal and I suspect some of it is just made up to sell some popular books. What do marigolds actually do in the garden?
In 1992, The New York Times reported that “Crop plants sprayed with diluted methanol showed significantly greater yields while requiring less water. Cabbages doubled in size, wheat seeds doubled in weight and number, the water needs of cotton crops dropped by half, tomatoes grew faster and were significantly sweeter, roses grew faster and produced more flowers, and strawberries, eggplants and watermelons gave better yields.”
That was almost 30 years ago. What does science say today, about using methanol on plants?
If you spend any time on social media or reading popular gardening blogs you already know that hydrogen peroxide does all kinds of useful things in the garden. You will see blog headings such as, “11 Mega Reasons why Hydrogen Peroxide for Plants is a Must” and “10 Amazing Uses of Hydrogen peroxide for Plants in the Garden.”
This stuff must be fantastic! Or not.
Not every claim is a complete myth, but many of these claims are just wishful thinking. Time to look at some science and get down to the reality of using hydrogen peroxide in the garden.
The common advice is to water in the morning and not at night because watering at night keeps leaves wet all night and allows fungal spores to infect leaves. This seems to make sense, but is this really true? Do leaves stay wet a long time if watered at night?
What do farmers do? If they have to irrigate 100 acres, do they stop watering in the afternoon to reduce fungal infection?
Another common piece of advice is to water the soil only. Don’t get the leaves wet and you will have less fungal problems. I have always felt that water evaporates fairly quickly so is this really a concern?
