|
|
Insiders' Plant Information |
|
Please report website problems/feedback to: |
Indoor Plant Bulletin #1 A publication of Horticultural Help 48-16 30th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11103
Selecting A Quality Plant
How do you choose a plant? Do you choose it by size so it will fit into a particular space? Do you choose it because it looks fresh or healthy or lush? Do you choose a plant that was recommended to you by a friend or relative? Do you take the plant recommended by the store sales clerk? Do you look for freebies or discards to nurse back to health?
All of these are considerations that people use when selecting a plant. But they all miss the most important point. THE PLANT YOU SELECT MUST BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT YOU PROVIDE. This means that the light range that a particular plant requires must be available to it in its new home. If you cannot provide adequate light for a particular plant, then it is doomed no matter what else you do or how green your thumb is.
Before you choose a plant you must evaluate the light in the location you have available for the plant. Then you must limit your selection to those plants that fit into that light range. A future Indoor Plant Bulletin will describe how to evaluate light and how to match appropriate plants with different light conditions.
Do your homework before you go to select a plant. Know what light you have and what plants will work in that light. This will spare you much heartache later on.
Finding a good plant supplierTry to purchase your plants from a retailer that specializes in plants. Plant specialty shops and nurseries are more knowledgeable and usually have better quality plants than those found at the supermarket or department store. The latter usually have lower prices, but the quality of their plants is a lot riskier. Here’s why.
Quality plants are acclimated for several months in nurseries before they are sold to retailers. This means the plants will have an easier time adjusting to their ultimate destination (your home or office). Discount nurseries grow their plants in optimal conditions (high light with an abundance of fertilizer) so they can grow the plants quickly to sellable size and turn them over for greater profits. These are the plants that often go into shock when they are moved to the home or office environment. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to distinguish a quality grown plant from a discount grown plant. That is why it is best to purchase plants from a local plant retail specialist who depends on satisfied plant customers to stay in business.
How to Spot A Quality PlantSelecting a quality plant is a little like trying to find a properly ripened melon in the produce market. It is not obvious and it takes some experience – and some mistakes. Here are some guidelines, but it may take some practice.
1. Inspect the plant for insects. Look on the undersides of leaves for spider mites. Look in nooks and crannies for mealy bug. Check for the tell-tale sticky honeydew secreted by scale. Watch out for leaves that look gnawed or chewed. Look for gnats flying about.
2. Inspect the soil for worms and centipedes.
3. The soil should have very little odor. It should feel loose and porous and moderately moist. It should not have a hard crusty surface and there should not be a space between the inside edge of the pot and the soil.
4. The pot should not be cut or damaged. Roots should not be growing out the bottom of the pot.
5. The foliage should have a rich green uniform color. Avoid pale, faded green plants.
6. Learn to recognize properly acclimated plants. Acclimated plants have softer, more flexible, darker foliage than their unacclimated counterparts.
7. Look for signs of physical plant damage – broken stems or growing tips, torn leaves, scars on the bark.
8. Check for signs of disease – yellowing leaves; mottled or discolored foliage; brown or yellow leaf spots; brown leaf tips; wet, mushy leaves
9. Look for healthy new growth.
Find Out the Correct Name: Botanical NomenclatureWhen you purchase or receive a new plant it is important to find out its botanical name. This will make it possible for you to get plant care advice from books, the Internet and other sources. Common or popular names, such as ivy or velvet plant or orchid often refer to several entirely unrelated plants. Botanical names refer to one particular plant and no others. Yes those botanical names are long and have awkward spellings and pronunciations. But the correct name may be essential if you later need help. So write it down and keep it somewhere just in case.
A good retail plant shop will know the correct name. If they don’t, ask them to find out from their supplier. If all else fails do a little research in a bookstore, library or online and try to make your own identification.
Copyright: William E. Creed, 2000
Indoor Plant Bulletin Index Bulletin #1 - Selecting A Quality Plant Bulletin #2 - What to Do With Your New Plant Bulletin #3 - Light for Your Plants Bulletin #4 - How to Water Your Plants Bulletin #5 - Potting Soil Basics Bulletin #6 - Caring for Holiday Plants Bulletin #7 - Plant Pests Bulletin #8 - Fertilizing Indoor Plants Bulletin #9 - Low Light Plants Bulletin #10 - Moving Plants Outside Bulletin #11 - Plant Propagation Bulletin #12 - Ficus Trees
Subscription information: Indoor Plant Bulletin is published monthly. Subscribers are asked to donate $10. If you cannot afford the $10 contribution or choose not to make a contribution, simply send an email reply with “Free Subscription” typed in the subject box.
Contribution checks should be made out to: Horticultural Help. Mail payment to:
William Creed 48-16 30th Avenue, 4E Astoria, NY 11103
|