How to Keep Plants Healthy and Beautiful the Natural Way

Did you know plants have an immune system just like people do? The healthier the plant, the more powerful its immune system is to fight off pests and disease. When plants are stressed due to heat, drought, poor soil or the wrong exposure, they grow weaker, and problems set in. The two most important things you can do are to keep your plants healthy, and frequently inspect them for early warning signs.

No two years are ever the same in gardens. This is due to variation in the weather, with some years warmer or cooler, wetter or drier. When conditions are right for a particular pest or disease, it will flourish, but if things change the next year, you may never see it at all. However, there may be persistent problems due to susceptibility of a certain plant variety or something unique in your yard.

Plants contain special chemicals that make them distasteful to bugs. When they are weakened by stress, the chemical levels are reduced and the plant becomes vulnerable. Often bugs attack the smallest, spindly plant of a group and will never spread to the healthy ones because their chemicals are more concentrated. These chemicals are so effective they are extracted for botanical pesticides such as pyrethrum, which is derived from a species of chrysanthemum. For every pest in nature there is a predator bug that will leave the plant alone while dining on the bad bugs. These collectively are called beneficials, which leads to pest population explosions once the predators are gone. The new approach to pest control is through least toxic measures designed to protect beneficials while controlling pests.

Identification of pests is your key to control. It also tells you what kind of damage potential they represent. For example, a gang of aphids can distort leaves, but they are nothing compared to a gang of armyworms that can defoliate a shrub overnight. These four are the most common bugs found in gardens: Aphids are sucking insects that cluster on new growth. Spider Mites are microscopic and dwell on the backside of the leaf. Caterpillars are voracious larvae that are very dangerous to all plants. Snails and slugs can wade through you flowers in short order.

It is far easier to wipe out a few bugs when they first appear than to control and infestation later. Frequent inspection of your plants means that you’ll catch problems early. Once the pest is identified, and you can bring samples to a Sheridan Gardens Nursery location, you can chose the least toxic controls. A spray of water will knock off many aphids or mites from the leaves. Clean, dust free leaves tend to keep insects away. Release Lady Bugs or Green Lacewing larvae, which will feed on the bad bugs. Hand pick or cut off single branches that have insects or scale. Spray with Pestfighter Oil for insects and to shine up the leaves so Powdery Mildew spores can’t get a grip on the leaves. Spray with BT Biological Control for Caterpillars. Apply Sluggo (Iron Phosphate) to control snails and mulch with Coco Mulch, snails won’t walk through it. Space your plants so air can circulate around the leaves; avoid watering at nighttime to prevent mildew and diseases, especially on lawns, roses and flowers.

By all means, bring samples and questions to your favorite MasterNursery Professional at the Sheridan Gardens nearest you. We have most of the answers for you.