My love for plants is the thread that ties together my hobby of gardening with my professional life as a horticulturist.
Whether I am at a friend’s house for an evening soiree, or plugging away trying to care for thousands of plants, I’m approached with the same question: 'what is wrong with this plant?'
Inevitably a phone emerges from a back pocket with a few pictures of a plant looking pathetic and miserable.
With a houseplant, I usually say the same thing every time. 'Too little light, too much water.' Studies have shown that people predictably overwater a plant that they have paid for, holds sentimental value, or is showing signs of stress (even stress from overwatering). Use the old pointer finger to see if dryness is really the problem.
For today, though, I want to broach problems for plants in our landscape. If you take anything at all from this column, please let it be this:
PLANT LANDSCAPE PLANTS IN THE FALL
You can avoid most of the other problems you’re facing simply by following that simple suggestion.
The 'gardening gene' kicks in for most of us between St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.
When this gene switches on, we’re compelled to go buy a bunch of trees, shrubs and vines that look dazzling, perched on their tables at the store, plump and satisfied, gloriously adorned with flowers.
Although we can plant them and care for them, we’ve got a couple of strikes against us right off the bat. Most impor-tantly, the roots will have almost no time to develop, and are totally reliant on you for water, rather than seeking it for themselves.
When summer’s heat descends upon the shaky new transplant, a quick demise is almost inevitable.
Try to plant a tree or shrub this fall around Halloween. There has been tons of news lately about how tree planting is our best defense against climate change (if you need extra motivation to get out there and plant!).
Give it water to get up and running, a thick layer of mulch, and if you’re really serious about its success, add a mycorrhizal supplement to the root zone (don’t worry, the garden centers know what this is).
As your new plant sits over winter, it will be developing a complex network of roots every day, each one capable of offering up more and more water and nutrients, enabling the plant to better endure the rigors of summer. ❦
William Glenn is the co-owner of Barton Springs Nursery.
