This Friday I will be at rehab centre to do some planting. I've been thinking of doing some dish garden for sale and intentionally, the money will go to welfare fund.
You see, the centre has planted many mondo grass, bamboo plants, succulent plants, and few unknown beautiful plants. The problem is, nobody wants to buy as they say all these plants are common and...boring. So I hope to transform these 'ugly duckling' plants into swan - just to keep things interesting. Wish me luck!
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Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Yellow is death
I want to share something about my first planting - a houseplant. As a rookie, it was quite disastrous in the beginning. What can I say, first planting has never been a perfect one. As always. You learn, you plant, you fail...it's yellow... then learn again, plant again and fail...cos of yellow.
It's awful to get a bad sign. A yellow sign. It's a frustration sign because the sign tells you the plant is going to die. That what it means. Without knowing the causes done, you obliviously keep trying and trying until you have nothing left to plant. What a waste. You hate to go back again. Exhausted!! It really plays trick on you. What is wrong?
When I began my planting, I thought less about planting consideration. Well, I did think about it but not much - just less. Sometimes, when we plant, we tend to overlook the rules of planting because we think it's a piece of cheesecake. You know, like getting a new pot, adding soil, placing the plant mercilessly without the sunlight, over-watering it EVERYDAY without understanding the pain the plant has.
Believe me it really breaks your heart to see your plants turn yellow. What causes them to turn yellow? This is how I was taught by my great mentor.
Over-water
Do you know what is the most painful part for the plant to bear? A thing that can really make the roots get 'drown'? It's over-watering. When too much water, the roots can't absorb the oxygen which can result the leaves turn yellow and eventually, they'll all wilt and die. Don't over-water. So, when do I water the plant? Only when I see the soil is dry, I water it. I will have to make sure my soil is moist, not dry... but moist - and that depends what kind of indoor/outdoor plants. Water when only necessarily. I check my plants regularly.
Congested roots
Will this be the most common thing people have? Something that we overlook?... When a plant like that starts to grow more and roots start to outgrow its pot even more, your pot is unable to give more space for the growth which can break the pot. If ignored, your plant will die. Roots will keep on growing that they need to be re-potted. It happened to my snake plants. I was 'told' by the helpless looking plant that the roots escaped to the drainage hole begging to be re-potted. I quickly transplanted root bound plant into a bigger pot. You can't let it abuse itself.
Transplant
This is very tricky part.When transplanting, just be reminded roots are the essence of plantness. You also have to know when moving a plant to a new soil, the roots begin to adjust new environment. Previously, when I transplanted my plant, I used top soil that contained less nutrients. Few days later, the leaves turned yellow and died. Wasn't sure why, I began to check the problems. It turned out I didn't put the new transplanted plant under the shade. I didn't pay attention to what I was doing.
Here's how:
Be sure to loose the roots from the soil. Find a perfect pot for the plant (not too big, perhaps just medium) and this time be sure to get a pot that is bigger than the previous one.
I use mixed soil (dark colour) all the time. It's a ready-mix which contains prelite, sand, chicken manure to make your plants stay healthy and beautiful. Add a quarter of mixed soil into the pot then gently place the plant on top of the soil. Cover the whole roots with soil gently and make sure no cracking at the top of the soil surface.
Lastly, water it lightly then place the plant under the shade. Don't get too excited once you're done. The plant needs new adjustment so be patient. The actual results can be seen within two weeks. Fertilize it once a month. DON'T OVERFED.
NEVER FERTILIZE WEAK PLANT.
It's awful to get a bad sign. A yellow sign. It's a frustration sign because the sign tells you the plant is going to die. That what it means. Without knowing the causes done, you obliviously keep trying and trying until you have nothing left to plant. What a waste. You hate to go back again. Exhausted!! It really plays trick on you. What is wrong?
When I began my planting, I thought less about planting consideration. Well, I did think about it but not much - just less. Sometimes, when we plant, we tend to overlook the rules of planting because we think it's a piece of cheesecake. You know, like getting a new pot, adding soil, placing the plant mercilessly without the sunlight, over-watering it EVERYDAY without understanding the pain the plant has.
Believe me it really breaks your heart to see your plants turn yellow. What causes them to turn yellow? This is how I was taught by my great mentor.
Over-water
Do you know what is the most painful part for the plant to bear? A thing that can really make the roots get 'drown'? It's over-watering. When too much water, the roots can't absorb the oxygen which can result the leaves turn yellow and eventually, they'll all wilt and die. Don't over-water. So, when do I water the plant? Only when I see the soil is dry, I water it. I will have to make sure my soil is moist, not dry... but moist - and that depends what kind of indoor/outdoor plants. Water when only necessarily. I check my plants regularly.
Congested roots
Will this be the most common thing people have? Something that we overlook?... When a plant like that starts to grow more and roots start to outgrow its pot even more, your pot is unable to give more space for the growth which can break the pot. If ignored, your plant will die. Roots will keep on growing that they need to be re-potted. It happened to my snake plants. I was 'told' by the helpless looking plant that the roots escaped to the drainage hole begging to be re-potted. I quickly transplanted root bound plant into a bigger pot. You can't let it abuse itself.
Transplant
This is very tricky part.When transplanting, just be reminded roots are the essence of plantness. You also have to know when moving a plant to a new soil, the roots begin to adjust new environment. Previously, when I transplanted my plant, I used top soil that contained less nutrients. Few days later, the leaves turned yellow and died. Wasn't sure why, I began to check the problems. It turned out I didn't put the new transplanted plant under the shade. I didn't pay attention to what I was doing.
Here's how:
Be sure to loose the roots from the soil. Find a perfect pot for the plant (not too big, perhaps just medium) and this time be sure to get a pot that is bigger than the previous one.
I use mixed soil (dark colour) all the time. It's a ready-mix which contains prelite, sand, chicken manure to make your plants stay healthy and beautiful. Add a quarter of mixed soil into the pot then gently place the plant on top of the soil. Cover the whole roots with soil gently and make sure no cracking at the top of the soil surface.
Lastly, water it lightly then place the plant under the shade. Don't get too excited once you're done. The plant needs new adjustment so be patient. The actual results can be seen within two weeks. Fertilize it once a month. DON'T OVERFED.
NEVER FERTILIZE WEAK PLANT.
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