How to Select Quality, Healthy Plants for Your Home


Love live plants? Scared to death of killing them? There is a lot you can do to ensure you get the healthiest plant possible for your home. Yes, you must keep it alive, but knowing how to select a quality plant from the nursery can give you a head start in the maintenance process. Look for the signs of a healthy plant, or rather, look for the signs of what might be killing the plant before you even bring it home.

The Low Cost Solution

In most cases the discount stores will carry a lower quality plant. They are demanding low pricing from their suppliers so they can sell at the lowest price in town. In order to supply these low cost plants there are compromises that have to take place. At the growing level, the less time the plant is at the nursery the less it costs to produce. Therefore the nursery wants the plant to grow fast and they give them high levels of fertilizer and light to push the growth (think of this like steroids for plants). When these "unacclimated" plants leave the nursery and go into your favorite big box store... and subsequently into your low light interior they are going to experience a huge shock and there will be a reaction, the severity of that reaction will depend on the plant, but most all plants will react by dropping a lot of their leaves. Also, the insect control programs are designed to use the very lowest cost insecticides which result in keeping the insect populations at bay so they do not damage the crop, but they do not eradicate the insects completely. When the plants leave the nursery and arrive in your home the insect control stops and the insects will now be free to populate and present a problem to you. They will not only damage the plant, but have a high potential of spreading to other plants in the home.

The Quality Solution (The Road Less Traveled)

If you purchase your plants from a quality nursery or plant store who invest in quality plants they will, in most cases, have what are called acclimated plants. Acclimated plants are plants at the growing nursery, which once they reach salable size are placed under shade to get them ready for the lower light they will be getting once they leave the nursery. Also, fertilization is cut way back and watered to leach the excess fertilizers out of the soil. A good quality plant grower will have disciplined and effective insect control programs so the plants will be free of eggs and small infestations when they leave the nursery. The better chemicals that they use can be very expensive. Some running as high as $900/pound. No that is not a misprint it is $900.00. The point being is that you will have to pay more for a good quality plant, but believe me it will be well worth the additional cost. However; even though it comes from a good supplier there are there is still a chance that there may be insects on the plant or some other defect.

When you have found a good quality supplier, you've found a resource that is always going to have more knowledge about every plant they are selling. Subsequently they are going to be able to help you inspect the plants more thoroughly to determine that you are getting the healthiest one available. THIS KIND OF SERVICE IS RARE AT A BIG BOX RETAILER.

Know What to Look For

PEST 1 // When inspecting a plant, look closely at the undersides of the leaves for spider mites. If the plant has spider mites they are hard to see with the naked eye, but if you hold a piece of white paper under the leaves and tap the leaves, the mites will fall onto the paper. Watch the paper closely and you will be able to see the little buggers move around. When you are looking at the topside of the leaves, the damage presents itself as a yellowish mottling pattern. The nurseryman will be able to help you inspect as well.

PEST 2 // Another pest to look for which is common on indoor plants is the mealybug. When there is a heavy infestation of mealybug these little guys are easy to spot. They appear to be a cottony looking glob about the size of an apple seed. If you don't see any immediately, look down into the leaf axils or underneath the dead leaf sheaths. IF YOU FIND MEALYBUG, LOOK FOR ANOTHER PLANT!

PEST 3 // Scale can be a commonly found pest, especially on many palms and ficus plant varieties... as well as other plant species. Scale is difficult to kill with sprays and is best controlled by removing them manually from the plant. Look close for the honeydew sticky residue that the scale insects leave behind.

PEST 4 // Look for fungus gnats. They are a small black gnat that grows in the upper one inch of the soil. Use your figure to brush around the soil to see if you can cause some to fly away... but look closely because they are small.

PEST 5 // Inspect the foliage itself to see if the leaves show signs of something eating them. The foliage should be a rich green uniform color. Avoid pale, faded green leaves. ALWAYS LOOK FOR HEALTHY NEW GROWTH.

Hopefully I haven't scared you. Now, some plants might, but if you find a reputable nursery they have already done their job in identifying problem plants and quarantined them. Everyone's human so some may slip through which is why it's important that you know how to select a quality plant. Following these basics can help you do that: select healthy insect and disease free plants.

Dave Shrein, along with his father Don Shrein, is the owner of http://www.LushPots.com, an online retailer,. LushPots.com specializes in home plant care tips and advice, along with recommended retail products to aid the average consumer in caring for live plants.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_M_Shrein





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