Certified MassHort Master Gardeners are available to answer your gardening questions throughout the year. 
| Growing Your Plants for the Flower Show |
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The Boston Flower & Garden Show opens in ten weeks, which may seem like an eternity as winter bears down, but not if you're contemplating entering a plant in the Amateur Horticulture competition. Now is the time to start getting your plant ready for the show. What follows is also an excellent guide to caring for any houseplant that you want to keep at its best.
Here's how to determine what's causing your plant's brown tips: first, make certain you know how much water the plant wants. Use a trusted houseplant guide book to determine whether your plant likes soil that dries out between watering, is just barely damp or always wet. Check with your finger before watering for an instant read. Remember that clay pots dry out much faster than plastic or glazed ceramic and adjust your schedule accordingly. Always water until water comes out of the drainage holes freely, ensuring the soil is wetted through and accumulated salts are flushed out. Never let the plant sit in a saucerful of water. Fertilize carefully to avoid the build-up of salts in the pot. The amount of fertilizer that a plant needs, or can use, is based on the type of plant, the time of year, the amount of light it receives and so forth. Again, know what your plant needs and avoid one-size-fits-all gardening. If your home has a water softener, use distilled water to eliminate the salts from your plant's diet. One common contaminant can be substantially reduced by simply allowing the container of water to sit, uncovered, overnight; the chlorine will evaporate. Humidity can be increased by misting plants daily or keeping plants together in a group. Setting pots on a bed of pebbles just above the water level provides continuous humidity.
Not all bugs are bad bugs. Some are harmless visitors, some are carnivores who will eat aphids, mites and other vegetarians. Don't run for the pesticide sprayer until you are certain that what you see is a danger to your plant. And then use the safest method possible, a soapy water bath, a dilute alcohol spray or a Q-tip cleaning. Frequent inspection means you find the problem while it is easily handled. You should also be starting to groom the plant for shape and size. Branches growing in a way that makes the plant unbalanced may need to be trimmed back. Never neglect removing dying or damages leaves. Healthy new leaves will usually appear quickly. If you wait to do all the grooming just before the show, your plants will not show at their best. You've got ten weeks to make your plant a blue ribbon winner. Use them wisely and you'll have houseplants that will look good not just for a few days in March, but all spring as well. |
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