Plant Care Archives - Page 9 of 9

Seed Dormancy – Are Seeds Really Dormant?

I have always been fascinated with seed germination and seed dormancy. The idea that a complete plant can be grown from a small hard nugget of cells has to be one of natures best creations. As you become familiar with seeds you soon realize that the germination process is not as straight forward as you might think. For many plants you just can’t take seed, plant them, and have germination in a few days.

Every seed seems to require its own process for germinating. Some need to be stratified, some scarified, and some need cold-warm cycles. There are many options for getting seed to germinate and I’ll discuss these in a future post.

The term ‘dormancy’ is used to describe a seeds reluctance to germinate; or more correctly seed dormancy to distinguish it from plant dormancy. The seed lies dormant until environmental conditions are favorable for it to germinate – or at least that is the impression you are left with. But is the seed really dormant? What does dormancy really mean? Good questions that I’ll try to answer in this post.

seed doemancy, plant development diagram, gardenmyths — Plant development diagram, developed by GardenMyths.com

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Plant Seeds – Getting Started

Fall is coming to a close and I have been collecting plant seeds from the garden for several months. In a few cases I want the seed so that I can grow more plants, but most of the plant seed I collect will be donated to a couple organizations that operate seed exchanges. Other people around the world are doing exactly the same thing. In December, members of these organizations are allowed to order these seeds. That is where my fun starts.

I will have access to thousands of different types of seed. Anything from perennials and grasses to shrubs and trees. The groups I belong to don’t distribute vegetable seed or house plant seed, but I am sure organizations also exist for these kind of seeds.

Over the next month or two I plan to write a number of posts to tell you everything there is to know about growing plants from seed. Well, almost everything. After 40 years I am still learning.

Plant Seeds - Propagation Secrets — Plant Seeds – Propagation Secrets

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Fertilizer – What Do Plants Need

In my post Fertilizer: Selecting the Right NPK Ratio, I explained that you don’t feed plants – you feed the soil. Your job as a gardener is to add missing nutrients to the soil. If the soil contains all the nutrients plants need to live – the plants will do well.

The answer to the question, what fertilizer do plants need, is very simple. They need any nutrient that is deficient in the soil. If your soil is not deficient of nutrients – you do NOT need to fertilize.

But how do we know which nutrient(s) is deficient in the soil? I’ll try to answer this question in this post. In order to do that, we need to better understand what nutrients do in the soil.

fertilizer woodchips — One of the best fertilizers – mulch with wood chips

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Fertilizer – Selecting The Right NPK Ratio

We eat 3 times a day and the food we eat provides all of the nutrients we need to live. The chemicals in food are used by our bodies to grow and maintain our body parts. The protein you eat helps build muscles. Carbohydrates provide energy that is used for all kinds of things such as moving, breathing, thinking and eating more food.

Most of the food we eat is in the form of large molecules such as protein, carbohydrates, DNA, and fats. Our digestive system takes these large molecules and breaks them down into smaller molecules like simple sugars and nitrates. Our bodies then use these small molecules as building blocks to build new large molecules. Our bodies are actually a very efficient recycling plant. We take food in, break it down into basic building blocks, and then use these building blocks to create complex body parts.

Plants differ from humans and other animals in that they do not have a digestive system. Therefore, they are not able to break down large molecules. Plants must start with small molecules like nitrate and phosphate and build the large molecules they need.

Fertilizer - select the right NPK — Fertilizer – select the right NPK, by Robert Pavlis

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Spring Bulbs – Buying and Planting

It is fall and some gardeners are getting tired of their gardens. So what do they do? They go out and buy bulbs for spring flowers. For a true gardener there is always next year.

This post will walk you through the steps of how to buy bulbs and how to plant bulbs for a great spring garden.

Spring bulbs - Daffodils — Spring bulbs – Daffodils are squirrel proof, by Robert Pavlis

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Planting Zones and Hardiness Zones

Planting zones, also called hardiness zones and gardening zones, help you select plants that will grow in your climate. In this blog, I will answer the following questions:

What are planting zones?
How do you determine your own hardiness zone?
Are the USDA zones the only planting zones? What about other countries?
How do you select better plants by knowing your planting zone?

Berkheya purpurea by Robert Pavlis, planting zones — *Berkheya purpurea* by Robert Pavlis

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Watering Orchids With Ice Cubes – Does It Harm orchids?

Many of you think orchids are difficult plants to keep in the home – they are not! The correct amount of water is critical, and to try and simplify watering someone came up with the bright idea that if you put an ice cube in the pot once a week, the orchid would prosper. The intent here was good. Make the watering procedure as simple as possible, so people can follow it. Unfortunately, it is a really stupid idea!

I’ll show you a much better way to water your plants – a method that keeps my orchids blooming all year long.

Watering Orchids With Ice Cubes 2 — Watering Orchids With Ice Cubes, by Robert Pavlis

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Eggshells Control Slugs – Do They Really Work?

Eggshells control slugs, according to most books, and all kinds of gardening experts. Slugs and snails can be a real problem in the garden, eating all those precious plants. It seems to be a constant battle and eggshells are routinely recommended.

Do they really work?

Eggshells controlling slugs in garden — Eggshells trying to control slugs in the garden

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Compost Accelerators, Starters and Activators

Compost accelerators, compost starters and compost activators are all terms used for products that are added to the compost pile to make better compost and to make composting faster. What is the difference between these terms? Are they required for composting, and how much faster is the composting process if you use them?

compost accelerators, compost starts, compost activators, compost boosters — Compost Accelerators, Starters and Activators

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How to Compost: Browns & Greens

The common advice for making compost is that you should use the correct ratio of browns and greens. Why is this important? What is the correct ratio? Are dried green grass clippings, a brown or a green? Good questions that will help you understand how to compost.

how to compost - browns and greens — How to compost – browns and greens

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Transplanting – Should You Reduce Top Growth?

When transplanting trees, shrubs, or perennials, you tend to damage the root system. Common advice suggests that you should reduce the amount of top growth to match the root loss. This reduces the ratio of leaves to roots and helps keep the plant in relative balance, making it easier for the plant to recover from transplant shock.

Is this sound advice? Does it apply to all kinds of plants?

Abstract painting of tree roots by Robert Pavlis

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Should You Water When Plant Leaves Wilt?

When the leaves of a plant wilt it is a sign that the plant needs water, and therefore it is a good time to water–right? Maybe. The plant might need to be watered, but it is also possible that water will harm the plant.

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